Legislative Activity

The Campus Accountability and Safety Act significantly overhauls the Clery Act by mandating more detailed, transparent crime reporting, especially concerning student-involved sex crimes. It establishes new requirements for colleges to appoint trauma-informed specialists to support survivors of sexual and interpersonal violence. Furthermore, the bill requires the Department of Education to create a public website tracking campus safety enforcement actions and enhances federal grant programs to explicitly include sexual harassment as a covered crime.

The No Stock Act bans high-ranking government officials and their immediate families from holding, trading, or creating short positions in stocks, cryptocurrencies, and other conflicted financial interests while in office. Covered individuals must divest existing prohibited assets within 120 days of taking office or the law's enactment. Knowing violations will result in significant financial penalties based on the value of the illegally held asset.

The FAMILY Act establishes the Family and Medical Insurance Leave program, creating a new office within the Social Security Administration to manage paid benefits for qualified caregiving and serious health conditions. This law outlines eligibility requirements, a tiered formula for calculating monthly benefit payments, and protections against employer retaliation for taking leave. The Act also provides funding mechanisms for states that already have similar paid leave programs in place.

The Health Access Innovation Act of 2025 establishes the Health Equity Innovation Grant Program to fund community and faith-based organizations. These grants aim to improve health outcomes for underserved populations by covering direct care costs and addressing social determinants of health. Priority will be given to groups that have demonstrated success in underserved areas, particularly those that ran access programs during past public health emergencies. The program is authorized with specific funding levels through fiscal year 2030.

The Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2025 overhauls food assistance by basing benefit calculations on a new "low-cost food plan" instead of the previous "thrifty food plan." It also introduces new standard medical expense deductions for elderly or disabled households and eliminates a previous time limit restriction for certain program participants. Finally, the bill removes the cap on deductions for excess shelter expenses.

This Act establishes a one-time federal grant, ranging from $\$5$ million to $\$10$ million, to support the operations, security, and maintenance of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. To receive the funds, the eligible entity must agree to provide free admission to specific groups and submit to annual federal financial audits. The Secretary of Homeland Security awards the grant after reviewing the museum's needs and commitment to public access and education.

The Protecting Older Americans Act of 2025 invalidates pre-dispute arbitration agreements for claims of age discrimination against individuals aged 40 and older. This legislation ensures that employees alleging age discrimination can pursue their claims in court rather than being forced into arbitration based on prior agreements. Federal courts, not arbitrators, will decide if this new rule applies to a specific dispute.

The EATS Act of 2025 revises eligibility rules for students seeking Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by clarifying the definition of a "bona fide student." This legislation removes specific restrictions that previously barred many higher education students from receiving SNAP. The changes, including technical renumbering of relevant sections, will take effect on January 2, 2026.

The Department of Defense PFAS Discharge Prevention Act mandates that the Department of Defense (DOD) seek modifications to its stormwater discharge permits to include quarterly testing for PFAS chemicals. Facilities must also implement management practices to reduce these discharges unless current permits already require both actions. Furthermore, at least one percent of the DOD's annual PFAS cleanup funding must be dedicated to these monitoring and reduction efforts.

The Providing Child Care for Police Officers Act of 2025 establishes a federal grant program to help law enforcement officers secure childcare during non-traditional work hours. Grants will be awarded to state agencies to fund local programs that support police families, with a focus on smaller departments. The program aims to cover startup costs, operational expenses, and direct family subsidies for off-hours care. This initiative is authorized through fiscal year 2030 and includes requirements for local financial matching and mandatory program evaluations.

The Resilient Transit Act of 2025 establishes a new federal grant program to help public transportation agencies harden their systems against climate change impacts like floods and extreme weather. These grants will fund specific resilience improvements, such as installing flood barriers and backup power systems, with a focus on benefiting vulnerable and environmental justice communities. The bill also increases overall funding authorizations for related transit programs and mandates annual reporting on the use of these new resilience funds.

The Trafficking Survivors Relief Act of 2025 establishes a new federal process for trafficking survivors to seek the expungement of arrest records or the vacation of certain criminal convictions resulting from their victimization. It also creates a specific "duress" defense for defendants charged with serious federal crimes if they committed the offense while being trafficked. Furthermore, the bill mandates reporting on the use of these new relief mechanisms and clarifies that federal grants for legal aid can be used for post-conviction representation.

The Head Start for Our Future Act amends federal work-study rules to explicitly allow students to use their funds for child development and early learning services, such as supporting Head Start programs. This legislation ensures that institutions placing work-study students in these roles guarantee program compliance with existing Head Start Act requirements. Furthermore, it establishes specific supervision rules for work-study students in Head Start and Early Head Start, mandating that they must always be supervised by paid staff and cannot count toward required staff-to-child ratios.

The Healthy Food Financing Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2025 secures dedicated funding for the Healthy Food Financing Initiative through fiscal year 2029 and beyond. This bill authorizes the Secretary to allocate increasing amounts, starting at \$25 million in 2025 and stabilizing at \$50 million annually from 2029 onward. The funding will be sourced from the Commodity Credit Corporation.

The Training and Nutrition Stability Act of 2025 ensures that income received from specific job training, educational, and vocational rehabilitation programs will not count against an individual's eligibility for federal food assistance. This change aims to encourage participation in workforce development activities without jeopardizing necessary nutritional support. The bill also includes minor technical updates to existing law to accommodate this new exclusion.

The Strengthening America’s Turning Point Act officially renames the Saratoga National Historical Park to the Saratoga National Battlefield Park. This change ensures all federal documents and references use the new official title moving forward.

This Act authorizes the minting and issuance of special commemorative gold and silver coins to mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The coins will honor the victims, first responders, and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. All surcharges collected from the sale of these coins must be paid directly to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum to support its operations.

This bill officially establishes the Finger Lakes National Heritage Area, incorporating fourteen counties in New York State into the national system. The Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance is designated as the local coordinating entity responsible for developing and submitting a management plan for the area. The Act authorizes federal financial assistance for the Heritage Area for a period of 15 years following its enactment.

This Act authorizes the Pines Foundation to establish the Fire Island AIDS Memorial within the Fire Island National Seashore to honor residents lost to the AIDS epidemic. The law mandates that the memorial must be entirely privately funded, with no federal dollars used for its creation or maintenance. The Secretary of the Interior must approve the final design and location of the tribute.

The Forest Conservation Easement Program Act of 2025 establishes a comprehensive new program to restructure forest conservation easements under existing farm law. This Act creates two primary easement types: Forest Land Easements for working forests and Forest Reserve Easements for species protection. The bill also repeals the existing Healthy Forests Reserve Program but ensures all prior agreements under that program remain fully honored. Funding is authorized through 2029 to support sustainable forest management and habitat restoration across eligible private and tribal lands.