United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
Inaugural Fund Integrity Act This bill limits donations to inaugural committees and requires these committees to disclose donations and disbursements. Specifically, inaugural committees may not solicit, accept, or receive donations from corporations or foreign nationals. An individual may not make a donation in the name of another individual or authorize his or her name to be used to make such a donation. In addition, foreign nationals may not make donations or make promises to make donations to inaugural committees. Further, the bill caps the amount an individual may donate to an inaugural committee. Donations to inaugural committees may not be converted to personal use. Finally, inaugural committees must report certain information on donations and disbursements to the Federal Election Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
Be Ready to Assist Veterans in Extremis Act or the BRAVE Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a patient outreach system under which it must ensure that veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system and have experienced a traumatic or highly stressful event may elect to receive information and resources relating to mental health and available mental health care services. The VA must coordinate the system with the Transition Assistance Program of the Department of Defense.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
Saving the Civil Service Act This bill generally prohibits changes to the classification of positions in the competitive service and excepted service unless certain conditions are met. (Competitive service positions are subject to competitive examination while excepted service positions are appointed under one of five schedules. Competitive service positions have notice and appeal requirements for adverse actions that are not applicable to most excepted positions, including those of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character under Schedule C.) On October 21, 2020, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that placed executive agency positions that are of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character, and that are not normally subject to change as a result of a presidential transition, under a new Schedule F in the excepted service. The order was subsequently revoked by President Joe Biden. The bill prohibits executive agency positions in the competitive service from being placed in the excepted service, unless such positions are placed in a schedule in the excepted service as in effect on September 30, 2020. The bill also prohibits positions in the excepted service from being placed in any schedule other than the aforementioned schedules. Additionally, agencies may not (1) transfer occupied positions from the competitive or excepted service into Schedule C without the consent of the Office of Personnel Management, or (2) transfer employees in the excepted service to another schedule or transfer employees in the competitive service to the excepted service without employee consent.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
Hawaii Invasive Species Protection Act This bill directs the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to conduct preclearance quarantine inspections for high-risk invasive species and agricultural materials on persons, baggage, cargo, and any other articles destined for direct movement to or from the state of Hawaii. The visual, x-ray, and canine inspections must be conducted at airports, ports, and postal sorting facilities. APHIS must also consult with the state of Hawaii to develop and publish a list of items subject to inspection for high-risk invasive species and agricultural materials. User fees must be prescribed and collected to cover the cost of the inspections.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
Young Americans Financial Literacy Act This bill requires the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to award competitive grants to eligible institutions for the establishment of financial literacy education programs for young people and families. An eligible institution is a partnership among two or more of the following: an institution of higher education; a state or local government agency specializing in financial education; a nonprofit agency, organization, or association; a financial institution; or another small organization. Authorized grant funded activities shall include developing and implementing comprehensive, research based, financial-literacy education programs for young people; developing and supporting the delivery of professional development programs in financial literacy education; developing educational programs to reduce student loan default rates; and conducting ongoing research and evaluation of financial literacy education programs. The grant program shall terminate after FY2029.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2025
PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Program Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish the PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Program to make grants to eligible entities for peer-to-peer mental health programs for veterans. Eligible entities include (1) a nonprofit organization that has historically served the mental health needs of veterans; (2) a congressionally chartered veteran service organization; or (3) a state, local, or tribal veteran service agency, director, or commissioner. The VA shall establish an advisory committee to create appropriate program standards.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2025
Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2025 This bill expands the awards program for cost-saving identifications by federal employees of fraud, waste, or mismanagement to include identifications of certain operational expenses that are wasteful (i.e., that are identified as wasteful by an employee and that an agency determines are not required for the purposes for which the amounts were made available). An agency must propose any identified wasteful expenses for rescission. The bill also doubles the maximum cash award that may be made under the program.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2025
Preventing Our Next Natural Disaster Act This bill modifies the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Specifically, the bill increases the amount that may be set aside from FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund for BRIC from 6% to 15% of certain disaster grant amounts; authorizes FEMA to set aside 2% from the BRIC 15% set-aside for assistance with community planning and capacity building; provides a 90% federal cost share for BRIC grants to environmental justice communities, and increases the maximum number of people in small impoverished communities, which are also eligible for the 90% BRIC federal cost share; and authorizes FEMA to develop guidance regarding how to incorporate climate change into the National Risk Index, benefit-cost analyses, and improved codes, specifications, and standards to address natural hazards. FEMA must prioritize BRIC assistance for high hazard risk communities, environmental justice communities, communities with low tax revenue base per capita, and communities with a low rate of code adoption and enforcement and infrastructure maintenance expenditures; provide community outreach on project planning and grant administration; and establish a central federal database to consolidate funding data collected by all local, state, and federal agencies involved in post-disaster response and pre-disaster mitigation spending and categorize the data by type of project, funding source, and hazard types using a user-friendly database and interactive map.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2025
