United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act This bill requires the Department of State to develop and implement a strategy to discourage foreign countries and nongovernmental organizations from providing financial or material support to the Taliban, including by using U.S.-provided foreign assistance to discourage countries and organizations from providing such support to the Taliban. The State Department must report to Congress on (1) foreign countries and nongovernmental organizations that have provided financial or material support to the Taliban and U.S. efforts to oppose such support; (2) the strategy to discourage such support and a plan for the strategy's implementation; (3) U.S.-funded direct cash assistance programs in Afghanistan; and (4) the Afghan Fund, including Taliban influence over Da Afghanistan Bank (the Afghan central bank).
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
Border Safety and Security Act of 2025 This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to suspend the entry of any non-U.S. nationals ( aliens under federal law) without valid entry documents during any period when DHS cannot detain such an individual or return the individual to a foreign country contiguous to the United States. A state may sue DHS to enforce this requirement. (Under current law, non-U.S. nationals who arrive at the border without entry documents are generally subject to expedited removal. However, if such an individual is found to have a credible fear of persecution, they are typically subject to detention while their asylum claim is being considered.) The bill also authorizes DHS to suspend the entry of non-U.S. nationals without entry documents at the border if DHS determines that such a suspension is necessary to achieve operational control over such a border.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
Return Excessive Migrants and Asylees to International Neighbors in Mexico Act of 2025 or the REMAIN in Mexico Act of 2025 This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement the Migrant Protection Protocols as outlined in the January 25, 2019, memo titled Policy Guidance for Implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols . (The protocols generally required aliens who are not clearly admissible, including those seeking asylum, arriving by land along the U.S.-Mexico border to be returned to Mexico while their immigration proceedings are pending, rather than remain in the United States. On January 21, 2021, DHS stopped applying the protocols to newly-arrived individuals.)
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 · 6 January 2025
This joint resolution proposes an amendment to the Constitution establishing term limits for individuals serving in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The proposed amendment makes an individual who has served two terms in the Senate ineligible for appointment or election to the Senate and an individual who has served three terms as a Member of the House of Representatives ineligible for election to the House of Representatives. The joint resolution provides that the amendment shall be valid when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification. Under Article V of the Constitution, both chambers of Congress may propose an amendment by a vote of two-thirds of all Members present for such vote. A proposed amendment must be ratified by the states as prescribed in Article V and as specified by Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
WHO Withdrawal Act This bill requires the President to immediately withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) and prohibits using any federal funds to provide for U.S. participation in the WHO. The bill also repeals the 1948 act authorizing the United States to join the WHO.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Equal Representation Act This bill requires that the statement sent by the President to Congress after the decennial census indicating the number of persons in each state exclude noncitizens. (This statement is the basis for reapportionment of U.S. Representatives.) The bill also requires any questionnaire used in the decennial census to include a checkbox or other similar option for respondents to indicate whether the respondent and each household member is (1) a U.S. citizen, (2) a U.S. national but not a citizen, (3) a non-U.S. national ( alien under federal law) lawfully residing in the United States, or (4) a non-U.S. national unlawfully residing in the United States. The Department of Commerce must make public the number of persons in each state, disaggregated by each of these four categories.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Land And Social Security Optimization Act or the LASSO Act This bill requires 10% of revenue generated by public lands, including submerged lands on the Outer Continental Shelf, under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service to be deposited into the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, which is used to pay Social Security benefits to retirees and their families and to survivors of deceased workers.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act This bill establishes a federal statutory framework to regulate the carry or possession of concealed firearms across state lines. Specifically, an individual who is eligible to carry a concealed firearm in one state may carry or possess a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in another state that allows its residents to carry concealed firearms. It sets forth requirements for lawful concealed carry across state lines. The bill preempts most state and local laws related to concealed carry and establishes a private right of action for a person adversely affected by interference with a concealed-carry right established by this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2025 This bill directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to complete, within 12 months, an audit of the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve banks. In addition, the bill allows the GAO to audit the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve banks with respect to (1) international financial transactions; (2) deliberations, decisions, or actions on monetary policy matters; (3) transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee; and (4) discussions or communications among Federal Reserve officers, board members, and employees regarding any of these matters.