United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2026
Hemp Planting Predictability Act This bill extends by two years the implementation of changes to the regulation of hemp products, which reimpose certain federal controls over some hemp products. Specifically, Congress enacted the FY2026 agriculture appropriations act (P.L. 119-37) on November 12, 2025. Effective November 12, 2026, the act modifies the statutory definition of hemp products that are considered to be lawful. This bill extends the effective date to November 12, 2028. As background, the 2018 farm bill excluded hemp from the Controlled Substances Act definition of marijuana and defined hemp . As a result, hemp and hemp-derived products at or below the 0.3% delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana) concentration threshold were no longer regulated as Schedule I controlled substances and registration with the Drug Enforcement Administration was no longer required to cultivate or handle hemp and hemp-derived products. However, hemp remained subject to Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration regulation. The 2025 changes to the definition of hemp, include changing the limit to a total THC concentration of not more than 0.3% on a dry weight basis rather than only delta-9 THC, explicitly including industrial hemp, excluding seeds from a cannabis plant that exceed a certain THC concentration, and excluding various types of hemp-derived cannabinoid products. Cannabinoids refer to unique chemical compounds that are found in hemp and marijuana (e.g., THC) and are known to exhibit a range of psychological and physiological effects.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2026
This concurrent resolution directs the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from Venezuela unless a declaration of war or authorization to use military force for such purpose has been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2026
Stop Unfair Medicaid Recoveries Act This bill prohibits state Medicaid programs from using estate recovery to recoup the costs of benefits. States must withdraw property liens within 90 days of the bill's enactment and notify affected individuals of the withdrawals.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2025
Essential Caregivers Act of 2025 This bill prohibits certain health care facilities from limiting the access of essential caregivers to residents of those facilities, including during designated emergency periods. Specifically, the bill generally prohibits Medicare skilled nursing facilities, Medicaid nursing facilities, Medicaid intermediate care facilities, and associated inpatient rehabilitation facilities from restricting the access of essential caregivers to residents of the facilities, including during emergency periods in which visitation rights are otherwise restricted. During emergency periods, facilities may restrict access for an initial period of up to seven days and for one additional maximum seven-day period (if the additional period is approved by the state health department). Facilities may restrict access for a total of 7 days (or 14 days with the approval of the state health department) during an emergency period. Essential caregivers must agree to comply with any safety protocols set by the facility, which may be no more stringent for caregivers compared to those for staff. Caregivers who fail to comply with these requirements may be denied access, subject to an appeals process.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2025
Keeping All Students Safe Act This bill prohibits the use of seclusion and limits the use of physical restraint in schools and Head Start programs that receive federal funding. Specifically, the bill prohibits the use of seclusion , which is the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. The term does not include a time out, which may involve separating the student from others in a non-locked setting. The bill prohibits the use of mechanical or chemical restraints or physical restraints that restrict breathing or are life threatening. The bill outlines the requirements for the use of physical restraint, including that the student's behavior must pose an imminent danger of serious physical injury to the student or other individual. Each state must ensure that a sufficient number of program personnel are trained and certified by a state-approved crisis intervention training program. Additionally, each program must establish procedures to follow after an incident involving physical restraint. Further, the bill establishes enforcement provisions, including a private right of action for a student who has been subjected to unlawful seclusion or restraint. The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services must withhold payments from a program for unlawful seclusion or restraint. Finally, the bill requires each state educational agency (SEA) to establish, implement, and enforce policies and procedures required by the bill. It also creates a grant program to assist SEAs with these activities.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2025
Justice for Breonna Taylor Act This bill prohibits no-knock warrants, which generally permit law enforcement officers to enter a premises without first identifying their authority and purpose. Specifically, it requires federal law enforcement officers to provide notice of their authority and purpose before executing a warrant. State and local law enforcement agencies that receive funds from the Department of Justice must execute warrants that require the serving officer to provide notice of his or her authority and purpose before forcibly entering a premises.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2025
Right to Read Act of 2025 This bill expands access to school libraries and literacy skills support for elementary and secondary school students. It also outlines certain constitutional rights and liability protections related to school libraries. Specifically, the bill reauthorizes through FY2030 (1) the Comprehensive Literacy State Development Program, which provides grants to ensure high-quality instruction and effective strategies in reading and writing for children through 12th grade; and (2) the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Program, which provides grants to support the development of literacy skills in low-income communities. Additionally, the bill allows Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants to be used to assist local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools in recruiting, hiring, and retaining state-certified school librarians. Further, the bill authorizes states and LEAs to use Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants for programs and activities that promote the development of digital literacy and information literacy skills. The Department of Education (ED) must direct the National Center for Education Statistics to biennially collect data on school libraries. ED must require an assurance from each state and LEA receiving certain funds confirming that it will (1) protect the First Amendment rights of students in school libraries, and (2) provide equal protection in the conduct of school libraries in compliance with the requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment and nondiscrimination laws. The bill also provides liability protection to teachers, school librarians, school leaders, paraprofessionals, and other staff for actions that conform with state or local policies regarding the right to read.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2025
Realizing Equitable & Sustainable Participation in Emerging Cannabis Trades Resolution or the RESPECT Resolution This resolution encourages states and localities to adopt best practices and take bold steps to address disparities in the cannabis marketplace and to address, reverse, and repair the effects of the war on drugs on communities of color. The resolution also expresses the sense that the President should direct the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs to seek to treat cannabis as a legal commodity.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2025
Information Quality Assurance Act of 2025 This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget to revise the guidelines for federal agencies with respect to the dissemination or use of influential information or evidence , which means information or evidence about which an agency can reasonably determine that reliance on or dissemination of has, or will have, a clear and substantial impact on important public actions, policies or statements, or on important private sector decisions. The guidelines must ensure that federal agencies rely on the best reasonably available influential information and evidence that is appropriate for the purpose when developing, issuing, or informing the public about the rules and guidance of the agency. An agency also must publish (1) the critical factual material relied on as part of the rulemaking or guidance development process, and (2) a citation to any other source used to inform the rulemaking or guidance development process. The guidelines must also require an agency to provide certain opportunities for the public to comment on the critical factual material upon which the agency relied.
![Official portrait of Rep. Simon, Lateefah [D-CA-12]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/67745f940b34857ecc909197_200.jpg)