United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
No Tax Breaks for Union Busting (NTBUB) Act This bill excludes from the tax deduction for ordinary and necessary business expenses amounts paid or incurred to influence employees with respect to labor organizations or labor organization activities. The bill also imposes information reporting requirements related to such expenses and imposes penalties for failure to comply. Under the bill, amounts paid to influence employees with respect to labor organizations include amounts paid (including wages and other costs) in connection with an action that results in a complaint or settlement related to an unfair labor practice or a finding of interference, influence, or coercion related to railway employees’ rights to organize and bargain collectively; for any meeting or training attended by employees and at which labor organizations are discussed; and that require certain employer disclosures and financial reporting. (Some exceptions apply.) The bill requires employers to file a return reporting certain information related to expenses paid to influence employees with respect to labor organizations and imposes a penalty for noncompliance. The amount of the penalty is the greater of (1) $10,000, or (2) $1,000 multiplied by the number full-time equivalent employees. Additional penalties apply for violations that continue for more than 90 days. The bill also imposes information reporting requirements on persons conducting activities on behalf of another person to influence employees with respect to labor organizations. The bill allows certain penalties for noncompliance with the reporting requirements to be waived if noncompliance is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Expanding Access to School Meals Act of 2025 This bill increases student access to free school lunches and breakfasts under the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program of the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Specifically, the bill expands program eligibility to include students in households with income at or below 224% of the federal poverty level. (Currently, students in households with income at or below 130% are eligible.) The bill also eliminates the reduced price school lunch and breakfast programs and prohibits USDA from providing reimbursements for reduced price programs. States may use Medicaid participation data to directly certify students for free school meals. (Direct certification allows schools to approve meals without the need for a separate application for children who receive assistance under other programs.) Under current law, states may apply to participate in a USDA demonstration project to directly certify children for free and reduced price meals based on household income data acquired through Medicaid. Further, the bill increases the number of free meals a school in a high-poverty area may be reimbursed for at the free-meal rate under the Community Eligibility Provision. (This provision allows eligible schools, groups of schools, and school districts to offer free meals at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting separate applications.) Specifically, the bill increases from 1.6% to 2.5% the reimbursement multiplier, which is used to calculate how many meals USDA will reimburse the school for at the free meal rate.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2025
Federal Firearm Licensee Act This bill establishes new security requirements and expands recordkeeping and reporting requirements for federally licensed dealers, importers, and manufacturers of firearms (i.e., federal firearms licensees, or FFLs). The bill also broadens the authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to administer federal firearms laws and enforce violations. Specifically, bill requires FFLs to implement and comply with a plan to secure their business premises, conduct quarterly physical checks of their business inventories, maintain video surveillance of the area where firearms are sold or transferred, and initiate firearms-related background checks for employees. Additionally, the bill requires FFLs to report to the ATF any inventory firearm that is lost, stolen, or unaccounted for and to notify the ATF about default-proceed transactions (i.e., allowable firearm transfers to an unlicensed person prior to the completion of a background check when the submitted background check remains incomplete after three business days). Finally, the bill removes limits on the ATF's authority to conduct activities related to the administration of federal firearms laws. It enhances the ATF's inspection authority, including by removing the limit on the number of annual compliance inspections (currently, one), requiring inspections of high-risk FFLs, and authorizing an additional 650 investigators. Finally, the bill directs the ATF to deny an application for a federal firearms license if it would endanger public safety or if the applicant is unlikely to comply with the law.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2025
Comprehensive Alternative Response for Emergencies Act of 2025 or the CARE Act of 2025 This bill requires the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to test a five-year model that provides for Medicare payment for ground ambulance services that do not result in the transport of the patient. Under the model, Medicare payment may be furnished for ground ambulance services when an ambulance is dispatched in response to an emergency medical call but the ambulance does not end up transporting the patient. Payment rates under the model must generally align with the payment rates that apply when there is an actual transport. The Government Accountability Office must report on the general access of Medicare beneficiaries to emergency medical services, including the impact of the model on beneficiary access and outcomes.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2025
Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act This bill requires the Department of Labor to address workplace violence in health care, social service, and similar sectors. Specifically, Labor must issue an occupational safety and health standard that requires certain employers to take actions to protect workers and other personnel from workplace violence. The standard applies to employers in the health care sector, in the social service sector, and in sectors that conduct activities similar to those in the health care and social service sectors. Among other elements, the standard must require each employer to (1) develop a workplace violence prevention plan, (2) promptly investigate incidents of workplace violence, and (3) provide relevant training and education to employees. The bill requires certain hospitals and skilled nursing facilities to comply with this standard as a condition of Medicare participation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2025
Protect America's Workforce Act This bill nullifies the Executive Order titled Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs (issued on March 27, 2025), which excludes specified executive agencies and subdivisions from the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute. The statute authorizes federal employees' participation in collective bargaining and enforces collective bargaining rights. The bill also specifies that a covered collective bargaining agreement in place as of March 26, 2025, shall have full force and effect through the stated term of the agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2025
Servicemembers and Veterans Empowerment and Support Act of 2025 This bill modifies and implements policies and procedures related to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care and benefits for veterans who have experienced military sexual trauma (MST), which is generally defined as physical assault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment that occurred while the veteran was serving in the military. In the case of any veteran who claims that a covered mental health condition (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder) based on MST was incurred or aggravated by active service, the VA must consider (1) a diagnosis of the condition by a mental health professional, (2) a medically proven link between current symptoms and MST, and (3) credible corroborating evidence that MST occurred. The VA may not deny a veteran's claim of compensation for a covered mental health condition based on MST without first (1) advising the veteran that nonmilitary evidence and behavioral evidence may constitute credible corroborating evidence, and (2) allowing the veteran an opportunity to furnish the corroborating evidence or advise the VA of potential sources of such evidence. The Veterans Benefits Administration must conduct an annual special focus review on the accuracy of the processing of claims for disability compensation for disabilities relating to MST. Additionally, the bill (1) expands eligibility for MST counseling and treatment to former members of the reserve components regardless of duty status, and (2) requires various outreach by the VA to inform potentially eligible individuals about MST care.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2025
Hunger-Free Future Act of 2025 This bill prohibits any reevaluation or update to the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) that results in an increase in food insecurity (i.e., an increase in the number of households that lack adequate food as a result of having insufficient money and other resources to acquire food). As background, USDA created the TFP (the cost of purchasing a nutritionally adequate low-cost diet), which is used to determine maximum monthly benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). USDA calculates the cost of the TFP (i.e., the market basket of goods) each year to account for food price inflation. Under a provision of the 2018 farm bill, USDA must reevaluate the market basket of goods every five years based on current food prices, food composition data, consumption patterns, and dietary guidance.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2025
Nutrition Counseling Aiding Recovery for Eating Disorders Act of 2025 or the Nutrition CARE Act of 2025 This bill provides for Medicare coverage of medical nutrition therapy services for individuals with eating disorders. Such services must be furnished by a registered dietitian or nutrition professional pursuant to a referral from a physician, psychologist, or other authorized mental health professional.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2025
Hot Foods Act of 2025 This bill expands the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to permit the use of SNAP benefits to purchase hot foods or hot food products ready for immediate consumption.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2025
