Legislative Activity

The SMART Prices Act aims to strengthen Medicare by significantly accelerating and expanding the number of drugs eligible for price negotiation. This bill lowers the time requirements for certain single-source drugs to qualify for negotiation and adjusts the maximum fair price ceilings for negotiated drugs starting in 2028. Overall, the legislation seeks to increase price competition and lower costs within the Medicare drug program.

This resolution reaffirms the deep and steadfast partnership between the United States and Canada, recognizing its critical importance to both nations' economic prosperity and national security. It highlights the massive trade volume, integrated supply chains, and shared commitment to continental defense and energy independence. The bill emphasizes strengthening cooperation across security, technology, and environmental stewardship while ensuring the border remains secure for vital commerce. Ultimately, this is a strong statement of commitment to maintaining and deepening the essential U.S.-Canada relationship.

This resolution congratulates the students, parents, teachers, and leaders of public charter schools for their ongoing contributions to American education. It highlights the growth, academic achievements, and parental choice offered by these tuition-free public schools. The measure officially recognizes and supports the goals of the 26th Annual National Charter Schools Week, scheduled for May 11–17, 2025.

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 Strong Communities Act of 2025 establishes the COPS Strong Communities Program to provide competitive grants for local law enforcement training. These funds support officers and recruits attending specialized programs, contingent upon a commitment to serve in their local community for at least four years afterward. The bill also mandates annual reporting to Congress detailing grant recipients, training plans, and officer retention rates to ensure transparency.

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.

This resolution officially recognizes the vital roles and significant contributions of teachers across the United States in strengthening the nation's civic, cultural, and economic well-being. It specifically designates National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 5–9, 2025, to raise public awareness and encourage greater respect for the teaching profession. Ultimately, this measure serves as a formal expression of gratitude from Congress to educators nationwide.

The Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act prohibits covered entities from denying an organ transplant or related services solely because an individual has a disability. The bill mandates reasonable modifications to policies and requires consideration of an individual's support network when assessing their ability to comply with post-transplant requirements. This ensures that qualified individuals receive equal access to the entire organ transplant process, from evaluation through aftercare.

The Kids Online Safety Act establishes a comprehensive "duty of care" requiring online platforms to design features that mitigate specific harms to minors, such as those related to mental health and exploitation. It mandates that platforms provide minors with default, restrictive safety settings and robust parental controls over data sharing and recommendations. Furthermore, the legislation demands significant transparency regarding algorithmic ranking systems and grants the FTC enforcement authority.

The Motorsports Fairness and Permanency Act of 2025 permanently establishes a 7-year recovery period for the depreciation of motorsports entertainment complexes. This legislation allows owners and operators of these facilities to continue writing off building costs significantly faster than standard commercial property. By removing the previous expiration date, the bill ensures long-term tax predictability for the motorsports industry.

The Connecticut River Watershed Partnership Act establishes a new, non-regulatory program to coordinate restoration and protection efforts across the five-state watershed. This initiative will develop a comprehensive strategy and support it through a competitive, voluntary grant program to fund projects benefiting ecology, water quality, and climate resilience. The law specifically mandates outreach to environmental justice communities and requires annual reporting to Congress on funded projects. Funding is authorized through fiscal year 2030, with at least 75% of appropriations dedicated to the grant program.

The CHEERS Act amends tax law to allow businesses like restaurants and bars to claim commercial energy efficiency tax deductions for certain new energy-efficient draft beer equipment. This provision specifically targets stainless steel or aluminum kegs and commercial tap equipment used for dispensing alcohol. The goal is to encourage the adoption of energy-saving technology within the hospitality industry.

This resolution officially designates the week of May 11 through May 17, 2025, as "National Police Week." It serves to honor the valor and integrity of law enforcement officers across the nation. The resolution specifically remembers the officers killed in the line of duty during 2024 and encourages the public to observe this week to show appreciation for law enforcement personnel.

This resolution calls for the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to address the severe crisis facing civilians in Gaza, highlighting widespread hunger and the collapse of essential services due to blocked aid. It urges the Administration to immediately use all diplomatic tools to secure the release of hostages, lift the blockade on aid, and work toward a lasting end to the fighting.

The Chip Security Act mandates the implementation of security mechanisms on advanced integrated circuit products before they are exported to protect U.S. national security interests. This requires the Secretary of Commerce to ensure chips include features verifying location and reporting unauthorized use or tampering. Furthermore, the Act calls for an assessment and potential rollout of secondary security features to enhance export control compliance and prevent misuse by adversaries. The goal is to maintain the U.S. competitive edge by securing sensitive hardware sent to allies and partners.

The American Innovation and Jobs Act aims to boost U.S. competitiveness by restoring immediate expensing for most business research and development (R&D) investments. It also significantly expands the refundable R&D tax credit for new and small businesses, increasing the maximum refund amount and raising eligibility thresholds. Furthermore, the bill makes technical adjustments to the R&D credit calculation to make it more accessible for startups. These provisions are designed to incentivize domestic innovation and job creation starting in tax years after 2021 and 2024, respectively.

The Medicaid VBPs for Patients Act updates federal rules to better integrate value-based purchasing (VBP) arrangements into Medicaid and Medicare drug pricing calculations. This legislation allows for more flexible "best price" reporting for performance-based drug deals and clarifies how refunds or rebates tied to patient outcomes affect average price calculations. Furthermore, the Act mandates new guidance for states on using VBPAs for inpatient Medicaid drugs and creates an exception to the federal anti-kickback statute for certain manufacturer payments related to these arrangements. Finally, it directs the GAO to study the effectiveness and impact of VBPAs across federal healthcare programs.

This Act establishes a "single point of contact" within the Social Security Administration (SSA) to assist victims of Social Security number misuse or lost cards. This dedicated contact will manage the entire resolution process, ensuring continuity and coordination across SSA departments. The goal is to streamline service and reduce the burden on individuals affected by identity theft involving their SSN.

The Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 2025 bans the practice of paid conversion therapy aimed at changing an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, deeming it ineffective and harmful. This Act treats the provision or advertisement of such therapy as an unfair or deceptive business practice under the FTC Act. Enforcement authority is granted to the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Attorney General, and State Attorneys General. The law includes a severability clause ensuring that the invalidation of one provision does not void the entire Act.

The Post-Disaster Assistance Online Accountability Act mandates the creation of a centralized, publicly accessible online section dedicated to tracking federal disaster assistance spending. Federal agencies must report detailed information quarterly on all disaster aid distributed to eligible recipients, excluding individual aid. This ensures transparency by requiring machine-readable data on project locations, obligations, and status following a specified natural disaster.