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
Foreign Agricultural Restrictions to Maintain Local Agriculture and National Defense Act of 2025 or the FARMLAND Act of 2025 This bill expands federal authority and oversight over foreign investments in the U.S. agricultural industry. The bill expands the authority of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to include the review of land transactions (involving foreign entities) that exceed $5 million or 320 acres of land over the preceding three years. This applies to land that is primarily used for agriculture, the extraction of energy sources, or the extraction of critical precursor materials for biological technology industries, information technology components, or national defense technologies. Further, the bill adds the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to CFIUS membership. As background, CFIUS is an interagency committee that oversees the national security risks of certain foreign direct investment in the U.S. economy, including by reviewing certain real estate transactions. Further, the bill expands enforcement of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA). The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must appoint a Chief of Operations of Investigative Actions to (1) monitor AFIDA compliance, and (2) conduct investigations on efforts to steal agricultural knowledge and technology and to disrupt the U.S. agricultural base. The bill prohibits foreign persons who own or operate land from participating in Farm Service Agency programs and establishes penalties for violators. The bill also requires USDA and the Department of Homeland Security to jointly develop a database of agricultural land owned by foreign persons.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2025
Strategic Ports Reporting Act This bill requires the Department of State to conduct a study and submit a report to Congress on strategic ports. The report shall contain various elements related to such ports, including (1) a detailed list of all strategic ports owned, operated, or controlled by China or a foreign person of China; (2) a detailed list of all strategic ports owned, operated, or controlled by the United States or a U.S. person; (3) an assessment of the national security and economic interests relevant to each such port; (4) an analysis of actions by China to gain control or ownership of strategic ports; and (5) courses of action to protect strategic ports and maritime infrastructure from Chinese control. The bill also requires the State Department to develop and provide to Congress a global mapping of foreign and domestic ports of importance to the United States because of a capability to provide military, diplomatic, economic, or resource exploitation superiority.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2025
Securing Our Lands and Resources Act or the SOLAR Act This bill prohibits the Department of Agriculture from providing financial assistance for certain projects that would result in the conversion of covered farmland for solar energy production. Under the bill, covered farmland generally refers to prime farmland, unique farmland, and farmland that is of statewide or local importance. Conversion means any activity that results in the covered farmland no longer meeting certain requirements for agricultural production, activity, or use. The bill includes an exception for certain smaller projects that result in the conversion of (1) less than 5 acres of covered farmland, or (2) less than 50 acres of covered farmland if the majority of the energy produced by the project is for on-farm use. The bill also includes an exception for projects that have the approval or support from the local county and municipality. For these projects, the applicant must (1) develop a farmland conservation plan for the project (e.g., implementing best practices to protect future soil health and productivity), and (2) ensure that sufficient funds are provided for the decommissioning of the solar energy production system and the remediation and restoration of the farmland.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2025
Shielding Children's Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net Act or the SCREEN Act This bill establishes age-verification requirements for commercial interactive computer services (e.g., websites) that make available content that is harmful to minors (e.g., content that appeals to the prurient interest in nudity or sex, is obscene, or is child pornography). Specifically, the bill requires such services to adopt and utilize technology verification measures to ensure that (1) users of the service are not minors, and (2) minors are prevented from accessing any content on the service that is harmful to minors. Additionally, such services must (1) use the technology to verify a user's age; (2) publish the verification process that the service uses; and (3) subject users' Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, including known virtual proxy network (VPN) IP addresses, to the technology verification measures, unless the service determines a user is not located within the United States. Covered services also must implement data security measures to protect information about individuals collected through the verification process. The Federal Trade Commission must conduct regular audits of such services, issue guidance, and otherwise enforce the requirements of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2025
Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act This bill addresses unfair trade practices by making various changes to U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty laws. Antidumping laws provide relief to U.S industries and workers that are materially injured or threatened with injury due to imports of like products sold in the U.S. market at less than fair value, while countervailing duty laws provide such relief from imports of products subsidized by a foreign government or public entity. Specifically, the bill establishes a process for successive antidumping and countervailing duty investigations. Successive investigations may be concurrent (an ongoing investigation of the same product) or recently completed (not more than two years before the date of the initiation of the successive investigation). Further, the bill establishes a timeline for the Department of Commerce to issue determinations in successive investigations. Among other provisions, the bill authorizes Commerce to apply countervailing duty law to subsidies provided by a foreign government or public entity to a company operating in a different country, use another method for calculating the cost of production in specific circumstances, and require importers to certify that the imported merchandise is not subject to an antidumping or countervailing duty order. Additionally, the bill statutorily establishes procedures for Commerce to conduct circumvention inquiries, including by specifying the deadlines for preliminary and final determinations. The bill also provides statutory authority for Commerce to investigate currency undervaluation as a countervailable subsidy.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2025
Protecting Life from Chemical Abortions Act This bill nullifies certain changes made by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to dispensing requirements for mifepristone. (Mifepristone is a drug that is approved to end pregnancies through 10 weeks gestation when used in conjunction with the drug misoprostol. The procedure is often referred to as medication abortion or the abortion pill.) The FDA regulates mifepristone through the Mifepristone Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program. The program requires health care providers to comply with certain requirements in order to prescribe or dispense mifepristone to end a pregnancy; the program previously included an in-person dispensing requirement that required mifepristone to be directly dispensed to patients in clinics, medical offices, or hospitals. During the COVID-19 public health emergency, the FDA stopped enforcing the in-person dispensing requirement, which allowed mail-order pharmacies to fill and dispense mifepristone prescriptions. In January 2023, the FDA modified program requirements so as to (1) remove the in-person dispensing requirement, and (2) require pharmacies to be program-certified in order to dispense mifepristone. The modifications allow certified retail pharmacies to dispense mifepristone pursuant to prescriptions that are written by certified prescribers. The bill nullifies the January 2023 changes and prohibits the FDA from (1) exercising any enforcement discretion with respect to program requirements, or (2) reducing program protections until every state submits certain data regarding abortions to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bill also generally prohibits the declaration of a public health emergency with respect to abortions.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2025
This resolution expresses condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims of the crash of American Eagle Flight 5342 and the U.S. Army helicopter flying under the call sign PAT 25 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025. The resolution also commends the heroic actions of the first responders, emergency services personnel, and all those who aided in the recovery efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 2025
North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to recognize the individuals and communities that provided financial and other support for the North Platte Canteen in North Platte, Nebraska, during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2025
Honor and Remember Flag Recognition Act This bill designates the Honor and Remember Flag, created by Honor and Remember, Inc., as a national symbol to honor service members who died in the line of duty and specifies federal locations and dates for its display.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act This bill authorizes the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum to be located on a particular site within the Reserve of the National Mall in Washington, DC. Specifically, the bill designates the South Monument site as the location for the museum; however, the President may designate an alternative site within 180 days of the bill's enactment. (The site is the undeveloped land across the National Mall from the National Museum of African American History and Culture.) Administrative jurisdiction of the site must be transferred to the Smithsonian Institution. The Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution must have the approval of specified federal entities (e.g., the Commission of Fine Arts) to plan, design, and construct a museum building. The bill (1) outlines the criteria for considering site and design proposals, and (2) requires the Smithsonian Institution to reimburse for costs resulting from the building approval process. The bill directs the museum to be dedicated to preserving, researching, and presenting the history, achievements, and lived experiences of biological women in the United States. Under this bill, the museum may not identify, present, describe, or depict any biological male as a female. In carrying out its duties, the museum's advisory council must (1) seek and utilize guidance from a broad array of knowledgeable and respected sources reflecting the diversity of the political viewpoints and authentic experiences held by women in the United States, and (2) seek guidance for the creation and substantial revision of exhibits and programs.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
Susan Muffley Act of 202 5 This bill restores the full vested monthly benefits for eligible participants of certain pension plans that were sponsored by Delphi Corporation and terminated as a result of General Motors' bankruptcy in 2009. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) must recalculate and adjust each plan participant's monthly benefits payment. The PBGC must also apply the recalculation to previously-made monthly payments and make a lump-sum payment for any additional benefits based on the recalculation. The bill establishes and provides appropriations to a fund for the payment of these benefits and specifies how the lump-sum payments are treated for tax purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
