Legislative Activity

The Life at Conception Act of 2026 declares that the constitutional right to life is vested in every human being from the moment of fertilization or beginning of existence. This Act grants Congress and states the authority to enforce equal legal protection for both born and preborn persons. Crucially, the bill specifies it does not require prosecuting women, prohibit IVF, or ban contraception used to prevent fertilization.

The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 updates school nutrition standards to allow schools to offer organic or non-organic whole milk as a beverage option. This legislation also revises the criteria for milk substitutions based on medical or dietary needs and excludes milk fat from saturated fat calculations for meal compliance. Furthermore, the bill mandates that training for school food service personnel must now include comprehensive information on food allergies.

This Senate resolution strongly condemns the recent rise in ideologically motivated attacks targeting Jewish individuals and institutions across the United States, including specific violent incidents in Colorado and Washington, D.C. It reaffirms the Senate's commitment to combating antisemitism and politically motivated violence. The resolution calls for thorough investigation of these acts and urges leaders to speak out against all forms of religious and political intimidation.

The Upward Mobility Act of 2026 authorizes a five-year pilot program allowing up to five states to consolidate funding from major federal antipoverty programs into a single "Upward Mobility Grant." This allows states to streamline benefits, reduce work disincentives ("benefit cliffs"), and test innovative approaches to increase employment and earnings for low-income residents. Approved states must adhere to strict evaluation requirements focused on improving participant outcomes and reducing dependence on assistance.

This bill directs the Department of Defense (DoD) to assess and develop a roadmap for implementing open technical standards to verify the origin and history of its public digital media. The roadmap must outline strategic objectives, required processes, and resource needs for establishing digital content provenance capabilities. The Secretary of Defense is required to brief Congress on these findings by July 2026.

The Permit Reform In Mining for Energy and Defense Act (PRIMED Act) streamlines federal permitting for critical defense-related mining and processing projects. It requires specific actions taken by the Secretary of Defense under the Defense Production Act to be treated as "covered projects" under the FAST Act's permitting improvement framework. This ensures these projects supporting domestic defense supply chains are tracked on the federal Permitting Dashboard, though project sponsors can opt out of this designation.

The Disaster Assistance Simplification Act aims to streamline the federal disaster recovery process by establishing a single, unified intake system for all disaster assistance programs. This system will allow survivors to submit one consolidated application, track their status, and enable agencies to share necessary data securely. The goal is to reduce applicant burden and speed up the delivery of aid following a declared disaster.

The Back the Blue Act of 2025 establishes new federal crimes and harsher penalties for killing or assaulting law enforcement officers and other public safety officials. The bill also creates specific aggravating factors for the federal death penalty in such cases and places new restrictions on federal habeas corpus relief for related state convictions. Finally, it expands federal protections allowing active and retired law enforcement officers to carry firearms in various federal locations.

This act, the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Integrity and Deficit Reduction Act, redirects existing federal funds to bolster reemployment services and eligibility assessments. It transfers the entire unobligated balance from a specific Internal Revenue Code fund to the Employment Security Administration Account of the Unemployment Trust Fund. These dedicated funds will support crucial programs aimed at helping individuals return to work.

This bill directs the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a strategy with NATO to create an integrated air defense system. This system will specifically focus on bolstering allied capabilities to defeat unmanned aerial systems (drones) and deter Russian aggression, particularly along NATO's eastern flank. The strategy must identify current defense gaps and outline U.S. and allied actions over the next five years to enhance drone defense capabilities, including leveraging next-generation technologies. The Secretary must submit the final strategy to Congress within 90 days of enactment.

The Motorcycle Safety Awareness Act of 2025 updates federal grant eligibility for states by increasing the required safety criteria from two to three. This new requirement mandates that states include specific instruction on motorcyclist awareness, including state laws and share-the-road principles, in their driver education courses. These changes aim to enhance driver awareness and improve safety for motorcyclists nationwide.

The SIMSA Act of 2025 establishes a new Schedule A within the Controlled Substances Act to specifically target synthetic analogues that are structurally or functionally similar to existing controlled substances. This legislation grants the Attorney General authority to temporarily or permanently schedule these substances, imposing strict penalties for trafficking and mandatory labeling requirements. Furthermore, the Act outlines specific registration processes for handling Schedule A substances and provides a mechanism for sentence review if a substance is later descheduled.

This bill, the CIPZIP Act of 2025, establishes a seven-year pilot program allowing state, local, or Tribal governments to fund the costs associated with changing ZIP Code boundaries. If the Postal Service denies a request solely due to cost, it must notify the government and allow them the opportunity to cover those expenses. The Postal Regulatory Commission will report annually on the program's activity.

This bill proposes the repeal of two existing pieces of legislation concerning Syria: the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003 and the Syria Human Rights Accountability Act of 2012. In essence, this legislation seeks to remove existing sanctions and accountability measures imposed upon Syria by these prior acts.

The Protecting DOD Data Act of 2025 mandates the Department of Defense (DoD) to enhance the protection of personal data that affects the operational security of its personnel. This includes reviewing and updating guidance to ensure data handling aligns with pre-existing privacy laws and strictly limiting the storage of such sensitive data on non-DoD managed servers. The Act also establishes new requirements for Congressional notification regarding waivers, security events, and system owner training.

The Union Members Right to Know Act amends the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act to require labor organizations to provide members with detailed information regarding their rights under federal law. This bill mandates that unions disclose summaries of the LMRDA, religious accommodation rights regarding dues, and *Beck* rights to all members. Furthermore, it restricts the use of member funds for non-representational activities unless the member provides specific, time-limited written authorization.

The AUKUS Improvement Act of 2025 streamlines defense cooperation under the AUKUS agreement by modifying U.S. arms transfer requirements. This legislation exempts certain defense article reexports and temporary imports between the U.S., Australia, and the U.K. from specific presidential consent requirements. Furthermore, it eliminates the mandatory certification process for commercial technical assistance or manufacturing license agreements involving Australia and the United Kingdom.

This bill, the Counter-UAS Authority Extension Act, extends the existing authority for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to detect, track, and stop dangerous unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Specifically, it pushes the expiration date for these counter-UAS powers from September 30, 2025, to September 30, 2028. This ensures federal agencies maintain their current legal framework for addressing drone threats for an additional three years.

This resolution officially designates the week beginning October 19, 2025, as "National Character Counts Week." It emphasizes the critical role of families, schools, and communities in teaching foundational ethical values like trustworthiness and responsibility to young people. The designation encourages nationwide activities and programs focused on strengthening the character of America's youth.

The Extending Expired Cybersecurity Authorities Act ensures the continuation of vital cybersecurity information sharing between the government and private industry. This bill extends the authority for sharing cyber threat information for an additional ten years, pushing the expiration date from 2025 to 2035. Furthermore, it retroactively applies this extension to prevent any lapse in coverage and officially renames the program to the "Protecting America from Cyber Threats Act."