Affordable Shipping for All Act This bill limits shipping services from excluding service or charging higher prices to noncontiguous areas of the United States. Specifically, private shipping services (e.g., FedEx) and the U.S. Postal Service are prohibited from charging a higher rate to ship a consumer product or producer good (e.g., raw material) to a noncontiguous area of the United States than they charge to ship the same product to and from a location within the contiguous United States. Under the bill, a noncontiguous area includes Alaska and Hawaii and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States (including Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands). Additionally, such shipping services may not exclude services to such a noncontiguous location. Consumer products or producer goods valued at more than $10,000 are exempt from the requirements of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2025
Continued Rapid Ohia Death Response Act of 2025 This bill establishes requirements to research and control Rapid Ohia Death, which is the disease caused by the fungal pathogen known as Ceratocystis fimbriata that affects the tree of the species Metrosideros polymorpha . Specifically, the Department of the Interior must partner with the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Hawaii to control and address Rapid Ohia Death. In addition, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Forest Service Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry must continue to research Rapid Ohia Death vectors and transmission. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must continue to partner with USDA, Hawaii, and local stakeholders to manage ungulates (e.g., certain mammals such as deer) in Rapid Ohia Death control areas on federal, state, and private land, with the consent of private landowners. Finally, the Forest Service must provide (1) financial assistance to prevent the spread of the fungus and to restore the native forests of Hawaii, and (2) staff and necessary infrastructure funding to the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry to research the fungus.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2025
This resolution expresses support for the goals and ideals of Korean American Day and honors the 122nd anniversary of the arrival of the first Korean immigrants to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2025
Head start Education And Development Workforce Advancement and Yield Act or the HEADWAY Act This bill allows some teachers in Early Head Start programs to teach while in the process of earning their Child Development Associate (CDA) credential and completing training. Currently, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must ensure that all teachers providing direct services to children and families in Early Head Start centers (1) have a minimum of a CDA credential and have been trained in early childhood development, and (2) have been trained in early childhood development with a focus on infant and toddler development. The bill revises this requirement by requiring at least one teacher per classroom (instead of all teachers) to have a CDA credential and training. In particular, the bill requires HHS to ensure that (1) each additional teacher providing direct services to children and families is in the process of earning a CDA credential and completing training, and (2) the Early Head Start agency provides a mentor to oversee the progress and guide the work of a teacher who is in the process of earning a CDA credential and completing training.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
This resolution recognizes the historic contributions of Okinawan Americans to the United States and urges the people of the United States to honor the 125th anniversary of Okinawan immigration to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
Retired Pay Restoration Act This bill allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability. Under current law, only individuals with service-connected disabilities rated at 50% or more receive both without offset. Individuals who were retired or separated after at least 20 years of military service due to a service-connected disability shall be eligible for the full concurrent receipt of both veterans' disability compensation and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
Legal Workforce Act This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after and to replace the E-Verify system, which allows employers and recruiters to verify the immigration status of individuals. The bill also mandates the use of such a system, where currently only some employers, such as those with federal contracts, are required to use E-Verify. The bill specifies documents that can establish an individual's identity and employment authorization. During the period starting when a job offer is made until three business days after hiring, the individual must attest to his or her employment authorization, and the employer or recruiter must attest that it has examined the individual's required documents. Employers shall reverify certain types of employees who were not previously verified using E-Verify. The Social Security Administration shall notify employees if their Social Security number has been used multiple times in an unusual manner. DHS shall establish programs for blocking and suspending misused numbers. Employers that are required to use the verification system shall not be liable for any employment-related action based on a good-faith reliance on the system. The bill establishes a phased-in participation deadline for different sizes and categories of employers, including agricultural employers. The bill increases civil penalties related to hiring individuals without work authorization. It also preempts state laws relating to hiring and employment eligibility verification, but states may use their authority of business licensing to penalize employers for failing to comply with the bill's provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
National Law Enforcement Officers Remembrance, Support and Community Outreach Act. [ sic ] This bill temporarily directs the Department of the Interior to award a grant to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund for the expenses associated with operating and enhancing the community outreach, public education, and officer safety and wellness programs of the National Law Enforcement Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2025