Eliminate DEI in Colleges Act This bill prohibits an institution of higher education (IHE) from receiving federal funds or participating in federal student aid programs if the IHE carries out diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Specifically, the bill requires an IHE to certify to the Department of Education (ED) that the IHE (1) does not and will not carry out any program, project, initiative, or other activity that advocates, promotes, or otherwise supports DEI; and (2) does not and will not maintain any office or other entity within the IHE that advocates, promotes, or otherwise supports DEI. Each IHE that provides the certification must, upon request, make available to ED any information necessary to verify the accuracy of the certification. ED must publish regulations to implement and enforce the bill's provisions. The bill establishes a process through which an IHE may appeal ED's decision to terminate the IHE's financial assistance for failure to comply with the bill's provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
This concurrent resolution declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over the air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
This resolution supports the designation of National FFA (Future Farmers of America) Week. It also celebrates the 90th anniversary of New Farmers of America (NFA), which served Black vocational agriculture students in segregated public schools until NFA and FFA became one organization in 1965. The resolution also commemorates the 75th anniversary of the federal charter for the Future Farmers of America.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
Coin Metal Modification Authorization and Cost Savings Act of 2025 This bill authorizes the United States Mint to modify the metallic composition of circulating coins (including by prescribing reasonable manufacturing tolerances with respect to those coins) if a study and analysis conducted by the Mint indicates that the modification will reduce costs incurred by the taxpayers; be seamless, which means that the coins must have the same weight and diameter as current coins and that the coins work interchangeably in most coin acceptors using electromagnetic signature technology; and have as minimal an adverse impact as possible on the public and stakeholders. The Mint must notify Congress before making the modification and provide a justification for the modification. Congress may disapprove of any proposed modification through a joint resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2025 This bill amends the Clean Air Act to address the limitations on Reid Vapor Pressure (a measure of gasoline's volatility) that are placed on gasoline during the summer ozone season. Specifically, the bill applies the waiver for Reid Vapor Pressure requirements that is applicable to gasoline blended with 10% ethanol (E10) to gasoline blended with up to 15% ethanol (E15). This change allows gasoline that is blended with 10% to 15% ethanol to be sold year-round. Currently, states may be excluded from the waiver for Reid Vapor Pressure requirements by submitting documentation supporting that the waiver would increase air pollution. The bill nullifies existing state exclusions, but states may submit documentation after enactment of the bill to be excluded going forward. The bill also modifies the Renewable Fuel Standard Program, which requires transportation fuel sold or introduced into commerce in the United States to contain minimum volumes of renewable fuel. Under the existing program, obligated parties, such as small refineries, must satisfy the volume obligations by either blending renewable fuels into their gasoline or diesel fuel products or by acquiring credits that represent the required renewable fuel volume. The bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency to return compliance credits to small refineries under certain circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
DOE and NSF Interagency Research Act This bill provides statutory authority for a research and development partnership between the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Specifically, the bill requires DOE and NSF to enter into a memorandum of understanding to support cross-cutting and collaborative research and development that furthers the missions of both agencies. Through the partnership, DOE and NSF may conduct research in a variety of focus areas (e.g., artificial intelligence), promote multi-agency and cross-sector data sharing, support research infrastructure, and organize education and training initiatives. DOE and NSF must jointly report on their collaboration.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2025
Investing in Rural America Act of 2025 This bill allows Farm Credit System (FCS) institutions to make and participate in loans and commitments (and extend other technical and financial assistance) for essential community facility projects as part of the Department of Agriculture's Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program. This program provides funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. The FCS financing and technical assistance may be provided in order to make capital available to develop, build, maintain, improve, or provide related equipment or other support for essential community facilities in rural communities (e.g., certain facilities that provide healthcare, community support, public safety, educational, or utility services). Under the bill, the financing provided by an FCS institution may not exceed 15% of the total of all outstanding loans of the institution. Further, an FCS institution must (1) offer at least one non-FCS lending institution an interest in the financing under reasonable terms and conditions acceptable to the borrower, and (2) report the offer to the Farm Credit Administration (FCA). The FCA must submit an annual report to Congress on the activities undertaken by FCS institutions under this bill, including through the partnerships between FCS institutions and other lending institutions. The FCA must post the report on the administration's website.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2025
Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act This bill extends the customs waters territory of the United States to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States. Under current law, customs waters means waters within four leagues (equivalent to 12 nautical miles) of the coast of the United State. This bill provides statutory authority for two presidential proclamations to extend the customs waters to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States. Specifically, the bill revises the statutory definition of customs waters to include the waters within (1) the territorial sea of the United States to the limits permitted by international law in accordance with Presidential Proclamation 5928, dated December 27, 1988, that extended such limits to 12 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States; and (2) the contiguous zone of the United States to the limits permitted by international law in accordance with Presidential Proclamation 7219, dated September 2, 1999, that extended such limits to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2025
Uncovering UNRWA’s Terrorist Crimes Act This bill prohibits federal funds from being used to provide funding, directly or indirectly, to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The bill also requires the Department of State to report to Congress on (1) the total U.S. funding to UNRWA from FY2020 through FY2024, and (2) how such funds were spent.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2025
Give Kids a Chance Act of 2025 This bill expands the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) authority with respect to research on rare pediatric diseases, including by permitting the FDA to take enforcement action against drug sponsors that fail to satisfy pediatric study requirements and by reauthorizing programs that support pediatric research. Specifically, the bill modifies requirements relating to molecularly targeted pediatric cancer investigations to permit research on new drugs in combination with active ingredients that have already been approved, provided certain conditions are met; permits the FDA to take enforcement action against drug sponsors that fail to comply with pediatric study requirements, if such sponsors demonstrated a lack of due diligence in satisfying the requirement; renews the FDA’s authority to award priority review vouchers to sponsors of new products intended to treat rare pediatric diseases through September 30, 2029; and reauthorizes through FY2027 certain funding for the National Institutes of Health to support priority pediatric research. The bill also provides statutory authority for the FDA’s interpretation of the orphan drug exclusivity period. The bill specifies, consistent with FDA regulations, that the seven-year market exclusivity period for drugs for rare diseases or conditions (i.e., orphan drugs) prohibits the approval of the same drug for the same approved use or indication with respect to the disease or condition. (In Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Becerra , a court rejected the FDA’s interpretation and held that orphan drug exclusivity extends to all uses or indications for the disease or condition.)
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2025
Ensuring Continuity in Veterans Health Act This bill requires the consideration of continuity of care when determining whether care through the Veterans Community Care Program is in the best medical interest of a veteran.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2025
Doctors in our Borders Act This bill increases the number of Conrad 30 waivers available each year from 30 to 100. Typically, a J-1 visa holder (nonimmigrant exchange visitor) must leave the United States for two years after finishing the exchange visitor program, including J-1 visa holders who entered the United States to receive graduate medical training. The Conrad 30 waiver program waives this requirement for eligible foreign medical graduates who agree to practice medicine in an underserved area or for an underserved population in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2025
Right to Eat Authentic and Legitimate Meat Act of 2025 or the REAL Meat Act of 2025 This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to support, directly or indirectly, the production, advancement, or enhancement of cell-cultured meat. Under the bill, cell-cultured meat means meat that is sourced from the cells of animals and artificially produced in a laboratory. The bill includes an exemption for federal funds of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that are used for activities related to cell-cultured meat that is intended for off-planet consumption.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2025
Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act This bill restores an exemption for certain family farms and small businesses on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. The bill applies to the net worth of (1) a family farm on which the family resides, or (2) a small business with not more than 100 full-time or full-time equivalent employees that is owned and controlled by the family. Prior to recent changes made to the FAFSA, the net worth of these family farms and small businesses were excluded as assets when calculating a student's financial need to determine federal student aid eligibility. Beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year, the net worth of these farms and businesses are treated as an asset and therefore included in the calculation. This bill restores the exemption to exclude such net worth from the calculation.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2025
