United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
HSA Modernization Act This bill increases health savings account (HSA) contribution limits, expands HSA eligibility, and makes other changes to HSAs and high-deductible health plans (HDHP). The bill increases HSA contribution limits to equal the limits on out-of-pocket expenses under an HDHP (adjusted annually). Under the bill, the maximum annual HSA contribution for 2025 is $8,300 for self-only coverage and $16,600 for family coverage. (Under current law, the maximum annual HSA contribution for 2025 is $4,300 for self-only coverage and $8,550 for family coverage.) The bill expands eligibility to make tax-deductible HSA contributions to include individuals who receive hospital care or medical services from the Department of Veterans Affairs and do not have a service-connected disability, receive hospital care or medical services provided by the Indian Health Service or a tribal organization, are at least 65 years old and enrolled in Medicare Part A, or have a bronze-level or catastrophic health insurance plan through a health insurance exchange. The bill also allows eligible married individuals to make catch-up contributions to the same HSA. Under the bill, HSA distributions may be used to pay for qualified medical expenses incurred before the HSA is established if the HSA is established within 60 days from the first day of coverage under an HDHP. Further, the bill specifies that HSA distributions may be used to pay for expenses for qualified long-term care services. Finally, the bill allows an HDHP to provide up to $500 of mental health benefits before the annual deductible is met.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
ACES Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study and report on the prevalence and mortality of cancers among veterans who served on active duty as aircrew members and regularly flew in fixed-wing aircraft.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
This resolution declares that every state within the United States has the sovereign right to exclude any person who does not have the right to be there. It also declares that the states along the southern border (1) were invaded by terrorists, narco-terrorist cartels, and criminal actors from 2021 through 2024; and (2) have the sovereign and unilateral authority to defend themselves against such an invasion.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
Empowering Law Enforcement To Fight Sex Trafficking Demand Act of 2025 This bill allows grants under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program to be used for programs to combat human trafficking.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act of 2025 This bill bars the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the Forest Service from prohibiting or regulating the use of lead ammunition or tackle on federal land or water. The bill makes exceptions for specified existing regulations and where the FWS, the BLM, or the Forest Service determines that a decline in wildlife population at the specific unit of federal land or water is primarily caused by the use of lead in ammunition or tackle, based on the field data from such unit, and the state approves the regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
Health Care Efficiency Through Flexibility Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to delay certain requirements relating to the reporting of quality measures by accountable care organizations (ACOs) under the Medicare Shared Savings Program and to also test alternative reporting methods for ACOs. (The Medicare Shared Savings Program enables ACOs to receive payments for savings stemming from care coordination and management.) Specifically, the CMS must delay the requirement that ACOs use a specified electronic system for reporting quality measures until January 1, 2030. Additionally, the CMS must establish a pilot program to test other digital reporting methods; ACOs that participate in the pilot program are exempt from using the existing electronic system. The CMS must also implement standards for digital reporting by January 1, 2030, that ensure all electronic health record systems used by ACOs are able to support reporting across a range of practice sizes, specialties, and geographic locations. ACOs may use existing reporting methods until the standards are implemented.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
Do No Harm in Medicaid Act This bill prohibits federal Medicaid payment for specified gender transition procedures for individuals under the age of 18. The bill defines these procedures to mean those that are intended to change the body of an individual to no longer correspond to the individual's biological sex (male or female), including specified surgeries, implants, and medications (e.g., hormones). The bill excludes procedures that are provided to an individual under the age of 18 with the consent of a parent or legal guardian and that are intended to (1) rectify early puberty, genetic disorders, or chromosomal abnormalities; (2) reverse prior gender transition procedures; or (3) prevent imminent death or impairment of a major bodily function.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
Offshore Lands Authorities Act of 2025 This bill limits the withdrawal of unleased lands of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from areas that may be leased for mineral development and nullifies certain past withdrawals. The OCS includes the federally managed ocean area extending from the outer boundaries of state-controlled waters (generally 3 nautical miles [nmi] from shore) to 200 nmi from shore, with some exceptions. Specifically, the bill limits the President's authority to restrict offshore development of minerals, such as oil and gas, on the OCS. For example, the bill (1) caps the number of acres of OCS lands that a President may withdraw from areas that may be leased; (2) prohibits withdrawals from being made for a period longer than 20 years; (3) prohibits the President from making withdrawals of unleased land that conflict with areas included in lease sales scheduled under approved oil and gas leasing programs; and (4) prohibits the President from withdrawing unleased lands unless the Department of the Interior has completed assessments addressing issues such as mineral resources and the national security, economic, and energy value of the identified mineral deposits. The President must also obtain congressional approval before withdrawing more than 500,000 acres cumulatively. Further, the bill gives Congress the authority to review and disapprove withdrawals by enacting a joint resolution. In addition, the bill nullifies certain presidential memoranda and executive orders related to withdrawing unleased land from areas that may be leased for the development of oil, gas, or other minerals on the OCS.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