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Stopping Border Surges Act This bill modifies immigration law provisions relating to unaccompanied alien minors and to asylum seekers. The bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to repatriate certain unaccompanied, inadmissible alien children, generally those not at risk of being trafficking victims nor having a fear of persecution. Currently, only inadmissible unaccompanied aliens from neighboring countries are subject to repatriation, and DHS has discretion whether to repatriate. When the Department of Health and Human Services releases an unaccompanied child to an individual, it shall provide DHS with certain information about that individual, including Social Security number and immigration status. The bill requires a stricter standard to find a credible fear of persecution and imposes additional rules on credible fear interviews. If an alien is granted asylum because of fear of persecution in a country, the alien shall be deemed to have renounced asylum status by returning to that country, if there has been no change in the country's conditions. The bill also (1) expands the definition of what constitutes a frivolous asylum application, (2) imposes additional limitations on eligibility for asylum, (3) shortens the deadline for applying for asylum, and (4) extends the time period an alien seeking asylum must wait before receiving employment authorization. Any individual who knowingly and willfully makes materially false statements or uses fraudulent documents in asylum-related proceedings shall be fined or imprisoned up to 10 years, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Firearm Industry Non-Discrimination Act or the FIND Act This bill prohibits the federal government from entering into contracts with an entity that discriminates against firearm trade associations or businesses that deal in firearms, ammunition, or related products. Specifically, the bill requires a federal agency to include in each contract for the procurement of goods or services awarded by the agency a clause requiring the prime contractor to certify that it (1) has no policy, practice, guidance, or directive that discriminates against a firearm entity or firearm trade association; and (2) will not adopt a policy, practice, guidance, or directive that discriminates against a firearm entity or firearm trade association during the term of the contract. The bill establishes (1) a similar requirement with respect to subcontracts, and (2) penalties for violations. The bill makes such prohibition inapplicable to a contract for the procurement of goods or services that is a sole-source contract.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act This bill establishes certain criminal grounds for making non-U.S. nationals ( aliens under federal law) inadmissible and expands the crimes for which a non-U.S. national is deportable. First, the bill establishes that a non-U.S. national is inadmissible if the individual has admitted to or is convicted of acts constituting the essential elements of stalking, child abuse, child neglect, child abandonment, a sex offense, conspiracy to commit a sex offense, a violation of certain protection orders, or domestic violence (including physical or sexual abuse or a pattern of coercive behavior when it occurs within certain close relationships). Next, the bill establishes additional grounds for deportation. Under current law, a non-U.S. national is deportable for certain criminal convictions, including domestic violence, stalking, and child abuse. The bill makes any sex offense (including crimes against minors) or conspiracy to commit a sex offense a basis for deportation. The bill also expands the domestic violence crimes that make a non-U.S. national deportable to include physical or sexual abuse or a pattern of coercive behavior when it occurs within certain close relationships.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act or the SAVE Act This bill requires individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Specifically, the bill prohibits states from accepting and processing an application to register to vote in a federal election unless the applicant presents documentary proof of U.S. citizenship. The bill specifies what documents are considered acceptable proof of U.S. citizenship, such as identification that complies with the REAL ID Act of 2005 that indicates U.S. citizenship. Further, the bill (1) prohibits states from registering an individual to vote in a federal election unless, at the time the individual applies to register to vote, the individual provides documentary proof of U.S. citizenship; and (2) requires states to establish an alternative process under which an applicant may submit other evidence to demonstrate U.S. citizenship. Each state must take affirmative steps on an ongoing basis to ensure that only U.S. citizens are registered to vote, which shall include establishing a program to identify individuals who are not U.S. citizens using information supplied by certain sources. Additionally, states must remove noncitizens from their official lists of eligible voters. The bill allows for a private right of action against an election official who registers an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship. The bill establishes criminal penalties for certain offenses, including registering an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2024
