Legislative Activity

The Upholding Protections for Unaccompanied Children Act of 2025 seeks to reverse harmful provisions affecting unaccompanied children. This bill eliminates various immigration-related fees for current and former unaccompanied children, including those for asylum and employment authorization. It also prohibits physically intrusive medical examinations and restricts the sharing of sponsor information with immigration enforcement agencies. Furthermore, the Act mandates the refunding of previously paid fees.

The Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act aims to overhaul immigration detention by establishing mandatory, high standards based on ABA guidelines and increasing transparency through rigorous, unannounced inspections. The bill prohibits the use of private, for-profit detention facilities within three years and ends the mandatory detention of most noncitizens, prioritizing release or community-based alternatives. Furthermore, it establishes new due process rights, including timely custody hearings, a presumption of release, and prohibitions on detaining children or using solitary confinement.

The Federal Mechanical Insulation Act officially recognizes the installation of mechanical insulation in federal buildings as a qualifying energy or water efficiency measure. This legislation defines compliant mechanical insulation as meeting or exceeding ASHRAE Standard 90.1 requirements and resulting in energy loss reduction. Furthermore, the Act mandates that comprehensive evaluations of federal buildings must identify these specific energy and water-saving insulation opportunities.

The Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act focuses primarily on improving pediatric drug development and ensuring patient access to necessary treatments. This legislation mandates new research requirements for molecularly targeted pediatric cancer drugs, strengthens FDA enforcement of pediatric study completion, and extends incentives for developing drugs for rare pediatric diseases. Additionally, the bill updates organ transplant network functions and establishes an Abraham Accords Office within the FDA to enhance international regulatory cooperation.

The No GOUGE Act prohibits sellers from raising the price of "tariffed goods" by more than the direct costs resulting from a new or planned tariff for five years. This prevents companies from using tariffs as an excuse to charge unreasonably high prices, with specific rules for final goods, assembled products, and components. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is tasked with enforcement, while large companies face a presumption of violation following major tariff announcements. The bill also mandates annual reports from the FTC and other agencies detailing price changes and enforcement actions.

This resolution declares that immigrant justice and reproductive justice are inseparable, demanding that both movements be pursued together. It condemns systemic failures and policies that deny immigrants access to necessary reproductive health care while in custody or in the community. The resolution calls on Congress and federal agencies to eliminate barriers to health coverage and ensure equitable, comprehensive reproductive care for all individuals, regardless of immigration status.

The John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act prohibits discrimination based on religion, sex, or marital status in federally funded child welfare services. This aims to increase the number of stable, family-like placements for children, especially for LGBTQ youth who are overrepresented in foster care. The bill mandates federal guidance, training, and data collection to improve safety and well-being outcomes for all children involved in the system.

This resolution supports the goals of Transgender Day of Remembrance by recognizing the ongoing epidemic of violence targeting transgender people, particularly transgender women of color. It memorializes the lives lost this year and highlights the systemic barriers, including discrimination and lack of healthcare access, faced by the transgender community. The bill calls for urgent action from the government to protect these lives through inclusive legislation and policies that ensure dignity and respect for all individuals.

The Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act aims to significantly reduce prescription drug expenses for consumers. It expands the federal drug price negotiation program to cover more drugs and extends negotiated prices to most private health insurance plans. Furthermore, the bill applies inflation rebates to the commercial market and establishes new annual out-of-pocket spending caps for prescription drugs under private insurance starting in 2027. It also sets specific, lower cost-sharing requirements for covered insulin products.

The Find It Early Act mandates that certain individuals at increased risk for breast cancer receive additional, recommended screenings with no out-of-pocket costs. This coverage requirement applies across private health plans, Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. These provisions are set to take effect starting January 1, 2026.

The Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention Act of 2025 (ASAP Act) amends Medicare to cover early detection screening tests for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias starting in 2028. This coverage applies to FDA-cleared tests, including genomic sequencing and other equivalent diagnostic methods, designed to detect pre-symptomatic or early-stage conditions. The bill ensures these screenings are added to the list of covered medical services under Medicare.

The EXPERTS Act of 2025 aims to enhance transparency and accountability in the federal rulemaking process. It introduces new disclosure requirements for studies submitted during public comment periods and mandates greater public awareness of agency actions. Furthermore, the bill establishes the Office of the Public Advocate to improve public involvement and explicitly requires agencies to consider social equity in their cost-benefit analyses. Finally, it streamlines the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) review timeline and clarifies judicial review standards for agency interpretations.

The Global Respect Act aims to promote and protect the human rights of LGBTQI individuals worldwide. It mandates the President to identify and report foreign persons responsible for human rights violations against LGBTQI people, leading to their inadmissibility to the United States. Furthermore, the Act requires enhanced tracking and reporting of violence and discrimination targeting individuals based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics in the annual human rights reports.

The VISIT USA Act mandates the transfer of $\$160$ million from unobligated balances in the Travel Promotion Fund to Brand USA. This funding is intended to support international tourism promotion efforts for the United States. The transfer must be completed within 30 days of the Act becoming law.

This bill mandates the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create and maintain a public website for Medicare beneficiaries. This resource will allow users to easily search for healthcare providers and suppliers participating in either Medicare Advantage (MA) plans or traditional Medicare. The website must clearly identify which networks each provider belongs to.

The Bivens Act of 2025 amends existing law to redefine the scope of civil actions that can be brought against individuals acting under federal authority. This legislation specifically revises Section 1979 of the Revised Statutes concerning such lawsuits. The core change narrows the focus of these civil actions to exclusively target persons acting under the authority of the United States.

This bill mandates that all advertisements for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans must clearly disclose key statistics regarding their prior authorization denial rates. Specifically, ads must include the total number of denials, the number of denials later overturned upon reconsideration, and the average time taken for those reversals. This aims to provide consumers with crucial transparency about plan utilization management practices before enrollment.

This bill amends the Social Security Act to mandate the exclusion of individuals and entities who commit fraud from participating in any Federal health care program. Specifically, it requires the Secretary to exclude those convicted of certain fraud-related offenses or determined to have engaged in prohibited fraudulent activities. This ensures that those who misuse federal health programs due to financial misconduct are barred from future participation.

The FRESHER Act of 2025 aims to regulate stormwater runoff from oil, gas, and mining operations under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. This legislation modifies existing permit requirements and mandates a study by the Secretary of the Interior on the contamination risks associated with this runoff. The resulting report will detail measurable contamination and the susceptibility of groundwater resources to pollution from these operations.

This bill amends the Social Security Act to establish new requirements regarding the average monthly cost of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans compared to original Medicare. If an MA plan's average monthly payment exceeds the cost of original Medicare coverage for its enrollees, the Secretary must prohibit new enrollment in that plan for the following year. This restriction does not apply to specialized Medicare Advantage plans for special needs individuals.