Legislative Activity

The Pay Our Military Act ensures that members of the Armed Forces continue to receive their pay and allowances if a full budget for fiscal year 2026 has not been enacted. This continuing appropriation provides necessary funds for active duty, reserves, and essential civilian support staff. This automatic funding remains in effect until a full appropriation is passed or until January 1, 2027.

The No Shame at School Act of 2025 mandates that schools must stop shaming students over unpaid meal debt by prohibiting overt identification or segregation of students who owe fees. This law requires local agencies to actively pursue free meal certification for students with outstanding balances and prevents schools from taking food away after it has been served. Furthermore, it establishes strict rules for debt collection, forbidding communication directed at the child and banning the use of third-party debt collectors.

This bill establishes the Prioritizing Offensive Agricultural Disputes and Enforcement Act to aggressively address foreign trade barriers harming U.S. agricultural exports. It specifically mandates immediate action, including a plan to initiate a World Trade Organization dispute against India for its excessive agricultural price supports. The legislation also creates an Agricultural Trade Enforcement Task Force to proactively identify and enforce trade agreements against significant foreign barriers.

The Colorectal Cancer Payment Fairness Act eliminates the coinsurance requirement for certain colorectal cancer screening tests covered under Medicare. This legislation ensures that Medicare patients will pay 100% of the cost for these vital screenings starting in 2026. The goal is to remove financial barriers to early detection of colorectal cancer.

The Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act of 2025 ensures that employees of federal contractors are compensated for losses incurred due to government funding lapses or shutdowns. It requires federal agencies to adjust existing contracts to cover reasonable costs associated with furloughs, pay cuts, or mandatory leave taken by contractor employees. The bill appropriates necessary funds to cover these contract price adjustments and mandates public reporting on the compensation provided.

The Living Wage for Musicians Act of 2025 establishes the Artist Compensation Royalty Fund, financed by a mandatory new "living wage royalty fee" charged to streaming subscribers and a percentage of service providers' non-subscription revenue. This fund will distribute 90% of its proceeds quarterly to eligible featured artists based on their stream share, with the remaining 10% going to non-featured artists via established unions. The Act also mandates that streaming platforms clearly itemize this new fee and subjects them to audits by the designated Fund Administrator.

This resolution officially expresses support for National Public Lands Day, recognizing the vast spiritual, cultural, and economic value of America's public lands. It encourages all citizens to visit these lands on the designated fee-free day. The measure highlights the significant acreage managed by various federal agencies that support recreation and the national economy.

The Help Federal Employees During Shutdowns Act (Help FEDS Act) ensures that essential, non-paid federal employees working during a government shutdown can receive state unemployment compensation for the weeks they are actively working. This legislation mandates that the federal government fully reimburse states for all benefits paid out, plus administrative costs, directly from the Unemployment Trust Fund. Any employee who receives retroactive pay for a period they were also paid unemployment must repay those benefits to the state.

The Flood Insurance Transparency Act of 2025 mandates the public release of comprehensive data regarding the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). This includes detailed information on flood risk assessments, premium calculations, claims history, and loss ratios. The goal is to enhance public access to NFIP data to support better flood risk research and analysis. All released information must be anonymized to strictly protect the privacy of individual policyholders.

This bill extends the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to ensure continuous flood insurance coverage. It specifically moves the program's expiration date from late 2023 to November 21, 2025. This extension provides Congress with additional time to develop long-term reforms for the program.

The Water Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Act extends the operational deadlines for key federal programs designed to strengthen water infrastructure. Specifically, this bill pushes the expiration dates for the Clean Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Program and two Drinking Water System Resilience and Sustainability Programs from 2026 to 2031. This extension ensures continued funding and support for community projects aimed at improving water system toughness against severe weather and environmental challenges.

The Every Kid Outdoors Reauthorization Act renews the popular program offering free access to national parks and federal recreation sites for eligible youth. This reauthorization specifically targets fifth graders or 10- and 11-year-old home-schooled learners. The bill authorizes $25 million annually to support the program, including funding for outreach and transportation assistance for underserved communities.

This resolution supports designating September 2025 as "National Voting Rights Month" to highlight ongoing threats to fair elections, such as gerrymandering and restrictive voting laws. It urges Congress to pass key legislation like the Freedom to Vote Act and the Democracy Restoration Act. The bill also encourages educational programs about voting history and registration efforts nationwide. Ultimately, it calls for federal action to protect and expand access to the ballot box for all citizens.

The Mortgage Insurance Freedom Act aims to eliminate the collection of annual mortgage insurance premiums once a homeowner's loan balance drops to 78% or less of the original value. This change applies only to newly insured mortgages, though the government can resume collecting premiums if the insurance fund's capital ratio falls below 2%. The Secretary of HUD must establish rules and inform homeowners on how to verify their eligibility to stop paying.

The SHINE for Autumn Act of 2025 aims to significantly improve federal support for state-level stillbirth research and data collection. It authorizes grants for states to enhance surveillance, track risk factors, and build local capacity for analyzing stillbirth data, provided the information remains de-identified. Furthermore, the bill mandates the development of standardized guidelines and educational materials regarding stillbirth awareness and risk factors, developed in consultation with experts and bereaved families.

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 Protecting Free Vaccines Act mandates that most private health insurance plans must cover specific vaccines recommended by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) without any out-of-pocket costs until January 1, 2030. This requirement also updates coverage rules for Medicare Part D, Medicaid, and CHIP to ensure continuity of coverage for these recommended immunizations. The bill locks in coverage based on the ACIP recommendations in place as of October 25, 2024, across various federal health programs.

The Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2025 establishes an automatic mechanism to ensure the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) remains funded during a lapse in appropriations. This allows the FAA to continue essential operations using existing funds from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund until a new budget or continuing resolution is enacted. Funding will cease after 30 days if no new appropriations are passed. This ensures continuity for core FAA programs, including operations, infrastructure, and grants.

The Safe Streets for All Reauthorization and Improvement Act modifies the existing Safe Streets and Roads for All program. This legislation mandates that at least 20% of available funds must be dedicated to planning grants annually, replacing previous requirements. Additionally, it increases the total funding pool for the program by an extra \$5 billion for fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

The National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2025 extends the NFIP through 2030 while imposing a five-year cap on premium increases to protect policyholders. The bill dedicates significant funding toward proactive flood mitigation projects and modernizes mapping standards to increase local transparency and control. Furthermore, it strengthens policyholder rights by establishing clearer claim appeal processes and mandating greater disclosure of flood risk information during property sales.