Legislative Activity

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 Food Bank Emergency Support Act of 2025 establishes a \$462.5 million emergency fund to ensure the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can continue providing full benefits during funding shortfalls or government shutdowns. These funds are specifically appropriated to prevent benefit reductions when other resources are insufficient. Furthermore, the Act ensures essential SNAP staff can continue working during a lapse in appropriations.

The Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act, or Healthy MOM Act, aims to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes by ensuring comprehensive maternity coverage is accessible. It establishes special enrollment periods for pregnant individuals across various health plans and mandates that dependent coverage must include maternity care. Furthermore, the bill secures continuous 12-month postpartum coverage under Medicaid and CHIP and adjusts federal employee health benefit rules regarding pregnancy.

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 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 Servicemember Student Loan Affordability Act of 2025 extends existing protections by imposing a 6% interest rate cap on new loans servicemembers take out to consolidate or refinance pre-existing student debt during their military service. This amendment specifically targets the refinancing of prior student loans, ensuring servicemembers do not face excessive interest rates on this debt while serving. The bill clarifies that this cap only applies when the refinancing exclusively covers eligible student loans.

The Urban and Rural Diabetes Initiative Act establishes a new grant program to improve diabetes treatment access in medically underserved urban and rural areas. This funding supports eligible health providers in offering comprehensive diabetes care, including routine treatment, education, and specialized services like eye and foot care. The Secretary of Health and Human Services will award these grants, ensuring equitable distribution across both urban and rural communities.

The Revitalize Our Neighborhoods Act of 2025 establishes a competitive grant program through HUD to fund projects that eliminate blight and revitalize low-income communities. Eligible entities can apply for funds to demolish blighted structures, renovate abandoned properties, and construct or preserve affordable housing. Grantees must submit a five-year plan and contribute matching funds for eligible activities.

This bill, the Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 2025, aims to significantly expand Medicare coverage for medical nutrition therapy services. It broadens the list of covered chronic conditions beyond diabetes and kidney disease to include obesity, hypertension, cancer, and more. Furthermore, the legislation allows a wider range of healthcare providers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, to order these medically necessary nutrition services.

This bill, the "Ending Forced Arbitration of Race Discrimination Act of 2025," invalidates predispute arbitration agreements and joint-action waivers for disputes involving alleged race discrimination. It ensures that individuals alleging race discrimination can choose to pursue their claims in court rather than through mandatory arbitration. Federal courts will determine the applicability and enforceability of these arbitration agreements.

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 Patients Over Paperwork Act of 2025 aims to streamline healthcare by repealing recent changes to Medicaid eligibility redeterminations. This action effectively restores prior regulations concerning how beneficiaries' eligibility is reviewed. The bill focuses on reducing administrative burdens to prioritize patient care.

The Fairness and Access for Immigrant Rights (FAIR) Act establishes new requirements for providing constituent services to immigration detainees. This bill mandates that detainees must have timely access to necessary privacy release forms and essential handbooks in their preferred language. Furthermore, it ensures detainees have the tools to communicate with their congressional representatives or third-party assistants, and outlines a clear process for filing complaints if these rights are violated.

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 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.

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.

The CLEANER Act of 2025 mandates the Administrator to review and regulate wastes generated from oil, gas, and geothermal energy production under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. This includes determining if these wastes qualify as hazardous and establishing corresponding regulations if they do. For non-hazardous wastes from these industries, the Act requires the revision of criteria for disposal facilities to ensure protection of human health and the environment, including requirements for groundwater monitoring.

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.

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.