Legislative Activity

The Baby Bonus Act establishes a new federal program within the Social Security Administration to provide a one-time financial payment to eligible parents of newborn children, beginning in 2026. This benefit is designed to be non-taxable and protected from being counted as a resource for federal benefit programs. The legislation creates the Office of Baby Assistance to manage the application and payment process for this new benefit.

The PEARL Act establishes a three-year pilot program within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to enhance its Support Canine Program. This initiative requires CBP to adopt dogs from local animal shelters and train them to serve as support dogs.

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 AI for ALL Act establishes the Artificial Intelligence Literacy and Education Commission to streamline and improve AI literacy across the United States. This Commission is tasked with developing and disseminating multilingual educational materials to the public. Furthermore, the Act mandates the creation of a comprehensive national strategy to guide federal efforts in ensuring Americans understand how to use artificial intelligence safely and effectively.

The Increasing Access to Mental Health in Schools Act establishes grant programs to build pipelines that train and place more mental health providers in low-income schools. It also creates a student loan repayment program for providers who commit to working in these underserved districts for five years. The bill aims to improve student support ratios by increasing the number of school counselors, psychologists, and social workers in high-need areas. Finally, it mandates a study to develop future criteria for identifying areas with mental health provider shortages.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act mandates the Attorney General to publicly release all unclassified Department of Justice records related to Jeffrey Epstein and his associates within 30 days of the bill becoming law. This release must include materials concerning investigations, flight logs, settlements, and internal communications, with very limited exceptions for victim privacy or active investigations. The Act strictly prohibits withholding documents due to political sensitivity or reputational harm and requires detailed justification for any redactions made.

The Housing Financial Literacy Act of 2025 incentivizes first-time homebuyers to complete financial literacy housing counseling programs. By completing the required counseling before applying for a loan or signing a sales agreement, eligible homebuyers will receive a 25 basis point discount on their mortgage insurance premium payments. This act aims to promote financial preparedness among new homeowners.

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 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 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.

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 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.

The CLOSE Act aims to strengthen air quality regulations by removing the exemption that previously allowed for the aggregation of emissions from oil and gas sources under the Clean Air Act. Furthermore, this legislation mandates the EPA to formally list hydrogen sulfide as a hazardous air pollutant. This action will require the EPA to establish specific source categories for hydrogen sulfide emissions, including oil and gas wells.

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 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 Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act of 2025 amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to bring hydraulic fracturing fluid injection under federal regulation. This bill mandates that operators disclose the specific chemicals used before and after fracturing operations to the relevant state authority. Furthermore, it ensures immediate disclosure of proprietary chemical formulas to medical professionals during emergencies.

The Safe Hydration is an American Right in Energy Development Act of 2025 amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to establish new testing and reporting requirements for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations. This bill prohibits fracking injection unless operators agree to test nearby underground drinking water sources according to a set schedule and submit results to the EPA. The EPA is required to create a publicly accessible database of all submitted test results.