Legislative Activity

The BEACH Act of 2025 reauthorizes funding for state and local programs that monitor coastal recreation water quality and notify the public of potential contamination. It broadens water quality monitoring to include upstream waters and allows grant funds to identify pollution sources. The act also extends the authorization of appropriations through 2029 and requires the EPA to update guidance on water contamination testing technology.

The "Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025" amends Title IX to prohibit schools receiving federal funds from allowing males to participate in female athletic programs. Sex is defined as based on reproductive biology and genetics at birth. The bill allows males to train with female teams if it doesn't deprive females of opportunities. It also requires a study on the benefits lost to women when males participate in female sports.

The "Thin Blue Line Act" amends the US Code to include the killing or targeting of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or other first responder as a new aggravating factor for the death penalty. This applies if the victim was targeted because of their official duties or status as a public official.

The Goldie's Act seeks to strengthen the USDA's enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act by mandating annual inspections, requiring humane treatment of suffering animals, and imposing significant penalties for violations. It ensures transparency through mandated sharing of violation records and sets firm guidelines for determining penalties based on the severity and frequency of violations. The Act also enables legal action to recover unpaid penalties and penalizes the disobedience of "cease and desist" orders.

The "National Law Enforcement Officers Remembrance, Support and Community Outreach Act" aims to support the National Law Enforcement Museum's programs for community outreach, public education, and officer safety and wellness through grants to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. The act authorizes \$6,000,000 to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior for each of the first 7 fiscal years after the law is enacted. It requires annual progress reports to ensure accountability and transparency in the use of funds. The Act allows the Secretary to use funds to continue activities the National Law Enforcement Museum was already doing when this law was enacted.

The "Sustainable Budget Act of 2025" establishes a bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to recommend policies for improving the medium-term fiscal situation and achieving long-term fiscal sustainability, with the goal of balancing the budget within 10 years. The President must then submit a joint resolution to Congress based on the Commission's recommendations, which Congress will consider under expedited procedures, without amendments. The act aims to address entitlement spending and the gap between revenues and expenditures.

The SERVE Our Communities Act authorizes the Attorney General to issue grants to state and local governments that allow courts to assess an individual's potential danger to the community when setting bail and that have taken action to reduce repeat offenses by violent offenders. These actions include enacting laws, increasing efforts to recruit law enforcement, or running public education programs to counter anti-police sentiment. The grants can be used as described in section 211(b) of the Second Chance Act of 2007. \$10,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year from 2026 through 2031 to implement this section.

The POLICE Act of 2025 mandates the deportation of any immigrant convicted of, admitting to, or admitting to actions constituting the assault of a law enforcement officer. It broadly defines "assault" and "law enforcement officer" and requires the Department of Homeland Security to publish an annual report on the number of deportations carried out under this provision.