This concurrent resolution calls on the President to abandon the One China policy in favor of one that recognizes Taiwan as an independent country that is not a part of China. The resolution also urges the President to bolster diplomatic and economic relations between the United States and Taiwan through specified means.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2025
Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act This bill prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from transmitting certain information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) utilized by licensed importers or dealers of firearms. Specifically, the bill prohibits the VA from transmitting personally identifying information of a veteran or a beneficiary to the NICS solely on the basis that such veteran or beneficiary has an appointed fiduciary to manage their benefits, unless there is an order or finding of a judicial authority that such veteran or beneficiary is a danger to themselves or others.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2025
Farm Credit Administration Independent Authority Act This bill specifies that the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) is the sole regulator of the Farm Credit System (FCS) and establishes reporting requirements for FCS institutions (i.e., lenders). Specifically, the bill states that the FCA is the sole and independent regulator of the FCS and exempts entities that are supervised by the FCA from the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). As background, the bill addresses a rule issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that implements provisions of the ECOA by requiring covered financial institutions, including FCS institutions, to collect and report to the CFPB data on credit applications for small businesses, including the principal owner's race, sex, and ethnicity. This 2023 rule has been challenged in court. The bill also requires FCS institutions to (1) request that loan applicants and borrowers that are small farmers disclose information identifying their race, sex, and ethnicity; and (2) annually report the collected information to the FCA. The FCA must make the collected information available to the public on annual basis. If an FCS institution customer does not voluntarily report the requested information, the FCA may not require the institution to use other means to deduce the information. In addition, the bill specifies that FCS institutions shall not be required to comply with the bill's requirements if financial institutions are not required to comply with the CFPB rule due to a court invalidating the rule or a repeal of the rule.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2025
Love Lives On Act of 2025 This bill extends entitlement for various benefit programs and services for surviving spouses of deceased members of the Armed Forces or veterans. The bill provides that the remarriage of a surviving spouse must not bar the furnishing of dependency and indemnity compensation or special pension benefits to such spouse. Additionally, the Department of Defense may not terminate the payment of an annuity for a surviving spouse under the Survivor Benefit Plan solely because the surviving spouse remarries. The bill also expands the definition of a dependent under TRICARE to include a remarried widow or widower whose subsequent marriage has ended due to death, divorce, or annulment.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2025
AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025 This bill requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to issue a rule requiring AM radio capabilities to be standard in all new passenger vehicles. (AM radio is often used to deliver emergency alerts and news and entertainment programming; some newer vehicles do not include AM equipment.) Specifically, this bill applies to passenger vehicles (1) manufactured in the United States for sale in the United States, imported into the United States, or shipped in interstate commerce; and (2) manufactured after the rule's effective date. The rule must require all such vehicles to have devices that can receive signals and play content transmitted by AM stations or digital audio AM stations installed as standard equipment and made easily accessible to drivers. Prior to the rule's effective date, manufacturers that do not include devices that can access AM radio as standard equipment (1) must inform purchasers of this fact through clear and conspicuous labeling, and (2) may not charge an additional or separate fee for AM radio access. DOT may assess civil penalties for any violation of the rule. The Department of Justice may also bring a civil action to enjoin a violation. The rule, including DOT’s authority to enforce it, must expire 10 years after the bill’s enactment. Further, the Government Accountability Office must study and report on the dissemination of emergency alerts to the public, including by conducting an assessment of AM radio relative to other Integrated Public Alert and Warning System communication technologies.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2025
Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act This bill requires certified national governing bodies (NGBs) of amateur sports (e.g., USA Gymnastics) to prohibit a person whose sex is male from participating in an amateur athletic competition that is designated for females, women, or girls. Under the bill, male means an individual who has, had, will have—or would have, but for a developmental or genetic anomaly or historical accident—the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes sperm for fertilization.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2025
This resolution prohibits the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives from accepting, distributing, or delivering Chinese Communist Party-controlled publications (e.g., China Daily).