Legislative Activity

The **Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security for America Act of 2025** is a comprehensive bill designed to revitalize the U.S. maritime industry and secure critical supply chains. It establishes new centralized oversight for maritime policy, creates a dedicated Maritime Security Trust Fund financed by new vessel taxes, and mandates significant federal investment in domestic shipbuilding and workforce development. The legislation also imposes stricter cargo preference rules and tax incentives to ensure U.S.-flagged vessels dominate international commerce and defense sealift operations.

This bill, the PROTECT the Second Amendment Act, prevents landlords of federally assisted rental housing from banning tenants who lawfully possess firearms within their private dwelling units. It ensures residents in subsidized housing can legally keep their firearms inside their apartments. The legislation also permits the transportation of firearms through common areas only when moving directly to or from the unit.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act) significantly amends federal law to require individuals registering to vote in federal elections to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship. This legislation mandates that states actively clean their voter rolls and cooperate with federal agencies to verify citizenship status. It establishes new criminal penalties for officials who fail to enforce these documentation requirements.

The Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025 aims to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and countering its support for terrorism by imposing sanctions on those involved in Iran's energy sector and those who provide financial support for its destabilizing activities. It mandates sanctions on foreign entities involved in processing, exporting, or selling Iranian oil, gas, and petrochemicals, while also establishing an interagency working group to coordinate and enforce these sanctions. The Act also amends existing legislation to require the identification of individuals involved in sanctionable activities or sanctions evasion related to Iranian oil and gas sales.

The 1071 Repeal to Protect Small Business Lending Act aims to eliminate the mandatory data collection and reporting requirements for small business loans previously established under Section 704B of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Proponents argue that these regulations impose unnecessary compliance costs on lenders, potentially hindering small business access to credit. This bill repeals those specific reporting mandates to reduce regulatory burdens on financial institutions.

The Maximum Pressure Act dramatically tightens and expands U.S. sanctions against Iran across its military, missile, and economic sectors, codifying existing restrictions and severely limiting the President's authority to grant sanctions relief. It mandates immediate sanctions on top Iranian officials and increases penalties for international parties aiding Iran's weapons programs. Furthermore, the bill enhances oversight by requiring numerous detailed reports to Congress regarding Iran's terrorism financing, nuclear timeline, and economic influence, while also redirecting certain frozen Iranian funds to victims of state-sponsored terrorism.

The Reducing Medically Unnecessary Delays in Care Act of 2025 aims to establish stricter federal standards for prior authorization decisions made by Medicare contractors and private Medicare plans. This bill mandates that coverage denials must be based on clear, evidence-based clinical criteria developed with input from practicing physicians. Furthermore, it requires plans to post their authorization rules online, provide advance notice of changes, and publicly report approval and denial statistics. Finally, all final denials of care must be reviewed and issued by a qualified, board-certified physician.

The Rural Veterinary Workforce Act aims to encourage more veterinarians to serve in underserved rural areas by making participation in certain loan repayment or forgiveness programs more financially appealing. This bill amends the tax code to exclude amounts received through qualifying state or federal veterinary student loan repayment programs from being counted as taxable income. This tax benefit applies to amounts received for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.

This resolution formally recognizes the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States Marine Corps in 2025. Congress is honoring the Corps' long history, core values of honor, courage, and commitment, and its consistent readiness to defend the nation. The bill encourages the public to join in celebrating this significant milestone and acknowledging the service and sacrifice of all Marines.

The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025 establishes a national standard for carrying concealed handguns across state lines. This act allows individuals legally permitted to carry in their home state to carry concealed in any other state that allows its residents to carry concealed firearms. The law does not override private property restrictions or prohibitions on government property, but it provides protections and legal recourse for those traveling in compliance with the new federal standard.

This resolution expresses support for designating March 18, 2025, as "National Agriculture Day." It recognizes and celebrates the significant impact of agriculture as a leading industry in the United States.

This bill seeks to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to exempt "premium cigars" from certain FDA regulations. It defines a premium cigar based on strict criteria, including being hand-rolled and made entirely of natural tobacco leaf. The exemption is supported by findings that premium cigar use is rare, especially among youth, and poses lower health risks than other tobacco products.

The Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2025 extends critical federal funding for graduate medical education programs at children's hospitals through fiscal year 2030. The bill increases annual funding allocations for the program during this extension period. Notably, it introduces a new restriction that prohibits payments to hospitals that provided certain gender-affirming surgeries and high-dose hormone treatments to minors in the preceding year, with specific exceptions for emergency care and treatment of certain medical conditions.

The VOTE Act, or Voting Only Through English Act, restricts federal election funding for any state that provides ballots in languages other than English for federal elections. This bill eliminates existing federal requirements that mandate bilingual ballots or assistance in certain jurisdictions. Consequently, states choosing to offer multilingual ballots risk losing federal election administration funds for the entire fiscal year.

This bill officially designates the United States Postal Service facility located at 620 East Pecan Boulevard in McAllen, Texas, as the "Agent Raul H. Gonzalez Jr. Memorial Post Office Building." The legislation ensures that all official records and documents reflect this new memorial name for the building.

The DMEPOS Relief Act of 2025 extends the current Medicare transition payment rates for durable medical equipment in non-competitive bidding areas through the end of 2025. This action delays the implementation of new payment regulations until January 1, 2026. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is directed to maintain existing payment structures in these specific areas for the remainder of the year.

This resolution censures Representative Al Green for disrupting President Trump's address to Congress, violating decorum, and bringing disrepute to the House. It mandates that Representative Green present himself to the House for a public reading of the censure resolution by the Speaker.

The "Federal Firearms Licensee Protection Act of 2025" increases penalties for stealing firearms from licensed dealers. It sets stricter punishments, including up to 20 years in prison, for violating laws related to firearm theft. The act also mandates minimum prison sentences of 3 years for burglaries and 5 years for robberies targeting licensed firearm businesses.

The "Grown in America Act of 2025" introduces a tax credit for businesses that use domestic agricultural commodities in their products for human consumption. This credit, capped at $100,000,000, aims to incentivize the use of U.S.-produced agricultural inputs by offering a tax benefit based on the percentage of domestic agricultural commodities used. The percentage of domestic inputs required to receive the full credit increases over time, with the Secretary of Agriculture maintaining a list of agricultural commodities that cannot be produced domestically. These provisions will be effective for taxable years starting after December 31, 2025.

The Law Enforcement Protection and Privacy Act of 2025 amends FOIA to protect sensitive firearms data, penalizes unauthorized disclosures of protected information by non-federal entities, and grants licensees the right to sue for damages resulting from such disclosures. It establishes financial penalties for improper disclosures and allows harmed parties to seek compensation in court. The act defines key terms and ensures that other legal remedies remain available.