This bill repeals the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA). The ICA generally limits the authority of the President to impound (i.e., withhold from obligation or expenditure) funds that have been appropriated by Congress and establishes related procedures. It also establishes expedited legislative procedures that Congress may use to consider legislation to enact rescissions proposed by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2024
End the Vaccine Carveout Act This bill removes liability protections for manufacturers and administrators for vaccine-related injuries, and removes limitations on bringing civil actions for vaccine-related injuries or seeking compensation, under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). It also excludes COVID-19 vaccines from liability protections under the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP). Under current law, the VICP provides compensation for alleged injuries caused by certain routinely administered vaccines. Individuals generally may not file a civil action in court unless a VICP claim is filed and the resulting judgement is rejected. The VICP also limits the types of claims and amount of damages that may be sought (e.g., no liability for unavoidable side effects or failure to directly warn), and it imposes deadlines for filing claims. The bill removes the requirement to first file a claim under the VICP before pursuing a civil action, so individuals alleging vaccine-related injuries may choose to either bring a civil action or utilize the VICP. It also removes the restrictions on the types of civil actions and damages. The bill also removes the deadlines for filing claims under the VICP and applies this change retroactively. Additionally, under current law, the CICP provides compensation for alleged injuries caused by certain medical countermeasures during public health emergencies, including COVID-19 vaccines. The bill excludes COVID-19 vaccines from being considered as medical countermeasures. Therefore, under the bill, individuals may file civil actions against manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines rather than filing claims under the CICP.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2024
This resolution denounces certain past legislation cosponsored by Vice President Kamala Harris and related to the national debt, energy, national security, and consumer costs. It also condemns some of her efforts related to energy.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2024
Increasing Baseline Updates Act This bill requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to submit to Congress at least two updates to its annual baseline. At least one of the updates must include the economic data used by CBO to calculate the update. (A baseline is a projection of federal spending and receipts during a fiscal year under current law. Under current law, CBO is required to publish the baseline by February 15 of each year. While there is no statutory requirement for specific updates, CBO generally provides an update with its analysis of the President's annual budget request. It has also provided some updates during the summer, depending on the timing of the President's budget request.) The bill also requires the President to submit technical budget data to Congress on or before February 1 of each year. Currently, federal agencies provide the data to Congress as part of the President's budget request.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2024
CBO Oversight Act This bill requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to provide testimony annually at hearings held by the House and Senate Budget Committees. Specifically, at the request of the chair of either committee, the Director must provide testimony at two hearings held by the committee by the end of the calendar year. The hearings may address any issue that the committee deems appropriate, including reviewing the accuracy of the baseline projections and estimates prepared by CBO during the most recently completed fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2024
This resolution denounces past criminal legislation of Vice President Kamala Harris. The resolution also condemns certain policies and rhetoric by Vice President Harris.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2024
This resolution states that the House of Representatives (1) reaffirms its priority over the Senate for all taxation and appropriations in the congressional budget process, (2) reiterates its authority to establish and maintain Section 302(b) suballocations (i.e., appropriations subcommittee allocations) for all subcommittee spending levels, and (3) intends to prioritize fiscal responsibility in FY2025 and all future congressional budget processes.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2024
This concurrent resolution expresses Congress’s support for the designation of Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Day and recognizes the significance of the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. Further, it commends the nearly 1 million veterans who belong to the organization and thanks them for their service to their fellow veterans and the country.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2024
IRS Overreach Prevention Act This bill prohibits the Internal Revenue Service from continuing its Direct File program or from developing or providing to taxpayers any successor program that provides a free, public electronic return-filing service option.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2024
This resolution expresses the sense that the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump must be universally condemned. It also expresses the sense that the only appropriate place to settle political disputes is at the ballot box.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2024
Community Association Reporting Exemption Act This bill exempts certain tax-exempt homeowners associations from beneficial ownership information reporting requirements.