Legislative Activity

The USDA Loan Modernization Act updates eligibility requirements for various USDA farm loans, including real estate, operating, and emergency loans. The bill standardizes ownership requirements across these programs, generally replacing "a majority" interest with a clear "at least a 50 percent" ownership threshold. It also introduces new provisions to accommodate complex business structures and recognizes "qualified operators" as automatically meeting certain criteria.

Alyssa's Act of 2025 establishes a grant program to help schools develop emergency response maps and comprehensive master plans for preventing and responding to school shootings. The bill also significantly expands the Federal Clearinghouse on School Safety Evidence-based Practices to enhance research, technical assistance, and the development of new safety technologies like panic alarms. Furthermore, it mandates the creation of a National School Safety Data Center to analyze nationwide school safety issues and trends. Finally, the Act sets technical standards for federally funded emergency response maps and requires ongoing reporting on national planning efforts.

The Affordable Housing Through Common-Sense Standards Act mandates a study by the Comptroller General on the effects of establishing a Federal uniform residential building code. This study will analyze the potential for such a code to lower construction costs, speed up local approval times, and improve the quality and affordability of housing nationwide. A report detailing these findings must be submitted to Congress within one year.

The Whistleblower Protection Act of 2025 expands existing federal whistleblower safeguards to cover nearly all contracts, grants, and agreements funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This ensures that individuals reporting wrongdoing on HUD-funded projects receive standard federal whistleblower protections. These protections apply retroactively to existing agreements.

The UPLIFT Act establishes a new, refundable residential energy tax credit for taxpayers facing significant increases in electricity, natural gas, or propane costs. This credit, capped at \$1,200 or \$2,400 for joint filers, is only available when energy price inflation exceeds 2% year-over-year. The benefit is subject to an income-based phase-out for higher-earning households.

The Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act of 2025 mandates that the Department of Health and Human Services conduct widespread outreach to educate Medicare beneficiaries on how to authorize family caregivers to access their personal health information via 1-800-MEDICARE. The bill requires the integration of this authorization process into official Medicare resources and mandates the development of new fraud protection best practices to ensure beneficiary security. By streamlining access and providing clear guidance, this legislation aims to better support caregivers while safeguarding sensitive health data.

This bill, the Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act, officially authorizes Congress to award Congressional Gold Medals to the 1980 U.S. Men's Olympic Ice Hockey Team for their historic "Miracle on Ice" victory. The medals will be struck by the Treasury and permanently displayed at specific national sports museums. The Act also permits the sale of duplicate bronze medals to cover production costs.

The Protect America's Workforce Act nullifies a specific Executive Order issued in March 2025 concerning exclusions from federal labor-management relations programs. This legislation ensures that any existing collective bargaining agreements between federal agencies and employee unions remain fully in effect until their stated expiration dates. The Act also prohibits the use of federal funds to implement the overturned Executive Order.

The Student Financial Clarity Act of 2025 aims to significantly increase transparency in college costs for students and families. It mandates major enhancements to the College Scorecard website with detailed, disaggregated data on costs, aid, and outcomes for every program of study. The bill also establishes a Universal Net Price Calculator to provide personalized, comparable cost estimates across institutions. These changes will require colleges to report costs based on specific programs rather than a single institutional average, with an effective date of July 1, 2027.

The Safer Schools Act of 2025 establishes a five-year pilot program managed by the Attorney General to award grants to public schools for security enhancements. These grants fund independent facility security risk assessments and "hard security improvements," such as physical infrastructure upgrades. Priority is given to schools that have experienced past incidents of deadly harm, and recipients must report on the effectiveness of the improvements.

The College Financial Aid Clarity Act of 2025 mandates that colleges standardize how they present financial aid offers to students starting in 2029. This new federal requirement establishes a uniform "Financial Aid Offer" format, ensuring clear, consistent language and specific disclosures about costs, loans, and net price. The goal is to make comparing financial aid packages simpler and more transparent for students and families.

The Professional Degree Access Restoration Act amends the Higher Education Act to eliminate specific annual and aggregate loan limits for Federal Direct PLUS Loans made to graduate and professional students. This action removes previous restrictions on the maximum amount graduate students can borrow through these federal loan programs.

The Helping Improve Recruitment and Retention Efforts for Prosecutors Act of 2025 establishes a federal grant program to assist state, local, territorial, and tribal governments in hiring, retaining, and training prosecutors and support staff. Administered by the Attorney General, the program will award competitive grants, prioritizing offices in underserved or budget-impacted areas. This initiative is authorized with $10 million annually from 2026 through 2030, requiring a 25% non-federal match unless waived.

This bill reauthorizes and updates the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program through 2031. It directs the program to focus on integrating advanced technologies for improved snowpack measurement and modeling to enhance water supply forecasts. The legislation also emphasizes building partner capacity and coordinating with other federal agencies to better inform water management decisions.

The Labor Enforcement to Securely Protect Workers (LETS Protect Workers) Act significantly increases civil penalties for violations across major federal labor laws, including child labor, wage and hour, and workplace safety standards. It strengthens enforcement mechanisms for mine safety violations and retaliation against miners, while also establishing new penalties for employer unfair labor practices under the National Labor Relations Act. Furthermore, the bill enhances enforcement for health plan parity and makes certain recordkeeping failures under OSHA and FLSA continuing violations.

The Loan Equity for Advanced Professionals Act raises the federal student loan limits for graduate and professional students. Effective July 1, 2026, the annual borrowing limit for Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans will increase to \$50,000, and the aggregate limit will rise to \$200,000. This aims to provide greater financial support for advanced degree candidates.

This bill exempts specific, carefully defined less-than-lethal projectile devices and their ammunition from the federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition. It also removes these qualifying devices from regulation under the National Firearms Act. The legislation establishes clear criteria, including velocity limits and design restrictions, to ensure the exemption applies only to tools intended for de-escalation rather than lethal force. Manufacturers can request official classification for their products to confirm eligibility for these tax and regulatory benefits.

The Joe Fiandra Access to Home Infusion Act of 2025 expands Medicare coverage for external infusion pumps and associated non-self-administrable home infusion drugs when specific FDA and provider supervision requirements are met. This legislation ensures that necessary home infusion therapies, requiring professional administration, are covered as durable medical equipment for use in the home. Additionally, the bill mandates clear communication to patients regarding out-of-pocket costs for these home treatments compared to other settings.

The Public Lands Military Readiness Act of 2025 extends the military withdrawal period for key training lands in Alaska, New Mexico, and California until 2051. This legislation also corrects the official acreage descriptions for the McGregor Range and Fort Irwin military lands. The bill ensures continued federal land availability necessary for Department of Defense training operations.

The ePermit Act mandates the creation of a unified, digital system for managing all federal environmental reviews and project permits. This system will standardize data, automate processes, and provide real-time public access to review status and documents. The goal is to increase transparency, efficiency, and data interoperability across federal agencies involved in project authorizations.