United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2025
This resolution expresses the sense of the Senate that the mass terminations of employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs should be condemned. The resolution also expresses that all affected employees should be reinstated.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 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 the public performance of sound recordings broadcast on a local radio station.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2025
Stopping Abuse and Fraud in Electronic Lending Act of 2025 or the SAFE Lending Act of 2025 This bill creates additional consumer protections applicable to certain credit and banking transactions, including matters concerning remotely created checks, electronic fund transfers, registration of small-dollar lenders, overdraft fees, and the collection of personal information. Under the bill, remotely created checks may only be issued by a person specifically designated in writing by a consumer. The consumer must provide the designation to the consumer's depository institution. (A remotely created check is a check not issued by the bank and not signed by the account owner.) A voluntary agreement to repay a small-dollar consumer credit transaction by an electronic fund transfer is subject to certain protections, including the right of the consumer to stop payment. Small-dollar consumer credit providers must register with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Any small-dollar consumer credit transaction is subject to the laws of the state in which the consumer resides. The bill also prohibits overdraft fees on prepaid accounts.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2025
Keep Americans Safe Act This bill establishes a new criminal offense for the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). The bill does not prohibit certain conduct with respect to an LCAFD, including the following: 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 of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD. Newly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification and the date of manufacture. Additionally, the bill allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender an LCAFD under a buy-back program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2025
Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act This bill requires states to establish a process through which qualifying out-of-state providers may temporarily treat children under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) without undergoing additional screening requirements. Specifically, states must establish a process through which qualifying out-of-state providers may enroll for five years as participating providers to treat individuals under the age of 21 without undergoing additional screening requirements. A qualifying out-of-state provider (1) must not have been excluded or terminated from participating in a federal health care program or state Medicaid program; and (2) must have been successfully enrolled in Medicare or a state Medicaid program based on a determination that the provider posed a limited risk of fraud, waste, or abuse. The bill’s changes take effect three years after enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2025
Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act of 2025 This bill establishes the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States within the legislative branch and sets forth its powers, duties, and membership. Among other duties, the commission must investigate the impacts and ongoing effects of the Indian Boarding School Policies (federal policies under which American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children were forcibly removed from their family homes and placed in boarding schools). Further, the commission must develop recommendations on ways to (1) protect unmarked graves and accompanying land protections; (2) support repatriation and identify the tribal nations from which children were taken; and (3) discontinue the removal of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children from their families and tribal communities by state social service departments, foster care agencies, and adoption agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2025
This resolution recognizes Black History Month as an opportunity to reflect on U.S. history and to commemorate the contributions of African Americans. It calls for the United States to (1) honor the contribution of pioneers who helped to ensure its legacy; and (2) move forward as a nation "indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2025
Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act of 2025 This bill reauthorizes through FY2029 and increases funding for the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP). This Natural Resources Conservation Service program provides state and tribal governments competitive grants to encourage owners and operators of privately-held land (i.e., farm, ranch, and forest land) to allow public access for hunting, fishing, and other wildlife-dependent recreation. The bill also reauthorizes through FY2029 VPA-HIP funding to encourage public access to land covered by wetland reserve easements through agreements with states and tribal governments.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2025
