Legislative Activity

The Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act of 2025 expands eligibility for the Public Safety Officers Death Benefits program to include certain retired law enforcement officers. This legislation provides benefits to retired officers, or their families, if their injury or death resulted from a targeted attack directly related to their prior service. These changes are effective immediately and apply retroactively to qualifying incidents occurring on or after January 1, 2012.

This resolution formally honors the significant economic and cultural contributions of small, domestic firearm manufacturers to the United States. It recognizes these businesses as vital to supporting American manufacturing, job creation, and the traditions of recreational shooting sports. Furthermore, the resolution designates August 2025 as "National Shooting Sports Month."

The Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act expands Medicare Part B coverage to include services provided by pharmacists starting in 2026. This legislation covers pharmacist services that align with state law and are provided in collaboration with a physician or approved practitioner. The bill specifies payment rates for these covered services, particularly enhancing reimbursement for services related to public health emergencies like COVID-19, flu, and RSV. Furthermore, it prohibits pharmacists from balance billing Medicare patients for these covered services.

The Streamlining Rural Housing Act of 2025 directs the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Agriculture (USDA) to create a joint agreement to coordinate environmental reviews for housing projects they jointly fund. This aims to eliminate redundant processes by establishing a lead agency and allowing for the mutual acceptance of environmental documentation. The bill also mandates the creation of an advisory group composed of various housing stakeholders to ensure efficient implementation without compromising resident safety or environmental standards.

The Ending Lending to China Act of 2025 establishes a new U.S. policy opposing further financial assistance to the People's Republic of China from multilateral development banks. Citing China's status as a high-income economy with massive foreign reserves, the bill directs the Treasury Secretary to use U.S. influence to block new loans to China. Furthermore, the Secretary must advocate for ending assistance to all countries that have surpassed the established income threshold for graduation. The Treasury Department is also required to submit annual reports detailing compliance and U.S. actions taken.

The Farmers First Act of 2025 aims to enhance mental health support for agricultural producers. This legislation increases funding for the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network and mandates the inclusion of dedicated crisis lines within its services. Furthermore, it formalizes partnerships between network recipients and various certified healthcare providers to improve access to mental health and substance use treatment.

Lulu's Law mandates that wireless emergency alert systems be updated to include shark attacks as a triggerable event. The FCC is required to issue an order within 180 days to officially incorporate shark attack warnings into the alert system. This ensures the public can be rapidly notified of dangerous shark activity.

This Senate resolution expresses strong support for the recent U.S. and Israeli military strikes against Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure. It affirms that Iran must be prevented from acquiring nuclear weapons due to its history of proliferation and support for terrorism. The resolution commends the military actions taken to degrade Iran's capabilities and reaffirms the U.S. right to act decisively to ensure regional security.

This resolution expresses support for designating May 17, 2025, as "DIPG Pediatric Brain Cancer Awareness Day." The measure aims to raise public awareness about Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a devastating childhood cancer with limited treatment options. Furthermore, it encourages increased research efforts and support for affected children and their families.

This Senate resolution formally condemns the recent rise in ideologically motivated attacks against Jewish individuals and institutions across the United States, specifically citing the violent assault in Boulder, Colorado. It reaffirms the Senate's commitment to combating antisemitism and all forms of politically motivated violence. The resolution calls for thorough investigation and prosecution of such acts, upholding the right of all citizens to live without fear of religious or political intimidation.

The Protecting Endowments from Our Adversaries Act imposes severe federal excise taxes on large private colleges and universities with over \$1 billion in assets. These taxes target investments in entities listed on U.S. government watchlists, such as those related to national security concerns. Specifically, the bill imposes a 50% tax upon acquiring such restricted investments and a 100% tax on any income or gains generated from them. This legislation aims to penalize institutions for financial ties with specified adversarial persons or companies.

The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act restricts how consumer reporting agencies can share your credit report when you are seeking a residential mortgage loan. Specifically, it limits the sharing of these reports unless they are connected to a firm offer of credit or are being sent to parties directly involved in your current mortgage, such as the originator or servicer. This ensures that your sensitive financial information is only accessed by relevant parties during the home loan process.

The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 allows schools participating in the National School Lunch Program to offer organic or non-organic whole milk as part of their required fluid milk options. This legislation also expands the authority to determine a student's milk choice from physicians to include parents or legal guardians. Finally, it clarifies that the fat content from the offered milk will not count toward a meal's saturated fat limits for compliance purposes.

The Expanding Access to Palliative Care Act establishes a new five-year pilot program for community-based palliative care managed by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. This model aims to improve quality of life and coordinate care for seriously ill Medicare beneficiaries outside of traditional hospital settings. The program will offer comprehensive support, including pain and symptom management, while coordinating with existing providers. Success will be measured by comparing participant outcomes, such as emergency room use and hospital admissions, against non-participants.

This resolution serves as a formal tribute honoring the life, achievements, and enduring legacy of former United States Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond of Missouri. It recognizes his decades of public service, including his terms as Missouri Governor and U.S. Senator, where he championed infrastructure, agriculture, and conservative values. The Senate expresses deep sadness over his passing and directs that official copies of this tribute be sent to his family.

This resolution expresses the Senate's support for designating May 2025 as "National Beef Month." It recognizes the significant economic contributions of the U.S. cattle industry and highlights the nutritional value of beef. The bill serves as a formal acknowledgment of the importance of beef to American agriculture and consumers without enacting new laws.

The Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025 aims to modernize and increase transparency in the prior authorization process for Medicare Advantage plans. This bill mandates the adoption of electronic prior authorization systems and requires plans to publicly report detailed data on their approval, denial, and appeal rates. Furthermore, it establishes new standards to protect enrollees and grants the Secretary authority to enforce faster decision timelines for care requests.

The LOCOMOTIVES Act clarifies federal authority under the Clean Air Act regarding emissions standards for certain existing locomotives and engines used in construction or farm equipment. This legislation ensures that federal standards, rather than varying state standards, apply to these specific engines, particularly those under 175 horsepower and locomotives engaged in commerce. Essentially, it centralizes regulatory power over these emissions sources at the federal level.

The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act of 2025 establishes a presumption that certain cancers leading to death or disability in public safety officers were caused by on-duty exposure to recognized carcinogens. This law defines specific exposure-related cancers and sets conditions, such as five years of service, for the presumption to apply. It also updates review processes for adding new cancers to the list and grants retroactive application and filing extensions for eligible past and present claims.

The COUNTER Act grants the Department of Defense (DoD) expanded authority to neutralize threats from unmanned aircraft systems (drones) operating outside of the United States. This legislation delegates response authority, clarifies mitigation methods like remote identification, and exempts security details regarding these operations from public disclosure. Furthermore, it limits the application of certain criminal and security laws to authorized DoD and Coast Guard activities aimed at countering these aerial threats overseas.