United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2025
This bill prohibits the removal of federal employees from the civil service during a government shutdown due to a lapse in discretionary appropriations. If an employee is removed from the civil service in violation of this bill, the employee may elect to be reinstated with back pay on the date on which the lapse in appropriations ends.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2025
This joint resolution directs the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities against any organization designated on or after February 20, 2025, as a foreign terrorist organization or specially designated global terrorist, any states in which such entities operate, or any non-state organization engaged in illegal drug trafficking unless a declaration of war or authorization to use military force for such purpose has been enacted. The resolution specifies that it shall not be construed to prevent the United States from defending itself from an armed attack or the threat of an imminent armed attack or from using the U.S. Armed Forces in support of civil authorities as part of authorized counternarcotics operations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2025
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment authorizing Congress and the states to (1) regulate and impose reasonable viewpoint-neutral limitations on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections; and (2) regulate and enact public campaign financing systems, including those designed to restrict the influence of private wealth by offsetting the raising and spending of money by candidates and others with increased public funding. The amendment grants Congress and the states the power to implement and enforce this amendment by legislation. They are allowed to distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2025
George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2025 This bill addresses a wide range of policies and issues regarding policing practices and law enforcement accountability. It increases accountability for law enforcement misconduct, restricts the use of certain policing practices, enhances transparency and data collection, and establishes best practices and training requirements. The bill enhances existing enforcement mechanisms to remedy violations by law enforcement. Among other things, it does the following: lowers the criminal intent standard—from willful to knowing or reckless—to convict a law enforcement officer for misconduct in a federal prosecution, limits qualified immunity as a defense to liability in a private civil action against a law enforcement officer, and grants administrative subpoena power to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in pattern-or-practice investigations. It establishes a framework to prevent and remedy racial profiling by law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels. It also limits the unnecessary use of force and restricts the use of no-knock warrants, chokeholds, and carotid holds. The bill creates a national registry—the National Police Misconduct Registry—to compile data on complaints and records of police misconduct. It also establishes new reporting requirements, including on the use of force, officer misconduct, and routine policing practices (e.g., stops and searches). Finally, it directs DOJ to create uniform accreditation standards for law enforcement agencies and requires law enforcement officers to complete training on racial profiling, implicit bias, and the duty to intervene when another officer uses excessive force.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2025
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment authorizing Congress and the states to set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections. The amendment grants Congress and the states the power to implement and enforce this amendment by legislation. They are allowed to distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2025
Stop Super PAC-Candidate Coordination Act This bill treats certain payments for coordinated expenditures as campaign contributions for purposes of disclosure and reporting requirements. The bill generally defines a coordinated expenditure as a payment made by any person in cooperation with a candidate, an authorized committee of a candidate, a political committee of a political party, or an agent of a candidate or committee. Further, the bill sets forth penalties for willfully violating limits related to making contributions to a candidate for coordinated expenditures. The bill also prohibits a candidate or an individual holding federal office from soliciting, receiving, directing, or transferring funds to or on behalf of certain types of political committees.
United States · United States Congress · 29 August 2025
Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act or the MORE Act This bill decriminalizes marijuana. Specifically, it removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminates criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana. The bill replaces statutory references to marijuana and marihuana with cannabis . The bill also makes changes related to the economic impact of decriminalization, including the following: requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly publish demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees, establishes a trust fund to support various programs and services for individuals and businesses in communities impacted by the war on drugs, imposes an excise tax on cannabis products produced in or imported into the United States and an occupational tax on cannabis production facilities and export warehouses, and makes Small Business Administration loans and services available to entities that are cannabis-related legitimate businesses or service providers. The bill also makes changes to other federal programs and legal processes to account for decriminalization, including the following: prohibits the denial of federal public benefits to a person on the basis of certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions, prohibits the denial of benefits and protections under immigration laws on the basis of an event (e.g., conduct or conviction) relating to possession or use of cannabis that is no longer prohibited under the bill, and establishes a process to expunge convictions and conduct sentencing review hearings related to federal cannabis offenses.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 2025
Keep Seniors Fed Act This bill amends the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to exempt certain Social Security benefits (e.g., retirement and disability benefits) from household income for the purposes of determining program eligibility.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 2025
