Legislative Activity

The Wildfire Response and Preparedness Act of 2025 mandates federal agencies to establish strict new response time standards for wildfires on federal lands. This includes setting goals for initial incident evaluation within 30 minutes and deploying suppression crews within 3 hours. The responsible Secretaries must report annually to Congress on unified budgeting, resource needs, and necessary system changes to meet these aggressive readiness targets.

The National Airport Supersonic Readiness Act of 2025 mandates the FAA to conduct a comprehensive study assessing whether major U.S. airports are prepared for the arrival of next-generation supersonic and hypersonic aircraft. This assessment will evaluate runway capacity, ground support infrastructure, air traffic control, and environmental regulations. The resulting report will provide Congress with necessary recommendations and cost estimates for future infrastructure upgrades to support high-speed air travel.

The FIGHT Act of 2025 significantly strengthens federal prohibitions against animal fighting ventures, specifically targeting the sponsorship, exhibition, and gambling associated with these events. This legislation clarifies the definition of a rooster for legal purposes and bans the interstate transport of roosters for fighting. Furthermore, it empowers private citizens to file lawsuits against violators, allowing for civil penalties and the potential seizure of property used to facilitate illegal animal fighting.

The American Flags to Honor Our Veterans Act of 2025 specifically authorizes the placement of the U.S. flag directly next to the gravesite of any individual who served in the Armed Forces or is a veteran. This provision ensures that flags can be displayed securely and upright next to individual graves, regardless of other existing flag display regulations.

The Nuclear REFUEL Act amends the Atomic Energy Act to clarify regulations surrounding nuclear fuel processing. Specifically, it excludes the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from the definition of a "production facility" if the process does not separate plutonium from other transuranic elements. This change aims to streamline regulatory oversight for certain fuel recycling activities.

The STOP CSAM Act of 2025 significantly strengthens protections for child victims and witnesses in federal court by expanding definitions of harm and restricting the public disclosure of their identities. It mandates new, strict reporting duties for tech providers regarding child sexual exploitation material, backed by substantial criminal and civil penalties for non-compliance. Furthermore, the Act creates broad new civil remedies allowing victims to sue responsible online platforms and app stores for damages related to exploitation that occurred during their childhood. Finally, it improves restitution procedures, particularly for vulnerable victims, while ensuring existing state and tribal protections remain intact.

The Advanced AI Security Readiness Act mandates the creation of an "AI Security Playbook" to defend cutting-edge artificial intelligence from theft by sophisticated actors. Developed by the NSA Director through the AI Security Center, this playbook will detail vulnerabilities, identify critical components of advanced AI, and outline strategies for defense and response. The goal is to establish robust security measures for technologies deemed high-risk to national security.

The Foreign Animal Disease Prevention, Surveillance, and Rapid Response Act of 2025 reauthorizes and significantly increases mandatory funding levels for critical animal disease prevention and management programs through 2031. This legislation ensures sustained financial support for national animal health laboratories, surveillance efforts, and preparedness initiatives. The bill updates funding allocations to enhance the nation's ability to rapidly respond to potential foreign animal disease outbreaks.

The Stop the Baseline Bloat Act of 2025 aims to reform how federal budget baselines are calculated under existing deficit control laws. Specifically, this bill mandates that funding designated as "emergency requirements" or provided through supplemental appropriations must be excluded when determining the baseline spending level. This change seeks to prevent temporary, non-recurring spending from artificially inflating future budget caps.

The Fog Observations and Geographic Forecasting Act establishes a new project to significantly improve the prediction of coastal marine fog. This initiative focuses on gathering enhanced real-time ocean data and developing more accurate forecasting models. The ultimate goal is to increase safety for marine operations and reduce economic losses caused by unexpected fog events.

The RNs for Rural Health Act of 2025 aims to improve preventative care access in rural areas by updating Medicare payment rules for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). This legislation allows RHCs to bill Medicare for "personalized prevention plan services" delivered by a licensed Registered Nurse (RN). This ensures RN-led preventative care is adequately covered and reimbursed under the Medicare program.

The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2025 aims to strengthen existing federal background check systems to prevent prohibited persons from acquiring firearms. This bill primarily mandates that most private firearm transfers must be facilitated through a licensed dealer who will conduct a background check. The legislation includes specific exceptions for family gifts, law enforcement, and temporary transfers under emergency circumstances.

The Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act of 2025 updates federal programs to better support and protect runaway, homeless, and trafficked youth. This legislation modernizes grant programs to ensure services are trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, and address critical needs like housing, education, and mental health. It also expands communication channels to include online outreach and strengthens coordination across federal agencies to combat youth homelessness and exploitation.

The Financing Lead Out of Water Act of 2025 (Flow Act) modifies tax-exempt bond rules to encourage the replacement of privately-owned lead water pipes. This legislation clarifies that using these bonds for qualified lead service line replacement does not count as prohibited private business use. This change allows public water systems to finance necessary lead pipe removal to meet federal drinking water standards.

The Veterans PTSD Screening Act mandates the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to conduct a study on using RNA sequencing as a diagnostic tool for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in veterans. This research will investigate if genetic testing can accurately identify biological markers related to PTSD. The VA must complete the study by September 2027 and report its findings to Congress by September 2028.

The Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act of 2025 addresses the funding and administration of the federal bankruptcy system. This bill primarily increases the compensation for Chapter 7 trustees to address decades of stagnant pay while adjusting various bankruptcy fees to ensure the U.S. Trustee System remains self-funded. Additionally, it extends the term limits for certain temporary bankruptcy judge offices.

The Knock Out Cancer Act aims to aggressively combat cancer by significantly increasing funding for the National Cancer Institute's research efforts through 2030. The bill also mandates a comprehensive report from the Department of Health and Human Services to address and recommend solutions for ongoing cancer drug shortages. Ultimately, this legislation seeks to accelerate breakthroughs, improve survival rates through better detection awareness, and reduce cancer-related deaths.

The Community TEAMS Act of 2025 establishes new federal grants to fund partnerships between medical schools and local health facilities in rural and medically underserved communities. These grants aim to expand clinical training opportunities for medical students in high-need areas. The ultimate goal is to encourage these students to establish long-term medical practices within those communities after graduation.

The CLOUD Aircraft Act mandates the Department of Defense (DoD) to conduct a comprehensive study on the feasibility and cost of equipping all military fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft with advanced air-to-air and air-to-ground collision detection systems. This study, conducted in coordination with the FAA, must specifically address aircraft operating frequently in busy domestic airspace. The Secretary of Defense is required to report the findings and recommendations to Congress within 180 days of the Act's enactment.

The Flexible Acquisition of Software Technology (FAST) Act grants the Secretary of Defense new authority to streamline how the Department of Defense (DoD) purchases and modifies software and data to support its artificial intelligence (AI) systems. This allows the DoD to acquire necessary technology through flexible methods, such as Software as a Service (SaaS) and Data as a Service. The Secretary must establish new regulations to govern these modernized procurement practices for AI technology.