Legislative Activity

The Financial Exploitation Prevention Act of 2025 allows registered investment companies to temporarily postpone the redemption of securities for "specified adults" if they reasonably suspect financial exploitation is occurring. This measure requires companies to collect emergency contact information for these accounts and establish internal procedures for handling potential exploitation cases. The Act mandates the SEC to report to Congress with recommendations for further legislative changes to protect vulnerable security holders.

The ENFORCE Act strengthens federal laws against child exploitation by clarifying the crime of producing child pornography intended for interstate commerce. It also significantly enhances enforcement for crimes involving obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse. These enhancements include removing the statute of limitations for prosecution, mandating sex offender registration, and establishing a presumption of pretrial detention for those charged.

The Developing and Empowering our Aspiring Leaders Act of 2025 directs the SEC to update regulations defining "qualifying investments" for venture capital funds. This change expands qualifying investments to include secondary market purchases and investments in other venture capital funds. Furthermore, the bill mandates that at least 51% of a fund's committed capital must consist of direct equity purchases from portfolio companies upon asset acquisition.

The Small Entity Update Act mandates that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) periodically study and update its definition of "small entity" for regulatory purposes. This process requires the SEC to report findings and recommendations to Congress to ensure the definition aligns with market growth and covers a meaningful number of businesses. Following these studies, the SEC must revise its rules and periodically adjust any associated dollar thresholds for inflation.

This Act establishes a policy to support the independence and stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with the Dayton Peace Agreement. It mandates the imposition of targeted U.S. sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, against foreign persons who undermine the agreement or threaten the country's security and democratic institutions. The legislation also ensures the continuation of existing Western Balkans sanctions while providing a mechanism for Congress to request review of potential sanctions targets. This entire framework is set to expire seven years after enactment.

The Encouraging Public Offerings Act of 2025 aims to streamline the process for companies going public. It expands the ability for all issuers, not just smaller ones, to "test the waters" with potential investors before filing. Additionally, the Act modifies rules to allow most companies to confidentially submit draft registration statements to the SEC for review prior to public filing. The SEC is granted authority to establish specific regulations for non-emerging growth companies under these new provisions.

The Increasing Investor Opportunities Act grants closed-end investment companies greater authority to invest their assets in private funds. This legislation prevents the SEC and national stock exchanges from imposing restrictions solely based on a company's investment in private funds. Importantly, this new flexibility does not alter existing fiduciary duties or requirements related to asset valuation and liquidity management.

The Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act mandates that the Department of State regularly review and update its official guidelines governing U.S. relations with Taiwan. This requires the Secretary of State to conduct a review at least every five years and subsequently report these updated guidelines to Congress. The goal is to ensure consistent and transparent execution of U.S. policy toward Taiwan.

The DETERRENCE Act significantly increases federal penalties for serious crimes like kidnapping, murder-for-hire, stalking, and assaults against federal officials. These enhanced sentences are specifically triggered when the criminal activity is knowingly directed by or coordinated with a foreign government or its agents. The bill aims to deter foreign interference in domestic criminal acts by imposing much harsher punishments on those involved.

The "Fee Increases for Reckless Mismanagement Act of 2025" or "FIRM Act of 2025" increases visa application fees for foreign nationals from countries that deny or delay accepting their deported citizens, are state sponsors of terrorism, or are listed as Tier 3 countries in the State Department's Trafficking in Persons report. The fee increase will be between 50% and 150% depending on how many criteria the country meets. The Secretary of State will review these determinations monthly to decide if any increases should be reduced or applied to additional countries.

The Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025 ensures that monetary penalties from False Claims Act cases are deposited into the Crime Victims Fund through fiscal year 2029. This excludes payments to whistleblowers and reimbursements to the government. This will increase the amount of money available to help victims of crimes.

The "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act" ensures that infants born alive after an abortion receive the same medical care as any other newborn, mandating immediate hospitalization and requiring healthcare practitioners to report any failures to comply. Violators face fines, imprisonment, and potential prosecution for homicide or attempted homicide, while the mother of the child cannot be prosecuted. The bill also allows the woman who had the abortion to file a civil action against anyone who violated the act. It defines abortion and attempts at abortion, and renames "Partial-Birth Abortions" to "Abortions" in relevant sections of the U.S. Code.