Legislative Activity

The Audio-Only Telehealth Access Act of 2025 expands Medicare coverage to include certain telehealth services delivered via audio-only communication, ensuring access to healthcare for individuals who may not have access to video technology. This applies to services already approved for telehealth coverage under Section 1834(m)(4)(F)(i) of the Social Security Act. The changes would go into effect on the first day of a declared emergency period.

The Recruiting Families Using Data Act of 2025 aims to improve foster care and adoption outcomes by requiring states to develop "family partnership plans" that focus on identifying and supporting relatives as placement options, creating child-specific recruitment plans, and using data to improve family recruitment and retention efforts. It also mandates states to collect and report data on foster family capacity, congregate care utilization, and feedback from foster and adoptive parents and youth. Additionally, the Act requires the annual child welfare outcomes report to Congress to include detailed state-by-state data on foster and adoptive families, challenges and barriers to foster parenting, and efforts to recruit diverse families.

The Access to Credit for our Rural Economy Act of 2025 (ACRE Act) creates a new federal tax incentive for qualified lenders. This incentive excludes income earned from interest on loans secured by rural or agricultural real property from taxation. The goal is to encourage lending for agricultural, forestry, and certain rural home improvement purposes while prohibiting loans to foreign adversary entities.

The "Death Tax Repeal Act" eliminates both estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes, effective from the date of enactment. It adjusts gift tax calculations by setting the lifetime gift exemption at $10,000,000, with inflation adjustments after 2011. The Act also includes transitional rules for applying certain sections of the Internal Revenue Code during the enactment year.

The "Growing and Preserving Innovation in America Act of 2025" amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate a scheduled decrease in the deduction for foreign-derived intangible income. This change maintains the deduction at a higher level, supporting companies that generate income from intellectual property developed and used abroad. The act is effective immediately upon enactment.

The "Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act" amends the Internal Revenue Code to enhance the paid family and medical leave credit for eligible employers. It modifies the calculation of the credit, clarifies aggregation rules, and refines the definition of qualifying employees. The act also mandates outreach by the Small Business Administration and the Treasury to educate employers about the credit and its requirements.

The "Snap Back Inaccurate SNAP Payments Act" amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to improve payment accuracy in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It sets the quality control system tolerance level for excluding small errors at $0 beginning in fiscal year 2025 and increases the error threshold from 10% to 25%. The bill requires payment error rate adjustments based on the percentage of overpayments recovered by state agencies, and mandates that state agencies actively pursue recouping overpayments made to recipients.

Sarah's Law mandates the detention of aliens who are charged with or have committed crimes resulting in death or serious bodily injury. It requires the Department of Homeland Security to gather information about victims of crimes committed by these aliens and provide them with timely updates about the alien's status and removal efforts. The law also ensures that victims' rights under other laws are protected.