Legislative Activity

The **Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security for America Act of 2025** is a comprehensive bill designed to revitalize the U.S. maritime industry and secure critical supply chains. It establishes new centralized oversight for maritime policy, creates a dedicated Maritime Security Trust Fund financed by new vessel taxes, and mandates significant federal investment in domestic shipbuilding and workforce development. The legislation also imposes stricter cargo preference rules and tax incentives to ensure U.S.-flagged vessels dominate international commerce and defense sealift operations.

The Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act expands Medicare Part B coverage to include services provided by pharmacists starting January 1, 2026. This coverage is specifically for testing or treatment related to COVID-19, the flu, RSV, strep throat, or during a declared public health emergency. The bill outlines payment structures, generally covering 80% of the cost, and prohibits pharmacists from balance billing Medicare patients for these covered services.

The Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2025 aims to significantly boost employee ownership in S corporations through Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). The bill extends key tax deferral benefits for stock sales to ESOPs and removes a major restriction on this tax treatment. Furthermore, it establishes new government offices and an Advocate for Employee Ownership to provide technical assistance and resolve disputes, while ensuring ESOP-owned businesses retain small business status for federal programs.

The Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act of 2025 makes the existing tax credit for adoption expenses fully refundable, meaning taxpayers can receive the excess credit amount as a refund. This is achieved by renumbering the credit section and updating related tax code references. The bill also mandates new regulations for verifying adoptions via standardized affidavits. These changes will apply to tax years beginning after December 31, 2025.

The Safeguarding Charity Act clarifies that the federal income tax exemption granted to many tax-exempt organizations, such as charities and social welfare groups, will no longer be counted as "Federal financial assistance." This change specifically redefines federal aid for the purpose of applying various federal laws and regulations moving forward. The Act ensures that the value of existing tax breaks is excluded from future calculations of government assistance received by these entities.

The IRA Charitable Rollover Facilitation and Enhancement Act of 2025 removes the current restriction preventing individuals from making direct charitable rollovers from their Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) to Donor Advised Funds (DAFs). This change immediately allows IRA owners to transfer retirement assets directly to DAFs for charitable purposes. The bill simplifies and enhances charitable giving options for IRA holders.

The Medicare Audiology Access Improvement Act of 2025 expands Medicare coverage for audiology services, beginning in 2027. This legislation allows qualified audiologists to provide diagnostic and treatment services without physician referral or supervision, as permitted by state law. The bill also specifies payment rates and includes audiologists in coverage for Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers.

The Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025 aims to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and countering its support for terrorism by imposing sanctions on those involved in Iran's energy sector and those who provide financial support for its destabilizing activities. It mandates sanctions on foreign entities involved in processing, exporting, or selling Iranian oil, gas, and petrochemicals, while also establishing an interagency working group to coordinate and enforce these sanctions. The Act also amends existing legislation to require the identification of individuals involved in sanctionable activities or sanctions evasion related to Iranian oil and gas sales.

The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025 updates federal housing tax credit allocations to reflect current economic realities and boosts minimum state allotments. It reforms tenant eligibility rules to stabilize tenancy and enhance protections for vulnerable residents, including victims of abuse. The bill also provides disaster relief for property owners, increases incentives for housing the extremely low-income, and directs greater resources toward Native American and rural housing needs. Finally, it streamlines administrative processes and signals a future focus on data transparency and discouraging restrictive local zoning.

The Save Our Sequoias Act establishes a comprehensive, multi-agency strategy to protect giant sequoias from threats like catastrophic wildfire, drought, and pests. It mandates a scientific assessment of grove health, creates emergency response authorities to expedite hazardous fuel reduction, and sets up dedicated funding and grant programs. The legislation emphasizes collaboration with California and Native American Tribes to ensure long-term reforestation and resilience for these iconic trees.

The Moab UMTRA Project Transition Act of 2025 directs the Secretary of Energy to transfer ownership of the completed Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) site in Moab, Utah, to Grand County, Utah, upon substantial cleanup completion. This transfer must respect necessary safety restrictions and ensure the U.S. government retains essential water rights for ongoing remediation activities. Furthermore, the agreement prohibits Grand County from selling or transferring the land to private entities in the future.

The Secure Family Futures Act of 2025 modifies tax treatment for certain debt holdings of applicable insurance companies, excluding specific debt instruments from being treated as capital assets for tax purposes. Additionally, this Act extends the capital loss carryover period to 10 years for specified losses incurred by these insurance companies. These changes apply only to transactions occurring after December 31, 2025.

The Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act of 2025 aims to protect students' rights to join single-sex social organizations at colleges receiving federal funding. This bill prevents institutions from taking adverse action against students or groups solely because of sex-based membership policies. It ensures these organizations are treated fairly compared to other campus groups regarding participation and privileges. Ultimately, the Act safeguards a student's freedom to choose their associations, including single-sex clubs.

The Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 imposes sweeping economic penalties on the Russian Federation in response to its aggression against Ukraine. This legislation mandates severe, immediate sanctions against key Russian officials, financial institutions, and energy sector entities, including asset freezes and trade prohibitions. Furthermore, the Act dramatically increases import duties on Russian goods and requires the President to review and reimpose these measures until Russia negotiates a lasting peace with Ukraine.

The Mining Schools Act of 2025 establishes a competitive grant program, administered by the Secretary of Energy, to strengthen domestic mining education at specialized institutions. These grants aim to train the next generation of professionals needed for the nation's energy and mineral supply by focusing on modern extraction, critical minerals, and environmental responsibility. The Act also creates the Mining Professional Development Advisory Board to guide the grant selection process and repeals the older Mining and Mineral Resources Research Institute Act of 1984.

The Unfair Tax Prevention Act amends the Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT) rules to specifically target certain U.S. companies connected to foreign tax systems operating outside their direct jurisdiction. These "foreign-owned extraterritorial tax regime entities" will now be automatically subject to BEAT, with specific exceptions removed and a portion of their cost of goods sold automatically treated as a base erosion benefit. This legislation aims to close loopholes related to complex, indirect foreign ownership structures.

The Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act establishes a new 20% federal tax credit for converting eligible, older commercial buildings into affordable housing. This incentive aims to increase housing supply by requiring that at least 20% of the converted units remain rent-restricted for low-income residents for 30 years. State agencies will allocate these credits, which are subject to a national cap of $12 billion, based on approved plans prioritizing financially necessary projects.

The Personal Health Investment Today Act of 2025 (PHIT Act) aims to improve public health by incentivizing healthier lifestyles, particularly to combat obesity. This bill allows taxpayers to treat certain qualified sports and fitness expenses, such as gym memberships and instruction fees, as deductible medical expenses. Deductions are capped annually at \$1,000 per individual or \$2,000 for joint filers.

The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025 establishes a national standard for carrying concealed handguns across state lines. This act allows individuals legally permitted to carry in their home state to carry concealed in any other state that allows its residents to carry concealed firearms. The law does not override private property restrictions or prohibitions on government property, but it provides protections and legal recourse for those traveling in compliance with the new federal standard.

The Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act updates Medicare coverage and payment rules for home infusion therapy starting in 2026 to ensure continued patient access. The bill explicitly adds pharmacy services to covered home infusion care and clarifies payment calculations for suppliers, including transitional rules based on infusion hours. Furthermore, it expands who can establish and review patient care plans to include nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Finally, the Act modifies definitions and payment rules for certain non-pump infusion drugs and stops separate Medicare payment for specific disposable supplies when infusion therapy is already being reimbursed.