Legislative Activity

The American Beef Labeling Act of 2025 amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to mandate country-of-origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef and ground beef. It requires the United States Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, to find a way to reinstate MCOOL for beef in compliance with World Trade Organization rules. The changes to beef labeling will take effect within one year of enactment.

The "Love Lives On Act of 2025" modifies eligibility rules for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) and Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) payments for surviving spouses who remarry. It allows remarried surviving spouses to receive certain educational benefits and DIC, and it continues annuity payments to surviving spouses who remarry, particularly those whose spouses died on active duty. Additionally, the Act expands the definition of "dependent" under the TRICARE program to include remarried widows or widowers whose subsequent marriage has ended.

The "Right to Contraception Act" establishes a statutory right for individuals to access and for health care providers to offer contraception, free from governmental restrictions or bans. It overrides any conflicting federal or state laws, ensuring access to contraception and related services, and allows legal recourse for violations of these rights. The Act aims to protect individual autonomy in making decisions about contraception and reproductive health.

The "No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act" aims to discourage companies from shifting profits and operations overseas to avoid U.S. taxes. It achieves this by amending the tax code to calculate foreign income on a country-by-country basis, limiting interest deductions for domestic corporations in international financial reporting groups, modifying rules related to inverted corporations, and treating certain foreign corporations managed and controlled in the U.S. as domestic corporations for tax purposes. The bill also repeals the reduced tax rate on net CFC tested income and foreign-derived intangible income, increases the deemed paid credit for taxes related to tested income, and eliminates the carryback of foreign tax credits. These changes are intended to level the playing field and ensure that multinational corporations pay their fair share of taxes on income earned abroad.

The "JOBS Act of 2025" expands Federal Pell Grant eligibility to students enrolled in short-term job training programs (150-600 hours) that lead to credentials in high-demand fields. These programs must meet specific requirements, including alignment with industry needs and assurance from state boards. The act also requires accrediting agencies to assess the quality of these programs and mandates data sharing between the Departments of Education and Labor. Finally, the bill lowers the threshold for the minimum Federal Pell Grant from 10 percent to 5 percent.

This resolution recognizes the critical role of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in advancing U.S. national security interests. It emphasizes USAID's importance in reducing global threats, promoting stability, addressing migration and extremism, and maintaining U.S. leadership against China. The resolution also references the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, which requires USAID to consult with Congress on significant organizational changes.

The "Keep Our PACT Act" aims to increase funding for Part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) over the next decade. It mandates specific funding increases for these programs each year from 2026 to 2035, with the goal of fully funding IDEA at 40% of the national average per-pupil expenditure for students with disabilities by 2035. This bill designates these funding increases as emergency spending.

The "Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act" expands Medicare coverage to include innovative multi-cancer early detection screening tests starting in 2028. These tests, which use genomic sequencing to detect multiple cancer types, will be covered for eligible beneficiaries with age and frequency limitations. The payment amount for these tests will initially align with that of multi-target stool screening DNA tests. This new coverage aims to improve early cancer detection without affecting existing Medicare-covered cancer screenings.

The "Build Housing with Care Act of 2025" aims to increase access to affordable housing and child care by establishing a grant program that encourages the co-location of housing and child care services. The program will provide competitive grants to eligible entities for the design, construction, or renovation of facilities that combine housing and child care. It prioritizes entities operating in child care deserts or serving low-income families. The Act also requires a study on child care access for public housing residents and authorizes $100,000,000 annually from 2026-2031 for the grant program.

The "Smarter Weather Forecasting for Water Management, Farming, and Ranching Act of 2025" directs the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to establish pilot projects aimed at improving subseasonal to seasonal precipitation forecasts for agriculture and water management. These projects will address scientific challenges like improving model resolution in mountainous terrain and predicting atmospheric circulation. The Act allocates \$45 million annually from 2025-2029 for these initiatives, which will involve higher education institutions and NOAA entities. The pilot project authority will end five years after the enactment of the law.

This resolution expresses disapproval of any pardons granted to individuals convicted of assaulting Capitol Police officers. It serves as a formal condemnation of such pardons.

This bill authorizes the creation of a Congressional Gold Medal for Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds, posthumously recognizing his courageous actions during World War II when he saved approximately 200 Jewish-American soldiers from Nazi persecution by defying a direct order to identify them. The medal will be presented to his next of kin, and the bill also allows for the creation and sale of bronze duplicates to commemorate his heroism.

This bill amends the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to expand eligibility and increase compensation for individuals affected by radiation exposure from Manhattan Project waste and uranium mining. It extends the claim filing period, allows for the use of affidavits as evidence, and establishes a grant program for studying the health impacts of uranium mining. The bill also addresses compensation for those present downwind of atmospheric nuclear testing, and directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a cooperative agreement to protect human and ecological health at the Amchitka, Alaska, Site.

The Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act of 2025 establishes special base rates of pay for federal wildland firefighters, increasing their salaries based on their General Schedule grade. It also provides incident response premium pay for firefighters deployed to qualifying incidents and allows for rest and recuperation leave following deployments. The bill enables the transfer of funds between the Forest Service and the Department of Interior to ensure the continuation of salary increases.

The "Fire Suppression and Response Funding Assurance Act" increases the federal government's share of fire management assistance to at least 75% of eligible costs. It also directs FEMA to create rules for recommending increased federal cost shares for disaster relief and updates FEMA's grant policy to allow reimbursement for pre-deployment of resources by state, local, and tribal governments before a major disaster.

The Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act of 2025 aims to strengthen antitrust enforcement by updating the Clayton Act to address harmful mergers and exclusionary conduct, enabling civil monetary penalties for Sherman Act violations, and increasing resources for antitrust enforcement agencies. The bill seeks to promote competition by revising standards for unlawful acquisitions, protecting whistleblowers who report anti-competitive behavior, and ensuring fair compensation for those harmed by antitrust violations. It also establishes new offices within the Federal Trade Commission to enhance market analysis and advocate for competition. Finally, the act increases funding for antitrust enforcement and ensures that collected fees are used to further these efforts.

The FAIR Act mandates a 3.3% increase in basic pay rates for federal employees under statutory pay systems and prevailing rate employees in 2026. Additionally, it increases locality pay adjustments for federal employees by 1% in 2026.

The "Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act of 2025" seeks to update Medicare's chiropractic coverage to reflect modern practices. It broadens coverage to include all services that Doctors of Chiropractic are licensed to perform in their state, not just manual spinal manipulation. Payment for expanded services requires doctors to attend a documentation webinar. This aims to align Medicare with other healthcare systems and improve beneficiary access to chiropractic care.

The "Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act" authorizes the creation of three Congressional Gold Medals to honor the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team and their historic "Miracle on Ice" victory. These medals will be given to the Lake Placid Olympic Center, the United States Hockey Hall of Fame Museum, and the United States Olympic Paralympic Museum for public display. The Act also allows for the creation and sale of bronze duplicates to fund the medal production.

The Health Care Affordability Act of 2025 expands eligibility for health insurance tax credits by removing the income cap, allowing more individuals to qualify for financial assistance. It also adjusts the premium tax credit calculation to provide more support based on income level. These changes aim to make health coverage more affordable for a broader range of Americans, starting in 2026.