Legislative Activity

The Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2025 mandates that colleges receiving federal funds update their policies to explicitly prohibit and detail procedures for addressing harassment based on protected characteristics, including technology-facilitated abuse. The bill also establishes a competitive grant program, funded up to $50 million annually, to support campus efforts in harassment prevention, training, and support services. This legislation adds new requirements without superseding existing civil rights protections.

The **988 LGBTQ+ Youth Access Act of 2025** addresses the high rates of suicide risk among LGBTQ youth by strengthening specialized support through the national crisis hotline. This bill mandates that dedicated resources and services, such as a specific dialing option, must be maintained for LGBTQ individuals contacting 988. Furthermore, it requires that at least 9 percent of appropriated funds for the hotline be specifically reserved to ensure these specialized services for LGBTQ youth remain fully operational.

The FAMILY Act establishes a national Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance program administered by a new office within the Social Security Administration. This program provides monthly benefits to eligible individuals who take time off for qualified caregiving reasons, including serious health conditions or victims of violence. The Act also sets forth detailed eligibility requirements, benefit calculation formulas, and job protection guarantees for employees utilizing the leave. Finally, it creates a funding mechanism to support existing state-level paid leave programs that meet federal standards.

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2025 is a comprehensive bill designed to increase police accountability and transparency nationwide through federal mandates and funding incentives. It reforms standards for prosecuting civil rights violations, eliminates qualified immunity, and establishes national registries for police misconduct and use-of-force data. Furthermore, the Act bans specific dangerous police tactics like chokeholds and restricts the transfer of military equipment to local departments.

The FAIR Act of 2025 invalidates pre-dispute arbitration agreements and class action waivers for employment, consumer, antitrust, and civil rights claims. This law restores the right for individuals to pursue these disputes in court or through collective legal action. The provisions apply to all covered disputes arising on or after the date the Act is enacted.

This bill, the Congressional Tribute to Constance Baker Motley Act of 2025, posthumously awards the Congressional Gold Medal to the pioneering civil rights attorney and federal judge, Constance Baker Motley. The legislation recognizes her historic achievements, including her role in *Brown v. Board of Education* and her service as the first African-American woman appointed as a federal judge. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to strike the medal, and provisions are made for selling bronze duplicates to cover production costs.

The Unclaimed Retirement Rescue Plan establishes a process for pension plan administrators to transfer forgotten retirement funds to state unclaimed property programs via a national clearinghouse. Before transferring distributions of $50 or more, plans must attempt to locate the owner using databases and send a warning notice if new contact information is found. This act protects plan fiduciaries from liability for following these new transfer rules and mandates confidential reporting of all transfers to the Department of Labor.

This resolution expresses support for designating September 9, 2025, as "National Firearm Suicide Prevention Day." The goal is to raise awareness about the growing crisis of firearm suicides across the United States. It emphasizes that safe and secure firearm storage is a critical component of suicide prevention efforts. The resolution encourages professionals to discuss gun safety and suicide prevention with their patients.

The Quiet Communities Act of 2025 addresses the growing public health crisis caused by noise pollution by reestablishing the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Noise Abatement and Control. This office will be tasked with researching noise impacts, supporting state and local noise control efforts through technical assistance and grants, and conducting a specific study on aircraft noise. The Act authorizes \$25 million annually through Fiscal Year 2030 to fund these critical national noise reduction initiatives.

The Food Date Labeling Act of 2025 establishes national standards for food date labels, requiring manufacturers to use specific phrases like "**BEST If Used By**" for quality and "**USE By**" for discard dates, if they choose to include them. This legislation standardizes labeling language across different food products overseen by the USDA and FDA. The Act also ensures that non-compliant labeling is treated as misbranding under existing federal food laws. Manufacturers will have two years from enactment to comply with these new federal labeling requirements.

This resolution terminates the President's August 11, 2025, declaration of a crime emergency in the District of Columbia. Congress asserts that the President lacks the legal authority under the D.C. Home Rule Act to take operational control of the Metropolitan Police Department. Furthermore, the bill notes that local violent crime rates have been declining significantly.

The EQUAL Parks Act codifies a previous Presidential Memorandum into permanent law, ensuring that federal policies regarding public lands and waters prioritize diversity and inclusion. This legislation solidifies the commitment to making these shared spaces accessible and welcoming to all Americans.

The Expanding the VOTE Act updates language assistance requirements under the Voting Rights Act by modernizing the definition of "voting materials" to include digital information. It also establishes new state responsibilities for providing language assistance and creates a grant program to incentivize voluntary language support beyond current mandates. Furthermore, the bill includes special provisions for unwritten American Indian and Alaska Native languages and mandates a study on lowering thresholds for language assistance coverage.

The Unhoused Voter Opportunity Through Elections Act aims to secure and expand the right to vote for citizens experiencing homelessness by prohibiting residency-based disenfranchisement. It mandates accessible registration methods, requires outreach from service providers, and establishes federal grants to help local governments implement these protections. Ultimately, this legislation seeks to ensure that where a person sleeps cannot be a barrier to their participation in federal elections.

The Election Mail Act aims to ensure the timely and secure delivery of federal election mail through the U.S. Postal Service. It mandates same-day processing of received absentee ballots and requires the use of intelligent mail barcodes for tracking mailed ballots starting in 2026. Furthermore, the bill establishes protections against operational changes that would slow election mail delivery and sets a national standard to count mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day if received within seven days after the election.

The Sustaining Our Democracy Act establishes a new federal program to provide annual grants to states for improving election administration, security, and accessibility, managed by a newly created Office of Democracy Advancement and Innovation. This funding is supported by a dedicated ten-year Trust Fund to ensure stable resources for election infrastructure upgrades. The bill imposes strict rules on how states can use the money, including prohibitions against purchasing insecure voting machines or restricting basic voter support. If states fail to comply, the federal Director can bypass state government to fund local election subdivisions directly.

The Reproductive Freedom for Veterans Act mandates that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must now provide abortion care, counseling, and related medication as part of the medical services offered to eligible veterans and certain other beneficiaries. This legislation formally amends existing VA health care provisions to include these reproductive health services.

The Voters on the Move Registration Act of 2025 mandates that standardized, multilingual voter registration information be provided to individuals applying for certain federally assisted rental housing or residential mortgages. This ensures that tenants and mortgage applicants receive clear instructions on how to register to vote. The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection is tasked with creating this uniform voter information statement. This requirement focuses solely on providing information, not compelling voter registration.

The Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act of 2025 repeals specific prior reconciliation health provisions. This bill significantly expands eligibility for the Premium Tax Credit by eliminating the 400% Federal Poverty Level income cap. It also updates the subsidy calculation formula to ensure a smoother, linear adjustment of assistance across various income levels.

The EATS Act of 2025 significantly updates eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by removing previous restrictions that often disqualified students. This legislation explicitly includes bona fide students enrolled at least half-time in recognized educational programs as eligible participants for food assistance. These changes take effect on January 2, 2026.