Legislative Activity

The Strengthening Protections for Domestic Violence and Stalking Survivors Act of 2025 updates definitions to expand protections for victims of intimate partner violence, including broadening who qualifies as an intimate partner. This legislation clarifies what constitutes a "dating relationship" and extends misdemeanor domestic violence protections to children harmed by a parent's dating partner. Crucially, the Act also creates a new federal prohibition preventing individuals convicted of misdemeanor stalking from owning or possessing firearms.

This resolution formally condemns the recent deadly attacks on Minnesota lawmakers and their families, honoring the victims and praising first responders. It serves as a strong statement rejecting political violence as fundamentally incompatible with American democracy. The resolution calls upon all leaders to denounce such acts and urges unity in upholding civil discourse.

This Act establishes a comprehensive U.S. strategy to support Ukraine in recovering children abducted by Russia. It authorizes federal agencies to provide technical assistance for investigations, fund rehabilitation and reintegration services for returned children, and support accountability efforts through prosecution training. Furthermore, the bill allows the President to use seized Russian sovereign assets to fund these recovery and justice initiatives.

The Election Worker Protection Act of 2025 establishes federal grants to states for recruiting, training, and securing election workers, while also enhancing the Department of Justice's resources to address threats. The bill creates new federal crimes prohibiting the harassment, doxxing, and intimidation of election workers involved in federal elections. Furthermore, it empowers election officials to remove disruptive poll observers and strengthens protections for election worker personal information.

This resolution officially commends the Minnesota Frost for winning the 2025 Professional Women's Hockey League Championship, securing their second consecutive Walter Cup title. It recognizes the team's dedication, key player performances in the exciting final series, and the overall success of the PWHL's second season. The resolution also congratulates the league on reaching significant milestones and looks forward to future expansion.

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.

The Retired Law Enforcement Officers Continuing Service Act establishes the "Civilian Law Enforcement Task Grants" program. This program allows local law enforcement agencies to receive federal funding to hire retired officers for specialized tasks or to train current civilian staff. The grants aim to enhance agency capabilities in areas like complex investigations and digital forensics while ensuring strict accountability through mandatory annual audits.

The Housing Acquisitions Review and Transparency (HART) Act amends antitrust reporting requirements to treat aggregated purchases of residential property within a calendar year as a single transaction. This mandates antitrust premerger notification filings when cumulative acquisitions meet certain thresholds. The Act also narrows existing exemptions, generally requiring reporting for investment or rental property purchases unless they are strictly for personal use. The FTC and DOJ are tasked with updating regulations and creating new reporting forms to implement these changes.

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.

The Agriculture Innovation Act of 2025 mandates the USDA to collect and analyze data on conservation and production practices to better understand their impact on farm yields, profitability, and soil health. This effort aims to improve the efficiency of USDA conservation programs and develop markets for ecosystem services. The collected data will be housed in a secure, anonymized center, and producers will have access to voluntary technical tools based on the findings.

The National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act of 2025 grants the National Taxpayer Advocate the explicit authority to hire and appoint legal counsel who will report directly to their office. This change strengthens the independence and capabilities of the Taxpayer Advocate Service. The provisions are effective retroactively to 1998.

This resolution officially designates April 2025 as "Second Chance Month" to raise awareness about the automatic legal and social barriers preventing formerly incarcerated individuals from fully rejoining society. It highlights how these collateral consequences hinder employment, education, and housing opportunities, which ultimately increases recidivism. The bill encourages communities and employers to actively support successful reentry and recognize the efforts of those working to tear down these roadblocks.

The Find It Early Act mandates that certain individuals at increased risk for breast cancer receive comprehensive screening and diagnostic imaging coverage without any out-of-pocket costs. This coverage expansion applies across private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and VA health care programs. These changes are set to take effect starting January 1, 2026.

This resolution supports the goals of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week by formally recognizing the critical, life-saving work performed by 911 dispatchers and other public safety telecommunications professionals. It highlights the immense emotional toll of their round-the-clock shifts, where their initial actions often set the entire emergency response in motion. The bill encourages all Americans to acknowledge the vital role these professionals play in public safety and emergency situations.

The Preserve Access to Affordable Generics and Biosimilars Act aims to increase competition in the pharmaceutical market by banning anticompetitive "pay-for-delay" settlements between brand-name drug manufacturers and generic or biosimilar makers. This legislation empowers the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to penalize companies that make deals to illegally delay cheaper drug entry. Furthermore, the bill enhances reporting requirements and clarifies the FTC's authority to enforce these new competition rules.

The Stop STALLING Act empowers the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take action against companies that file baseless petitions solely to delay competitors' generic drug applications. This legislation defines such filings as unfair competition, allowing the FTC to seek significant civil penalties against violators. The bill ensures that if one part is struck down, the remainder of the law remains in effect.

This Act officially establishes the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum and grants it the authority to be located on the National Mall. It mandates that the museum's exhibits and programs must accurately reflect the diverse cultures, histories, and political viewpoints of American women. Furthermore, the Smithsonian must report to Congress on its efforts to ensure this comprehensive representation.

The Youth Mental Health Research Act establishes a new, collaborative initiative led by the NIH and NIMH to significantly boost research on youth mental health. This effort will focus on understanding social and behavioral factors that build resilience and improving the delivery of mental health treatments in community settings. Congress has authorized $100 million annually for this research through fiscal year 2030.

The Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act prohibits knowingly distributing materially deceptive AI-generated audio or visual media related to a federal election campaign to influence the outcome. This ban specifically targets content that would cause a reasonable person to fundamentally misunderstand what a candidate said or did, or falsely depicts their appearance. Exceptions are made for legitimate news reporting, satire, and parody, provided clear disclaimers are included where applicable. Candidates affected by illegal distribution can seek immediate court injunctions to stop the content and sue for damages.

The Volunteer Driver Tax Appreciation Act of 2025 updates the tax deduction available for volunteer driving. This bill requires the charitable mileage rate to be set at a minimum equal to the standard business mileage rate, ensuring volunteer drivers receive fair compensation for vehicle use. This change applies to tax years beginning after December 31, 2024.