United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2025
End the Vaccine Carveout Act This bill removes liability protections for manufacturers and administrators for vaccine-related injuries, and removes limitations on bringing civil actions for vaccine-related injuries or seeking compensation, under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). It also excludes COVID-19 vaccines from liability protections under the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP). Under current law, the VICP provides compensation for alleged injuries caused by certain routinely administered vaccines. Individuals generally may not file a civil action in court unless a VICP claim is filed and the resulting judgement is rejected. The VICP also limits the types of claims and amount of damages that may be sought (e.g., no liability for unavoidable side effects or failure to directly warn), and it imposes deadlines for filing claims. The bill removes the requirement to first file a claim under the VICP before pursuing a civil action, so individuals alleging vaccine-related injuries may choose to either bring a civil action or utilize the VICP. It also removes the restrictions on the types of civil actions and damages. The bill also removes the deadlines for filing claims under the VICP and applies this change retroactively. Additionally, under current law, the CICP provides compensation for alleged injuries caused by certain medical countermeasures during public health emergencies, including COVID-19 vaccines. The bill excludes COVID-19 vaccines from being considered as medical countermeasures. Therefore, under the bill, individuals may file civil actions against manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines rather than filing claims under the CICP.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2025
Stopping Teachers Unions from Damaging Education Needs Today Act or the STUDENT Act This bill revises the federal charter for the National Education Association. The bill specifies that the corporation and its state and local affiliates may only accept payment of membership dues or fees from a state or local government employee if the employee (1) has been notified of the employee's right under the First Amendment to refrain from membership and payment of associated dues or fees, (2) has clearly and affirmatively consented to membership and payment of associated dues or fees, and (3) has authorized the transmittal of membership dues or fees without the use of payroll deduction. Further, the corporation and its state or local affiliates must process and honor cancellation requests for membership or payment of dues as soon as practicable following receipt of the request. The bill also outlines requirements for the corporation, such as prohibiting the corporation or its directors or officers from contributing to, supporting, or participating in political activities; requiring each officer of the corporation to be a U.S. citizen; requiring the corporation to submit annual reports to Congress; prohibiting the corporation and its affiliates from requiring staff, officers, affiliates, or members to affirm, adopt, or adhere to certain principles related to race or sex; and prohibiting the corporation and its affiliates from calling or participating in a strike, work stoppage, or slowdown affecting a state or local government. The bill repeals the corporation's exemption from District of Columbia property taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2025
This bill prohibits the Government Accountability Office (GAO) from bringing a civil action under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA) to compel the release of appropriated funds unless Congress has enacted a concurrent resolution authorizing GAO to bring the action. The ICA generally limits the authority of the President to impound (i.e., withhold from obligation or expenditure) funds that have been appropriated by Congress and establishes related procedures. Under current law, GAO is authorized to bring a civil action to compel a federal agency to release budget authority for obligation if the budget authority is required to be released under the ICA, and the agency has not released the funds. This bill prohibits GAO from bringing such an action without prior congressional approval.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2025
TPS Reform Act of 2025 This bill changes the procedures for designating a country with temporary protected status (TPS) and places restrictions on who is allowed to benefit from this status. (Qualified nationals of a TPS-designated country are eligible for work authorization and may not be removed from the United States while the status is in effect.) Specifically, the bill requires an act of Congress to designate a TPS country, whereas currently the Department of Homeland Security has such authority. The initial act of designating a TPS country must include a time period for the designation of up to 18 months and also contain certain information, including an estimate of the number of individuals who would benefit from the status. Congress may also pass an act to terminate or extend a designation. The bill also establishes that a non-U.S. national ( alien under federal law) who lacks lawful immigration status may not receive the benefits of temporary protected status.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2025
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026 This bill provides FY2026 appropriations for the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration, and related agencies. The bill provides appropriations to USDA for agricultural programs, including the Office of the Secretary, Executive Operations, the Economic Research Service, the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Agricultural Research Service, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Agricultural Marketing Service, and the Food Safety and Inspection Service. The bill also provides appropriations to USDA for farm production and conservation programs, including the Farm Production and Conservation Business Center, the Farm Service Agency, the Risk Management Agency, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The bill provides appropriations to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Fund and the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund. For USDA rural development programs, the bill includes appropriations for Salaries and Expenses, the Rural Housing Service, the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, and the Rural Utilities Service. The bill provides appropriations to the Food and Nutrition Service for Child Nutrition Programs; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); the Commodity Assistance Program; and Nutrition Programs Administration. The bill provides appropriations to the Foreign Agricultural Service for (1) Food for Peace Title II Grants, and (2) McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program Grants. The bill also provides appropriations for the Food and Drug Administration, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Farm Credit Administration. Additionally, the bill sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations acts.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2025
Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2025 This bill repeals provisions under the Stark law (i.e., the Physician Self-Referral Law) that limit, for purposes of Medicare participation, self-referrals by newly constructed or expanded physician-owned hospitals.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2025
Strengthening Transparency and Obligations to Protect Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment Act of 2025 or the STOP CSAM Act of 2025 This bill revises the federal framework governing the prevention of online child sexual exploitation to expand protections for victims, expand requirements for electronic communication service providers and remote computing service providers (providers), and expand related penalties and remedies. The bill extends protections for child victims and witnesses who testify in federal court (e.g., privacy protections) to child victims and witnesses of kidnapping offenses and to child victims and witnesses who were under 18 years of age at the time of the crime, even if they are 18 or older at the time of court proceedings. Additionally, the bill establishes statutory procedures for courts to appoint a trustee to hold restitution payments for certain victims (e.g., minor victims) of offenses involving human trafficking, sexual abuse, child sexual abuse material, illegal sexual activity and related crimes, or crimes of violence. The bill requires providers to report online child sexual exploitation to the CyberTipline (i.e., the national reporting system for online child sexual exploitation) within 60 days. Reports must include specified information, such as information about repeat offenders. The bill establishes criminal and civil penalties for providers who fail to comply with the requirements. Finally, the bill prohibits providers from hosting or storing child pornography or knowingly facilitating the sexual exploitation of children and allows victims to pursue civil remedies.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2025
Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2025 This bill prohibits all federal health care programs, including the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and federally funded state health care programs (e.g., Medicaid) from using prices that are based on quality-adjusted life years (i.e., measures that discount the value of a life based on disability, age, or terminal illness) to determine relevant thresholds for coverage, reimbursements, or incentive programs. The Government Accountability Office must annually report on how the use of quality-adjusted life years negatively affects individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The bill also reduces funding for the Prevention and Public Health Fund for FY2026-FY2031.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2025
Fighting Irrational Regulatory Enforcement to Avert Retailers’ Misfortune Act or the FIREARM Act This bill prohibits the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from bringing an enforcement action to revoke or deny renewal of a federal firearms license on the basis of a self-reported violation that is correctable, so long as the violation did not involve the transfer of a firearm to a prohibited person. The term self-reported violation means a violation of a statutory provision or implementing regulation by a federal firearms licensee (e.g., a gun dealer) that the licensee reports to the ATF before it is discovered during a compliance inspection. The bill applies retroactively.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2025
Reproductive Empowerment and Support Through Optimal Restoration Act or the RESTORE ACT This bill explicitly prohibits penalizing health care providers for declining to participate in assisted reproductive technology (e.g., in vitro fertilization). It also modifies services and training relating to reproductive health, especially to support an approach the bill refers to as restorative reproductive medicine . The bill describes restorative reproductive medicine as using methods such as monitoring reproductive health and addressing health conditions that may cause infertility (e.g., endometriosis) to restore reproductive function without using methods such as assisted reproductive technology. The bill prohibits the federal government and entities receiving federal funding from penalizing health care providers that decline to (1) participate in assisted reproductive technology, or (2) facilitate such activities due to religious beliefs or moral convictions. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must update the medical codes for classifying infertility treatments to reflect the latest practices for restorative reproductive medicine. Also, HHS must expand the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program to include grants to entities focusing on restorative reproductive medicine. HHS must also deem entities providing or teaching restorative reproductive medicine eligible for certain family planning grants, when otherwise eligible. Additionally, HHS must issue reports every three years on the standards of care for diagnosing infertility and reproductive health conditions, require the Reproductive Health National Training Center to provide training on restorative reproductive medicine, develop education within HHS programs on treating male infertility, and expand research on restorative reproductive medicine and reproductive health conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2025
Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2025 This bill establishes several requirements and standards relating to prior authorization processes under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Specifically, MA plans must (1) establish an electronic prior authorization program that meets specified standards; (2) annually submit to the CMS for publication specified prior authorization information, including the percentage of requests approved and the average response time; and (3) meet other standards, as set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), relating to the quality and timeliness of prior authorization determinations. The CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology must publish on the CMS' website a report that analyzes the information received from MA plans, the feasibility of implementing real-time decision making with respect to prior authorization requests, and the impact of decisions that are made using artificial intelligence on patient access.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2025
Protect Children’s Innocence Act of 2025 This bill establishes federal criminal offenses for providing gender-affirming care to minors. The bill also changes the existing federal criminal offense that prohibits female genital mutilation (FGM) and related conduct. Specifically, the bill makes it a federal crime to knowingly perform or attempt to perform procedures or provide medications (e.g., hormonal treatments) to a minor for the purpose of changing their body to correspond to a sex that differs from their biological sex. The bill provides exceptions for specified types of surgeries or procedures, including those for treating (1) individuals who have both ovarian and testicular tissue or abnormal sex chromosome structure or hormones, or (2) infections or other harms that result from a previous gender-transition procedure. A violation is punishable by a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both. The bill prohibits the arrest or prosecution of an individual who undergoes gender-affirming procedures or medications. Additionally, the bill makes changes to the existing federal criminal prohibition on performing FGM on a minor and related conduct. Among the changes, the bill broadens the scope of prohibited conduct to include the facilitation or consent to FGM by any person (currently, prohibited facilitation or consent applies only to a parent, guardian, or caretaker of the minor). The bill also prohibits the arrest or prosecution of an individual who undergoes FGM. The bill does not change the applicable criminal penalty of a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2025
More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed Act or the MOMS Act This bill establishes requirements to enable the collection of certain child support during pregnancy, establishes grants for supportive services for women that promote alternatives to abortions, and requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a website with pregnancy resources other than those about abortions. Specifically, the bill requires states to apply child support obligations to the time period during pregnancy under the Child Support Enforcement program. (The program enables states to receive federal matching funds for expenses related to child support enforcement activities and related services.) Such child support applies at the request of the mother and may be applied retroactively. Also, HHS must award grants to nonprofits to provide pregnant and postpartum women, and women parenting young children, with services or information on topics including health care (excluding abortions), child care, and employment assistance. It also requires HHS to provide grants to health care providers in rural or medically underserved areas, as well as tribal areas, to purchase equipment enabling telehealth visits for prenatal and postnatal care (e.g., monitoring devices). Additionally, the bill requires HHS to establish a public website to inform pregnant and postpartum women, and women parenting young children, of nearby services and resources on topics including health care, material or legal support, and alternatives to abortion. States must, as a condition of receiving certain federal funds, provide lists of nonprofit child placement agencies for potential inclusion on the site.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2025
Reducing Medically Unnecessary Delays in Care Act of 2025 This bill requires Medicare coverage decisions, including prior authorization requirements and adverse coverage decisions, to be based on written clinical criteria that is developed in consultation with physicians.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2025
No Harm Act This bill prohibits federal funding for sex-trait altering treatment for minors, authorizes civil actions for harm caused by such procedures, and subjects certain procedures to potential criminal penalties. The bill defines sex-trait altering treatment as generally meaning medical treatment altering the physical or physiological characteristics of an individual’s biological sex (except for treating sexual development disorders, severe injuries, or injuries caused by sex-trait altering treatments). The bill prohibits federal funds for supporting sex-trait altering treatment for minors, government regulatory action promoting such treatment, medical institutions providing such treatment, and elementary or secondary schools allowing school personnel to provide or support such treatment without parental consent. The bill prohibits discrimination against, or penalization of, providers who decline to perform such treatment. Additionally, parents of a minor have a right to decline such treatment for the minor. States that require providers to furnish such treatment, or that do not require parental consent, may not receive certain federal funds. The bill establishes a private right of action against health care providers for harm caused by such treatment or for not obtaining parental consent. It also generally establishes a private right of action against individuals or entities that violate the bill's other provisions. Finally, the bill makes changes to the existing federal criminal prohibition on performing female genital mutilation on a minor. The bill specifies that the performance of sex-altering surgery on a minor is not considered medically necessary and thus may be subject to the applicable criminal penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2025
American Students First Act This bill bars federal financial assistance from going to state public institutions of higher education if the institution offers certain benefits to non-U.S. nationals ( aliens under federal law) who are not lawfully present in the United States. Specifically, these institutions may not offer these individuals (1) tuition rates that are lower than or equal to rates for in-state residents who are U.S. citizens, or (2) state-based financial aid.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2025
Dietary Guidelines Reform Act of 2025 This bill increases the requirements for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). The DGA are federally developed recommendations by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Under the bill, USDA and HHS must jointly publish guidelines at least once every 10 years (currently 5 years), and the final DGA is subject to rulemaking requirements. The DGA must be based on significant scientific agreement that is determined by evidence-based review. Current law requires that the guidelines be based on a preponderance of current scientific and medical knowledge. Further, the guidelines must address issues such as (1) high-priority areas to advance health outcomes, (2) achieving nutritional adequacy and promoting health, and (3) common nutrition-related chronic diseases. In updating the guidelines, USDA and HHS must establish an Independent Advisory Board that must submit a list of scientific questions to be used as the basis for the proposed DGA. Members of the board must (1) have expertise in nutrition science or food science, and (2) disclose all relevant financial and nonfinancial conflicts of interest. The bill prohibits the DGA from being based on or including topics that are not relevant to dietary guidance (e.g., taxation, social welfare policies, food and agricultural production practices, and race). The bill provides specified funds through FY2029 to carry out these requirements. Finally, the bill specifies that the 2020 DGA are the controlling guidelines until new guidelines are published in accordance with these requirements.
![Official portrait of Rep. Harris, Andy [R-MD-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/117_rp_md_1_harris_andy_200.jpg)