Legislative Activity

The Retirement Savings for Americans Act of 2025 establishes the American Worker Retirement Plan, a retirement fund within the U.S. Treasury, to help workers save for retirement through automatic enrollment, diverse investment options, and government matching contributions. It creates the American Worker Retirement Investment Board to oversee the fund's management and sets guidelines for investment policies and fiduciary responsibilities. Additionally, the act introduces a Government Match Tax Credit to incentivize contributions to the fund, particularly for lower to moderate-income individuals, by matching a percentage of their contributions.

The Baby Changing on Board Act mandates that all new Amtrak passenger trains must include at least one baby changing table in a restroom per car, including an ADA-compliant restroom. These restrooms must have clear signs indicating the presence of the baby changing table. This ensures that passengers have access to diaper-changing facilities while traveling on Amtrak.

The "Service Dogs Assisting Veterans Act" or the "SAVES Act" establishes a five-year pilot program within the Department of Veterans Affairs to award grants to nonprofit organizations that provide service dogs to veterans with disabilities, including those with mental health conditions such as PTSD. The grants, up to $2,000,000 each, will support the planning, development, and management of service dog programs, ensuring veterans receive these dogs at no cost and are informed of available VA benefits. The VA will also provide veterinary insurance for the service dogs. $10,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated for each of the five fiscal years following the establishment of the pilot program.

The Iranian Terror Prevention Act mandates the Secretary of State to designate specific organizations as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) within 90 days. It directs the President to determine and potentially impose sanctions on these organizations and associated entities within 60 days. The Secretary of State must also regularly report to Congress on new entities that could be designated as FTOs or sanctioned. Finally, the President is required to report to Congress justifying any decisions not to sanction a listed organization.

The SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act updates the resource limits for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, increasing the individual limit to $10,000 and the couple's limit to $20,000 by 2025. After 2025, these limits will be adjusted annually for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index. This change aims to allow SSI recipients to save more without losing their eligibility for benefits.

The "Secure Family Futures Act of 2025" modifies the Internal Revenue Code to exclude certain debt instruments held by applicable insurance companies from being treated as capital assets. Additionally, it extends the period for applicable insurance companies to carry forward capital losses from 5 years to 10 years. These changes apply to indebtedness acquired and losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025, respectively.

The "Hot Foods Act of 2025" amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, allowing SNAP benefits to be used for hot and ready-to-eat foods. It broadens the scope of eligible food items under SNAP and modifies retailer eligibility requirements, permitting more stores to accept SNAP if hot food sales do not exceed 50% of their gross sales. This change also updates the language regarding where SNAP-eligible food can be consumed to include "home or immediate consumption".

The "ABC Act" aims to simplify and streamline the processes, procedures, forms, and communications within Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and Social Security programs for family caregivers. It mandates a comprehensive review of these programs to reduce administrative burdens, improve communication, enhance website accessibility, and ensure employee understanding of caregiver support. The Act requires regular reports to Congress and encourages states to adopt similar simplification measures.

The "Unfair Tax Prevention Act" modifies tax rules to target foreign-owned entities operating in extraterritorial tax regimes, treating them as applicable taxpayers and disallowing certain tax benefits. It defines "foreign-owned extraterritorial tax regime entity" and "extraterritorial tax" to specify which entities are subject to these changes. This act aims to prevent base erosion and tax avoidance by these entities. The changes will be effective for taxable years beginning after the enactment date of this Act.

The "Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act" introduces the Affordable Housing Conversion Credit, a tax incentive for converting non-residential buildings into affordable housing units. This credit covers 20% to 35% of qualified conversion costs, depending on the location and project type, with a national cap of $12 billion allocated to states based on population and economic need. To qualify, conversions must meet specific criteria, including affordability requirements and building age, aimed at boosting affordable housing options and revitalizing communities. The credit is transferable and applies to buildings placed in service after the Act's enactment.

This bill directs the Secretary of Transportation to develop and implement a comprehensive 10-year Campus Modernization Plan for the United States Merchant Marine Academy, addressing critical infrastructure and facility upgrades. The plan aims to modernize education practices, enhance training facilities, improve safety and security, and ensure the Academy remains fully operational throughout the process. It also authorizes appropriations totaling $1,020,000,000 from the Maritime Security Trust Fund for fiscal years 2026 through 2035 for the phased rehabilitation, modernization, and construction of facilities and infrastructure.

The Safer Skies Act of 2025 expands security screening requirements for air carrier operations that operate under specific regulations, conduct passenger-carrying operations for compensation, offer individual seats in advance, provide publicly available schedules, operate airplanes with more than nine passenger seats, and do not use TSA-managed checkpoints. This act mandates that these operations comply with security screening standards outlined in federal regulations and requires the TSA Administrator to revise rules and policies to ensure compliance.

This resolution celebrates the 204th anniversary of Greek Independence Day, reaffirming the democratic ideals shared between the United States and Greece. It recognizes the historical ties, strategic alliance, and growing cooperation between the two nations, particularly in energy and security. The resolution also acknowledges the contributions of the Greek-American community and Greece's role in promoting stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Balkans.

The "Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Wellness Through Data Act" directs the Attorney General to produce a series of reports analyzing attacks against law enforcement officers, unreported aggression towards officers, and the mental health and wellness of officers. These reports will include data collection and recommendations for improving training programs, protective gear, and mental health resources for law enforcement. The goal is to provide federal resources to law enforcement and deter attacks against officers. The Attorney General will consult with various stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies and relevant organizations, to develop these reports.

The "Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act" aims to reduce fraud within Medicaid by requiring states to cross-reference the Death Master File when enrolling and regularly screening Medicaid providers and suppliers to ensure they are not deceased, starting January 1, 2027.

The Puppy Protection Act of 2025 amends the Animal Welfare Act to establish comprehensive standards for dog dealers, focusing on humane treatment. These standards include requirements for flooring, space, temperature, nutrition, exercise, socialization, veterinary care, and breeding practices. The Act sets specific guidelines for breeding frequency, age, and veterinary procedures, as well as humane placement for retired breeding dogs. It directs the Secretary to finalize regulations for these standards within 18 months.

The "Independent Programmers Tax Incentive Act" introduces a tax credit for eligible video distributors who carry independent programmers, aiming to support diversity in media. This credit covers a portion of license fees paid to qualified independent programmers, with caps based on subscriber numbers. The FCC is required to report biennially to Congress on the state of independent programming and how to further support it.

The "Delinking Revenue from Unfair Gouging Act" (DRUG Act) aims to reform pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) practices by prohibiting them from receiving compensation based on drug prices, discounts, or rebates, with exceptions only for "bona fide service fees". These fees must be flat, pre-agreed upon, and reflect the fair market value of actual services rendered. Violators will face penalties, and the Department of Labor, Department of Treasury, and the Secretary will enforce the rules.

The Major Richard Star Act allows eligible combat-disabled veterans to receive both their retirement pay and disability compensation. This eliminates the previous offset that reduced retirement pay for those receiving disability compensation. The changes apply to payments beginning the month after enactment.

This bill, known as the "Correcting Guam's History in the PACT Act," amends Title 38 of the U.S. Code to expand eligibility for a presumption of service connection for diseases associated with herbicide exposure. The expansion includes veterans who served in Guam between August 15, 1958, and July 31, 1980, or in American Samoa. This change makes it easier for these veterans to receive benefits for diseases linked to herbicide exposure during their service.