Medicaid Third Party Liability Act This bill modifies requirements relating to Medicaid third-party liability. Current law generally requires legally liable third parties (e.g., health insurers) to pay claims before Medicaid. However, Medicaid must pay first (and seek reimbursement from liable third parties) for claims for (1) preventive pediatric care, and (2) services for an individual for whom child support enforcement is being conducted by the state. The bill repeals these exceptions. Current law also requires state Medicaid programs to take all reasonable measures to identify legally liable third parties. The bill specifically prohibits federal Medicaid payment for services to individuals for whom third-party insurance information was not obtained and verified by the state.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
Security First Act This bill reauthorizes the Operation Stonegarden program from FY2025 through FY2028 and addresses other border security issues. (Operation Stonegarden provides grants to enhance the border security capabilities of state, local, and tribal governments.) From FY2025 through FY2028, the money from unreported monetary instruments seized from individuals crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and transferred into the Department of the Treasury general fund shall be made available without further appropriation to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to fund Operation Stonegarden. DHS must report to Congress on (1) DHS hiring practices from 2018 to 2024, and (2) whether certain criminal gangs and Mexican drug cartels meet the criteria to be designated as foreign terrorist organizations. DHS must also periodically report to Congress about the technology needed to secure the U.S.-Mexico land border.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2025
Ensuring Accountability in Agency Rulemaking Act This bill requires, subject to a limited exception, that any agency rule promulgated under notice and comment procedures must be (1) initiated by a senior appointee (e.g., an individual who was appointed by the President or is a non-career member of the Senior Executive Service), and (2) issued and signed by an individual who was appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs must issue guidance for agencies to implement this requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2025
Fighting Oppression until the Reign of Castro Ends or the FORCE Act This bill prohibits removing Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism until the President makes the determination that a transition government in Cuba is in power.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2025
Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of Congressional Gold Medals to the members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic men's ice hockey team in recognition of the team's achievement at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2025
This joint resolution nullifies the rule titled Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-fired Instantaneous Water Heaters and submitted by the Department of Energy (DOE) on December 26, 2024. Under the rule, DOE adopted amended energy conservation standards for gas-fired instantaneous water heaters to achieve the maximum improvement in energy efficiency that DOE determined was technologically feasible and economically justified.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2025
This joint resolution recognizes the sacrifice of veterans of the Vietnam War and commends them for their sacrifice to the United States. The joint resolution also urges the President to formally acknowledge the widespread mistreatment of such veterans as part of the ongoing Vietnam War Commemoration and issue a formal apology to the veterans and their families. Additionally, the joint resolution expresses urgent support for increased education to better reflect the sacrifice and treatment of Vietnam veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2025
State Border Security Reimbursement Act of 2025 This bill requires the federal government to reimburse eligible states for their border security expenses. To be eligible, a state must have expended more than $2.5 billion on border security and enforcement in the 10 years before this bill's enactment. If such a state provides by a certain deadline an accounting of all of its nonfederally funded border security expenses, the federal government must reimburse the full amount.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2025
Regulation Reduction Act of 2025 This bill requires federal agencies to repeal certain existing rules prior to issuing a new rule. Specifically, the bill prohibits an agency from issuing a rule that imposes a cost or responsibility on a nongovernmental person or a state or local government unless it repeals three or more related rules. Additionally, an agency may not issue a major rule that imposes such a cost or responsibility unless (1) the agency has repealed three or more related rules, and (2) the cost of the new rule is less than or equal to the cost of the rules being repealed. A major rule is a rule that has resulted in or is likely to result in (1) an annual economic effect of at least $100 million; (2) a major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, government agencies, or geographic regions; or (3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, or innovation. Any such repealed rule must be published in the Federal Register. This bill does not apply to a rule or major rule that (1) relates to an internal agency policy or practice, (2) relates to procurement, or (3) is being revised to be less burdensome to decrease requirements imposed or compliance costs. Additionally, each federal agency must submit to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget a report that includes a review of each rule of the agency and that identifies whether each rule is costly, ineffective, duplicative, or outdated.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2025