Tribal Forest Protection Act Amendments Act of 2025 This bill reauthorizes through FY2031 the Tribal Forest Protection Act (TFPA) and expands the lands and activities eligible for inclusion in the TFPA. Currently under the TFPA, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) may enter into contracts and agreements with Indian tribes for tribes to carry out land management projects on federal lands. These projects are designed to protect Indian forest lands and rangelands from wildfire, disease, and other threats coming from federal lands. However, the TFPA is currently limited to projects on federal lands that border or are adjacent to Indian forest lands and rangelands under the jurisdiction of the tribe. This bill removes certain limitations of the TFPA, first by expanding the definition of Indian forest land or rangeland to include land in Alaska that is held by Alaska Native corporations, thereby allowing these corporations to participate in TFPA projects. Additionally, the bill removes the requirement that TFPA projects must occur on federal lands that border or are adjacent to Indian forest lands or rangelands. The bill instead requires the federal land involved to have a special geographic, historical, or cultural significance to the tribe. The bill allows TFPA projects to be carried out directly on Indian forest lands and rangelands. (Currently, the TFPA only applies to work conducted on federal lands and not on tribal lands.) The bill also updates a requirement for Interior and USDA to report to Congress on TFPA activities.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2025
Enhancing First Response Act This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to report on certain activations of the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS). DIRS is a reporting system that is activated during severe weather and other events impacting communications service and enables communications providers to report outages and other degradations to service. If the system was activated for at least seven days, the FCC must issue a preliminary report that includes information about the number, duration, and nature of all associated outages. The FCC must also hold at least one public field hearing in the area affected by the event, and it must issue a final report that includes recommendations for improving the resiliency of affected networks or recovery efforts. Separately, the FCC must publish a general report on (1) the volume and nature of 9-1-1 outages that are not required to be reported under current outage notification rules, and (2) the value to public safety agencies of the inclusion of visual information in outage notifications from communications providers. The bill also requires the Office of Management and Budget, by 30 days after the bill's enactment, to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification System. Finally, the Office of the Inspector General of the FCC is directed to publish a report on the implementation of Kari’s Law, which requires multiline telephone systems to be preconfigured to allow users to dial 9-1-1 directly from any phone without dialing any additional code or prefix.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2025
Air Traffic Control Workforce Development Act of 2025 This bill expands and modifies Air Traffic Control (ATC) workforce training and programs. The bill provides statutory authority for the Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) program. As background, standard AT-CTI institutions of higher education offer nonengineering aviation degrees that teach basic courses in ATC and aviation administration, and graduates complete training at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Academy. Students at Enhanced AT-CTI schools are provided with equivalent FAA Academy ATC training and may be placed directly into an ATC facility. The bill establishes a grant program for schools participating in the Enhanced AT-CTI program and provides for a faculty annuity supplement for ATC instructors at participating institution of higher education. The FAA must convene an aviation rulemaking committee to review and provide recommendations on the (1) curricula of the FAA Academy, AT-CTI program, and Enhanced AT-CTI program; and (2) Air Traffic Skills Assessment exam. Based on the committee's recommendations, the FAA must initiate a rulemaking or make policy and guidance updates, with an exception. The bill authorizes funding through FY2031 for the procurement and placement at ATC facilities of Tower Simulator Systems, which are used to train air traffic controllers on airport tower operations. The bill also requires DOT to establish ATC recruitment and retention incentive programs, the FAA to support the development of mental health services training related to conditions for ATCs, and the FAA to submit a report to Congress on the status of the Airspace Non-cooperative Surveillance Radar program.