Promoting Resilient Supply Chains Act of 2025 This bill requires the Industry and Analysis office of the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce to monitor and respond to disruptions in critical industries and supply chains. Specifically, the office must (1) establish the Supply Chain Resilience Working Group; (2) assess, map, and model critical supply chains; (3) identify high-priority supply chain gaps and vulnerabilities in critical industries; (4) identify and evaluate the effect of potential supply chain disruptions on market stability; and (5) collaborate with other governmental bodies and key international partners to identify opportunities to reduce supply chain gaps and vulnerabilities. Additionally, the office, in consultation with the working group and specified nongovernmental entities, must make recommendations and implement a strategy to improve the security and resiliency of manufacturing capacity and supply chains for critical industries (including critical industries for emerging technologies). The bill includes various reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2025
Food Secure Strikers Act of 2025 This bill allows certain striking workers and their households to maintain their eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Specifically, the bill provides that a household that would otherwise be eligible to participate in SNAP is eligible for benefits if any member of the household is on strike because of a labor dispute. Current law generally prohibits a household from participating in SNAP if any member of the household is on strike unless the household was eligible for SNAP immediately prior to the strike. Also, under current law, households are not eligible for an increased SNAP allotment as a result of the decreased income of a striking member of the household. The bill expands SNAP eligibility for households with striking workers by repealing both of these restrictions. The bill also allows a government employee who is dismissed for striking and their household to maintain SNAP program eligibility. Specifically, current law prohibits certain individuals who voluntarily and without good cause quit a job from participating in SNAP. Further, a federal, state, or local government employee who participates in a strike against the government that results in their dismissal is considered to have voluntarily quit without good cause. The bill eliminates the provision that considers the dismissed government employee to have voluntarily quit without good cause, thereby allowing the employee and their household to maintain SNAP program eligibility if they are otherwise eligible for the program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2025
Raise the Age Act of 2025 This bill establishes new restrictions on the sale or transfer of certain semiautomatic firearms to individuals under 21 years of age. Specifically, this bill makes it unlawful for a licensed gun dealer, importer, manufacturer, or collector to sell or deliver a semiautomatic center-fire rifle or semiautomatic center-fire shotgun that has (or has the capacity to accept) an ammunition feeding device with a capacity of more than five rounds to an individual who the licensee knows or has reasonable cause to believe is under age 21. The prohibition does not apply if the individual under age 21 is a full-time law enforcement officer or active-duty member of the Armed Forces. The bill also requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to report on the operation of its public access line, including a description of information sharing protocols and recommendations for improving such protocols.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2025
This bill reauthorizes and modifies the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Integrated Ocean Observation System (IOOS). (The IOOS is made up of radar, gliders, buoys, vessels, and different models and forecasts that collect data points to monitor and report on conditions along the nation's coasts and in marine waters.) Specifically, the bill reauthorizes the IOOS through FY2030. The bill also directs the Interagency Ocean Observation Committee (which coordinates interagency planning, budgeting, and assessments for the system) to develop requirements and processes for regional offices and federally funded projects of the agencies of the committee to collaborate with the regional coastal observing systems for data sharing at regional levels.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2025
This joint resolution provides that the Equal Rights Amendment, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, was ratified by three-fourths of the states and is therefore a valid constitutional amendment, regardless of any time limit that was in the original proposal. The Equal Rights Amendment was originally proposed to the states in 1972. The original proposal included a deadline for ratification of March 22, 1979; Congress subsequently extended the deadline to June 30, 1982. Although the requisite 38 states have ratified the amendment, three of these states did so after the deadlines, and five states subsequently rescinded their ratifications. The status of the amendment has been the subject of litigation.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2025
World War II Women's Memorial Location Act This bill allows the commemorative work for women who worked on the home front during World War II to be located in either (1) the Reserve, an area that generally extends from the United States Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, and from the White House to the Jefferson Memorial; or (2) the area just outside the Reserve, known as Area I. (This map shows the Reserve in red and Area I in yellow.)
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2025
Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act of 2025 This bill extends the specialized rate increase for Medicare payment of ground ambulance services in rural areas for an additional three years (until January 1, 2028).