Healthcare Freedom and Choice Act This bill nullifies a rule regarding short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans. The rule was promulgated by the Internal Revenue Service, Employee Benefits Security Administration, and Department of Health and Human Services; is titled Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance and Independent, Noncoordinated Excepted Benefits Coverage ; and was published April 3, 2024. Short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans are plans that may only offer coverage for a limited amount of time and are exempt from the market requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (e.g., coverage of individuals with preexisting conditions). The rule limits the length of the initial contract period for such a plan to no more than three months and, taking into account any renewals or extensions, the maximum coverage period to no more than four months. The rule also includes within the maximum renewal period limitation a new plan sold by the same issuer, or any issuer that is a member of the same controlled group, to the same policyholder within a 12-month period. Regulations in effect prior to the rule this bill nullifies permitted short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans with an initial contract period of fewer than 12 months and a maximum coverage period of up to 36 months, including renewals and extensions.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2025
Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act This bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from awarding family planning grants to entities that perform abortions or provide funding to other entities that perform abortions. To receive a grant, an entity must certify it will refrain from those activities during the grant period. The bill provides exceptions for abortions (1) in cases of rape or incest; or (2) when the life of the woman is in danger due to a physical disorder, injury, or illness. It also exempts hospitals unless they provide funds to non-hospital entities that provide abortions. HHS must submit a report to Congress annually on this prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2025
The HCT/P Modernization Act of 2025 This bill requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide information to stakeholders and report on the regulation of human cell and tissue products, also referred to as human cells, tissues, or cellular or tissue-based products (HCT/Ps), which are articles containing or consisting of human cells or tissues that are intended for use in a human recipient. The bill requires the FDA to conduct workshops to educate stakeholders and facilitate discussion with them on advancing the science and regulation of human cell and tissue products. The FDA must establish a public docket to receive written comments on this topic, and submit to Congress a report with recommendations on regulating these products. Additionally, the bill requires the FDA to publish on its website educational materials about the Tissue Reference Group and best practices for obtaining a recommendation about products from them. Also, annually for three years, the FDA must publish on its website information on the inquiries submitted and average response times for the Tissue Reference Group, as well as the number of human cell and tissue manufacturers that have registered with the FDA and the number of inspections the FDA has conducted with respect to these manufacturers since 2019. (The Tissue Reference Group is a working group within the FDA that receives product-specific questions from, and provides recommendations for, stakeholders on the regulation of human cell and tissue products under the FDA’s rules.)
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2025
Make Greenland Great Again Act This bill authorizes the President to seek to enter into negotiations with Denmark to acquire Greenland. If such an agreement is reached, the President must transmit the agreement and related materials to Congress within five calendar days. The agreement shall go into effect 60 calendar days after such transmission unless Congress enacts a joint resolution of disapproval.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2025
Broadband Resiliency and Flexible Investment Act This bill makes certain changes to the process through which states, localities, and their instrumentalities must evaluate requests to modify existing wireless communications towers, base stations, and other telecommunications service facilities. Specifically, the bill provides statutory authority for the requirement that states and localities approve eligible modification requests within 60 days of their submission. A request is generally eligible if it proposes to add, replace, or remove transmission equipment in a manner that does not substantially change the physical dimensions of the existing structure. If a request is deemed ineligible, the state or locality must provide written notice and an explanation to the requesting party. If a state or locality fails to respond to a request, it is deemed to be approved. The bill sets out procedures and timelines for addressing incomplete requests and supplemental submissions. Further, the bill provides statutory authority for the requirement that a request be considered submitted (thereby starting the 60-day clock) on the date the requesting party takes the first procedural step within its control to submit the request. The bill also limits the procedural steps and documentation requirements that states and localities may impose upon requesting parties. A requesting party may enforce the requirements of the bill in any U.S. district court, and courts must consider actions brought by a requesting party on an expedited basis.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2025
Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act This bill modifies the waiver process under the Clean Air Act related to state emission control standards for new motor vehicles (or new motor vehicle engines). Under current law, states are preempted from adopting or enforcing emission control standards for new motor vehicles (or new motor vehicle engines) unless the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides a waiver authorizing a state to adopt such standards if certain requirements are met. The bill provides that state standards that directly or indirectly limit the sale or use of new motor vehicles with internal combustion engines are not eligible for waivers. The bill also prohibits the EPA from determining that any state standards amended after the bill's enactment are within the scope of an existing waiver. Additionally, the bill requires the EPA to revoke waivers granted between January 1, 2022, and the date of enactment of this bill if the standards directly or indirectly limit the sale or use of new motor vehicles with internal combustion engines.