United States · United States Congress · 20 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 · 19 February 2025
Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project Amendments Act of 2025 This bill extends deadlines and otherwise revises the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project. This project was first authorized by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which settled the Navajo Nation's water rights in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico. Specifically, the bill extends through December 31, 2029, the deadline for constructing project facilities. The bill allows for additional project service areas, including by allowing the Navajo Nation to expand the project service area in order to deliver water supply from the project to Lupton, Arizona. The bill also sets forth criteria to authorize non-project water to flow outside of the project service area to Navajo communities in Utah. The bill directs the Department of the Interior to take certain land into trust for the benefit of the Navajo Nation. The bill also establishes (1) the Navajo Nation Operations, Maintenance, and Replacement Trust Fund; and (2) the Jicarilla Apache Nation Operations, Maintenance, and Replacement Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 2025
Technical Corrections to the Northwestern New Mexico Rural Water Projects Act, Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, and Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act This bill authorizes deposits representing unpaid interest into the Navajo Nation Water Resources Development Trust Fund, the Taos Pueblo Water Development Fund, and the Aamodt Settlement Pueblos’ Fund. These funds were established in 2009 and 2010 under certain water rights settlement agreements that did not allow accrual of interest.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 2025
Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act This bill expands support for public health veterinary services (e.g., disease surveillance or vaccination) in tribal communities to address zoonotic infectious diseases (i.e., diseases that spread between humans and animals). Specifically, the bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Indian Health Service (IHS), to expend funds for public health veterinary services to prevent and control zoonotic disease infection and transmission in IHS areas where the risk for disease occurrence in humans and wildlife is endemic. HHS may assign or deploy veterinary public health officers from the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps to IHS areas. Additionally, HHS must submit a biennial report to Congress on the use of funds, the assignment and deployment of veterinary public health officers from the USPHS Commissioned Corps, data related to the monitoring and disease surveillance of zoonotic diseases, and related services. The bill also includes the IHS as a coordinating agency in the National One Health Framework. (This framework addresses zoonotic diseases and advances public health preparedness in the United States.) The bill requires the Department of Agriculture to conduct a feasibility study on the delivery of oral rabies vaccines to wildlife reservoir species that are connected to the transmission of rabies to tribal members living in Arctic regions of the United States. The study must (1) evaluate the efficacy of the oral rabies vaccines, and (2) make recommendations to improve the delivery of these vaccines.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
Ohkay Owingeh Rio Chama Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025 This bill recognizes and settles certain water rights claims in New Mexico of the pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh. It also establishes and provides funding for a settlement trust fund. Specifically, the bill authorizes, ratifies, and confirms a specified water rights settlement agreement entered into by Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico, and others, thus satisfying claims to water rights in the Rio Chama Stream System in New Mexico. The bill establishes and provides funding for the Ohkay Owingeh Water Rights Settlement Trust Fund. This trust fund may only be used for five specified purposes, including for activities related to water production, treatment, or delivery infrastructure. The bill also (1) specifies the water rights of the pueblo; and (2) outlines waivers, releases, and retentions of claims by the pueblo and the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025 This bill recognizes and settles certain water rights claims in New Mexico of the pueblo of Zuni and establishes and provides funding for a related settlement trust fund. It also requires federal actions related to the Zuni Salt Lake in New Mexico. Specifically, the bill authorizes, ratifies, and confirms a specified water rights settlement agreement entered into by Zuni, New Mexico, and others, thus satisfying claims to water rights in the Zuni River Stream System in New Mexico. The bill establishes and provides funding for the Zuni Tribe Settlement Trust Fund (and specified accounts) for purposes of carrying out this bill. Additionally, the bill (1) specifies the water rights of the pueblo; and (2) outlines waivers, releases, and retentions of claims by the pueblo and the United States. The bill also withdraws certain federal land in New Mexico from mineral development. The bill reserves this federal land for the following three purposes: (1) the protection of the Zuni Salt Lake and Sanctuary, (2) the protection of the quality and quantity of the Zuni Salt Lake's water supply, and (3) the protection of any cultural resources associated with the Zuni Salt Lake and Sanctuary. The Bureau of Land Management must manage this land. The Department of the Interior must take certain land surrounding the Zuni Salt Lake into trust for the benefit of Zuni.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
