Legislative Activity

The Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback Act of 2025 authorizes the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to award grants to states, local governments, tribal governments, and licensed gun dealers for gun buyback programs using smart prepaid cards that cannot be used to purchase firearms or ammunition. The Act allocates funds for the buyback of firearms, requires the destruction of collected firearms and ammunition, and mandates database checks to determine if any collected firearms were used in a crime. It also establishes a criminal penalty for using smart prepaid cards to purchase firearms or ammunition. $360,000,000 is authorized for each of the fiscal years 2025 through 2027 to carry out this title.

The MERIT Act requires federal agencies to reinstate probationary employees who were terminated as part of a mass termination event between January 20, 2025, and the Act's enactment date, providing them with back pay and benefits. The Act also mandates reports on government employee terminations and the reinstatement process. It defines key terms such as "affected probationary employee" and "mass termination" to clarify the scope and applicability of the Act. This act ensures that affected employees are treated as involuntarily separated without cause and outlines the process for determining back pay and providing notice to eligible employees.

The SNAP Benefits Fairness Act of 2025 amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to remove the cap on the maximum deduction for shelter expenses when determining SNAP benefits, allowing for a more accurate reflection of recipients' actual costs. This change will take effect on January 1 of the year following the bill's enactment.

The Amputation Reduction and Compassion Act of 2025 aims to reduce preventable amputations due to peripheral artery disease (PAD) through increased education, expanded Medicare and Medicaid coverage of PAD screening tests for at-risk individuals, and the development of quality measures focused on amputation prevention. This act establishes a PAD education program, waives cost-sharing for PAD screening tests for at-risk beneficiaries, and promotes amputation prevention programs. Ultimately, the goal is to improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and address disparities in amputation rates.