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
This bill designates the community-based outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Lubbock, Texas, as the General Bernie Mittemeyer VA Clinic.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
Panama Canal Repurchase Act of 2025 This bill authorizes the President to negotiate with the appropriate Panamanian government officials to reacquire the Panama Canal. The President must submit a report to Congress within 180 days of enactment detailing the progress of such negotiations, potential challenges, and anticipated outcomes.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act of 2025 This bill requires entities receiving federal funds to certify that they will not, subject to certain exceptions, perform abortions or provide funding to other entities that perform abortions. The bill provides exceptions for abortions performed in cases of rape or incest or when necessary to resolve a physical condition that endangers a woman's life.
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
Valor Earned Not Stolen Act of 2025 This bill increases the maximum prison term—from one year to three years—for an individual who falsely claims to be the recipient of certain military awards (e.g., a Medal of Honor or Purple Heart) with the intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit.
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
Proxy Voting for New Parents Resolution This resolution authorizes proxy voting in the House of Representatives for a Member who has given birth or whose spouse has given birth and pregnant Members who are unable to travel safely or have a serious medical condition. Under the resolution, a qualifying Member may designate a proxy to cast a vote in a committee, the Committee of the Whole, or on the House floor; however, proxies will not be counted for purposes of establishing a quorum. The proxy designation is valid for up to 12 weeks. To designate a proxy for House and Committee of the Whole votes, the Member must submit a signed and dated letter to the Clerk stating the Member’s qualifying circumstances and the name and state of the Member who has agreed to be designated as proxy. A Member who has designated a proxy according to these requirements may also designate a proxy for committee votes. To designate a proxy for committee votes, the Member must provide the committee chair and ranking minority member with a signed and dated letter specifying another member of the committee to cast a proxy vote. The resolution further provides that a Member may revoke the proxy authorization by (1) casting the Member’s own vote; (2) recording the Member’s own presence in the House or in the Committee of the Whole; or (3) in a committee, by submitting a signed letter to the chair and ranking minority member.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
This bill designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 107 North Hoyne Avenue in Fritch, Texas, as the "Chief Zeb Smith Post Office".
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2025 This bill restricts federal funding for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. or any of its affiliates or clinics for one year. Specifically, it prohibits providing federal funding to those entities unless they certify that the affiliates and clinics will not perform, and will not provide funds to entities that perform, abortions during that year. If the certification requirement is not met, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture must recoup any federal assistance received by those entities. However, the bill's funding restriction does not apply to abortions performed in cases of rape or incest or when necessary to resolve a physical condition that endangers a woman's life. The bill also provides additional funding for community health centers for the one-year period. These funds are subject to the same abortion-related restrictions and exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
Justice for 9/11 Act This bill provides that any plea agreement entered into by Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, or Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi for actions involving the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, and its related judgment must not preclude the trial of such individuals under other provisions of law for that attack. In any trial of such individuals, the death penalty must be available. In the case of any sentence imposed on Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, or Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, the individual must (1) be held at U.S. Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in solitary confinement; (2) not be provided contact with foreign nationals; (3) not be provided with psychological treatment except that specifically authorized by medical authorities at Guantanamo Bay; and (4) not be transferred to the continental United States or any other country.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
Natural Gas Tax Repeal Act This bill eliminates a program administered by the Environmental Protection Agency that provides support for reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. It also repeals a charge on methane emissions from facilities that contain petroleum and natural gas systems and emit 25,000 metric tons or more of greenhouse gases per year.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
Organ Donation Referral Improvement Act This bill requires the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) in the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a study on hospitals’ use of electronic automated referrals for organ donations. The bill defines electronic automated referral as an electronic system that uses electronic health records to identify patients who are potential organ donors and automatically refers those patients to organ procurement organizations. The ASPE must include specified components in the study, including identifying benefits, reviewing best practices, and developing recommendations for the use of electronic automated referrals for organ donations.
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
HUD Transparency Act of 2025 This bill requires the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to annually testify before Congress. Specifically, the office must testify regarding efforts to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse; ability to conduct and supervise audits, investigations, and reviews; actions to identify opportunities for HUD programs to progress and succeed; recommendations to improve overall efficiency and public accountability; the extent to which HUD has resources sufficient to carry out its statutory mission; and ongoing activities regarding any such additional work.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2025
Preventing Unjust Red Flag Laws Act of 2025 This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to implement or enforce red flag laws. The term red flag law means a risk-based, temporary, and preemptive protective order that authorizes the removal of a firearm without due process.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2025
Disabled Veterans Housing Support Act This bill excludes compensation received for a military service-connected disability from a veteran's income when determining eligibility for assistance under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. The CDBG program provides grants to urban communities for development activities focused on revitalizing neighborhoods, economic development, and providing improved community facilities and services. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office must report on how service-connected disability compensation is treated when determining eligibility for all programs administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This includes identifying instances where the treatment of such compensation is inconsistent with the requirement under this bill.
