Legislative Activity

The Safe Vehicle Access for Survivors Act mandates that providers of connected vehicle services must quickly terminate an abuser's remote access to a survivor's vehicle upon request, without imposing fees or requiring co-owner consent. This legislation requires providers to secure the survivor's information, offer clear instructions for regaining sole control, and establish specific notification procedures for all actions taken. The FCC is tasked with creating detailed regulations to ensure survivor safety and data confidentiality within two years of the bill's enactment.

The Preventing Illegal Weapons Trafficking Act of 2025 mandates the creation of a federal strategy to intercept and seize illegal machinegun conversion devices entering or moving within the U.S. It also enhances penalties by allowing the forfeiture of proceeds derived from illegal machine gun trafficking. Furthermore, the Attorney General must now specifically report on crimes involving these conversion devices in the annual firearms trafficking report.

This bill establishes a 23-member Commission tasked with studying the feasibility and planning for the creation of a National Museum of Irish American History in Washington, D.C. The Commission must develop comprehensive plans for the museum's establishment, operation, and governance, including a strategy to fund it without relying on future federal tax dollars for maintenance. The Commission is authorized specific funding for two fiscal years and will terminate 30 days after submitting its final required reports to Congress and the President.

The Major Richard Star Act ensures that military retirees with combat-related disabilities can receive both their military retirement pay and VA disability compensation concurrently without reduction. This law removes previous restrictions that caused military retirement pay to be offset by VA disability payments for these specific cases. The changes take effect on the first day of the month following the Act's enactment.

The Pink Tariffs Study Act mandates a comprehensive study by the Secretary of the Treasury to analyze the impact of U.S. import tariffs on everyday consumers. This research will specifically investigate whether current tariff rates disproportionately affect lower-income individuals and examine potential gender bias in how these taxes are applied. The final report, due within one year, must detail the burden of tariffs based on gender, household type, and income level.

The Medicare Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act of 2025 significantly expands Medicare coverage to include comprehensive dental, vision, and hearing services starting in 2026. This legislation outlines specific payment schedules, frequency limits, and coverage percentages for routine exams, procedures, eyeglasses, contact lenses, and hearing aids. Furthermore, the bill mandates the inclusion of an oral health professional on the United States Preventive Services Task Force.

This bill, the Donut Dollies Congressional Gold Medal Act, directs the striking of a Congressional Gold Medal to honor the American Red Cross volunteers who served in the Supplemental Recreation Activities Overseas (SRAO) program during the Vietnam War. These volunteers, known as "Donut Dollies," provided crucial morale support to troops on the front lines. The original medal will be presented on behalf of Congress and ultimately housed at the Smithsonian Institution, with provisions made for selling bronze duplicates.

The Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act aims to improve support for individuals diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. This bill eliminates the standard waiting period for receiving Social Security disability insurance benefits and waives the 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage. These changes ensure immediate access to crucial financial and healthcare support upon diagnosis.

The Rights for the Transportation Security Administration Workforce Act transitions TSA personnel to standard federal employment rules under Title 5 of the U.S. Code by a set date no later than December 31, 2025. This mandates the freezing of current personnel policies during the transition while protecting current employee pay and benefits. The bill also requires extensive reviews by the Comptroller General on hiring, diversity, and workplace safety, and mandates consultation with employee representatives regarding labor relations. Finally, it ensures that screening agents retain collective bargaining rights and addresses specific concerns for Federal Air Marshals.

This bill, the Generating Retirement Ownership through Long-Term Holding Act, allows individual investors to defer paying taxes on capital gain dividends from mutual funds if those dividends are automatically reinvested into more fund shares. Taxes on these deferred gains are only due when the investor sells the shares or upon death. This provision aims to encourage long-term investment in mutual funds by providing immediate tax relief on reinvested earnings.

The Resident Education Deferred Interest (REDI) Act amends federal student loan regulations to provide a specific deferment for medical and dental residents. This allows borrowers currently serving in an internship or residency program to pause principal payments and prevent interest accrual on their student loans during that training period.

The Stop Comstock Act aims to modernize and streamline federal statutes concerning obscene materials. It revises several sections of federal law, including those related to crimes, transportation, and importation, by removing outdated or redundant language like "indecent" or "immoral." This legislative cleanup focuses the legal definitions to center specifically on "obscene materials."

This bill prohibits the issuance of licenses for the exportation of specified defense articles to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The ban remains in effect until the President certifies to Congress that the UAE has ceased providing material support to the Rapid Support Forces operating in Sudan. This effectively halts the sale or transfer of a wide range of major U.S. military equipment to the UAE.

The Chesapeake Bay Conservation Acceleration Act of 2025 establishes a new initiative to fund farmers in the watershed for water and soil quality improvements, while also extending and streamlining the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). The bill introduces a "turnkey" pilot program to simplify conservation practices for landowners and grants the NRCS direct-hire authority for technical experts. Finally, it transfers primary regulatory oversight for inspecting domestic, wild-caught invasive catfish from the USDA to the FDA.

The "TSA Commuting Fairness Act" requires the TSA Administrator to conduct a study on the feasibility of counting the time TSA employees spend commuting between their duty locations and airport parking or transit stops as on-duty hours. The study will assess the potential benefits, costs, and technological feasibility of such a policy. This includes impacts on employee compensation, retirement, and TSA operations at various airport sizes.

The American Teacher Act aims to address critical teacher shortages by establishing federal grants to help states raise the minimum annual salary for full-time teachers to \$60,000, adjusted for inflation. States must submit sustainability plans to ensure these minimums continue after the initial four-year grant period ends. The bill also provides funds for cost-of-living adjustments and a national campaign to enhance the value and diversity of the teaching profession.

The Pay Federal Workers and Servicemembers Act ensures that essential federal civilian and military personnel required to work during a government shutdown are immediately eligible for unemployment compensation. This provision treats these "excepted" employees as if they were separated from their jobs solely for the purpose of accessing benefits without any waiting period. This change applies to funding lapses beginning on or after March 14, 2025.

The Pay Our Military Act ensures that members of the Armed Forces continue to receive their pay and allowances if Congress has not yet passed the regular budget for Fiscal Year 2025. This automatic funding covers active duty personnel, reserves, and certain essential Department of Defense civilian employees and contractors. This provision remains in effect until a full appropriation bill is enacted or until January 1, 2026, whichever occurs first.

The Feed Our Families Act of 2025 ensures the continuity of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the initial phase of a government shutdown. This bill automatically reserves necessary funding to operate SNAP for the first 90 days following a lapse in appropriations at the start of a fiscal year. These funds are held in reserve and released only as needed to maintain essential program services.

The Medicare Home Health Accessibility Act updates Medicare rules to explicitly include the need for occupational therapy as a valid basis for qualifying for home health services under both Part A and Part B. This change ensures that occupational therapy is treated equally alongside physical and speech therapy when determining eligibility for in-home care. These new provisions will take effect for services provided on or after January 1, 2026.