Legislative Activity

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 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.

The HEAR Act of 2025 aims to significantly expand Medicare benefits by establishing coverage for comprehensive hearing rehabilitation services. This legislation specifically amends the Social Security Act to include hearing aids as covered durable medical equipment and mandates coverage for necessary aural rehabilitation services. The goal is to ensure eligible Medicare beneficiaries receive necessary audiological assessments, appropriate hearing aids, and follow-up rehabilitation care.

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 End Rent Fixing Act of 2025 prohibits rental property owners from hiring coordinators or engaging in activities that involve collecting, analyzing, or recommending rental prices or terms across multiple properties. This coordinated activity is deemed an unlawful restraint of trade under existing antitrust laws. The bill grants enforcement power to the FTC, the Attorney General, and State Attorneys General, while also allowing injured persons to sue for treble damages. Furthermore, it lowers the pleading standard for civil lawsuits brought under this Act and related antitrust claims.

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 Jumpstart on College Act aims to increase the percentage of students, particularly low-income and underrepresented students, who earn a recognized postsecondary credential within the standard time frame. The bill authorizes $250 million in annual funding to provide competitive grants to eligible entities and states to start or support early college high schools and dual or concurrent enrollment programs. Grantees must focus on creating strong support systems, aligning curriculum, and ensuring students are aware of and assisted in enrolling in these programs. Recipients must annually report detailed data on student enrollment, credential attainment, and postsecondary success.

This bill amends the Social Security Act to establish new requirements for Medicare Advantage plans regarding how often they can overturn initial denials of coverage following prior authorization requests. Specifically, it mandates contract termination for plans whose rate of reversed prior authorization denials exceeds 25% in a given year. This measure aims to curb excessive initial denials by Medicare Advantage organizations.

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.

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.

This bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from using appropriated funds to automatically enroll individuals into Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. It ensures that enrollment in an MA plan only occurs when an individual actively makes that choice, rather than it being the default option.

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.

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 that Medicare Advantage plans must automatically reconsider any determination that denies coverage. This process will occur without requiring the enrollee to submit a formal request for reconsideration. The automatic review begins immediately upon the plan's initial denial of coverage.

This bill amends the Social Security Act to impose new limitations on the number of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans an organization can offer under contract. Specifically, it restricts MA organizations from offering more than three MA plans unless those plans have significant differences in premiums, benefits, or cost-sharing. This measure aims to streamline the offerings available through Medicare Advantage.

The Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act of 2025 aims to strengthen domestic food security by repealing specific sections of a prior reconciliation act. This action effectively revives the original laws that were previously amended by the repealed provisions. The bill seeks to revert existing agricultural and food-related statutes to their pre-amendment status.

This bill, the International Human Rights Defense Act of 2025, establishes a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Peoples within the Department of State. It codifies U.S. policy to actively combat international criminalization, violence, and discrimination against LGBTQI+ individuals worldwide. The legislation also mandates enhanced reporting on these abuses in annual human rights reports and authorizes assistance to support related protection efforts abroad.

The VA Care and Benefits Accountability Act ensures that existing collective bargaining agreements within the Department of Veterans Affairs remain in effect until their specified end dates. Furthermore, this bill nullifies Executive Orders 14251 and 14343, preventing their enforcement or implementation within the VA. This action solidifies current labor agreements for VA employees.

The Right to Representation for Department of Veterans Affairs Workers Act of 2025 grants eligible VA employees the right to have a representative present during any examination that they believe could lead to disciplinary action. This representation must be requested by the employee and will occur during duty time if applicable. The bill specifically defines which VA employees are covered by this new right.

The American Energy Independence and Affordability Act is a comprehensive bill designed to lower energy costs by extending and adjusting key tax incentives across energy production, efficiency, and clean vehicle adoption. It stabilizes support for renewable energy manufacturing, extends deadlines for energy-efficient building credits, and ensures consumer incentives for electric vehicles remain available through 2032. Overall, the legislation aims to provide long-term certainty for energy investments and consumer adoption of cleaner technologies.