Legislative Activity

The ICELAND Act would allow Icelandic nationals to be eligible for E-1 and E-2 nonimmigrant visas to the United States, which are for treaty traders and investors, respectively. This would occur if the Government of Iceland provides similar nonimmigrant status to U.S. nationals.

The Falun Gong Protection Act aims to combat forced organ harvesting in China by imposing sanctions on individuals involved in the practice. It requires the President to identify and sanction those who participate in involuntary organ harvesting, blocking their assets and denying them entry into the U.S. The Act also mandates a report on organ transplant practices in China, including the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, and promotes international collaboration to address these issues.

The Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act of 2025 requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to reissue misused benefits to veterans or their successors and to recover misused funds from fiduciaries. Recovered funds will be paid to the beneficiary or their successor, and the bill outlines procedures for payment in the event of the beneficiary's death. The total reissued amount is capped at the total misused benefit amount, and the VA will establish methods for determining negligence in misuse cases, without requiring a determination for each instance.

The "Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act" authorizes the presentation of three Congressional Gold Medals to honor the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team for their historic "Miracle on Ice" victory. These medals will be given to the Lake Placid Olympic Center, the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, and the US Olympic and Paralympic Museum for public display. The Act also allows for the creation and sale of bronze duplicates to fund the medal production.

The "Expanding Remote Monitoring Access Act" aims to improve Medicare beneficiaries' access to remote monitoring services by reducing the minimum data collection period required for reimbursement from 16 days to just 2 days within a 30-day period for two years. It also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to submit a report to Congress with recommendations for a payment model that considers patient needs and the cost of providing remote monitoring, as well as analysis of appropriate location and supervision requirements for non-clinical staff and potential savings from earlier interventions. This will allow more patients to benefit from remote monitoring technologies, potentially improving health outcomes and reducing healthcare costs.

The "Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act" mandates that individuals provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. It amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to include these requirements and directs states to reject applications lacking such proof. The Act also outlines acceptable forms of documentation, verification processes, and penalties for non-compliance, while allowing provisional ballots under certain conditions. Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security must notify state election officials when an individual becomes a naturalized citizen.

The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025 aims to increase affordable housing options by updating state housing credit formulas, refining tenant eligibility rules, and improving credit eligibility and determination. This includes adjusting income verification processes, modifying student occupancy rules, and protecting domestic abuse victims. The bill also focuses on Native American and rural assistance by addressing housing needs in Indian areas and streamlining income eligibility for rural projects. Additionally, it revises rules for exempt facility bonds and renames the "low-income housing tax credit" to the "affordable housing tax credit" while encouraging data sharing and discouraging discriminatory land use policies.

The "Clear Communication for Veterans Claims Act" aims to improve the clarity of Veterans Affairs notices through an independent assessment, ensuring veterans receive understandable information regarding their claims. It also extends certain limits on pension payments through the end of December 2031.

The Deliver for Veterans Act allows the Department of Veteran Affairs to cover the complete cost of delivering an adapted vehicle to a veteran. Additionally, it extends certain limitations on pension payments to March 31, 2032.

The "1071 Repeal to Protect Small Business Lending Act" repeals Section 704B of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, eliminating requirements for financial institutions to collect and report data on small business loans. This aims to reduce compliance costs for financial institutions, particularly smaller ones like community banks and credit unions. The goal is to alleviate regulatory burdens and improve credit access for small businesses by removing these data collection requirements.

The "Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act" prohibits Federal Reserve Banks from offering financial products or services directly to individuals, maintaining accounts for individuals, or issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) directly or indirectly. It also blocks the Federal Reserve from testing, creating, or implementing a CBDC, or using it to implement monetary policy, without explicit congressional authorization. The bill clarifies that these restrictions do not apply to digital versions of the dollar that are open, permissionless, and private, like physical currency.

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 "Accreditation for College Excellence Act of 2025" amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prevent accreditation agencies from imposing political or ideological requirements on institutions, ensuring viewpoint neutrality. It protects religious institutions' rights to maintain their religious missions and standards. The bill also limits the Secretary of Education's authority to set criteria for accrediting agencies and ensures institutions meeting federal standards remain eligible for program participation.

The "Reducing Medically Unnecessary Delays in Care Act of 2025" aims to streamline healthcare access for Medicare patients by setting clear standards for medical necessity determinations and preauthorization processes used by Medicare contractors, Medicare Advantage plans, and prescription drug plans. It mandates the use of evidence-based clinical criteria, requires physician input in developing these criteria, and ensures transparency through public posting of preauthorization requirements and statistics. The bill also requires that licensed and board-certified physicians make all preauthorization and denial decisions. Ultimately, this bill seeks to reduce unnecessary delays in care and ensure that medical decisions are based on sound medical judgment and nationally recognized standards.

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 "Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2025" allows charitable organizations to make grants for collegiate housing and infrastructure improvements, including to fraternities and sororities, without losing their charitable status. These grants must be used for permissible college dormitory purposes, such as providing, improving, operating, or maintaining collegiate housing, but not for physical fitness facilities. The law applies to grants made in taxable years ending after the enactment of this act.

The "Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act" enables individuals with valid concealed carry permits or the legal right to carry concealed firearms in their home state to do so across state lines, provided they are not federally prohibited from possessing firearms and carry a valid photo ID. This law respects private and state/local government restrictions on firearms, protects individuals from unwarranted arrest, and allows legal action for violations of these rights. It also permits concealed carry in National Parks and other federal lands open to the public and clarifies that handguns include magazines and ammunition.

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the asset test for taxable Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) subsidiaries. It increases the allowable percentage of assets a REIT can hold in a taxable subsidiary from 20 percent to 25 percent. This change applies to taxable years starting after December 31, 2025.

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.

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.