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2025
National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Extension Act This bill reauthorizes the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish in Washington, DC, a monument to commemorate the commitment and service represented by emergency medical services. This authorization expires seven years after enactment of the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2025
Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act This bill specifically includes pharmacy services and home infusion drugs that are administered without a pump as part of covered home infusion therapy under Medicare. The bill also allows nurses and physician assistants to establish and review the plan of care for home infusion therapy, and it specifies that payment may be made regardless of whether a practitioner is physically present in the home at the time the drug is administered.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2025
This resolution honors Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, Michigan, on its 108th anniversary, commends the thousands of men and women who have worked and trained at the base, and reinforces the commitment of the Armed Forces to the base as a facility that is key to national security. The resolution also encourages continued cooperation and dialogue with the Department of Defense in support of the base and acknowledges Michigan's ongoing investments in its defense assets and workforce.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2025
Safe Vehicle Access for Survivors Act This bill requires providers of connected vehicle services, upon the request of a domestic violence survivor, to terminate or disable an identified domestic abuser’s access to a vehicle’s connected capabilities and data. Specifically, within two business days of receiving a request from a survivor, a covered provider must, if technically feasible (1) terminate or disable the connected vehicle account associated with the identified abuser or the relevant vehicle, or the vehicle’s connected capabilities; or (2) instruct the survivor on how to terminate or disable connected services directly. Covered providers may not make the termination of connected vehicle services or accounts contingent on any requirement other than the provision of specified information by the survivor. For example, a provider may not require a survivor to pay a fee or extend their contract with the provider. Under the bill, an abuser is an individual identified by a survivor who committed or allegedly committed certain acts against the survivor, including domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sex trafficking. A survivor is an adult against whom such an act was committed. Further, a covered provider is a vehicle manufacturer, affiliate, or entity acting on behalf of a manufacturer that provides a connected vehicle service. Connected vehicle service is any capability that enables a person to remotely access data from or send commands to a vehicle. Finally, the Federal Communications Commission must prescribe regulations governing how covered providers address survivors’ requests related to connected vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2025
Radiation Oncology Case Rate Value Based Program Act of 2025 or the ROCR Value Based Program Act This bill establishes a specialized payment program under Medicare for providers and suppliers of radiation oncology services. Specifically, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must establish a program under which radiation therapy providers (i.e., hospital outpatient departments) and suppliers (i.e., physician group practices and freestanding radiation therapy centers) receive payments for each episode of care provided to individuals with specified types of cancer. An episode of care means the period beginning on the day radiation therapy planning is furnished to the individual and ending (1) for individuals with bone or brain metastases, 30 days later; and (2) for individuals with other cancer types, 90 days later. Participation in the program is mandatory for providers and suppliers that participate in Medicare, unless the provider or supplier is part of a state-based Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation model or qualifies for a significant hardship exemption. The CMS must set payment rates for the program based on national payment rates with specified adjustments (e.g., geographic adjustments). Providers and suppliers who provide certain transportation services for individuals under their care may receive an additional payment. Providers and suppliers must be accredited in accordance with certain standards, subject to payment reductions. The Government Accountability Office must report on (1) implementation of the program, and (2) underserved areas that are in need of more or newer radiation therapy resources.
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
Veterans Patient Advocacy Act This bill requires the Office of Patient Advocacy within the Veterans Health Administration to ensure that rural veterans may access the services of patient advocates. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to report on the implementation of such policies.
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
Medicare Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act of 2025 This bill provides for Medicare coverage of dental, vision, and hearing care. Coverage includes (1) routine dental cleanings and exams, basic and major dental services, emergency dental care, and dentures; (2) routine eye exams, eyeglasses, and contact lenses; and (3) routine hearing exams, hearing aids, and exams for hearing aids. With respect to such care, the bill establishes special payment rules, limitations, and coinsurance requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2025
Caring for Survivors Act of 2025 This bill increases the monthly rate of dependency and indemnity compensation payable to surviving spouses through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Dependency and indemnity compensation is a monthly payment made to eligible survivors (i.e., spouses, parents, or children) of (1) certain veterans who died as a result of a service-connected condition; (2) service members killed while on active military duty or active or inactive duty for training; or (3) veterans who did not die from a service-connected condition, but were totally disabled by a service-connected disability for a certain period of time. The bill also (1) reduces, from 10 years to 5 years, the period of time that certain veterans must have been rated totally disabled due to a service-connected disability in order for a survivor to qualify for benefits; and (2) specifies the amount that is payable to survivors of veterans who were rated totally disabled for a period of less than 10 years before their death.
![Official portrait of Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/d000624_200.jpg)