Legislative Activity

This Act establishes a competitive grant program to prepare girls and underrepresented minorities for careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Qualified local educational agencies serving high-need student populations are eligible to apply for four-year grants of $250,000 annually. Funds must support comprehensive K-12 STEM education activities, including tutoring, mentoring, professional development, and career exposure. Grantees must submit annual evaluations detailing student progress and program effectiveness.

The Veteran Education Empowerment Act establishes a grant program to help colleges and universities create and operate dedicated Student Veteran Centers. These centers will serve as centralized hubs to coordinate academic support, transition services, and community building for student veterans. The bill authorizes funding for these grants, which can be used for establishing and operating the centers, with specific reporting requirements to track effectiveness.

The Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act focuses primarily on improving pediatric drug development and ensuring patient access to necessary treatments. This legislation mandates new research requirements for molecularly targeted pediatric cancer drugs, strengthens FDA enforcement of pediatric study completion, and extends incentives for developing drugs for rare pediatric diseases. Additionally, the bill updates organ transplant network functions and establishes an Abraham Accords Office within the FDA to enhance international regulatory cooperation.

The Modular Housing Production Act establishes a \$2.5 billion competitive grant program to boost the production of modular and manufactured homes, aiming to lower housing costs and address supply shortages. It also directs the Secretary of HUD to review Federal Housing Administration financing programs to remove barriers for modular construction and authorizes a study for a standardized uniform commercial code for these homes. The overall goal is to streamline and incentivize the factory-based construction of housing units.

The John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act prohibits discrimination based on religion, sex, or marital status in federally funded child welfare services. This aims to increase the number of stable, family-like placements for children, especially for LGBTQ youth who are overrepresented in foster care. The bill mandates federal guidance, training, and data collection to improve safety and well-being outcomes for all children involved in the system.

This resolution supports the goals of Transgender Day of Remembrance by recognizing the ongoing epidemic of violence targeting transgender people, particularly transgender women of color. It memorializes the lives lost this year and highlights the systemic barriers, including discrimination and lack of healthcare access, faced by the transgender community. The bill calls for urgent action from the government to protect these lives through inclusive legislation and policies that ensure dignity and respect for all individuals.

The Global Respect Act aims to promote and protect the human rights of LGBTQI individuals worldwide. It mandates the President to identify and report foreign persons responsible for human rights violations against LGBTQI people, leading to their inadmissibility to the United States. Furthermore, the Act requires enhanced tracking and reporting of violence and discrimination targeting individuals based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics in the annual human rights reports.

The EXPERTS Act of 2025 aims to enhance transparency and accountability in the federal rulemaking process. It introduces new disclosure requirements for studies submitted during public comment periods and mandates greater public awareness of agency actions. Furthermore, the bill establishes the Office of the Public Advocate to improve public involvement and explicitly requires agencies to consider social equity in their cost-benefit analyses. Finally, it streamlines the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) review timeline and clarifies judicial review standards for agency interpretations.

The Increasing Access to Mental Health in Schools Act establishes grant programs to build pipelines that train and place more mental health providers in low-income schools. It also creates a student loan repayment program for providers who commit to working in these underserved districts for five years. The bill aims to improve student support ratios by increasing the number of school counselors, psychologists, and social workers in high-need areas. Finally, it mandates a study to develop future criteria for identifying areas with mental health provider shortages.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act mandates the Attorney General to publicly release all unclassified Department of Justice records related to Jeffrey Epstein and his associates within 30 days of the bill becoming law. This release must include materials concerning investigations, flight logs, settlements, and internal communications, with very limited exceptions for victim privacy or active investigations. The Act strictly prohibits withholding documents due to political sensitivity or reputational harm and requires detailed justification for any redactions made.

The Newborns Essentials Support Toolkit (NEST) Act establishes a program to purchase and distribute essential supply kits to mothers recovering from childbirth and their newborn infants. These kits will contain necessary supplies, educational materials on maternal health resources, and information on federal support programs. The legislation reserves federal funds from 2026 through 2030 to award grants to nonprofit entities for the nationwide distribution of these kits, prioritizing areas of greatest need.

The CLOSE Act aims to strengthen air quality regulations by removing the exemption that previously allowed for the aggregation of emissions from oil and gas sources under the Clean Air Act. Furthermore, this legislation mandates the EPA to formally list hydrogen sulfide as a hazardous air pollutant. This action will require the EPA to establish specific source categories for hydrogen sulfide emissions, including oil and gas wells.

The Stop Ballroom Bribery Act establishes strict new rules governing donations made for projects related to the White House, Vice President's residence, or related federal monuments. It prohibits accepting donations from individuals or entities currently involved in litigation, seeking federal contracts, or engaging in lobbying activities targeting the executive branch. Furthermore, the bill mandates transparency by requiring disclosure of meetings with high-ranking officials following a donation and imposes significant civil and criminal penalties for violations.

The Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act of 2025 aims to strengthen domestic food security by repealing specific sections of a prior reconciliation act. This action effectively revives the original laws that were previously amended by the repealed provisions. The bill seeks to revert existing agricultural and food-related statutes to their pre-amendment status.

This bill, the International Human Rights Defense Act of 2025, establishes a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Peoples within the Department of State. It codifies U.S. policy to actively combat international criminalization, violence, and discrimination against LGBTQI+ individuals worldwide. The legislation also mandates enhanced reporting on these abuses in annual human rights reports and authorizes assistance to support related protection efforts abroad.

The Have You Served Act establishes a grant program to fund "Ask the Question Campaigns." These campaigns encourage service providers to ask clients about their military service to better connect them with veteran resources. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs will award up to 25 grants annually to eligible states and tribes to support training and campaign costs.

The VA Care and Benefits Accountability Act ensures that existing collective bargaining agreements within the Department of Veterans Affairs remain in effect until their specified end dates. Furthermore, this bill nullifies Executive Orders 14251 and 14343, preventing their enforcement or implementation within the VA. This action solidifies current labor agreements for VA employees.

The Student Veteran Work Study Modernization Act establishes a five-year pilot program to expand eligibility for the VA work-study allowance to veterans pursuing certain educational or training programs at a half-time enrollment level. This allows more student veterans to benefit from work-study opportunities without meeting the current three-quarter-time enrollment requirement. Additionally, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is required to submit annual reports detailing participation and outcomes for veterans in the work-study program.

This resolution expresses the sense of the House that the Department of Agriculture should utilize its existing contingency funds and interchange authority to ensure the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) remains fully funded. The bill specifically urges the administration to immediately use these resources to finance SNAP operations, particularly during potential government funding lapses. This action is deemed crucial to support millions of vulnerable Americans, including children, seniors, and veterans, who rely on these benefits.

This resolution designates October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month to highlight the widespread and devastating impact of intimate partner violence across all demographics. It recognizes the urgent need to eliminate domestic violence and supports increased funding for intervention and prevention programs. The resolution underscores the severe physical, emotional, and economic toll this abuse takes on individuals, families, and communities.