Legislative Activity

The Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act of 2025 repeals specific prior reconciliation health provisions. This bill significantly expands eligibility for the Premium Tax Credit by eliminating the 400% Federal Poverty Level income cap. It also updates the subsidy calculation formula to ensure a smoother, linear adjustment of assistance across various income levels.

The Restoring Essential Healthcare Act repeals an outdated ban that prevented Medicaid from making payments to certain healthcare providers. This legislation ensures that these previously prohibited entities will now be reimbursed for medical services rendered between the enactment of the original ban and the passage of this Act. In short, it restores payment eligibility and retroactively covers past services.

The EATS Act of 2025 significantly updates eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by removing previous restrictions that often disqualified students. This legislation explicitly includes bona fide students enrolled at least half-time in recognized educational programs as eligible participants for food assistance. These changes take effect on January 2, 2026.

The Gas Pipeline Leak Detection and Repair Act of 2025 immediately enacts the final rule on gas pipeline leak detection and repair issued by PHMSA in January 2025. This legislation fast-tracks these new federal safety standards into effect upon signing. Furthermore, it preserves the authority of the Secretary of Transportation to implement even stricter future safety regulations for gas pipelines.

The Ethics in Energy Act of 2025 prohibits covered electric and natural gas utilities from passing the costs of political influencing activities onto their customers through rate requests. The Act mandates that FERC establish new accounting rules to segregate these "covered expenses" and requires utilities to submit detailed annual reports on all such political spending. Utilities found to have wrongly charged ratepayers for these expenses will face significant financial penalties, with collected funds split between customer rebates and enforcement.

The PRIME Act, or Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption Act, exempts custom slaughter facilities from federal inspection requirements for meat that is processed and sold only within the state of origin. To qualify, facilities must comply with all applicable state laws regarding slaughter and preparation. This legislation ensures that states retain the authority to enforce their own, potentially stricter, regulations on local meat processing.

The Stop AI Price Gouging and Wage Fixing Act of 2025 prohibits businesses from using automated systems that analyze personal data to set individualized prices or determine employee wages. This legislation establishes strict transparency requirements for any permitted pricing exceptions and grants enforcement power to the FTC, EEOC, State Attorneys General, and private citizens. Furthermore, the Act ensures that existing state laws providing greater protections and collective bargaining rights remain fully in effect.

This bill, the Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929, updates the eligibility requirements for creating records of lawful admission for long-term residents. It replaces a fixed entry date with a new standard requiring applicants to have resided in the U.S. for at least seven years prior to applying. These revised provisions will take effect 60 days after the Act is enacted.

The Appalachian Communities Health Equity (ACHE) Act of 2025 addresses health concerns linked to mountaintop removal coal mining by immediately halting new federal permits for these operations. The bill mandates a comprehensive health study led by the NIEHS to investigate potential risks to nearby communities. Furthermore, it requires enhanced, publicly accessible pollution monitoring at active sites until the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines the practice poses no health risk.

This resolution expresses the sense of Congress that the United States must commit to actively restoring the climate, not just slowing emissions. It establishes the goal of reducing atmospheric $\text{CO}_2$ to safe, pre-industrial levels below 300 $\text{ppm}$ by supporting research and deployment of carbon removal technologies. Ultimately, the bill frames climate restoration as an urgent priority and an obligation to future generations to mitigate severe climate impacts.

This Act, the World War II Women's Memorial Location Act, designates specific areas where a commemorative work honoring women who served on the home front during World War II can be located. It temporarily waives standard federal regulations governing monument placement in Washington D.C. to allow the memorial to be built in either Area I or The Reserve.

The Franchisee Freedom Act establishes a private right of action allowing franchisees to sue for damages and seek relief when franchisors violate specific federal regulations or provisions of this Act. Furthermore, this legislation explicitly protects a franchisee's right to associate, communicate, and join trade groups with other franchisees without fear of retaliation from the franchisor. This ensures franchisees have legal recourse and the freedom to organize.

This bill amends the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to explicitly clarify that time taken off for an employee's own organ donation surgery qualifies as a serious health condition. This ensures both private and federal sector workers receive FMLA protection for recovery from organ donation. The legislation also specifies how federal employees must substitute existing paid leave when taking FMLA time for this purpose.

The Ally's Act mandates that certain private health insurance plans must cover auditory implant devices, related supplies, and necessary services for qualifying individuals. This coverage must be comparable to other medical and surgical benefits regarding cost-sharing and treatment limitations. Furthermore, plans cannot deny coverage if a physician or qualified audiologist determines the required hearing items or services are medically necessary. These new requirements take effect for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.

The Living Donor Protection Act of 2025 prohibits life, disability, and long-term care insurance companies from denying coverage or increasing premiums solely because an individual is a living organ donor. This legislation ensures that living donors are not financially penalized for their altruistic act. Additionally, the bill requires the Secretary of HHS to update educational materials to accurately reflect the insurance protections afforded to living donors.

The EACH Act of 2025 aims to ensure equal access to abortion coverage by requiring all federally funded health programs and facilities to cover abortion services. This legislation prohibits federal interference with state or private insurance coverage of abortion and repeals Section 1303 of the Affordable Care Act. Ultimately, the bill seeks to eliminate financial and insurance barriers to abortion care, particularly for low-income individuals relying on programs like Medicaid.

This proposed constitutional amendment would eliminate immunity from criminal prosecution for federal officials, including the President, based on their official duties. It also explicitly prohibits the President from issuing a self-pardon for any federal crimes. If ratified, these changes would take effect immediately.

The Stop NOAA Closures Act places a temporary moratorium on the closure or restriction of access to any National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) facilities. This freeze remains in effect until 180 days after key officials submit a required report to Congress detailing the criteria and process for any future facility changes. After the moratorium lifts, any major facility action will still require a 30-day advance notice and justification report to Congress, except in cases of immediate emergency threatening staff safety.

The Climate Change Health Protection and Promotion Act of 2025 establishes a new Office of Climate Change and Health Equity within HHS to coordinate federal efforts against climate-related health threats. This office is tasked with developing a comprehensive national strategic action plan to prepare the U.S. health sector for climate impacts, with a special focus on vulnerable communities. The Act also creates a science advisory board and mandates regular expert reports to ensure the national strategy is based on the best available science and continuously updated.

The Extreme Heat Emergency Act of 2025 amends federal law to formally recognize extreme heat and drought as qualifying events for major disaster declarations. This change ensures that regions suffering from severe heatwaves or droughts can access the same level of federal disaster relief assistance previously reserved for events like hurricanes or earthquakes.