Legislative Activity

The Improving Disaster Assistance for Veterans Act establishes a dedicated Veterans Advocate position within FEMA to ensure fair treatment of veterans under existing disaster relief laws. This Advocate will coordinate with veterans service organizations and promote veteran hiring within FEMA during disaster responses. The bill focuses on improving access to current assistance, not authorizing new types of aid.

The SMART Act mandates that FEMA conduct a comprehensive study to evaluate the effectiveness, cost savings, and strategic impact of its national hazard mitigation programs. This study must analyze financial benefits, community preparedness, insurance impacts, and infrastructure resilience. FEMA is required to report these findings annually to Congress and make the results publicly available online to ensure transparency and inform future program improvements.

The Removing Burdens From Organ Donation Act mandates that hospitals electronically notify organ procurement agencies when a patient is declared deceased or near death. This law also grants these agencies electronic access to the potential donor's health records upon the update of the death status. Exemptions are available for hospitals facing significant hardship, cybersecurity attacks, or disaster situations. The Secretary must also issue guidance on best practices for implementing these new electronic notification procedures.

The DIGNIDAD Act of 2025 is a comprehensive bill that significantly overhauls U.S. immigration policy across five major divisions. Division A focuses on aggressive border security enhancements, infrastructure modernization, and increased criminal penalties for immigration offenses, while Division B establishes pathways to legal status for long-term residents who entered as children and creates a temporary protection program for others. Finally, Division C aims to improve legal immigration by reducing green card backlogs, streamlining employment and student visas, and providing new discretionary relief for family separation cases.

The Cutting Passport Backlog Act extends the special hiring authority granted to the State Department for passport services. This extension provides an additional two years, totaling five years, for the department to hire necessary personnel to address the current passport application backlog.

The Veteran Burial Timeliness and Death Certificate Accountability Act addresses significant delays in obtaining death certificates for veterans who die from natural causes, often due to VA medical staff delays. This bill mandates that VA medical providers must certify a veteran's death within 48 hours or allow the local medical examiner to step in. Furthermore, the VA must annually report on its compliance with this new timely certification requirement.

The National Nursing Workforce Center Act of 2025 establishes a new two-year pilot program to fund and evaluate state-based nursing workforce centers through competitive grants. These centers will focus on critical statewide activities like data analysis, studying nursing education capacity, and developing strategies to recruit and retain nurses. The bill also expands existing health workforce analysis grants to ensure dedicated funding and technical assistance for nursing-focused research and evaluation.

This resolution strongly condemns Russia for the abduction and forced "Russification" of Ukrainian children, highlighting these actions as grave violations of international law. It emphasizes that these children must be safely returned to Ukraine before any final peace agreement to end the war is considered. The document also underscores the heightened risks of trafficking, violence, and trauma faced by Ukrainian children due to the ongoing invasion.

The Remembering Our Local Heroes Act establishes a new grant program, managed by the Secretary of the Interior, to support the building, repair, or maintenance of local memorials. This funding is available to local governments and nonprofits for structures honoring veterans, law enforcement, or firefighters. Recipients must secure matching funds for at least half of the project cost.

The PFAS National Drinking Water Standard Act of 2025 immediately establishes the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) final rule on PFAS as official federal law. This action codifies the specific National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for PFAS as it existed on June 25, 2024. Essentially, the bill bypasses standard procedures to enact the EPA's established PFAS drinking water standards into law right away.

The Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act of 2025 establishes a new federal crime specifically targeting individuals who knowingly defraud veterans or attempt to steal their federal benefits. This legislation creates enhanced penalties, including potential fines and imprisonment up to five years, for those convicted of such schemes. The Act ensures robust legal tools are in place to protect veterans from financial exploitation related to their earned benefits.

The Advanced Weather Model Computing Development Act directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to significantly upgrade its capabilities by integrating advanced computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning into its weather and climate modeling. This legislation mandates the creation of Centers of Excellence and a comprehensive 10-year strategic plan to ensure NOAA has the necessary high-performance computing infrastructure for faster and more accurate forecasting of hazardous weather events. The bill also requires collaboration with the Department of Energy and regular reporting to Congress on progress and future needs.

The Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025 establishes a federal statutory right to access abortion services, prohibiting medically unnecessary restrictions that impede care before fetal viability. This Act protects the right of patients to travel across state lines to receive reproductive healthcare and allows providers to offer services free from state interference that conflicts with established medical standards. It preempts conflicting state and local laws and provides robust enforcement mechanisms for individuals and the Attorney General to challenge violations.

The Optimizing Postpartum Outcomes Act of 2025 aims to improve women's health after childbirth by clarifying Medicaid/CHIP coverage for essential pelvic health services. It mandates federal guidance for states on covering services like pelvic floor exams and physical therapy, alongside establishing a national education campaign for both providers and new mothers. The bill also directs the GAO to study existing coverage gaps for postpartum women under Medicaid.

The FIGHT Act of 2025 significantly strengthens federal prohibitions against animal fighting ventures, specifically targeting the sponsorship, exhibition, and gambling associated with these events. This legislation clarifies the definition of a rooster for legal purposes and bans the interstate transport of roosters for fighting. Furthermore, it empowers private citizens to file lawsuits against violators, allowing for civil penalties and the potential seizure of property used to facilitate illegal animal fighting.

The American Flags to Honor Our Veterans Act of 2025 specifically authorizes the placement of the U.S. flag directly next to the gravesite of any individual who served in the Armed Forces or is a veteran. This provision ensures that flags can be displayed securely and upright next to individual graves, regardless of other existing flag display regulations.

The Streamline Emergency Care Act establishes a new federal grant program to help nonprofit hospitals improve the efficiency and operations of their emergency departments. These grants, capped at $500,000 per award, can be used for staffing, facility upgrades, and staff training. The goal is to modernize emergency care delivery and enhance patient throughput.

The Small Business Artificial Intelligence Advancement Act directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop and share neutral, practical resources to help small businesses understand and adopt artificial intelligence. These resources, which include standards and best practices, will be distributed in coordination with the Small Business Administration (SBA). The utilization of these materials by small businesses will remain entirely voluntary.

The STOP CSAM Act of 2025 significantly strengthens protections for child victims and witnesses in federal court by expanding definitions of harm and restricting the public disclosure of their identities. It mandates new, strict reporting duties for tech providers regarding child sexual exploitation material, backed by substantial criminal and civil penalties for non-compliance. Furthermore, the Act creates broad new civil remedies allowing victims to sue responsible online platforms and app stores for damages related to exploitation that occurred during their childhood. Finally, it improves restitution procedures, particularly for vulnerable victims, while ensuring existing state and tribal protections remain intact.

The Knock Out Cancer Act aims to aggressively combat cancer by significantly increasing funding for the National Cancer Institute's research efforts through 2030. The bill also mandates a comprehensive report from the Department of Health and Human Services to address and recommend solutions for ongoing cancer drug shortages. Ultimately, this legislation seeks to accelerate breakthroughs, improve survival rates through better detection awareness, and reduce cancer-related deaths.