Legislative Activity

The Resident Education Deferred Interest (REDI) Act allows medical and dental interns and residents to defer payments on their student loans during their training programs. This deferment specifically prevents principal payments and stops interest from accruing on the loan balance while the borrower is in residency or an internship. This ensures that medical professionals can focus on their training without accruing additional debt.

The Save Our Forests Act of 2025 aims to strengthen the management of our national forests by immediately boosting Forest Service staffing levels. This legislation mandates the hiring of new personnel and the reinstatement of employees dismissed between January 20 and February 25, 2025. Furthermore, it ensures the continuation of authorized Forest Service projects funded under existing major conservation and infrastructure laws.

The Protect our Parks Act of 2025 mandates the Secretary of the Interior to immediately ensure full staffing, including all maintenance positions, across the National Park Service. This Act also requires the reinstatement of any NPS employees involuntarily removed between January 20 and February 25, 2025. Furthermore, it authorizes the continuation of existing, funded National Park Service projects under several key federal acts.

The Securing American Agriculture Act mandates an annual assessment of U.S. reliance on China for critical agricultural products and inputs. This report will identify supply chain vulnerabilities that could be exploited by foreign adversaries. Based on these findings, the Secretary of Agriculture must recommend strategies to onshore or nearshore the production of these essential farming supplies. The data collection for this assessment will rely solely on voluntary submissions from private companies to protect confidential business information.

The Producer and Agricultural Credit Enhancement Act of 2025 aims to strengthen agricultural financing by significantly increasing the maximum loan amounts available for farm ownership and operating expenses. It also updates the calculation method for inflation adjustments in farm programs and raises the cap on microloans. Furthermore, the bill establishes new procedures allowing the Farm Service Agency to refinance certain troubled guaranteed loans into direct loans, provided the operation has a reasonable chance of future success.

The FARMLAND Act of 2025 aims to increase scrutiny and penalties regarding foreign investment in U.S. agricultural land, driven by national security concerns. It enhances disclosure rules, mandates annual risk reports on ownership by certain foreign entities, and empowers the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review significant real estate purchases by "foreign entities of concern." Furthermore, the bill establishes new enforcement roles within the Department of Agriculture and prohibits foreign persons from participating in Farm Service Agency programs.

The Fighter Force Preservation and Recapitalization Act of 2025 establishes new minimum fleet sizes for the Air Force's fighter aircraft inventory and delays the enforcement date for these higher requirements until 2030. The bill mandates strict quarterly reporting on new aircraft procurement and distribution, while prioritizing the assignment of new, advanced fighters to existing operational squadrons. Furthermore, it places a freeze on reducing the number of Air National Guard fighter squadrons through 2030 and requires an annual plan to ensure the Guard's fleet recapitalizes at the same pace as the active force.

The Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025 significantly strengthens the National Labor Relations Act to bolster worker organizing rights and impose stricter penalties on employers who violate labor laws. It redefines joint employment, makes it harder to classify workers as independent contractors, and bans class action waivers. The bill also establishes mandatory arbitration for first contracts and allows employees to sue employers directly for serious unfair labor practices.

The Faster Labor Contracts Act aims to significantly speed up the process for newly unionized employees to secure their first collective bargaining agreement. It establishes mandatory timelines for negotiations, requiring mediation and, if necessary, binding arbitration if a deal is not reached within a set period. This legislation is designed to prevent lengthy delays that often undermine the unionization process.

This resolution formally condemns the recent mass termination of 2,400 Department of Veterans Affairs employees, which was carried out without justification or analysis of the impact on veteran services. It highlights the resulting disruption to critical healthcare and support programs and calls for the immediate reinstatement of all affected personnel.

The Child Care Availability and Affordability Act aims to lower childcare costs for families and incentivize employers to offer benefits. It significantly expands the employer tax credit for providing childcare and increases the tax-free exclusion amount for employee Dependent Care Assistance Programs (DCAPs). Furthermore, the bill introduces a new, refundable tax credit for working families based on their household and dependent care expenses.

The Stop Russian Market Manipulation Act bans the importation of specific Russian-origin minerals, including platinum group metals, nickel, and copper, into the United States. This prohibition begins 90 days after enactment and remains in effect until one year after the President certifies that Russia has ceased all fighting against Ukraine. Crucially, the President has no authority to waive this specific ban.

The Justice for ALS Veterans Act of 2025 ensures that surviving spouses of veterans who die from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) receive increased dependency and indemnity compensation. This benefit is provided regardless of how long the veteran had ALS before passing away. The Act applies retroactively to veterans who died from ALS on or after October 1, 2022.

The "Farm and Food Cybersecurity Act of 2025" directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct biennial risk assessments of cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities within the agriculture and food critical infrastructure sector, in coordination with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. It also mandates annual crisis simulation exercises for five years to evaluate and improve the preparedness of government and private sectors in responding to food-related emergencies and cyberattacks. The Act aims to enhance cybersecurity and resilience in the agriculture and food sector, protect food safety, and ensure national security. It authorizes \$1,000,000 to be appropriated for each fiscal year from 2026 through 2030 to carry out these activities.

Ethan's Law aims to reduce gun violence by promoting responsible firearm storage. It establishes a federal requirement for gun owners to securely store firearms, especially in homes with minors or individuals prohibited from owning firearms, with penalties for improper storage. The law also creates a grant program to assist states and Indian Tribes in implementing similar safe storage laws. Additionally, it expresses the sense of Congress that failing to securely store a firearm constitutes negligence and can establish legal causation for harm resulting from its discharge.

The Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act enhances U.S. trade laws to counteract unfair trade practices by foreign countries. It strengthens the ability of the International Trade Commission to address successive instances of unfair trade, expands countervailing duty authority, and prevents duty evasion. The Act also counters currency undervaluation and sets clear guidelines for implementation and applicability.

The "Born in the USA Act" prohibits the use of government funds to implement Executive Order 14160, which sought to deny citizenship to certain children born in the United States. The bill affirms that birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution and cannot be rescinded by executive order.

The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act aims to establish collective bargaining rights for public safety officers (law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel) employed by states or their political subdivisions. It directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority to determine if state laws substantially provide these rights, including the right to form and join labor organizations, bargain over working conditions, and utilize binding arbitration. States that do not meet these standards will be subject to federal regulations to ensure these rights are protected. This act does not allow strikes or lockouts and preserves existing collective bargaining agreements.

The "Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2025" amends the Clean Air Act, modifying the process for ethanol waivers and Reid Vapor Pressure limitations, allowing for higher ethanol blends during high ozone season. It also permits small refineries to reclaim certain retired credits from 2016-2018 for future use, under specific conditions related to prior exemption petitions.

The Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2025 requires the Department of Education to consider the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism when evaluating discrimination complaints under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ensuring consistent enforcement against antisemitism in federally funded programs. This bill aims to increase awareness and improve the safety of Jewish communities by codifying the use of the IHRA definition. The Act does not expand the Department of Education's authority, change harassment standards, reduce existing rights, or diminish First Amendment rights.