Legislative Activity

The EATS Act of 2025 significantly updates eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by removing previous restrictions that often disqualified students. This legislation explicitly includes bona fide students enrolled at least half-time in recognized educational programs as eligible participants for food assistance. These changes take effect on January 2, 2026.

The Ethics in Energy Act of 2025 prohibits covered electric and natural gas utilities from passing the costs of political influencing activities onto their customers through rate requests. The Act mandates that FERC establish new accounting rules to segregate these "covered expenses" and requires utilities to submit detailed annual reports on all such political spending. Utilities found to have wrongly charged ratepayers for these expenses will face significant financial penalties, with collected funds split between customer rebates and enforcement.

The Medical Debt Relief Act of 2025 aims to shield consumers from the negative impact of medical bills on their financial standing. This legislation prohibits the reporting of any adverse information related to medical debt on consumer credit reports under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Furthermore, it bans lenders from using a consumer's medical debt history when making decisions about granting credit.

The Protected Time Off Act establishes a federal minimum standard for earned paid annual leave, requiring employers to grant employees at least one hour of paid time off for every 25 hours worked, up to 80 hours annually. This law specifies how leave is accrued, used, and rolled over, while protecting employees from retaliation for exercising these rights. It also ensures that existing state laws or agreements that provide more generous leave benefits remain in effect. Enforcement mechanisms are established, largely mirroring those under the Fair Labor Standards Act, allowing both government investigation and direct employee lawsuits.

The Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2025 establishes a structured process for distributing up to 2,000 additional, federally funded residency positions annually between fiscal years 2026 and 2032. This distribution prioritizes hospitals serving in underserved areas, those already training above their limit, and those committed to primary care and general surgery training. The bill also mandates a study and report by the Comptroller General on effective strategies to increase diversity within the health professional workforce.

The Keep Kids Covered Act aims to ensure children maintain continuous health coverage under Medicaid and CHIP for longer periods. This legislation extends continuous eligibility for children under age 19, significantly increasing the duration they remain covered without needing to re-enroll. Furthermore, it grants former foster youth continuous Medicaid eligibility until they turn 26.

This resolution reaffirms the fundamental principles of the U.S. Constitution, emphasizing the separation of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. It stresses Congress's exclusive authority over federal spending and condemns any efforts by public officials to undermine the rule of law or the independence of the other branches. Ultimately, the bill serves as a strong statement against the consolidation of power and for upholding constitutional checks and balances.

This Concurrent Resolution affirms the importance of equal physical access to federally funded facilities for all Americans, especially people with disabilities. It recognizes that current infrastructure often fails to meet the needs of the growing population of people with disabilities. The resolution reaffirms support for existing accessibility laws like the ADA and pledges to use universal design principles in future federal projects. Ultimately, it calls for the removal of existing barriers to ensure full societal participation.

The Fire Department Repayment Act of 2025 seeks to expedite payments to local fire departments for fire suppression cost share agreements. It mandates federal agencies to establish standard payment timelines, revise existing agreements for compliance, and ensure alignment with cooperative fire protection agreements. The bill aims to reimburse local fire departments promptly, ideally within one year of fire suppression activities.

This bill amends the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to explicitly clarify that time taken off for an employee's own organ donation surgery qualifies as a serious health condition. This ensures both private and federal sector workers receive FMLA protection for recovery from organ donation. The legislation also specifies how federal employees must substitute existing paid leave when taking FMLA time for this purpose.

The Living Donor Protection Act of 2025 prohibits life, disability, and long-term care insurance companies from denying coverage or increasing premiums solely because an individual is a living organ donor. This legislation ensures that living donors are not financially penalized for their altruistic act. Additionally, the bill requires the Secretary of HHS to update educational materials to accurately reflect the insurance protections afforded to living donors.

The Ally's Act mandates that certain private health insurance plans must cover auditory implant devices, related supplies, and necessary services for qualifying individuals. This coverage must be comparable to other medical and surgical benefits regarding cost-sharing and treatment limitations. Furthermore, plans cannot deny coverage if a physician or qualified audiologist determines the required hearing items or services are medically necessary. These new requirements take effect for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.

This proposed constitutional amendment would eliminate immunity from criminal prosecution for federal officials, including the President, based on their official duties. It also explicitly prohibits the President from issuing a self-pardon for any federal crimes. If ratified, these changes would take effect immediately.

The EACH Act of 2025 aims to ensure equal access to abortion coverage by requiring all federally funded health programs and facilities to cover abortion services. This legislation prohibits federal interference with state or private insurance coverage of abortion and repeals Section 1303 of the Affordable Care Act. Ultimately, the bill seeks to eliminate financial and insurance barriers to abortion care, particularly for low-income individuals relying on programs like Medicaid.

The Stop NOAA Closures Act places a temporary moratorium on the closure or restriction of access to any National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) facilities. This freeze remains in effect until 180 days after key officials submit a required report to Congress detailing the criteria and process for any future facility changes. After the moratorium lifts, any major facility action will still require a 30-day advance notice and justification report to Congress, except in cases of immediate emergency threatening staff safety.

The Extreme Heat Emergency Act of 2025 amends federal law to formally recognize extreme heat and drought as qualifying events for major disaster declarations. This change ensures that regions suffering from severe heatwaves or droughts can access the same level of federal disaster relief assistance previously reserved for events like hurricanes or earthquakes.

This resolution expresses the sense of Congress that extreme weather poses unique and severe threats to the health and well-being of children. It urges that solutions to address these escalating dangers must be rapidly and equitably developed and deployed with children's specific vulnerabilities in mind. The bill calls for prioritizing the physical and mental health needs of children in all future climate adaptation and air quality planning efforts.

The Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act of 2025 mandates that employers protect workers from dangerous heat stress by establishing comprehensive safety standards. This Act requires the Secretary of Labor to create evidence-based rules covering engineering controls, administrative procedures, required training, and paid rest breaks to prevent heat-related illness. Furthermore, the law establishes strict enforcement mechanisms, whistleblower protections, and specific timelines for the implementation of these new federal heat protection standards.

This resolution declares a health and safety emergency disproportionately affecting children due to prior administration directives that promoted fossil fuels and suppressed climate science. Congress asserts that these actions harm children's fundamental rights to life and a stable environment by worsening climate change impacts. The bill demands the current administration cease policies that increase greenhouse gases and restore access to suppressed climate research. Ultimately, it calls for aligning all energy and climate laws with the duty to protect the rights and future of young people.

The Cool Corridors Act of 2025 aims to combat extreme heat and improve transportation safety by funding the installation of green infrastructure, like trees, along walking, biking, and transit routes. This legislation reauthorizes and updates the Healthy Streets program to prioritize these cooling projects in the most vulnerable and underserved communities. The Act defines "cool corridors" and establishes clear criteria for demonstration projects focused on heat mitigation and long-term maintenance.