United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2025
Improving SCRA Benefit Utilization Act This bill expands interest rate protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and requires expanded training for and outreach to servicemembers regarding financial literacy and SCRA protections. The SCRA caps the maximum interest charged on any debt incurred by a servicemember prior to entering active duty at 6% annually if the servicemember's ability to pay is materially affected by active-duty status; servicemembers must provide notice and other documentation to creditors to receive this cap. The bill requires creditors to apply this cap to all of a servicemember’s obligations or liabilities with that creditor, regardless of whether a certain obligation or liability was specifically mentioned in the required notice provided by the member to invoke SCRA rights. Further, the bill requires creditors to provide all necessary mechanisms to ensure a servicemember is able to submit any required documentation. The bill also requires that the financial literacy training program provided to servicemembers include information about consumer financial protections afforded to such members and their dependents, including protections regarding interest rate limits under the SCRA. Additionally, the bill requires the military department concerned to provide written notice of benefits under the SCRA to servicemembers at the time they first enter military service and, for members of the reserve components, at the time they first enter service in the reserves and at any time when they are mobilized or ordered to active duty for more than 30 days.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2025
This resolution supports the designation of a National Day of Reason and encourages everyone in the United States to uplift the central importance of reason, critical thought, the scientific method, and free inquiry to resolving social problems and promoting human welfare.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2025
Community Services Block Grant Improvement Act of 2025 This bill reauthorizes the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program through FY2032 and makes certain changes to the program and associated eligibility requirements. The CSBG program supports various antipoverty activities, primarily through formula-based allotments to states, tribes, and territories, the majority of which must be made available in grants to eligible local entities. Specifically, the bill permanently sets the measure of eligibility for services, assistance, or resources provided directly to individuals or families under the program at 200% of the poverty line. (Under current law, the eligibility measure is temporarily set at 200% of the poverty line, an increase from the previous measure of 125% of the poverty line.) The bill also makes certain changes to the permitted uses of funding, including by allowing CSBG funds to be used to facilitate low-income individuals’ and communities’ access to high-speed broadband, digital literacy training, technical support, and other services. States may also use certain funds allocated for training and technical assistance to assist eligible entities in responding to statewide and regional conditions that create economic insecurity, including emergency conditions. The bill also expands requirements for the plans that states must submit to the Department of Health and Human Services in order to receive CSBG funds (e.g., transparency assurances), and sets deadlines by which states must make funds available to eligible entities. Finally, the bill repeals a provision that allowed states to use CSBG funds to offset revenue losses associated with state charity tax credits.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2025
This resolution expresses support for the designation of a Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. It also recognizes the contribution of motorcycles to transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2025
This resolution supports the designation of National Menstrual Health Awareness Month to educate people about menstrual health and eliminate period stigma.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2025
Assault Weapons Ban of 2025 This bill makes it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). The prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action, except for certain shotguns; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; (4) only capable of firing rimfire ammunition; or (5) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model. The bill also exempts from the prohibition the following, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD: importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties. The bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD. Newly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture. The bill also allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2025
Green Federal Fleet Act This bill requires passenger vehicles that are purchased or leased from a nonfederal entity by a federal agency to be zero-emission vehicles. This requirement does not apply to tactical vehicles or in circumstances where a zero-emission vehicle is not technically feasible.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2025
Equality Act This bill prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity with respect to businesses, employment, housing, federally funded programs, and other settings. Specifically, the bill expands Title II and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit public accommodations and federally funded programs, respectively, from discriminating based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. It also includes stores, transit services, recreational facilities, and establishments that provide health care, accounting, or legal services as public accommodations under Title II. The bill also expands Title IV (desegregation of public schools) and Title VII (employment discrimination) to specifically include sexual orientation and gender identity. (The Supreme Court held in Bostock v. Clayton County that Title VII's prohibition of employment discrimination based on sex also prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.) The bill similarly expands the Fair Housing Act (discrimination in public and private housing) to include sexual orientation and gender identity. It also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity by creditors and with respect to jury selection. The bill defines sex for purposes of the aforementioned provisions to include sex stereotypes, pregnancy, childbirth, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2025
Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025 This bill establishes, expands, and revises multiple programs and activities of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) primarily to reduce carbon emissions from the agricultural sector. Specifically, USDA must finalize and implement a plan to achieve net-zero emissions from the sector by 2040. USDA must periodically review and revise the plan, as necessary, and annually report on its implementation. Additionally, the bill expands the scope of various USDA research, extension, and education programs; conservation programs; and livestock programs to incorporate climate change mitigation and adaptation. Expanded activities include efforts to improve soil health and preserve farmland and grassland. Further, the bill changes programs that support renewable energy in rural areas to address carbon emissions in the agricultural sector. Among these changes, the bill provides statutory authority for the AgSTAR program for reducing methane emissions from livestock waste and requires the program to be moved from the Environmental Protection Agency to USDA. The bill also addresses food waste, for example, by (1) standardizing the voluntary labels used by food producers to indicate the date by which food should be used or discarded, and (2) making composting activities eligible for support through USDA conservation programs. Moreover, the bill establishes grants to reduce and prevent food waste in landfills and in schools.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2025
Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception Act of 2026 or the GUARD Act of 2026 This bill allows state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies and grantees that receive funds from certain law enforcement grant programs to use the funds to investigate general financial fraud, elder financial fraud, and pig butchering. Pig butchering refers to a confidence and investment fraud in which a victim is gradually lured into transferring increasing amounts of money, generally in the form of cryptocurrency, into a fake virtual investment. The bill allows federal law enforcement agencies to assist state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies and fusion centers in the use of tracing tools for blockchain and related technology tools. Finally, the bill requires the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to report on efforts to combat general financial fraud, elder financial fraud, pig butchering, and scams, including an evaluation of any legislative recommendations to improve the efforts. The bill also requires FinCEN to report on the state of general financial fraud, elder financial fraud, pig butchering, and scams in the United States, including trends in the crimes.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2025
Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act This bill limits the circumstances in which credit reporting agencies may provide consumer credit reports to third parties in connection with residential mortgage transactions. Specifically, the bill prohibits a credit reporting agency from providing a consumer's credit report to a third party in connection with a residential mortgage transaction unless the transaction consists of a firm offer of credit or insurance and (1) the third party provides documentation certifying that it has the consumer's consent; or (2) the third party has originated a mortgage on behalf of the consumer, is a current mortgage loan servicer to the consumer, or has a current specified banking relationship with the consumer. These provisions take effect 180 days after the bill's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2025
Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025 This bill expands federal enforcement of criminal offenses related to organized retail and supply chain crime. The term organized retail and supply chain crime includes criminal offenses involving the interstate transportation of stolen property, the sale or receipt of stolen goods, or theft from an interstate or foreign shipment that is committed by, in coordination with, or at the instruction of an organization. First, with respect to criminal offenses involving the interstate transportation of stolen property or the sale or receipt of stolen goods, the bill broadens the scope of conduct that qualifies as offenses by allowing prosecutions to be based on the aggregate value of stolen items over a 12-month period. Additionally, the bill makes the offenses predicate offenses (i.e., underlying offenses) for prosecutions under the federal money laundering statute and authorizes the criminal forfeiture of any property obtained from the proceeds of an offense. Second, with respect to criminal offenses involving theft from an interstate or foreign shipment, the bill also makes an offense an underlying offense for prosecution under the federal money laundering statute and authorizes the criminal forfeiture of any associated property. Third, the bill expands the federal money laundering statute to include offenses involving general-use prepaid cards, gift certificates, or store gift cards. Finally, the bill temporarily establishes a center within the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate federal law enforcement activities related to organized retail and supply chain crime.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2025
Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform Act of 2025 or the SOAR Act of 2025 This bill establishes certain requirements with respect to the payment and provision of supplemental oxygen and related services under Medicare. For example, the bill provides for separate payments, indexed to inflation, of oxygen and related equipment, supplies, and services under Medicare (rather than under the competitive acquisition program). It also specifically covers services that are provided by respiratory therapists under Medicare and provides for an additional payment adjustment for these services. Additionally, the bill (1) requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to develop an electronic template for providers to use when prescribing oxygen and related equipment, supplies, and services; and (2) establishes certain rights for beneficiaries receiving these items and services, such as the right to choose their suppliers and to receive clear communications and be informed about the services provided.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2025
Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion Act or the GOSAFE Act This bill establishes a framework to regulate gas-operated semiautomatic firearms and large capacity ammunition feeding devices under federal firearms laws. First, the bill generally prohibits the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, receipt, or possession of a firearm that is or is modified to operate as a prohibited gas-operated semiautomatic firearm; a combination of parts that modify or can be assembled into a prohibited gas-operated semiautomatic firearm, or that produce an unlawful gas-operated semiautomatic cycling action; a device or combination of parts designed to materially increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm; or a firearm that is modified to materially increase the rate of fire. Second, the bill generally prohibits (1) the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or receipt of a large capacity ammunition feeding device; or (2) the possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device manufactured after the date of enactment. A violation is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to 12 months, or both, for each violation. In addition, an individual who possesses a prohibited gas-operated semiautomatic firearm during a federal felony offense is subject to additional penalties—a fine, a mandatory minimum prison term of two years, or both. Finally, the bill allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender gas-operated semiautomatic firearms and large capacity ammunition feeding devices under a buy-back program.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2025
Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act of 2025 This bill generally prohibits the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, receipt, or possession of a device that is primarily designed, or redesigned, to increase the rate of fire when attached to a semiautomatic firearm; a device, part, or combination of parts that is designed and functions to increase the rate of fire of a firearm; or a semiautomatic firearm that has been modified to materially increase the rate of fire or to approximate the action or rate of fire of a machine gun. Additionally, the bill adds to the list of firearms subject to regulation under the National Firearms Act semiautomatic firearms that have been modified to materially increase the rate of fire or approximate the action or rate of fire of a machine gun.
![Official portrait of Rep. Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/68000188f22eaf56065817e8_200.jpg)