Legislative Activity

The "Stop Human Trafficking of Unaccompanied Migrant Children Act of 2025" aims to protect unaccompanied alien children by establishing stricter vetting standards for sponsors, including background checks for all adults in the household and mandatory home visits. It also requires retroactive vetting of past sponsors and detailed monthly reports to Congress on the placement and well-being of these children. The goal is to prevent human trafficking and ensure the safety of unaccompanied migrant children placed with sponsors in the United States.

The "Protect Medicaid Act" prohibits federal Medicaid funding for state administrative costs associated with providing healthcare benefits to unauthorized immigrants. It requires a report from the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services on how states that offer health benefits to non-lawfully admitted noncitizens handle Medicaid program administration costs separately. The report will also cover how these states fund programs for non-lawfully admitted noncitizens and analyze the impact of these non-lawfully admitted noncitizens receiving outpatient drugs purchased under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program or the 340B drug discount program.

The Disabled Veterans Housing Support Act ensures that veterans' service-connected disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs is not considered when determining income eligibility for housing assistance programs. This change aims to make housing more accessible for disabled veterans. Additionally, the Act requires a report to Congress reviewing the impact of disability compensation on eligibility for HUD programs, identifying inconsistencies, and suggesting improvements to better assist veterans and underserved communities.

The "Health Care Provider Shortage Minimization Act of 2025" aims to address healthcare provider shortages by clarifying the tax status of qualified locum tenens physicians and advanced care practitioners. It ensures that these temporary healthcare providers are not classified as employees for tax purposes, provided they meet specific conditions such as working under a written contract and for no more than one continuous year at a service site. This clarification applies to services performed after the Act's enactment.

The "Diagnostics Testing Preparedness Plan Act of 2025" requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and regularly update a plan for the rapid development, validation, production, and distribution of diagnostic tests in response to public health emergencies. This plan aims to improve coordination between public and private entities, consider new technologies, address medical supply needs, and ensure efficient test distribution. The Secretary is authorized to contract with public and private entities to enhance domestic diagnostic testing capacity and must release the plan within one year, updating it every three years thereafter.

The "HALT Fentanyl Act" permanently classifies fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, streamlining research registration processes while maintaining controls. It also updates penalties for trafficking, importing, and exporting fentanyl-related substances, treating them similarly to fentanyl analogues. Additionally, the Act addresses technical errors in previous legislation and mandates the Attorney General to issue rules for implementation.

The "Primary Care Enhancement Act of 2025" modifies the treatment of direct primary care (DPC) arrangements for health savings account (HSA) purposes. It excludes DPC arrangements from being considered a health plan under certain conditions, such as DPC arrangements solely covering primary care services from primary care practitioners for a fixed periodic fee, with limits on monthly fees, and it treats DPC fees as medical expenses. This act also mandates the reporting of DPC fees on W-2 forms and adjusts fee limits for inflation.

The "Superior National Forest Restoration Act of 2025" aims to facilitate mineral development within Minnesota's Superior National Forest by rescinding a land withdrawal order and expediting the review and approval process for mining plans. It mandates the reissuance of canceled mineral leases and prospecting permits, establishes fixed terms for renewed leases, and limits judicial review of these reissued leases or permits. The Act also enables the issuance of permits for surface land use necessary for mining operations.

The "Fair Access to Banking Act" aims to prevent financial institutions from denying services to legal businesses based on subjective or political reasons. It prohibits large banks, credit unions, and payment card networks from discriminating against legal businesses and requires them to provide fair access to financial services based on impartial, risk-based standards. Financial institutions that violate these provisions may face penalties, including ineligibility for taxpayer-funded discount window lending programs and civil penalties. Individuals or businesses who are unfairly denied services can sue the financial institution in U.S. district court.

The "PATROL Act" prevents the Department of Justice from suing states for building barriers along their borders to prevent illegal immigration and protect their territory. This bill specifically applies to civil actions under Section 9 or 10 of the Act of March 3, 1899, concerning unauthorized obstruction of navigable waters. The term "barrier" includes physical structures like walls, fences, or floating buoys.

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum Act authorizes a one-time grant between $5,000,000 and $10,000,000 to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum for operations, security, and maintenance. To receive the grant, the museum must offer free admission to certain groups, provide free admission hours to the general public, and allow annual federal audits of its financial records. The museum must also submit annual reports to Congress detailing how the grant funds were used. No additional funds are authorized beyond the initial appropriation for this grant.

The Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025 ensures that monetary penalties from False Claims Act cases are deposited into the Crime Victims Fund through fiscal year 2029. This excludes payments to whistleblowers and reimbursements to the government. This will increase the amount of money available to help victims of crimes.

The Dismantle DEI Act of 2025 aims to immediately rescind diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) mandates across the federal government, including shutting down related offices and banning specific ideological training for federal personnel and contractors. The bill prohibits the use of federal funds for DEI activities by grant recipients and mandates that federal advisory committees cease all such practices or face termination. Furthermore, it establishes strong enforcement mechanisms, allowing individuals to sue violators and seek financial penalties for non-compliance.

The "ORPHAN Cures Act" amends the Social Security Act to refine the orphan drug exclusion within the Drug Price Negotiation Program. It excludes time periods when a drug was designated as an orphan drug from counting towards its eligibility for price negotiation. The bill also modifies the criteria for orphan drug designation, allowing it to apply to drugs treating "one or more rare diseases or conditions" instead of "only one rare disease or condition."

The "No User Fees for Gun Owners Act" prohibits state and local governments from imposing taxes, fees, or insurance requirements on firearm or ammunition ownership and commerce. Regular sales taxes are permitted if applied at the same rate as other goods and services. This bill aims to protect gun owners and businesses from discriminatory financial burdens.

The "Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025" establishes federal tax credits for individuals and corporations who contribute to scholarship granting organizations that provide scholarships for eligible students to attend elementary and secondary schools. It sets a volume cap on the total amount of credits that can be claimed and prioritizes allocation on a first-come, first-served basis. The act also exempts these scholarships from gross income and protects the autonomy of scholarship organizations and non-public schools from government control.

The "Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025" establishes a federal tax credit for individual contributions to scholarship granting organizations that provide scholarships to eligible students for qualified education expenses. It also exempts these scholarship amounts from gross income and protects scholarship organizations and non-public schools from governmental control, ensuring parental choice in education. The tax credit is limited to the greater of 10% of adjusted gross income or $5,000, subject to a national volume cap, and is reduced by any state tax credits received for the same contributions.

The "Preserving Patient Access to Accountable Care Act" extends incentive payments for healthcare providers participating in eligible alternative payment models through 2027, with a payment rate of 3.53 percent. It also updates references to future years in the Social Security Act to align with the extension of these incentive payments.

The "Sustainable Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Services in the Home Act" expands access to in-home cardiopulmonary rehabilitation services by allowing them to be delivered via telehealth, including designating a patient's home as a provider-based location. It broadens originating sites for telehealth services and waives geographic requirements for in-home cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation programs. The Act directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish standards for designating a patient's home as a provider-based organization, aligning with the Hospital Without Walls program.

The "No Abortion Coverage for Medicaid Act" seeks to codify the Hyde Amendment by ensuring that federal Medicaid funds are not used for abortions or health coverage that includes abortion services. This includes prohibiting the use of federal funds for travel or lodging related to obtaining an abortion. Exceptions are made only in cases of rape, incest, to save the mother's life, or for the treatment of a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy.