United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Election Results Accountability Act This bill establishes deadlines for states to count ballots and certify results in federal elections. Specifically, the bill requires a state to count not less than 90% of the ballots cast in a federal election held in the state not later than 72 hours after polls close and make the result of the count publicly available. Further, the state must certify and make publicly available the complete election results not later than two weeks after the election. The bill provides exceptions to these deadlines, including for bona fide emergencies (e.g., major disasters) or technical difficulties (e.g., malfunctioning election equipment or software). The bill prohibits a state from receiving federal election administration funds for subsequent elections if the state does not comply with the deadlines established by the bill. However, a state may regain eligibility for these funds if (1) the state submits a compliance plan to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), and (2) the EAC and DOJ each certify that the state has taken actions to comply with the plan.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2025
Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2025 This bill requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to review and update its regulations and policies on mental health for pilots and air traffic controllers. The FAA must update regulations and take any other actions necessary to implement the recommendations of (1) the Aviation Workforce Mental Health Task Group, and (2) the Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee (the ARC). The FAA must also annually review and update, as appropriate, the applicable regulations and policies on mental health-related special issuance for pilots and air traffic controllers. As background, an Authorization for Special Issuance of a Medical Certificate is a discretionary document from the FAA which allows an airman with a disqualifying medical condition to fly under a restricted medical certificate. Among other things, the review and update must reclassify and approve additional medications that may be safely prescribed to airmen to treat mental health conditions, delegate additional authority to aviation medical examiners (AMEs) consistent with the ARC recommendations, and improve the special issuance process for pilots and air traffic controllers. The bill authorizes the FAA to take actions to recruit and train additional AMEs. The bill also authorizes an FAA public information campaign or education efforts to (1) destigmatize individuals in (or interested in joining) the aviation industry who seek mental health care, (2) broaden awareness of available supportive services, and (3) establish trust with pilots and air traffic controllers.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2025
Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 This bill imposes penalties on certain persons (individuals and entities) if the President determines that the Russian government or a person acting at Russia's direction is involved with (1) refusing to negotiate a peace agreement with Ukraine; (2) violating a negotiated peace agreement; (3) initiating another invasion of Ukraine; or (4) overthrowing, dismantling, or seeking to subvert the Ukrainian government. If the President makes such a determination, the bill requires certain actions including the President must impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on specified persons such as the Russian president, certain Russian military commanders, and any foreign person that knowingly provides defense items to the Russian armed forces; the President must increase the rate of duty on all goods and services imported from Russia into the United States to at least 500% relative to the value of such goods and services; the President must increase the rate of duty on all goods and services imported into the United States from countries that knowingly engage in the exchange of Russian-origin uranium and petroleum products to at least 500% relative to the value of such goods and services; the Department of the Treasury must impose property-blocking sanctions on any financial institution organized under Russian law and owned wholly or partly by Russia, and any financial institution that engages in transactions with those entities; and the Department of Commerce must prohibit the export, reexport, or in-country transfer to or in Russia of any U.S.-produced energy or energy product.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2025
Ensuring Access to Specialty care Everywhere Act of 2025 or the EASE Act of 2025 This bill requires the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to test a model that uses a network of providers to remotely furnish specialty health care to Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries in rural areas. To conduct the model, the CMMI must select at least one provider network that is a nonprofit entity and that consists of at least 50 federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, critical access hospitals, or rural emergency hospitals. At least half of the providers in the network must be located in rural areas. Providers must use digital methods (e.g., telehealth technology) to provide specialty care and must coordinate with beneficiaries' primary care providers.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2025
This bill designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3817 Marysville Boulevard in Sacramento, California, as the "Grantland Johnson Post Office".
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2025
Fire Safe Electrical Corridors Act of 2025 This bill allows the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to expedite the removal of trees or other vegetation near electrical lines on their lands under certain circumstances. Specifically, the Forest Service and the BLM may include in special use permits or easements provided to electrical utilities permission to cut, remove, and sell trees or other vegetation near electrical lines on such lands without a separate timber sale if the cutting or removal is consistent with (1) any applicable land and resource management plan, and (2) other applicable environmental laws. A special use permit or easement that includes permission for cutting and removal of trees or vegetation must include a requirement that, if the applicable electrical utility sells any portion of the material removed under the permit or easement, the utility must provide to the Forest Service or the BLM any proceeds received from the sale, less any transportation costs incurred in the sale.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2025
Romance Scam Prevention Act This bill requires online dating service providers (i.e., mobile applications or websites) to provide users with a fraud ban notification if the user has established an account with the service and received a message through the service from a banned user of the service. The fraud ban notification must include (1) the username or other profile identifier of the banned user and the most recent time when the user who is receiving the notification sent or received a message through the service to or from the banned user, (2) a statement that the banned user may have been using a false identity or attempting to defraud other users, (3) a statement that the user should not send cash (or another form of currency) or personal financial information to another user, (4) information about avoiding online fraud (e.g., a link to another website or a disclosure) and (5) contact information for the provider's customer service department. The bill provides for enforcement of these requirements by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2025
Modern, Clean, and Safe Trucks Act of 2025 This bill repeals the 12% federal excise tax imposed on the first retail sale of certain heavy trucks, trailers, and tractors that generally are used on the highway. As background, a 12% federal excise tax is imposed on the sale price (of the first retail sale) of truck bodies and chassis suitable for use with a vehicle having a gross vehicle weight of over 33,000 pounds; truck trailer and semitrailer bodies and chassis suitable for use with a vehicle having a gross vehicle weight over 26,000 pounds; and tractors that are generally used for highway transportation in combination with a trailer or semitrailer, have a gross vehicle weight over 19,500 pounds, and have a gross combined weight of greater than 33,000 pounds. Amounts collected from the excise tax on the retail sale of heavy trucks, trailers, and tractors are deposited into the Highway Trust Fund. (The Highway Trust Fund supports surface transportation programs and projects.) Under current law, the excise tax on the retail sale of heavy trucks, trailers, and tractors expires on October 1, 2028.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2025
Veterans Mental Health and Addiction Therapy Quality of Care Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to seek to enter into an agreement with an independent and objective organization to study the difference in quality of mental health and addiction therapy care provided by the VA compared to non-VA providers across various modalities. The organization must publish its findings publicly.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2025
Safer Skies Act of 2025 This bill directs the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to require that certain small public charter air carrier operations comply with the Aircraft Operator Standard Security Program (AOSSP). As background, the TSA has different types of security programs based on the nature of the air carrier’s operations. Currently, the AOSSP requirements apply to all scheduled passenger service with a seating capacity of 61 or more seats that operate into or out of a TSA-controlled sterile area. The TSA also has other security programs that have less stringent security requirements than the AOSSP. These programs are designed for different types of aircraft operators, including operations under Part 135 (e.g., scheduled commuter flights in smaller aircraft) and Part 380 (e.g., public charter flights) of the Department of Transportation’s regulations. This bill applies the AOSSP requirements to air carriers operating under Part 135 and Part 380 that (1) operate scheduled public charter service, (2) operate airplanes configured with 10 or more passenger seats, and (3) do not enplane or deplane in a TSA-managed checkpoint.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2025
This bill directs the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to permanently allow states to exempt school bus drivers from the “under-the-hood” testing requirement for a commercial driver's license (CDL). As background, on December 2, 2024, the FMCSA renewed an exemption through November 28, 2026, that allows states to exempt all school bus driver applicants for a CDL from the engine compartment portion of the pre-trip vehicle inspection skills testing requirement, commonly referred to as the under-the-hood testing requirement. States must meet certain terms and conditions for the exemption. Under the bill, the FMCSA must make permanent the December 2, 2024, exemption, thus permanently allowing states to exempt school bus drivers from the under-the-hood testing requirement. States must meet the additional terms and conditions for an exemption, which include (1) restricting school bus drivers who are issued a CDL based on the exemption to the intrastate operation of school buses, and (2) requiring states to conduct the remaining pre-trip vehicle inspection components of the skills test. Further, the FMCSA must require any state participating in the exemption to submit an annual report describing the number of drivers that obtain a CDL under the exemption.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2025
American Families United Act This bill authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the Department of Justice (DOJ) to exercise discretion in certain immigration cases. Under this bill, DOJ or DHS may, on a case-by-case basis, exercise discretion by declining to remove a non-U.S. national ( alien under federal law) or bar an alien from entering the United States to prevent hardship for the alien's U.S. citizen spouse, parent, or child. This discretion may also be exercised if the alien is the spouse or child of a deceased U.S. citizen. For the purposes of this bill, it shall be presumed that family separation constitutes hardship. However, DOJ or DHS may not exercise this discretion if the alien is removable or inadmissible due to certain grounds, including specified crime- and security-related grounds. This exercise of discretion may be applied to an alien who was ordered removed or denied entry prior to this bill's enactment if the alien files a motion to reopen or reconsider within two years of this bill's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2025
John W. Walsh Alpha-1 Home Infusion Act of 2025 This bill provides for Medicare coverage of treatment for alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency (a protein deficiency that raises the risk of lung and other diseases). Specifically, the bill provides for coverage of at-home augmentation therapy for beneficiaries with emphysema as a result of severe hereditary AAT deficiency. Treatment must be provided through qualified home infusion therapy suppliers; beneficiaries must be under the care of a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2025
Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act This bill provides statutory authority for the requirement that state Medicaid programs check, as part of the provider enrollment and reenrollment process, whether providers are deceased through the Social Security Administration's Death Master File. The bill requires states to continue to check this database on at least a quarterly basis after providers are enrolled.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2025
This joint resolution nullifies the rule issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service titled Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for the San Francisco Bay-Delta Distinct Population Segment of the Longfin Smelt and published on July 30, 2024. The rule lists the San Francisco Bay-Delta distinct population segment of longfin smelt, a fish species of the Pacific Coast, as an endangered species. Thus, the joint resolution removes protection for the species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2025
Innovative Feed Enhancement and Economic Development Act of 2025 or the Innovative FEED Act of 2025 This bill provides for the regulation of zootechnical animal food substances as food additives. The bill defines zootechnical animal food substance as a substance that is added to the food or drinking water of animals and that affects only the animal's gastrointestinal tract, with the intended purpose of affecting the byproducts of the animal's digestion, reducing foodborne pathogens, or altering the animal's gastrointestinal biome. The definition does not include substances that are used to treat or prevent diseases in animals, hormones, or active ingredients of animal drugs. Labels for zootechnical animal food substances must include a disclaimer that the substance may not be used to treat or prevent diseases in animals.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2025
Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act This bill specifies certain requirements for private health insurers regarding coverage of individuals with end stage renal disease (ESRD) who are also covered under Medicare. In particular, the bill specifies that insurers may not limit benefits, including limiting network composition, in a manner that will affect ESRD Medicare beneficiaries differently compared to others without ESRD. The bill additionally specifies that insurers are not required to include a particular renal dialysis provider or a particular number of such providers as part of their networks.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2025
No Veteran Falls Through the Cracks Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to attempt to reschedule a veteran's mental health care appointment if the veteran has canceled such an appointment.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2025
Physician Led and Rural Access to Quality Care Act This bill expands flexibilities for physicians and physician-owned hospitals under the Stark law (i.e., the Physician Self-Referral Law). The Stark law generally prohibits physicians from referring patients to receive services that are payable under Medicare or Medicaid from entities in which the physician or an immediate family member has a financial relationship. The bill allows physicians or their immediate family members to have financial interests in rural hospitals that are located more than 35 miles (or 15 miles in certain mountainous areas or areas with only secondary roads) from a hospital or critical access hospital. The Stark law also generally prohibits physician-owned hospitals from expanding the number of operating rooms, procedure rooms, or beds beyond the number in existence as of March 23, 2010, in order to be excepted under the Stark law. The bill removes this restriction.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2025
This bill designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 130 South Patterson Avenue in Santa Barbara, California, as the "Brigadier General Frederick R. Lopez Post Office Building".
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2025
Homes for Every Local Protector, Educator, and Responder Act of 2025 or the HELPER Act of 2025 This bill establishes a program administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide mortgage assistance to law enforcement officers, elementary and secondary school teachers, firefighters, or other first responders. Specifically, these individuals may be eligible for a first-time mortgage on a primary family residence with no down payment. Instead, the mortgage is subject to a one-time, up-front mortgage insurance premium.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2025
Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act This bill expedites payment of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and eligibility for Medicare coverage for those with metastatic breast cancer (i.e., breast cancer that has spread to other sites in the body). Specifically, the bill eliminates the 5-month waiting period for SSDI benefits and the subsequent 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage for individuals with metastatic breast cancer. Under current law, individuals generally must wait 5 months after the onset of disability to begin receiving SSDI benefits and an additional 24 months to become eligible for Medicare.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2025
Resident Education Deferred Interest Act or the REDI Act This bill allows borrowers in medical or dental internships or residency programs to defer student loan payments until the completion of their programs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2025
Crucial Communism Teaching Act This bill directs the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation to develop a civic education curriculum and oral history resources for high school students to promote understanding of certain political ideologies (e.g., communism and totalitarianism) that conflict with principles of U.S. democracy.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2025
25th Anniversary of 9/11 Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue coins to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and the establishment of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center. The sale of all coins issued under this bill must include a surcharge to be paid to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center to support operations and maintenance. However, if the issuance of this commemorative coin exceeds certain annual limits, no surcharge may be included.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2025
Securing American Agriculture Act This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to assess, on an annual basis, U.S. dependency on critical agricultural products or inputs that could be exploited in the event that China weaponizes such a dependency. USDA must submit a report to Congress on the assessment, which must include recommendations to reduce U.S. dependency on China to supply critical agricultural products or inputs. Under the bill, critical inputs include all farm management, agronomic, and field-applied production inputs (e.g., agricultural equipment, fertilizers, veterinary drugs, and seed). The bill specifies that, in conducting the assessment, USDA may not require a private entity to provide information to USDA. Further, the bill requires USDA to comply with certain confidentiality requirements and restricts disclosures of the information.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2025
Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act This bill prohibits a Federal Reserve bank from offering products or services directly to an individual, maintaining an account on behalf of an individual, or issuing a central bank digital currency (i.e., a digital dollar). Further, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is prohibited from using a central bank digital currency to implement monetary policy or from testing, studying, creating, or implementing a central bank digital currency, with exceptions as provided by the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2025
Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2029 and modifies the Rural Cooperative Development Grant (RCDG) Program. This Department of Agriculture (USDA) program provides grants to nonprofit institutions to help individuals and businesses start, expand, or improve rural cooperatives and other mutually-owned businesses through Rural Cooperative Development Centers. USDA must give preference to grants that commit to providing technical assistance and other services to socially vulnerable, underserved, or distressed communities. Under current law, USDA must give preference to underserved and economically distressed areas in rural areas. In addition, USDA may give an additional preference to applications that commit to providing a 25% matching contribution for the center with private funds and in-kind contributions. Specifically, USDA may award the maximum points in application scoring criteria to applicants that satisfy this requirement. Under the bill, cooperative development includes activities (e.g., outreach, education, training, and technical assistance) to support the startup, expansion, or ongoing sustainability of new and existing cooperatives. Current law does not define cooperative development. The bill directs the RCDG interagency working group to submit an annual report to Congress on its activities. Finally, the program currently includes cooperative research program requirements to collect data on the effects of all types of cooperatives on the national economy. Under the bill, USDA must analyze the data resulting from the research and include the data and analysis in the annual report to Congress.
![Official portrait of Rep. Valadao, David G. [R-CA-22]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/v000129_200.jpg)