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
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
Laken Riley Act This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain certain non-U.S. nationals ( aliens under federal law) who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. The bill also authorizes states to sue the federal government for decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement. Under this bill, DHS must detain an individual who (1) is unlawfully present in the United States or did not possess the necessary documents when applying for admission; and (2) has been charged with, arrested for, convicted of, or admits to having committed acts that constitute the essential elements of burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. The bill also authorizes state governments to sue for injunctive relief over certain immigration-related decisions or alleged failures by the federal government if the decision or failure caused the state or its residents harm, including financial harm of more than $100. Specifically, the state government may sue the federal government over a decision to release a non-U.S. national from custody; failure to fulfill requirements relating to inspecting individuals seeking admission into the United States, including requirements related to asylum interviews; failure to fulfill a requirement to stop issuing visas to nationals of a country that unreasonably denies or delays acceptance of nationals of that country; violation of limitations on immigration parole, such as the requirement that parole be granted only on a case-by-case basis; or failure to detain an individual who has been ordered removed from the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act This bill establishes requirements for the degree of care a health care practitioner must provide in the case of a child born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion. Specifically, a health care practitioner who is present must (1) exercise the same degree of care as would reasonably be provided to any other child born alive at the same gestational age, and (2) ensure the child is immediately admitted to a hospital. Additionally, a health care practitioner or other employee who has knowledge of a failure to comply with the degree-of-care requirements must immediately report such failure to law enforcement. A health care practitioner who fails to provide the required degree of care, or a health care practitioner or other employee who fails to report such failure, is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. An individual who intentionally kills or attempts to kill a child born alive is subject to prosecution for murder. The bill bars the criminal prosecution of a mother of a child born alive under this bill and allows her to bring a civil action against a health care practitioner or other employee for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
TCJA Permanency Act This bill makes permanent multiple federal tax provisions enacted in 2017 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The bill makes permanent the individual tax rates of 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%; increased standard deduction; personal exemption allowance repeal; exclusion from income of student loans discharged due to death or disability; qualified business income tax deduction (199A tax deduction); allowance of ABLE account contributions in excess of the annual gift tax exclusion amount; base estate and gift tax exclusion amount of $10 million (adjusted annually); and alternative minimum tax exemption and phaseout amounts for noncorporate taxpayers. The bill makes permanent the child tax credit amounts of $2,000 per child and $500 for dependents, the $200,000 phaseout threshold ($400,000 for joint filers), and the refundable portion of the tax credit. The bill expands the expenses eligible for tax-free withdrawals from qualified tuition plans (529 plans) to include additional expenses associated with homeschool and elementary and secondary schools (e.g., instructional materials, tutoring, test and enrollment fees, and educational therapies). The bill permanently eliminates certain miscellaneous itemized deductions and makes permanent the state and local tax deduction limit of $10,000 ($5,000 for married individuals filing separately), mortgage interest tax deduction limit of $750,000 ($375,000 for married individuals filing separately), limit on the deduction of cash charitable contributions to 60% of a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income, and certain limits on casualty loss tax deductions. The bill also permanently eliminates the exclusion from income for employer-reimbursed bicycle commuting expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act or the HALT Fentanyl Act This bill permanently places fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act. Under the bill, offenses involving fentanyl-related substances are triggered by the same quantity thresholds and subject to the same penalties as offenses involving fentanyl analogues (e.g., offenses involving 100 grams or more trigger a 10-year mandatory minimum prison term). Additionally, the bill establishes a new, alternative registration process for certain schedule I research. The bill also makes several other changes to registration requirements for conducting research with controlled substances, including permitting a single registration for related research sites in certain circumstances, waiving the requirement for a new inspection in certain situations, and allowing a registered researcher to perform certain manufacturing activities with small quantities of a substance without obtaining a manufacturing registration. Finally, the bill expresses the sense that Congress agrees with the interpretation of Controlled Substances Act in United States v. McCray , a 2018 case decided by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. In that case, the court held that butyryl fentanyl, a controlled substance, can be considered an analogue of fentanyl even though, under the Controlled Substances Act, the term controlled substance analogue specifically excludes a controlled substance.
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
Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 20 25 This bill revises provisions relating to congressional review of agency rulemaking. Specifically, the bill establishes a congressional approval process for a major rule. A major rule may only take effect if Congress approves of the rule. A major rule is a rule that has resulted in or is likely to result in (1) an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; (2) a major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, government agencies, or geographic regions; or (3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises. The bill generally preserves the current congressional review process for a nonmajor rule.