Rio San José and Rio Jemez Water Settlements Act of 2025 This bill recognizes and settles certain water rights claims in New Mexico of (1) the Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna, and (2) the Pueblos of Jemez and Zia. It also establishes and provides funding for settlement trust funds. Specifically, the bill authorizes, ratifies, and confirms a specified water rights settlement agreement entered into by the Pueblo of Acoma, the Pueblo of Laguna, the United States, New Mexico, and others, thus satisfying claims to water rights in the Rio San José Stream System in New Mexico. With respect to the water settlement for the Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna, the bill establishes and provides funding for the Pueblo of Acoma Settlement Trust Fund, the Pueblo of Laguna Settlement Trust Fund, and the Acomita Reservoir Works Trust Fund. Additionally, the bill authorizes, ratifies, and confirms a specified water rights settlement agreement entered into by the Pueblo of Jemez, the Pueblo of Zia, the United States, New Mexico, and others, thus satisfying claims to water rights in the Jemez River Stream System in New Mexico. With respect to the water settlement for the Pueblos of Jemez and Zia, the bill establishes and provides funding for the Pueblo of Jemez Settlement Trust Fund and the Pueblo of Zia Settlement Trust Fund. For both of these agreements, the bill (1) specifies the water rights of the pueblos; and (2) outlines waivers, releases, and retentions of claims by the pueblos and the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
Navajo Nation Rio San José Stream System Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025 This bill recognizes and settles certain water rights claims in New Mexico of the Navajo Nation. It also establishes and provides funding for a settlement trust fund. Specifically, the bill authorizes, ratifies, and confirms a specified water rights settlement agreement entered into by the Navajo Nation, New Mexico, and others, thus satisfying claims to water rights in the Rio San José Stream System in New Mexico. The bill establishes and provides funding for the Navajo Nation Rio San José Water Rights Settlement Trust Fund (and specified accounts) for purposes of carrying out this bill. Additionally, the bill (1) specifies the water rights of the tribe; and (2) outlines waivers, releases, and retentions of claims by the tribe and the United States. The bill also allows for additional service areas for the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
First Rhode Island Regiment Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to the First Rhode Island Regiment, collectively, in recognition of their dedicated service during the Revolutionary War.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2025
National Plan for Epilepsy Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a national plan, form an advisory council, and take other actions to address epilepsy. The requirements sunset on December 31, 2035. Specifically, the bill requires HHS to carry out a National Plan for Epilepsy to prevent, diagnose, treat, and cure epilepsy. In carrying out the plan, HHS must implement activities such as coordinating research and services across all federal agencies and soliciting public comments. Also, HHS must establish an Advisory Council on Epilepsy Research, Care, and Services. The advisory council must report to HHS and Congress every two years with an evaluation of federally funded efforts. Additionally, HHS must annually report to Congress with recommended actions based on its assessments of the nation’s progress on epilepsy.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2025
Protecting Sensitive Locations Act This bill prohibits immigration enforcement actions within 1,000 feet of a sensitive location except in exigent circumstances, such as the imminent risk of death, violence, or physical harm to any person. Sensitive locations include health care facilities; schools and school bus stops; places that provide assistance for people such as children, pregnant women, and abuse victims; child care facilities; places that provide disaster or emergency services; places of worship; courthouses and lawyers’ offices; facilities used as polling places; certain labor union facilities; and public assistance offices. The prohibition shall apply to Department of Homeland Security officers and agents, as well as state employees pursuing immigration enforcement actions. If an enforcement action is carried out in violation of this prohibition (1) no information resulting from the action may be entered into the record in a resulting removal proceeding, and (2) the affected individual may move to immediately terminate such a proceeding. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall annually report to Congress about enforcement actions taken at sensitive locations in the preceding year.
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
American Beef Labeling Act of 2025 This bill reinstates mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements for beef. COOL is a labeling law that requires retailers, such as full-line grocery stores, supermarkets, and club warehouse stores, to provide information to customers regarding the source of certain foods. Specifically, the bill requires the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), in consultation with the Department of Agriculture (USDA), to determine a means of reinstating mandatory COOL for beef that is compliant with World Trade Organization rules. The USTR and USDA must implement the means of reinstating mandatory COOL for beef within one year of the bill's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2025
Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students Act of 2025 or the JOBS Act of 2025 This bill expands student eligibility for Pell Grants by establishing the Job Training Federal Pell Grant program. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Education to award a job training Pell Grant to a student who does not have a degree; attends an institution of higher education (IHE); is enrolled in a career and technical education program at an IHE that provides 150 to 600 clock hours of instructional time over a period of 8 to 15 weeks and provides training aligned with high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors (i.e., job training programs); and meets all other eligibility requirements for a Pell Grant. The bill also specifies that any period during which a student receives a job training Pell Grant counts toward that student's Pell Grant eligibility period.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2025
This joint resolution terminates the national emergency relating to energy declared by the President on January 20, 2025, in Executive Order 14156. The executive order states that the supply of and infrastructure for energy in the United States is insufficient to meet the country's needs. It defines energy as crude oil, natural gas, lease condensates, natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products, uranium, coal, biofuels, geothermal heat, the kinetic movement of flowing water, and critical minerals. The executive order directs the heads of executive departments and agencies to use available emergency and other authorities to take certain actions to address this topic, including approving development of domestic energy resources, expediting the completion of authorized energy infrastructure (particularly in the Northeast, West Coast, and Alaska), and pursuing the use of emergency permitting provisions under certain environmental regulations. The executive order also directs the Department of Defense to conduct an assessment of its ability to acquire and transport energy resources (particularly in the Northeast and West Coast), and invokes emergency military construction authority to address any vulnerabilities identified in the assessment.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2025
This resolution affirms the centrality of the U.S. Agency for International Development for advancing the national security interests of the United States, including by promoting global stability and mitigating threats abroad before they reach the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 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 the 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 · 30 January 2025
Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act This bill allows, beginning in 2028, for Medicare coverage and payment for multi-cancer early detection screening tests that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration and that are used to screen for cancer across many cancer types, if the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services determines such coverage is appropriate. Coverage is limited to those under a certain age (age 68 in 2028, increased by one year every year thereafter) and to one test every 11 months.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2025
Keep Our Promise to America's Children and Teachers Act or the Keep Our PACT Act This bill provides funding through FY2035 for grant programs operated by local educational agencies to provide supplementary educational and related services to low-achieving students and other students who attend elementary and secondary schools with relatively high concentrations of students from low-income families. Additionally, the bill permanently reauthorizes the grant program to assist states and outlying areas in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities. The amounts provided by the bill are designated as an emergency requirement for the purposes of Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) rules and other budget enforcement procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2025
Build Housing with Care Act of 2025 This bill establishes a competitive grant program to support co-located childcare and housing facilities. It also requires the Government Accountability Office to study the availability and affordability of childcare for residents of public housing. Specifically, the Department of Housing and Urban Development must award the grants to eligible entities, which include community development financial institutions, public housing authorities, licensed childcare providers, government entities, housing developers, and consortia of such entities. Entities must use the grants for designing, planning, constructing, acquiring, renovating, or otherwise supporting new or existing housing facilities with childcare providers on the same premises or nearby.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2025
Smarter Weather Forecasting for Water Management, Farming, and Ranching Act of 2025 This bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish pilot projects to support improved subseasonal to seasonal precipitation forecasting for water management in the western United States and for agriculture nationwide. (Under current law, subseasonal means the time range between two weeks and three months, and seasonal means the time range between three months and two years.) Specifically, NOAA must establish a pilot project to address challenges to improving forecasting and related product development for water management in the western United States. The project must address, among other items, improvements to operational modeling in mountainous regions and to the forecasting of atmospheric rivers. NOAA must also establish a second pilot project to address challenges to improving forecasting and related product development for U.S. agriculture. The project must address, among other items, improvements to operational modeling of warm-season precipitation and to the prediction of certain spring and summer weather patterns. Each pilot project must include activities that engage with and leverage the resources of academic institutions and entities within NOAA, and that achieve measurable objectives for operational forecast improvement. NOAA’s authority with respect to these pilot projects expires five years after the bill’s enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2025
Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Roddie Edmonds in recognition of his achievements and heroic actions during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2025
Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act This bill reauthorizes and expands programs that compensate individuals who were exposed to radiation during certain nuclear testing or uranium mining and who subsequently developed medical conditions, including cancers. Under current law, compensation is payable to individuals based on requirements including the (1) dates when exposure occurred, (2) duration of exposure, (3) type of exposure, and (4) resulting medical condition. Among other changes to this program, the bill (1) extends the eligible dates when qualifying atmospheric exposure occurred, (2) authorizes compensation to individuals with combined work histories in uranium mining, (3) adds core drilling as an eligible mining occupation, and (4) increases the amount of compensation awarded to qualifying individuals. The bill also expands this program to compensate individuals located in specified areas in Alaska, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee associated with waste from the Manhattan Project and who subsequently developed specified types of cancer. The bill extends until five years after this bill's enactment the statute of limitations for the filing of claims. The bill also expands eligibility under an existing occupational illness compensation program for former Department of Energy employees. The bill also establishes a grant program for institutions of higher education to study the epidemiological impacts of uranium mining and milling among individuals without occupational exposure. The bill directs the Government Accountability Office to study and report to Congress on the unmet medical benefits coverage for individuals who were exposed to radiation in atmospheric nuclear tests conducted by the federal government.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2025
Interstate Transport Act of 2025 This bill permits an individual to transport a knife between two places (e.g., states) where it is legal to possess, carry, or transport the knife. The knife must be transported in compliance with the bill's accessibility and secure storage requirements, unless it is an emergency knife or tool designed to cut seat belts. An individual who is transporting a knife in compliance with this bill may not be arrested for a knife violation unless there is probable cause to believe the individual failed to comply with the accessibility or secure storage requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2025
Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 This bill revises requirements for milk provided by the National School Lunch Program of the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Currently, schools participating in the program must provide milk that is consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans; USDA regulations require milk to be fat-free or low-fat and allow milk to be flavored or unflavored. The bill modifies these restrictions and instead permits schools to offer students whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-free flavored and unflavored milk. The milk that is offered may be organic or nonorganic. Further, schools currently must provide a substitute for fluid milk, on receipt of a written statement from a licensed physician, for students whose disability restricts their diet. Under the bill, a parent or legal guardian may also provide the written statement. In addition, schools currently participating in the program must provide meals that meet certain nutrition requirements; USDA regulations require that the average saturated fat content of the meals offered must be less than 10% of the total calories. Under the bill, fluid milk is excluded from the saturated fat content calculation; milk fat included in any fluid milk provided by the program must not be considered saturated fat for the purposes of measuring compliance with USDA regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2025
Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act of 2025 This bill extends death and disability benefits under the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program (PSOB) to certain public safety officers who suffer from exposure-related cancer while on duty and their survivors. The PSOB program provides death, disability, and education benefits to public safety officers who are killed or injured in the line of duty and their survivors. The bill specifies that exposure to a carcinogen shall be presumed to constitute a personal injury in the line of duty if the exposure occurred while the officer was in the line of duty; the officer began serving as an officer not fewer than 5 years before the date of the diagnosis of an exposure-related cancer and the diagnosis occurred not more than 15 years after the last date of active service; and the exposure-related cancer directly and proximately resulted in the death or permanent and total disability of the officer. The Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance must periodically review the definition of exposure-related cance r and update the definition if appropriate based on medical evidence and in accordance with the requirements of a petition process.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2025
Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act of 2025 This bill reauthorizes the Department of Defense to sell its excess aircraft and aircraft parts that are acceptable for commercial sale for wildfire suppression purposes. Such authority begins October 1, 2025, and ends October 1, 2035. The bill also provides that such aircraft may be used to deliver water by air in order to suppress wildfire (the previous authority only provided for the delivery of fire retardant). The bill removes the previous limitation on providing international wildfire suppression assistance with such purchased aircraft.
![Official portrait of Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h001046_200.jpg)