Expanding the Voluntary Opportunities for Translations in Elections Act or the Expanding the VOTE Act This bill expands access to voting materials for individuals with limited proficiency in the English language. Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) requires covered states and political subdivisions to provide voting materials and other language assistance to persons who are American Indian, Asian American, Alaskan Natives, or of Spanish heritage and whose ability to speak or understand English limits electoral participation. A state or political subdivision that is subject to Section 203 is prohibited from providing English-only voting materials in an election. Among other requirements, this bill (1) requires the Department of Justice to issue a notice of prohibition, including the trigger threshold at which the prohibition applies, to certain states and political subdivisions; and (2) requires covered states and political subdivisions to provide written translations of all voting materials, with the consent of any applicable tribal government, to election workers. Additionally, the bill requires the Election Assistance Commission to make incentive grants for states and political subdivisions to provide translated voting materials. The bill also directs the Government Accountability Office to study and report on the impact of (1) reducing the threshold requirement under Section 203 of the VRA, and (2) expanding the definition of language minorities to include native speakers of additional languages.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 2025
Youth Voting Rights Act This bill expands voting access for youth. Specifically, the bill establishes a private right of action to enforce the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, which prohibits denying or abridging the right to vote based on age. Further, the bill authorizes the Department of Justice to enforce the Twenty-Sixth Amendment against age-based restrictions for voting by mail. Additionally, the bill directs each state to designate as voter registration agencies all offices within public institutions of higher education (IHEs) that provide assistance to students, implement a preregistration process to allow minors who are 16 years or older to register to vote in federal elections that take place when or after the preregistered individual turns age 18, and ensure the availability of polling places on campuses of IHEs (with the availability of waivers). The bill prohibits durational residency requirements for voting in all federal elections. Currently, this prohibition applies only to voting for the offices of President and Vice President. States and local jurisdictions with voter identification requirements must treat IHE-issued student identification cards as voter identification. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must make grants to states to increase the involvement of individuals under age 18 in public election activities. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on trends related to voter registration, absentee voting, and provisional voting. The EAC must also collect and make publicly available certain data from states.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 2025
Election Mail Act This bill addresses the delivery and processing of election mail for federal elections, including by establishing certain standards for mail-in ballots. Specifically, the bill requires the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to ensure (to the maximum extent practicable) same-day processing of mail-in ballots, postmark each ballot, carry election mail (e.g., voter registration applications and mail-in ballots) as first-class mail that is free of postage, appoint an election mail coordinator at each area office and district office, and consult annually with Indian tribes regarding barriers to voting for eligible voters living on Indian lands. The bill prohibits the USPS, within 120 days of a federal election, from making any operational change that would restrict the prompt and reliable delivery of election mail. Each state and jurisdiction must provide with each mail-in ballot a return envelope with an intelligent mail barcode. This requirement does not apply to a state or jurisdiction that uses an alternative system that enables voters to track the ballot through the mail. The bill requires election officials to count mail-in ballots that are postmarked by election day and arrive within seven days after the election.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 2025
Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2025 This bill generally prohibits deceptive communications and voter interference regarding federal elections. Specifically, the bill prohibits any person, within 60 days before a federal election, from communicating, causing to be communicated, or producing for communication certain information on voting, if the person (1) knows such information to be materially false, and (2) has the intent to impede or prevent another person from voting in an election. Additionally, the bill prohibits any person, within 60 days before a federal election, from using an artificial intelligence system to produce certain information on voting, if the person has the intent to use the system to (1) produce false information, and (2) impede or prevent another person from voting in an election. The bill also prohibits hindering, interfering with, or preventing voting or registering to vote. A private right of action for preventive relief is established for persons aggrieved by violations of these prohibitions. Criminal penalties are also established for violations. If the Department of Justice (DOJ) receives a credible report that materially false information has been or is being communicated in violation of the prohibitions on deceptive communications, and state and local election officials have not adequately communicated corrected information, then DOJ must communicate to the public accurate information designed to correct the materially false information. The bill extends the prohibition on certain types of intimidation in federal elections to also prohibit intimidation for processing ballots or tabulating, canvassing, or certifying votes.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 2025
Time Off to Vote Act This bill requires an employer, upon the request of an employee, to provide the employee with a minimum of two consecutive hours of paid leave while polls or sites that facilitate voting-related activity are open on the day of a federal election. This allotted time may be used to vote, return a mail-in ballot, or perform other voting-related activities. The employer may determine the two-hour period, excluding any lunch break or other break. Taking such leave shall not result in the employee losing accrued employment benefits. The bill makes it unlawful for an employer to interfere with the right to take such leave or for an employer to discriminate against an employee for taking such leave. Further, the bill makes it unlawful for any employer to retaliate against an employee for (1) opposing any practice made unlawful by this bill; (2) filing a charge, or instituting or causing to be instituted any proceeding, under or related to this bill; or (3) testifying or preparing to testify in an inquiry or proceeding relating to such leave. The bill specifies penalties for employers who violate these provisions.
![Official portrait of Rep. Ramirez, Delia C. [D-IL-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/684c2356333714e4aee2e1fd_200.jpg)