Legislative Activity

This resolution urges the United States to take the lead in a global effort to halt and reverse the nuclear arms race. It calls on the President to prioritize negotiations with all nuclear-armed states to reduce arsenals and adopt a "no first use" policy. Furthermore, the bill demands significant domestic changes, including ending "hair-trigger" alert postures and investing in cleanup and support for affected communities. Ultimately, it advocates for verifiable steps toward a nuclear-weapon-free world.

The Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act aims to significantly expand the palliative care and hospice workforce through new federal grant and award programs for education, training, and career incentives. The bill also mandates the dissemination of information about palliative care services to patients, families, and providers, while enhancing palliative care research efforts at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Importantly, the legislation clarifies that funds cannot support activities intended to cause death, ensuring alignment with existing federal funding restrictions.

The Child Care for Working Families Act establishes comprehensive federal programs to guarantee access to high-quality, affordable child care for young children of working families. It mandates significant investments to stabilize the child care workforce by requiring higher provider pay and sets strict caps on costs for parents based on income. Additionally, the bill creates a framework for universal, free preschool for three- and four-year-olds and extends service hours and raises compensation for Head Start staff.

The State-Based Universal Health Care Act of 2025 allows individual states to apply for a federal waiver to create their own comprehensive universal health care systems. To receive this waiver, a state must commit to covering at least 95% of its residents within five years while ensuring the plan is budget-neutral for the federal government. If approved, the state can opt out of major federal health programs like the ACA and Medicare, receiving equivalent federal funding to administer its tailored system. The law mandates that these state plans must maintain coverage comprehensiveness and affordability relative to the replaced federal programs.

The Consumer Online Payment Transparency and Integrity Act establishes strict new rules to protect consumers from deceptive automatic renewal and free trial charges. It mandates that businesses must obtain express, informed consent before billing for renewals and provide clear, easy cancellation methods upfront. Violations of these consent and disclosure requirements will render the renewal void, requiring full refunds, and will be enforced by the FTC as unfair business practices.

This resolution recognizes that climate change is a growing public health crisis in the United States, causing increased illness, mental health strain, and disproportionate harm to vulnerable populations. It calls for coordinated federal action, primarily through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to bolster the healthcare sector's climate readiness and ensure equitable distribution of resources. The bill also directs agencies to improve data sharing, restore key climate and equity offices, and mandates the Department of Labor to establish strong worker heat protection standards.

The GLOBE Act of 2025 establishes a comprehensive U.S. policy to promote and protect the human rights of LGBTQI people globally. It mandates increased State Department reporting on international abuses, implements sanctions against foreign individuals responsible for such violations, and directs foreign assistance to support LGBTQI rights defenders. Furthermore, the Act reforms immigration procedures to better protect LGBTQI asylum seekers and ensures non-discrimination for LGBTQI U.S. citizens serving abroad.

The Special Diabetes Program Reauthorization Act of 2025 extends critical funding for both Type 1 Diabetes research programs and diabetes programs serving Native Americans. This legislation secures specific annual appropriations of \$160 million for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, along with a transition allocation in late 2027. The bill ensures continued financial support for these vital public health initiatives through the end of 2027.

This resolution officially recognizes June 2025 as LGBTQ Pride Month to honor the history, struggles, and significant contributions of the LGBTQ community in the United States. It acknowledges past and ongoing discrimination while celebrating key legal milestones toward equality. The Senate encourages the nation to use this month to learn about inequality and celebrate the community's achievements both domestically and globally.

The Protecting America’s Diplomatic Workforce Act establishes stricter transparency requirements and limitations on large-scale workforce reductions across key international agencies. It specifically overhauls the State Department's procedures for laying off Foreign Service employees, prioritizing performance and increasing required advance notice periods for all affected federal workers. Furthermore, the bill mandates extended review periods and increased congressional notification before the State Department can update its Foreign Affairs Manual.

The LGBTQ+ Panic Defense Prohibition Act of 2025 bans the use of a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity as a justification or mitigation for committing a violent crime in federal court. This legislation aims to eliminate "panic defenses" that wrongly suggest a person's identity can excuse criminal behavior. The bill also mandates an annual report from the Attorney General detailing federal prosecutions of bias-motivated crimes against LGBTQ+ individuals.

This resolution expresses the Senate's support for the rights and freedoms of LGBTQI+ individuals across the United States. It recognizes key Supreme Court victories that advanced equality while acknowledging the ongoing need for federal legislation to combat discrimination. The bill specifically supports designating June 26th as "LGBTQI+ Equality Day" to commemorate these legal milestones.

The Equal Dignity for Married Taxpayers Act of 2025 is a legislative update designed to modernize the Internal Revenue Code by ensuring gender-neutral language is used when referencing married taxpayers and their spouses. This bill systematically replaces outdated gendered terms like "husband and wife" or "his" with inclusive terms such as "married couple" and "spouse." The changes are purely linguistic, ensuring consistency across tax rules without altering any existing tax liabilities or deductions.

The Refund Equality Act of 2025 extends the deadline for certain legally married couples to amend past tax returns filed separately before September 16, 2013, based on Revenue Ruling 2013-17. This allows these couples to now file jointly for those years, extending the statute of limitations for filing the joint return and claiming related refunds or credits. These extensions are strictly limited to changes resulting from recognizing their marital status for federal tax purposes.

The Global Respect Act of 2025 mandates the President to publicly identify foreign individuals responsible for serious human rights abuses against LGBTQI individuals. Those identified will be deemed inadmissible to the United States, and their visas will be subject to cancellation. The Act also requires enhanced reporting to Congress regarding the identification process and strengthens the State Department's tracking of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity abroad.

This resolution officially commemorates June 19, 2025, as "Juneteenth National Independence Day." It recognizes the historical significance of June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in the Southwest finally received news of their freedom. The resolution supports the nationwide celebration of this day as a vital part of American history and heritage.

The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act amends the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 to modernize regulations around online data collection, use, and deletion for children and teens. It expands the definition of personal information, requires verifiable consent for data collection and usage, and prohibits individual-specific advertising to children and teens. The Act also mandates FTC reports on mobile app oversight and enforcement, a GAO study on teens' privacy using financial technology, and includes a severability clause.

The Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2025 requires large entities using Automated Decision Systems (ADS) for "critical decisions"—like those affecting employment, housing, or finance—to conduct rigorous impact assessments. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is tasked with creating detailed regulations and establishing a public repository for summary reports on these systems. This legislation aims to ensure transparency, test for bias, and mandate remediation for significant negative impacts caused by automated decision-making processes.

The Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025 establishes a federal right to access abortion services without facing state-imposed restrictions that are not medically necessary for comparable procedures. This Act prohibits states from enacting targeted regulations that create hurdles for abortion access, protects the right to travel out of state for care, and allows individuals and the Attorney General to sue to enforce these protections. Ultimately, the bill aims to ensure equitable access to reproductive healthcare decisions based on a provider's good-faith medical judgment.

The Election Worker Protection Act of 2025 establishes federal grants to states for recruiting, training, and securing election workers, while also enhancing the Department of Justice's resources to address threats. The bill creates new federal crimes prohibiting the harassment, doxxing, and intimidation of election workers involved in federal elections. Furthermore, it empowers election officials to remove disruptive poll observers and strengthens protections for election worker personal information.