Veterans Infertility Treatment Act of 2025 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish infertility treatments, standard fertility preservation services, or both to a covered veteran or partner of a covered veteran. A covered veteran is a veteran who is enrolled in the VA health care system and has infertility or is at risk of having infertility, as determined by a licensed physician. The VA may furnish up to three completed in vitro fertilization cycles that result in live birth, or 10 attempted cycles, whichever occurs first. Additionally, the VA may furnish in vitro fertilization treatment using donated gametes or embryos. The VA must receive consent to furnish an in vitro fertilization cycle from the covered veteran, the partner of a covered veteran, and the third-party donor (if applicable). For purposes of paying travel expenses for treatment or services to the partner of a covered veteran, the VA must deem the partner to be a veteran receiving treatment or care. The VA must prescribe regulations related to the provision of infertility treatments and standard fertility preservation services as required by this bill. Prior to the enactment of such regulations, the VA must ensure that (1) counseling and treatment furnished under existing authority is available to a veteran and the veteran's partner, regardless of whether they are married; and (2) treatment under existing authority may be furnished using donated gametes or embryos.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2025
Improving Menopause Care for Veterans Act of 2025 This bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study and report on the medical services furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for veterans experiencing perimenopause, genitourinary syndrome of menopause, and menopause stages. The VA must also report to Congress on a strategic plan to (1) implement any recommendations GAO makes in its report, (2) improve the quality of menopause care, and (3) improve the access of veterans to menopause care.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2025
Sustainable Budget Act of 2025 This bill establishes the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform within the legislative branch to identify policies to improve the fiscal situation in the medium term and achieve fiscal sustainability over the long term. The commission must propose recommendations that (1) are designed to balance the budget, excluding interest payments on the debt, within 10 years; and (2) meaningfully improve the long-term fiscal outlook, including changes to address the growth of entitlement spending and the gap between projected federal revenues and expenditures. Congress must consider the commission's recommendations using specified expedited legislative procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2025
Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act This bill prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs from requiring payment from a veteran for any contraceptive item that is required to be covered by health insurance plans without a cost-sharing requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act This bill establishes the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans. The commission must (1) compile documentary evidence of slavery in the United States; (2) study the role of the federal and state governments in supporting the institution of slavery; (3) analyze discriminatory laws and policies against freed African slaves and their descendants; and (4) recommend ways the United States may recognize and remedy the effects of slavery and discrimination on African Americans, including through a formal apology and compensation (i.e., reparations). The commission consists of individuals from civil society and reparations organizations and individuals appointed by the President and congressional leadership; Members of Congress and governmental employees may not serve on the commission. The commission may hold hearings, subpoena witnesses and records, and contract with other entities to conduct its work. The commission must submit its final report within 18 months of its first meeting.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Washington, D.C. Admission Act This bill provides for the establishment of the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, and its admission into the United States. The state is composed of most of the territory of the District of Columbia (DC), excluding a specified area that encompasses the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the U.S. Supreme Court building, federal monuments, and federal office buildings adjacent to the National Mall and the U.S. Capitol. The excluded territory shall be known as the Capital and serve as the seat of the government of the United States, as provided for in Article I of the Constitution. The state may not impose taxes on federal property except as Congress permits. The bill provides for the DC Mayor to issue a proclamation for the first elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative of the state. The bill eliminates the office of Delegate to the House of Representatives. The bill applies current DC laws to the state. DC judicial proceedings and contractual obligations shall continue under the state’s authority. The bill also provides for specified federal obligations to transfer to the state upon its certification that it has funds and laws in place to assume the obligations. These include maintaining a retirement fund for judges and operating public defender services. The bill establishes a commission that is generally comprised of members who are appointed by DC and federal government officials to advise on an orderly transition to statehood.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2024
Original National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Resolution of 2024 This resolution supports the goals and ideals of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Further, it expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should continue to raise awareness of and support programs to end domestic violence.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2024
This resolution recognizes the celebration of Filipino American History Month as a testament to the advancement of Filipino Americans. The resolution also recognizes the celebration of the month as a time to renew efforts toward researching and examining the history of Filipino Americans in order to give all people of the United States an opportunity to learn about the contributions of Filipino Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2024
This resolution acknowledges that the federal government has the moral obligation to fully account for U.S. prisoners of war and missing-in-action military personnel (i.e., POW/MIA) and to mitigate the number of POW/MIA in future conflicts. Further, the resolution expresses gratitude to the POW/MIA of every conflict who have fought for American freedoms. Finally, the resolution expresses support for the designation of National POW/MIA Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2024
This resolution recognizes the 17th anniversary of the establishment of Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions and expresses support for the designation of Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions Week.
![Official portrait of Rep. Case, Ed [D-HI-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c001055_200.jpg)