Legislative Activity

The **Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act** establishes a comprehensive framework to modernize the compensation, benefits, and support systems for federal wildland firefighters. The bill introduces permanent special base pay rates, new incident response premium pay, and enhanced retirement and leave benefits to ensure competitive and equitable treatment for those in the profession. Additionally, it mandates the creation of robust mental health programs, long-term health monitoring, and a casualty assistance program to better support firefighters and their families.

The Federal Firefighters Families First Act aims to improve pay equity, recruitment, and retention for federal firefighters by modernizing pay computation and establishing a maximum 60-hour regular workweek. Additionally, the bill ensures that regularly scheduled overtime is included in the calculation of federal retirement annuities. These measures seek to align federal firefighter compensation more closely with municipal standards and provide greater financial security for their families.

This bill expresses the House of Representatives' view that Congress should act to maintain the United States Postal Service (USPS) as an independent entity within the Federal Government. It emphasizes the USPS's role as a self-sustaining service vital to the economy and national connectivity. The resolution discourages privatization, citing concerns about increased costs, reduced services, and damage to critical infrastructure.

The Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons Act directs the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to conduct a comprehensive study of Holocaust education in public elementary and secondary schools across the United States. This study will evaluate current curriculum standards, teaching methods, and available resources to identify gaps and improve how students learn about the Holocaust and the history of antisemitism. The findings will be compiled into a report submitted to Congress to help strengthen educational efforts in preventing hate and bigotry.

The Global Health, Empowerment and Rights Act prevents the U.S. government from denying foreign aid to nongovernmental organizations based on the legal health services they provide using their own private funds. It ensures that these organizations are not penalized for offering counseling or referrals that comply with local laws. Additionally, the bill prohibits the imposition of restrictive advocacy and lobbying requirements on these groups that exceed those applied to U.S.-based organizations.

This bill expresses the House of Representatives' disapproval of the President's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, recognizing climate change as a threat and highlighting the increasing costs of extreme weather events. It commends entities supporting the Agreement, urges the President to reconsider, and encourages Congress to prioritize U.S. leadership on climate change.

The Performing Artist Tax Parity Act of 2025 updates tax code deductions for performing artists by allowing them to deduct essential business expenses—including agent and manager commissions—directly from their taxable income. The bill introduces an income-based phaseout for the deduction, increases the "nominal employer" threshold, and implements annual inflation adjustments to ensure the policy remains current. These changes aim to provide greater financial relief for working artists by simplifying how they account for professional costs.

This bill recognizes the global importance of Hinduism and the positive impact of Hindu Americans on the United States. It acknowledges the rise in discrimination and hate crimes against Hindu Americans and their places of worship. The bill celebrates Hindu contributions to American society, welcomes the diversity brought by Hindu Americans, and condemns Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu bigotry.

The Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2025 prohibits the use of federal funds for a first-use nuclear strike unless Congress has explicitly authorized such an action through a declaration of war. This legislation aims to establish a constitutional check on presidential authority by ensuring that the decision to initiate nuclear conflict rests with the people’s representatives. The bill maintains the President's ability to authorize retaliatory nuclear strikes in response to an existing nuclear attack.

The Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2025 strengthens federal efforts to monitor, forecast, and mitigate harmful algal blooms and hypoxia events across marine, estuarine, and freshwater systems. The bill establishes a permanent national program, creates a new technology incubator for bloom control, and enhances coordination between NOAA, the EPA, and tribal and local partners. Additionally, it expands research priorities and improves the process for declaring and responding to events of national significance to better protect public health, food security, and local economies.

The Wildlife Movement Through Partnerships Act of 2025 establishes grant and research programs to improve habitat connectivity and conserve migration corridors for big game and other native wildlife. By fostering collaboration between federal, state, tribal, and private partners, the bill provides funding for voluntary conservation projects and scientific mapping efforts. The legislation ensures these initiatives remain non-regulatory, protecting private property rights and existing land-use authorities while enhancing wildlife movement across the landscape.

The Assuring Medicare’s Promise Act of 2025 aims to strengthen the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund by redirecting revenue from the net investment income tax directly to the program. Additionally, the bill expands the scope of this tax for high-income earners by including certain trade or business income and foreign earnings in the tax base. These measures are designed to improve the long-term financial stability of Medicare starting in 2026.

The BEACH Act of 2025 strengthens coastal water safety by expanding monitoring requirements to include upstream waters and public beach access points. The bill provides $30 million in annual funding through 2029 to support these efforts and allows states to use grants to identify specific sources of contamination. Additionally, it mandates that the EPA incorporate the latest testing technologies into its guidance for state and local water quality programs.

The Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act permanently protects over 225,000 acres of federal land and water in Minnesota’s Rainy River Watershed from the risks of sulfide-ore copper mining. By withdrawing these lands from mineral leasing and development, the bill safeguards the region’s pristine water quality, wilderness values, and treaty-protected resources. This legislation ensures the long-term ecological integrity of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and supports the local amenity-based economy.

The Cleaner Air Spaces Act of 2025 authorizes the EPA to provide grants to air pollution control agencies for the establishment of community-based clean air centers and the distribution of free air filtration units to vulnerable, low-income households. This program aims to protect public health during wildland fire smoke events by improving indoor air quality and providing essential educational resources.

The Sanction Russian Nuclear Safety Violators Act of 2025 mandates sanctions against any foreign individuals or entities that threaten the safety or operational control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station. These measures include asset freezes and travel restrictions for those involved in undermining the facility's integrity. The bill aims to hold accountable those responsible for endangering the plant while providing exceptions for humanitarian aid and efforts to restore Ukrainian control.

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the railroad track maintenance credit by increasing the per-mile tax credit to $6,100 and implementing annual inflation adjustments starting in 2026. It also extends the eligibility window for qualifying maintenance expenditures to include costs incurred through 2023. These updates aim to provide greater financial support for ongoing railroad infrastructure improvements.

The FAIR Act (Federal Adjustment of Income Rates Act) proposes a 2026 pay adjustment for federal civilian employees. This legislation mandates a 3.3 percent increase in basic pay for both statutory and prevailing rate employees, alongside a 1 percent increase in locality pay.

The Saving the Civil Service Act protects the merit-based federal workforce by restricting the ability of agencies to reclassify competitive service positions into the excepted service. The bill establishes strict oversight, limits the number of positions that can be transferred, and mandates employee consent for such reclassifications. These measures ensure that federal staffing remains professional and protected from arbitrary political interference.

The Equal COLA Act amends the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) to ensure that retirees receive the full annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). This legislation eliminates current discrepancies in calculation methods, providing federal annuitants with a COLA that matches the full percentage change in the price index.