Legislative Activity

This Act establishes a framework for cooperation between federal land managers and New Mexico's qualified community land grants regarding their historical and traditional uses of federal lands. It mandates the creation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to streamline permitting, fee waivers, and infrastructure maintenance for these long-standing, noncommercial activities. Furthermore, the bill requires federal land use plans to specifically consider and incorporate provisions protecting these established community uses. This legislation does not alter existing treaty rights for Indian Tribes or the State of New Mexico's authority over water, game, or fish.

This bill authorizes specific adjusted interest payments to the Navajo Nation, Taos Pueblo, and Aamodt Settlement Pueblos trust funds. It makes technical corrections related to these water rights settlements and waives certain prior interest due to the Aamodt Pueblos. The legislation also clarifies that investment earnings on these funds are available for use.

The Disarm Hate Act prohibits individuals convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime, or those who received an enhanced sentence for a misdemeanor motivated by hate or bias, from purchasing or possessing firearms. This legislation specifically targets convictions involving threats or physical force motivated by bias against protected characteristics. It also makes it illegal for others to transfer firearms to these prohibited persons.

This Act amends the Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act to establish new supplemental trust funds for groundwater and surface water development. It also creates a new grant program to fund mutual-benefit water infrastructure projects with non-Pueblo entities, including provisions for alternative offset infrastructure. These amendments update definitions and provide specific mandatory funding allocations, adjusted for inflation, to support these water management and infrastructure goals.

The Fire Innovation Unit Act of 2025 establishes a seven-year public-private partnership pilot program to test and deploy new wildfire technologies. This program will connect private entities with federal agencies to demonstrate innovations in areas like fuels reduction, modeling, and autonomous suppression systems. The Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior must coordinate testing, evaluate effectiveness, and report annually to Congress on scaling successful technologies.

The School Meals for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 ensures the continued use of Medicaid data for automatically enrolling eligible children in free and reduced-price school meal programs. It also codifies the existing methodology for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for schools. Furthermore, the bill mandates that the multiplier used in the CEP calculation must be set at exactly 1.6 for all subsequent school years.

The Responsible Wildland Fire Recovery Act ensures that parties harmed by wildland fires originating from management activities on National Forest System lands receive 100% federal funding for recovery costs. This is achieved by granting the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to waive matching fund requirements for rehabilitation projects in affected areas. The Act specifically addresses direct and indirect damages resulting from these government-caused fires.

The LEAF Act of 2025 amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act to establish a contract preference for "appropriate local contractors" on federal hazardous fuel reduction projects. This preference prioritizes entities that maintain a local business presence and ensure a significant portion of their workforce resides near the project site. The Secretary of Agriculture must report annually to Congress on the implementation and economic impact of this local hiring preference.

The Pay Our Capitol Police Act appropriates necessary funds to ensure officers, employees, and contractors of the Capitol Police receive full pay and benefits for work performed during the government shutdown beginning October 1, 2025. These funds will be charged against future official appropriations for the Capitol Police. The funding remains available until regular appropriations are enacted or until September 30, 2026.

The Keep SNAP and WIC Funded Act of 2025 ensures that essential nutrition programs, including SNAP and WIC, continue to provide benefits without interruption if full appropriations for the Department of Agriculture are not enacted for Fiscal Year 2026. This legislation immediately makes funds available to cover benefits and state operating costs during any funding lapse, retroactive to September 30, 2025. These special appropriations terminate once the standard FY 2026 funding bill is passed or by September 30, 2026.

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to establish a new, increasing schedule for federal appropriations for Impact Aid programs through fiscal year 2031. It specifically sets new funding limits for payments related to federal property acquisition, basic payments for heavily impacted districts, services for children with disabilities, and construction activities. The legislation aims to advance progress toward full federal funding for these essential school support programs.

The Indian Programs Advance Appropriations Act of 2025 establishes advance funding mechanisms for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), and the Indian Health Service (IHS), beginning in fiscal year 2026. This legislation requires these agencies to provide Congress with detailed budget estimates looking one year ahead of the proposed budget year. Additionally, the bill mandates annual consultation with Tribal nations and reporting on resource sufficiency for the upcoming fiscal year.

The Seedlings for Sustainable Habitat Restoration Act of 2025 expands the Forest Service's ability to fund ecosystem restoration by authorizing contracts and grants for collecting native seeds and growing seedlings. This funding can now go to a broader range of partners, including state agencies, tribes, and universities. Furthermore, the bill explicitly includes native seed collection and seedling production as eligible activities under the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program.

The Gas Pipeline Leak Detection and Repair Act of 2025 immediately enacts the final rule from PHMSA regarding gas pipeline leak detection and repair standards upon the bill's signing. This ensures stricter safety measures for finding and fixing leaks take effect without delay. Furthermore, the Act preserves the Secretary of Transportation's authority to issue stronger, more protective regulations in the future.

The Restore and Modernize Our National Laboratories Act of 2025 authorizes $\$5$ billion annually from 2026 to 2030 to address deferred maintenance and modernize critical infrastructure across the National Laboratories. This legislation mandates comprehensive reporting to Congress on funded projects and updates the Department of Energy's facility strategy to align infrastructure planning with current and future scientific missions. The bill ensures that modernization efforts support cutting-edge research while requiring a detailed 10-year reconfiguration plan for all national laboratory facilities.

The Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act of 2025 ensures continuity of care by allowing physical therapists to utilize locum tenens arrangements under Medicare. This legislation updates existing rules to ensure that temporary coverage for outpatient physical therapy services is treated the same way as coverage for physicians' services. The goal is to prevent disruptions in patient access to necessary physical therapy.

The Community Solar Consumer Choice Act of 2025 establishes a federal program to increase access to community solar, particularly for low-income individuals and underserved communities. It mandates that most utilities offer community solar programs, allowing customers to receive credit for solar energy without owning panels. Furthermore, the bill directs the Secretary of Energy to support these efforts and allows the federal government to enter into longer-term contracts for utility services.

The HCBS Relief Act of 2025 significantly increases federal Medicaid funding for states that commit to improving their Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) programs. This temporary boost requires states to use the extra funds to raise provider reimbursement rates, increase worker compensation, and expand access to services for eligible individuals. States must ensure this new federal money supplements, rather than replaces, existing state spending on HCBS.

This resolution expresses strong support for designating May 2025 as Mental Health Awareness Month to combat the national mental health crisis. It emphasizes the critical need to address mental health challenges in children, support veterans, and reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. Ultimately, the bill calls for treating mental wellness as a national priority equal to physical health, urging increased access to care and resources.

The SNAP Administrator Retention Act of 2025 aims to improve SNAP administration by requiring states to raise staff wages to match federal pay scales. Once approved, the federal government will fully fund 100% of the state agency's administrative personnel costs for SNAP. This funding is contingent on states using the money to supplement, not supplant, their existing administrative staffing budgets.