Legislative Activity

The Assault Weapons Ban of 2025 comprehensively defines and bans the manufacture, sale, and transfer of specific semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices. The bill grandfathers existing weapons but imposes new requirements for their secure storage and mandates dealer involvement for future private transfers. It also allows federal grant money to be used by states for buy-back programs targeting these banned items.

The Better CARE for Animals Act of 2025 significantly strengthens enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act by clarifying definitions and expanding the scope of investigations. It grants the Attorney General explicit authority to file civil actions seeking penalties up to $10,000 per day, and mandates that collected fines help cover temporary animal care costs. The bill also requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Attorney General to establish a formal agreement for coordinated enforcement.

The Equality Act comprehensively expands federal civil rights protections against discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity across key areas of American life. It amends existing laws to prohibit discrimination in public accommodations, housing, credit, employment, and federal funding. The purpose of the bill is to provide consistent, explicit, and comprehensive remedies for individuals facing bias in these essential sectors.

The Arctic Refuge Protection Act officially repeals the previous law authorizing oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This legislation simultaneously designates approximately 1.56 million acres within the Refuge as protected wilderness under the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Secretary of the Interior is now required to manage this newly designated land according to strict wilderness preservation standards.

This resolution expresses strong support for honoring Earth Day and recognizes its historical importance in launching the modern environmental movement. It highlights ongoing challenges like climate change while celebrating recent landmark investments in clean energy and infrastructure. Ultimately, the bill urges the President to issue a proclamation recognizing Earth Day and encourages all Americans to take sustained action to protect the environment for future generations.

The Advancing Water Reuse Act establishes a new "qualifying water reuse project credit" to incentivize businesses to recycle water. This credit offers a 30% tax break on qualified investments in on-site water recycling systems or infrastructure that supports industrial or commercial water reuse. The tax incentive is designed to encourage the adoption of water conservation technologies until the end of 2032.

The Small Business Energy Loan Enhancement Act significantly increases the maximum loan amounts available to eligible small businesses under specific Small Business Administration (SBA) programs, raising the limit from $\$5.5$ million to $\$10$ million. This legislation also mandates that the SBA report annually to Congress detailing the industries and geographic areas benefiting from these enhanced loan categories. The goal is to provide greater financial resources for small businesses through SBA lending.

The Promoting Affordable Childcare for Everyone (PACE) Act aims to significantly enhance childcare financial support for families. It restructures the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, potentially making it refundable and increasing its maximum rate, while also raising the tax-free exclusion limit for employer-provided dependent care assistance to \$7,500. These key provisions are scheduled to take effect for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, with future adjustments for inflation built into the new rules.

The IRA Charitable Rollover Facilitation and Enhancement Act of 2025 removes the current restriction preventing individuals from making direct charitable rollovers from their Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) to Donor Advised Funds (DAFs). This change immediately allows IRA owners to transfer retirement assets directly to DAFs for charitable purposes. The bill simplifies and enhances charitable giving options for IRA holders.

This Act immediately terminates specific existing presidential executive orders imposing tariffs. It requires Congressional approval via a fast-tracked joint resolution before the President can impose new trade barriers or withdraw existing trade agreement concessions. This ensures major new trade restrictions require legislative authorization, except in cases involving existing anti-dumping enforcement or specific trade dispute rulings.

This resolution is an official request from the House of Representatives demanding the President provide specific information regarding recent operational changes at the Social Security Administration (SSA). Congress seeks documents detailing the cessation of phone applications for benefits, any SSA office closures or mergers, and information concerning recent staffing reductions. The inquiry also specifically requests details about the Department of Government Efficiency's access to SSA operations and data.

The Repair Expenditures Support Infrastructure, Labor Investment, Energy Needs, and Creates Equity Act of 2025, or the RESILIENCE Act of 2025, modifies tax rules for public utility companies. This legislation allows utility companies to reduce their adjusted financial statement income by deductions taken for repairing and maintaining their property. The goal is to align these specific repair deductions with existing depreciation rules for tax purposes, effective for tax years beginning after 2024.

This Act, the Great Lakes and National Weather Service Funding Protection Act, prohibits the deferral, transfer, or reprogramming of federal funds specifically allocated to the National Weather Service (NWS) and the Great Lakes region. These dedicated funds cannot be moved for other uses unless a subsequent law explicitly overrides this protection. The NOAA Administrator must annually certify compliance with this funding restriction to key Congressional committees.

The Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act of 2025 seeks to amend federal gun laws by banning devices and modifications that significantly increase the rate of fire of semiautomatic firearms, effectively treating them like machineguns. The bill specifically prohibits the manufacture, sale, or possession of such accessories and modified firearms after 120 days of enactment. Existing owners of previously modified firearms must register them under the National Firearms Act within that same timeframe to legally keep them.

The Middle Class Mortgage Insurance Premium Act of 2025 permanently extends the deduction for mortgage insurance premiums and significantly raises the income limits for eligibility. This change allows more middle-class taxpayers to deduct these costs on their federal income taxes. These provisions will apply to tax years beginning after December 31, 2025.

The Hands Off Medicaid and SNAP Act of 2025 prevents Congress from using the budget reconciliation process to cut funding or eligibility for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This protection establishes a significant procedural roadblock against reducing benefits for these essential social programs. However, this restriction is temporary and is set to expire on January 20, 2029.

The American Family Act fundamentally overhauls the Child Tax Credit by replacing the annual lump sum with a system of advance, refundable monthly payments delivered directly to families. These monthly allowances vary based on the child's age, with higher amounts provided for younger children. The bill also establishes a separate, smaller credit for other dependents and outlines procedures for annual renewal and reconciliation of advance payments when filing taxes.

This resolution is an official request demanding the President and the Secretary of Health and Human Services immediately provide Congress with documents concerning the seizure of legally-protected taxpayer and child privacy data by the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE). Specifically, it seeks records detailing DOGE's access to sensitive worker and financial data stored in the National Directory of New Hires and the Federal Parent Locator Service. The inquiry focuses on the legality, security protocols, and scope of these large-scale data requests, particularly those exceeding 40 million records.

The Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion Act (GOSAFE Act) prohibits the manufacture, sale, and possession of certain gas-operated semi-automatic firearms and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices (over 10 rounds). The bill establishes a formal process managed by the Attorney General and ATF to list prohibited firearms, while grandfathering existing possessions under strict transfer rules. Furthermore, it permits states to use federal Byrne grants for voluntary buy-back programs targeting these newly restricted items. Violations carry significant fines and potential prison sentences.

The Great Lakes Mapping Act of 2025 mandates a high-resolution survey and mapping of the Great Lakes lakebeds, to be completed by December 31, 2030. Led by NOAA, this effort requires collaboration with state and regional partners to collect and catalog detailed bathymetric data. The resulting high-resolution map and associated data must be made publicly available as it is completed and fully released within 180 days of project completion.