Legislative Activity

The FAIR Act of 2025 aims to promote equitable treatment of osteopathic and allopathic medical school graduates in hospital residency programs. It requires hospitals to report data on residency applicants and acceptances from both types of medical schools, and to affirm their consideration of both DO and MD candidates. Hospitals that fail to comply will face a reduction in Medicare payments, and the collected data will be made public. This act does not mandate hospitals to accept students from either type of medical school.

The "Respect Parents’ Childcare Choices Act" amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, reauthorizing funding and prioritizing parental choice in childcare through child care certificates, particularly for relative caregivers. It also removes barriers for married parents and religious childcare providers, while increasing funding for direct services and quality improvements. Additionally, the bill repeals Section 21 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, eliminating the credit for household and dependent care expenses and makes corresponding updates to other sections of the tax code. Finally, the bill establishes pilot programs to prevent fraud and promote child care provided by relative caregivers.

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 "Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act of 2025" extends Medicare payment rules for ground ambulance services for three years, ensuring continued access to these vital services for Medicare beneficiaries through 2028.

The "Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity and River Restoration Act" introduces a tax credit for investments in existing hydroelectric dams. This credit covers 30% of costs associated with improvements to fish passage, water quality, sediment transport, dam safety, public access, and the removal of obsolete river obstructions. It also supports remote dams that exclusively serve off-grid communities, aiming to boost clean energy production, grid reliability, and river health. Taxpayers can elect to receive direct payments for the credit or transfer the credit to other entities.

The "Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act" extends the statute of limitations to 10 years for prosecuting fraud related to specific pandemic unemployment programs. It applies to violations or conspiracies under Title 18 and Title 31 of the U.S. Code and rescinds $5,000,000 from previously allocated funds to offset the budget. The changes made by this law will begin on the date of enactment.

The "Credit for Caring Act of 2025" introduces a tax credit for eligible working family caregivers to help offset expenses related to caring for a qualified spouse or relative with long-term care needs. This credit covers 30% of qualified expenses over $2,000, with a maximum credit of $5,000, and includes costs for assistance, technology, home modifications, transportation, and respite care. The credit is reduced for higher-income taxpayers and adjusted for inflation after 2025 and goes into effect after 2024.

The "Medicare Home Health Accessibility Act" broadens Medicare eligibility for home healthcare services to include individuals who require occupational therapy, not just speech therapy. This expansion ensures more beneficiaries can receive necessary care in their homes. These changes will take effect for services provided on or after January 1, 2026.

The DMEPOS Relief Act of 2025 adjusts Medicare payment rates for durable medical equipment in areas without competitive bidding by extending a transition rule for setting payment rates in non-rural areas through 2025 and delaying the implementation of another regulation until 2026. This ensures continued use of existing payment rate calculations for durable medical equipment in non-competitive bidding areas. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized to implement these changes.

Tyler's Law mandates a study by the Secretary of Health and Human Services on fentanyl testing practices in hospital emergency departments, including frequency, costs, benefits, risks, and patient experience. Following the study, the Secretary will issue guidance on routine fentanyl testing for overdose patients, ensuring clinicians are aware of substances included in drug tests, and the potential impact on future overdose risk and general health.

The American Innovation and R&D Competitiveness Act of 2025 modifies the tax treatment of research and experimental expenditures, allowing taxpayers to deduct these expenses in the year they are incurred rather than capitalizing them. This change applies to expenses related to the taxpayer's business and is effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2021. The act also includes provisions for electing to treat these expenditures as deferred expenses and updates related sections of the tax code.

The MATCH IT Act of 2025 aims to improve patient matching in healthcare by establishing a standard definition for patient match rates, developing a minimum data set for accurate patient identification, and incorporating these standards into health IT certification requirements and Medicare programs. The Act also creates incentives for healthcare providers to achieve high patient match rates through a voluntary bonus program and anonymous data submission, with the goal of reducing medical errors, protecting patient privacy, and lowering healthcare costs associated with patient misidentification.

The "Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2025" aims to solidify the United States' role in the global energy market by granting the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sole authority over approving or denying natural gas export and import facilities. This includes LNG terminals, streamlining the approval process. The Act does not alter the authority of other federal agencies, and it preserves the President's power to restrict imports or exports under existing laws and sanctions, particularly concerning state sponsors of terrorism. "State sponsor of terrorism" is defined by referencing specific sections of existing law.

The "Securing Access to Care for Seniors in Critical Condition Act of 2025" amends the Social Security Act to change Medicare payment rules for long-term care hospitals. Beginning October 1, 2026, hospitals will not be subject to site-neutral payment rules for patients discharged under specific high-severity diagnosis groups. This adjustment aims to ensure adequate financial support for hospitals treating the most critical patients.

The "Protecting American Students Act" amends the Internal Revenue Code to change how certain students are counted when determining if private colleges and universities are subject to an excise tax on net investment income. It stipulates that only students meeting specific eligibility requirements under the Higher Education Act of 1965 are to be included in this calculation. The Act also mandates that these institutions report the number of students used before and after adjustments when calculating the tax. These provisions are set to take effect for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.

The Aviation Workforce Development Act amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow expenses for aviation maintenance and commercial pilot courses to be considered qualified higher education expenses for qualified tuition programs. This change applies to distributions made after the enactment of this law, aiming to support workforce development in the aviation sector.

The American Innovation Act of 2025 modifies the tax code to simplify and expand deductions for start-up and organizational expenditures for new businesses, allowing businesses to deduct up to $20,000 in start-up costs in the first year. The Act also preserves start-up net operating losses and tax credits after an ownership change, with specific conditions to ensure the continuation of the business. These changes aim to support new businesses by providing more immediate tax relief and ensuring that their losses and credits are not entirely forfeited after an ownership change. The provisions of this act generally apply to businesses starting after December 31, 2025.

The "Telehealth Expansion Act of 2025" permanently allows individuals with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) to access telehealth services without needing to meet their deductible first, starting after December 31, 2024. This removes a barrier to accessing telehealth services for HSA holders.

This bill nullifies the Environmental Protection Agency's rule on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The rule targeted new, modified, and reconstructed fossil fuel-fired electric generating units. It also set emission guidelines and repealed the Affordable Clean Energy Rule.

The TREATS Act amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow telehealth evaluations for prescribing certain controlled substances used in substance use disorder treatment. This removes the prior requirement for an in-person evaluation, enabling remote medical assessments via real-time audio-visual or audio-only communication, in accordance with federal and state laws. The goal of this bill is to increase access to treatment for substance use disorders.