Legislative Activity

The Food Bank Emergency Support Act of 2025 establishes a \$462.5 million emergency fund to ensure the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can continue providing full benefits during funding shortfalls or government shutdowns. These funds are specifically appropriated to prevent benefit reductions when other resources are insufficient. Furthermore, the Act ensures essential SNAP staff can continue working during a lapse in appropriations.

The Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act aims to significantly reduce prescription drug expenses for consumers. It expands the federal drug price negotiation program to cover more drugs and extends negotiated prices to most private health insurance plans. Furthermore, the bill applies inflation rebates to the commercial market and establishes new annual out-of-pocket spending caps for prescription drugs under private insurance starting in 2027. It also sets specific, lower cost-sharing requirements for covered insulin products.

The Good Samaritan Menstrual Products Act provides liability protections for individuals, manufacturers, and nonprofit organizations that donate or distribute menstrual products in good faith to those in need. This protection covers the nature, age, or condition of apparently usable donated products. However, these protections do not apply in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct.

The HEAR Act of 2025 aims to significantly expand Medicare benefits by establishing coverage for comprehensive hearing rehabilitation services. This legislation specifically amends the Social Security Act to include hearing aids as covered durable medical equipment and mandates coverage for necessary aural rehabilitation services. The goal is to ensure eligible Medicare beneficiaries receive necessary audiological assessments, appropriate hearing aids, and follow-up rehabilitation care.

The Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention Act of 2025 (ASAP Act) amends Medicare to cover early detection screening tests for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias starting in 2028. This coverage applies to FDA-cleared tests, including genomic sequencing and other equivalent diagnostic methods, designed to detect pre-symptomatic or early-stage conditions. The bill ensures these screenings are added to the list of covered medical services under Medicare.

The Global Respect Act aims to promote and protect the human rights of LGBTQI individuals worldwide. It mandates the President to identify and report foreign persons responsible for human rights violations against LGBTQI people, leading to their inadmissibility to the United States. Furthermore, the Act requires enhanced tracking and reporting of violence and discrimination targeting individuals based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics in the annual human rights reports.

The Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals Act aims to address the critical shortage and high turnover among Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) who assist individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The bill mandates that the Office of Management and Budget review and revise the Standard Occupational Classification system to establish a distinct code for DSPs. This change will allow for more accurate labor market data collection to better support these essential workers. The Act does not authorize any new funding.

The EXPERTS Act of 2025 aims to enhance transparency and accountability in the federal rulemaking process. It introduces new disclosure requirements for studies submitted during public comment periods and mandates greater public awareness of agency actions. Furthermore, the bill establishes the Office of the Public Advocate to improve public involvement and explicitly requires agencies to consider social equity in their cost-benefit analyses. Finally, it streamlines the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) review timeline and clarifies judicial review standards for agency interpretations.

This bill mandates that all advertisements for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans must clearly disclose key statistics regarding their prior authorization denial rates. Specifically, ads must include the total number of denials, the number of denials later overturned upon reconsideration, and the average time taken for those reversals. This aims to provide consumers with crucial transparency about plan utilization management practices before enrollment.

This bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from using appropriated funds to automatically enroll individuals into Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. It ensures that enrollment in an MA plan only occurs when an individual actively makes that choice, rather than it being the default option.

This bill mandates the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create and maintain a public website for Medicare beneficiaries. This resource will allow users to easily search for healthcare providers and suppliers participating in either Medicare Advantage (MA) plans or traditional Medicare. The website must clearly identify which networks each provider belongs to.

This bill amends the Social Security Act to mandate the exclusion of individuals and entities who commit fraud from participating in any Federal health care program. Specifically, it requires the Secretary to exclude those convicted of certain fraud-related offenses or determined to have engaged in prohibited fraudulent activities. This ensures that those who misuse federal health programs due to financial misconduct are barred from future participation.

This bill amends the Social Security Act to mandate that Medicare Advantage plans must automatically reconsider any determination that denies coverage. This process will occur without requiring the enrollee to submit a formal request for reconsideration. The automatic review begins immediately upon the plan's initial denial of coverage.

The Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act of 2025 aims to strengthen domestic food security by repealing specific sections of a prior reconciliation act. This action effectively revives the original laws that were previously amended by the repealed provisions. The bill seeks to revert existing agricultural and food-related statutes to their pre-amendment status.

This bill amends the Social Security Act to impose new limitations on the number of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans an organization can offer under contract. Specifically, it restricts MA organizations from offering more than three MA plans unless those plans have significant differences in premiums, benefits, or cost-sharing. This measure aims to streamline the offerings available through Medicare Advantage.

This bill amends the Social Security Act to establish new requirements for Medicare Advantage plans regarding how often they can overturn initial denials of coverage following prior authorization requests. Specifically, it mandates contract termination for plans whose rate of reversed prior authorization denials exceeds 25% in a given year. This measure aims to curb excessive initial denials by Medicare Advantage organizations.

This bill amends the Social Security Act to establish new requirements regarding the average monthly cost of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans compared to original Medicare. If an MA plan's average monthly payment exceeds the cost of original Medicare coverage for its enrollees, the Secretary must prohibit new enrollment in that plan for the following year. This restriction does not apply to specialized Medicare Advantage plans for special needs individuals.

This bill, the International Human Rights Defense Act of 2025, establishes a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Peoples within the Department of State. It codifies U.S. policy to actively combat international criminalization, violence, and discrimination against LGBTQI+ individuals worldwide. The legislation also mandates enhanced reporting on these abuses in annual human rights reports and authorizes assistance to support related protection efforts abroad.

This resolution expresses support for designating November as Prematurity Awareness Month to highlight the ongoing maternal and infant health crisis in the U.S. It draws attention to alarming rates of preterm birth and unacceptable racial disparities in maternal and infant mortality. The bill advocates for increased investment in research and public health programs to prevent preterm births and reduce associated risk factors.

This resolution expresses support for designating a week in November 2025 as "National Caregiving Youth Week" to recognize children under 18 who care for family members. It highlights the significant challenges these youth face balancing caregiving with their own well-being and education. The bill also calls for urgent national research to better understand and support this underserved population.