Legislative Activity

The "Muhammad Ali Congressional Gold Medal Act" directs the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Muhammad Ali posthumously, recognizing his athletic achievements, advocacy for civil rights, and humanitarian efforts. The Secretary of the Treasury will design and produce the gold medal, which will then be presented to his wife, Lonnie Ali. The Act also allows for the creation and sale of bronze duplicates to the public and authorizes the United States Mint to use its funds for medal production.

The Wildfire Emergency Act of 2025 addresses wildfire risk through three main avenues: establishing a novel financing pilot program to accelerate large-scale forest restoration, increasing community resilience through infrastructure hardening and home weatherization updates, and building capacity via new research centers and workforce development grants. This comprehensive bill seeks to leverage private investment for ecological work while simultaneously making communities safer and developing the necessary skilled workforce for future mitigation efforts.

The "Fire-Safe Electrical Corridors Act of 2025" allows the Department of Agriculture to permit electrical utilities to remove trees and vegetation near power lines on National Forest System land to prevent wildfires without requiring a timber sale. If the utility sells the removed vegetation, the proceeds, minus transportation costs, must be given to the Secretary of Agriculture. The law ensures compliance with existing land management plans and environmental laws.

The "Improving Atmospheric River Forecasts Act" directs the Under Secretary to establish a program to improve the lead time, accuracy, and dissemination of atmospheric river forecasts. This program will focus on enhancing data modeling, developing a unified forecast system, and incorporating social and economic sciences to better predict and communicate the impacts of atmospheric rivers. The Under Secretary is also required to maintain adequate aircraft and equipment for atmospheric river reconnaissance and establish at least one atmospheric river observatory in each West Coast state, including Alaska. Finally, the bill requires the Under Secretary to develop a plan detailing the activities, resources, and timelines to achieve the program's goals, ensuring it is submitted to relevant committees and made publicly available.

The "Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Amendment Act of 2025" amends existing law to establish an interest-bearing account within the U.S. Treasury for non-federal contributions to the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program. This fund will hold contributions and earned interest, making the funds available to the Secretary for program expenditures without further appropriation. The bill also outlines the roles and responsibilities of the Treasury Secretary and State Parties in managing and protecting these funds.

The "Fire Suppression and Response Funding Assurance Act" increases the federal government's share of fire management assistance to at least 75% of eligible costs. It also directs FEMA to create rules for recommending increased federal cost shares for disaster relief and updates FEMA's grant policy to allow reimbursement for pre-deployment of resources by state, local, and tribal governments before a major disaster.

The Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act of 2025 establishes special base rates of pay for federal wildland firefighters, increasing their salaries based on their General Schedule grade. It also provides incident response premium pay for firefighters deployed to qualifying incidents and allows for rest and recuperation leave following deployments. The bill enables the transfer of funds between the Forest Service and the Department of Interior to ensure the continuation of salary increases.