Legislative Activity

The Preventing Power Outages Act revises federal funding criteria to enhance the resilience of the electric grid and prevent outages. It mandates the use of specific reliability metrics (SAIDI, SAIFI, CAIDI) that count all outages over five minutes, prioritizing areas with the worst historical performance for federal grants. Furthermore, the Act prohibits bundling requirements for grant applications and extends the program's funding timeline through 2031.

The Combating CCP Labor Abuses Act of 2025 mandates that the Department of Commerce provide specialized training to its employees regarding human rights abuses, particularly forced labor in the Xinjiang region by the Chinese government. Furthermore, the Act requires the Department to issue guidance to U.S. businesses engaged in interstate commerce or foreign investment. This guidance must help companies identify and avoid risks associated with entities tied to these severe human rights violations.

The Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2025 officially extends the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, which supports workers, firms, and farmers negatively impacted by trade, through December 31, 2031. This legislation also clarifies the application of TAA rules for petitions filed between July 1, 2021, and the date of enactment, often requiring reconsideration under current standards. Furthermore, it updates the funding and training calculation windows to align with the new program extension dates.

The Vehicle Safety Research Act of 2025 establishes the Partnership for Analytics Research in Traffic Safety (PARTS) program within the Department of Transportation. This program mandates the use of an external organization to conduct traffic safety research using voluntarily submitted data. Crucially, the Act provides strong confidentiality protections, ensuring participant data ownership and restricting the release of submitted information and analysis results. The bill also allocates specific funding for the program through Fiscal Year 2030.

The Making Education Affordable and Accessible Act of 2025 establishes a new federal grant program to expand dual or concurrent enrollment opportunities for high school students. These grants will help colleges partner with local school districts to allow students, particularly those from low-income or rural backgrounds, to earn college credit tuition-free while still in high school. Funds can be used for teacher training, outreach, and ensuring earned credits easily transfer to higher education institutions.

The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Extension Act is a short bill designed to extend the effective period of a key provision within the Cybersecurity Act of 2015. Specifically, this legislation pushes back the expiration date for Section 111(a) by ten years. This ensures that the relevant cybersecurity information-sharing provisions will remain active until 2035.

The Artificial Intelligence and Critical Technology Workforce Framework Act of 2025 mandates the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop and maintain standardized workforce frameworks for critical and emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence. These frameworks must define necessary skills, incorporate support roles, and detail non-traditional career pathways. NIST is also required to regularly review and update these guides, including the existing cybersecurity framework, and report its progress to Congress.

The Securing Smart Investments in our Ports Act updates the Port Infrastructure Development Program to ensure fairer distribution of funding. This legislation mandates that project selections for both major and smaller port improvements must achieve equitable geographic representation across the United States. The goal is to spread vital port investments more evenly nationwide.

This Senate resolution expresses the strong sense of Congress that the United States Postal Service must remain an independent federal establishment and should not be privatized. It emphasizes the USPS's vital constitutional role, its massive economic footprint supporting millions of jobs, and its essential function in providing universal service to every American address. The resolution warns that privatization would likely lead to higher costs and reduced service, particularly for rural communities.

This resolution celebrates the 108th anniversary of Selfridge Air National Guard Base, recognizing its historical importance, economic impact, and strategic value to U.S. national security. It acknowledges the base's contributions to national defense and aerospace, including its role as one of the oldest military airfields and its selection for the KC46A Pegasus tanker aircraft beddown. The resolution also commends the personnel at Selfridge and encourages continued support and cooperation to ensure the base's ongoing success.

The Intergovernmental Critical Minerals Task Force Act establishes a new presidential task force to address the national security risks posed by U.S. dependence on foreign adversaries, particularly China, for critical minerals. This body is charged with coordinating federal, state, and tribal efforts to secure domestic supply chains through increased mining, processing, and recycling. The Task Force must deliver comprehensive recommendations to Congress on reducing foreign reliance and strengthening domestic capacity within two years.

The "DHS Better Ballistic Body Armor Act" mandates that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) procure ballistic resistant body armor specifically designed to protect the body shapes of all agents and officers, ensuring proper fit, coverage, and enhanced protection against bullet redirection. The body armor must be certified by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and meet specific ballistic resistance standards, including rigorous testing methods. The Act requires annual reports on the issuance and compliance of body armor, particularly for female agents and officers. All DHS agents and officers requiring body armor for their duties must be issued compliant gear within three years of the Act's enactment.

The "More Behavioral Health Providers Act of 2025" expands the Medicare health professional shortage area bonus program to include mental health and substance use disorder service providers. This act increases Medicare payments to physicians in health professional shortage areas by 10% and to physicians and other practitioners in mental health professional shortage areas by 15% for related services. The changes aim to increase access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment.

The GLRI Act of 2025 reauthorizes the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, allocating $500 million annually from 2027 through 2031. This initiative aims to protect and restore the Great Lakes ecosystem.

The "Fire Management Assistance Grants for Tribal Governments Act" amends the Stafford Act to allow Indian tribal governments to directly request and receive fire management assistance grants from FEMA. It ensures tribal governments can still receive assistance through a state if their direct request is not authorized. The President must update regulations to reflect these changes, consider the unique circumstances of tribal governments, and consult with them during the update process.

The Federal Emergency Mobilization Accountability (FEMA) Workforce Planning Act requires the FEMA Administrator to develop and submit a human capital operating plan to Congress every three years to improve the agency's workforce. The plan must include performance measures, cost analysis, staffing goals, and strategies to address workforce gaps, recruitment, and retention. The Comptroller General must submit a report analyzing the plan's compliance with the law.