Legislative Activity

The Rural Hospital Fairness Act allows certain long-standing hospitals to retain their Critical Access Hospital (CAH) status under Medicare, even if they no longer meet current location requirements. This provision primarily benefits facilities designated as CAHs before January 1, 2002, provided they remain certified and were the sole hospital in their county when their status was previously revoked. This ensures continued Medicare support for these essential rural facilities.

The STREAMLINE Act modernizes federal regulations to empower Indian Tribes by requiring the Department of the Interior to accept tribal property appraisals for land transactions. This change applies when Tribes manage realty functions under self-governance agreements, aiming to streamline the fee-to-trust acquisition process. The law mandates tracking processing times to evaluate the impact of relying on Tribal valuations. Importantly, this Act does not alter existing environmental review or land title requirements.

The Protect Innocent Victims of Taxation After Fire Extension Act ensures that certain qualified relief payments received by individuals for wildfire-related losses are excluded from their federal gross income. This provision applies to payments covering uninsured or underinsured expenses, damages, or lost wages resulting from federally declared forest or range fires. The tax exclusion is designed to prevent double benefits and is set to expire for payments received after December 31, 2032.

The Orland Project Water Management Act amends existing law to grant the Secretary of the Interior the authority to transfer water from the Orland Project to the Central Valley Project's Sacramento Canal Unit upon request. This transfer can occur regardless of the water year conditions, provided it aligns with the Central Valley Project's overall objectives. The Act explicitly ensures these transfers do not create new benefits or negatively impact existing water rights or the Orland Project itself.

The Pit River Land Transfer Act of 2025 directs the Secretary of the Interior to take approximately 583.79 acres of Forest Service land near Four Corners into trust for the benefit of the Pit River Tribe. This land will immediately become part of the Tribe's Reservation and managed under existing trust laws. Crucially, the transferred land is explicitly prohibited from being used for any gaming activities.

The Keeping Homeownership Costs Down Act prohibits the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from delaying the issuance of official map revision letters solely because fill material has been placed on a property. This ensures timely updates to flood maps, which can impact property owners' insurance requirements and costs. This provision remains in effect until FEMA fully complies with relevant biological opinions from federal wildlife agencies.

The Protecting Children from Experimentation Act of 2025 establishes a new federal crime prohibiting healthcare professionals from performing specific gender transition procedures on minors under 18. This bill imposes criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment, for violations connected to interstate commerce. Minors subjected to these procedures are explicitly protected from prosecution and granted the right to sue those involved. The Act broadly defines banned procedures, including the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and various surgeries, while carving out exceptions for certain medical conditions and life-saving measures.

The Locally Led Restoration Act of 2025 aims to streamline the process for third-party contractors to remove hazardous fuels from forests to prevent wildfires, emphasizing salvage requirements in those projects. Additionally, the bill updates the minimum dollar threshold for publicly advertising timber sales in national forests to account for inflation, raising it from $10,000 to $55,000. This new threshold will be automatically adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index moving forward. The Act also mandates a report to Congress five years after enactment detailing the outcomes of these new contracting procedures.

The Forest Protection and Wildland Firefighter Safety Act of 2025 exempts discharges resulting from the use of Forest Service-approved products for fire control and suppression from certain federal water pollution permit requirements. This change streamlines firefighting operations by removing unnecessary permitting hurdles for using approved suppression agents. The Act also includes technical updates to related environmental statutes.

This joint resolution expresses the disapproval of Congress regarding a recent rule from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Specifically, it rejects the Service's decision to list the San Francisco Bay-Delta Distinct Population Segment of the Longfin Smelt as an endangered or threatened species. By disapproving the rule, Congress nullifies the listing status for this specific smelt population.

The Modern, Clean, and Safe Trucks Act of 2025 repeals the outdated 12-percent Federal excise tax on new heavy trucks and trailers. This repeal aims to lower costs, encouraging fleet owners to replace aging vehicles with modern, safer, and more fuel-efficient models. By removing this significant tax burden, the bill seeks to accelerate the adoption of cleaner engine technology and improve overall road safety. The Act also includes technical updates to the tax code related to the removal of this long-standing tax.

The End Taxpayer Funding of Gender Experimentation Act of 2025 prohibits the use of any federal funds for gender transition procedures, including those provided through federal health plans or facilities. This ban also extends to the Affordable Care Act, preventing individuals from using federal premium tax credits or cost-sharing reductions to cover plans that include such procedures. The legislation broadly defines gender transition procedures while excluding care for certain disorders of sex development and life-threatening emergencies.

The Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act of 2025 allows individuals to exclude from their gross income any payments or benefits they receive from state-based catastrophe loss mitigation programs designed to help homeowners protect their properties from disasters such as windstorms, earthquakes, or wildfires. These payments will not affect the property's basis, and the exclusion is applicable retroactively for taxable years starting after December 31, 2020, allowing individuals to claim the exclusion retroactively.

The Pacific Flyway Habitat Enhancement Act allows the Secretary of Agriculture to enroll additional agricultural land in conservation agreements, even if the land is not typically eligible. This is to improve wetland wildlife habitats. It also allows for seasonally flooded agricultural uses on working cropland if it helps maintain habitat for wetland-dependent species and at least one best management practice is adopted.

The "Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025" extends the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, providing continued financial support to states and counties with federal lands through 2026. It extends secure payments, distribution of payments, and the authority for special projects on federal land. Additionally, it extends the Resource Advisory Committee pilot program and makes several technical corrections to the original Act.

The "Grazing for Wildfire Risk Reduction Act" aims to reduce wildfire risks by directing the Secretary of Agriculture to expand the use of livestock grazing on Forest Service land. The plan includes strategies such as expediting environmental reviews for grazing permits, employing targeted grazing, and increasing the use of temporary permits for fuels reduction and invasive species control. It also promotes grazing as a post-fire recovery tool and utilizes all available legal authorities to achieve these goals.

The Targeted Operations to Remove Catastrophic Hazards Act aims to significantly speed up federal efforts to reduce wildfire fuel and manage hazards on public lands. It streamlines environmental reviews for fuel reduction, expands the authority for local governments and tribes to manage timber sale revenue for restoration, and accelerates vegetation management around electrical utility lines. Overall, the bill prioritizes rapid hazard removal and forest resilience over traditional, lengthy regulatory processes.