United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2025
Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act This bill addresses unfair trade practices by making various changes to U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty laws. Antidumping laws provide relief to U.S industries and workers that are materially injured or threatened with injury due to imports of like products sold in the U.S. market at less than fair value, while countervailing duty laws provide such relief from imports of products subsidized by a foreign government or public entity. Specifically, the bill establishes a process for successive antidumping and countervailing duty investigations. Successive investigations may be concurrent (an ongoing investigation of the same product) or recently completed (not more than two years before the date of the initiation of the successive investigation). Further, the bill establishes a timeline for the Department of Commerce to issue determinations in successive investigations. Among other provisions, the bill authorizes Commerce to apply countervailing duty law to subsidies provided by a foreign government or public entity to a company operating in a different country, use another method for calculating the cost of production in specific circumstances, and require importers to certify that the imported merchandise is not subject to an antidumping or countervailing duty order. Additionally, the bill statutorily establishes procedures for Commerce to conduct circumvention inquiries, including by specifying the deadlines for preliminary and final determinations. The bill also provides statutory authority for Commerce to investigate currency undervaluation as a countervailable subsidy.
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 · 21 February 2025
This resolution supports the designation of February 15-22, 2025, as National FFA (Future Farmers of America) Week. It also celebrates the 90th anniversary of New Farmers of America (NFA), which served Black vocational agriculture students in segregated public schools until NFA and FFA became one organization in 1965. The resolution also commemorates the 75th anniversary of the federal charter for the Future Farmers of America.
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 · 20 February 2025
Safer Shrimp Imports Act This bill prohibits the importation of shrimp from countries that do not have food inspection systems equivalent to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspection system for shrimp, or that have not entered into an agreement with the FDA facilitating U.S. inspection of their food facilities. Specifically, the FDA must seek to enter into arrangements and agreements with the government of each country with at least one facility that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds shrimp for consumption in the United States to facilitate FDA inspection of such facilities. The bill prohibits the importation of shrimp that is manufactured, processed, packed, or held in a country (1) that has not entered into an inspection arrangement or agreement with the FDA, or (2) the food inspection system of which is not equivalent to the FDA’s food inspection system with respect to shrimp. To be considered equivalent, a country’s food inspection system must include staffing that ensures uniform enforcement of applicable laws and regulations, and must provide for the enforcement of laws and regulations that address conditions under which shrimp are raised and transported to processing facilities. Further, shrimp imported or offered for import into the United States that have been manufactured, processed, packed, or held in a country that is not compliant with these requirements are deemed adulterated, and thus may not be introduced into interstate commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 2025
LEOSA Reform Act This bill broadens the authority for certain individuals to carry concealed firearms in school zones and across state lines. Specifically, the bill exempts the following categories of individuals from the federal prohibition on possessing (or discharging) a firearm in a school zone: certain active and retired law enforcement officers who are authorized to carry concealed firearms under federal law, and individuals who are allowed to carry concealed firearms under the law of a state. Additionally, the bill allows qualified active and retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms and ammunition (including magazines) in national parks; on state, local, or private property that is open to the public; and in certain federal facilities that are open to the public. Finally, the bill permits states to reduce the frequency with which retired law enforcement officers must meet certain qualification standards.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2025 This bill provides statutory authority for the requirement that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights take into consideration the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA's) working definition of antisemitism when reviewing or investigating complaints of discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. According to the IHRA's working definition, antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
Healthy Poultry Assistance and Indemnification Act of 2025 This bill expands the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) producer indemnity and compensation program to include compensation for all poultry growers and layers located in an APHIS-determined control area, which may include non-infected poultry. Currently, APHIS provides indemnity and compensation to producers to remove animals classified as affected, suspect, or exposed to diseases of concern, including highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). An APHIS-determined control area consists of both an infected zone and a buffer zone. Under the bill, APHIS must compensate all owners of poultry growing or laying facilities within a control area, which may include facilities that are located in the buffer zones and have non-infected poultry. Further, the bill establishes a new compensation payment formula that requires payments to be based on the owner’s average income from the five most recent flocks.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 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 · 12 February 2025
Combating Illicit Xylazine Act This bill regulates xylazine under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Xylazine, also known as tranq , is a nonopioid sedative and pain reliever that is approved for use in animals. Recently, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has reported an increase in trafficking of fentanyl mixed with xylazine. This bill adds xylazine, including its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers, to schedule III of the CSA. Schedule III controlled substances, including anabolic steroids, buprenorphine, and ketamine, have less potential for abuse than a schedule I or II substance, have a currently accepted medical use, and have low or moderate risk of dependence if abused. Under the bill, manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing xylazine, or possessing with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense xylazine for illicit use is subject to criminal penalties under the CSA. The bill also requires xylazine transactions to be tracked in the drug reporting system maintained by the DEA. The bill exempts from registration under the CSA persons and entities that possess xylazine (1) lawfully dispensed by a veterinarian or pharmacy and (2) for an animal or for use in certain animal-control or wildlife programs. The bill also exempts xylazine manufacturers from the CSA's physical security requirements. Finally, the bill requires the DEA, in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to provide Congress with a report on how the agencies previously determined whether xylazine should be a controlled substance, including the full text of HHS's recommendations to the DEA for scheduling xylazine.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2025
1071 Repeal to Protect Small Business Lending Act This bill repeals the statute that requires financial institutions to collect data regarding applications for women-owned, minority-owned, or small business loans. Currently, financial institutions must collect and report to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau information on (1) how many applications were received; (2) the disposition of each application; (3) the type of loan; (4) the amount applied for; (5) the amount approved; and (6) each applicant’s census tract, revenue, race, sex, and ethnicity.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2025
Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act This bill establishes new federal criminal offenses for operating a motor vehicle within 100 miles of the U.S. border while fleeing from a U.S. Border Patrol agent or a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer who is actively assisting or under the command of the U.S. Border Patrol. The bill establishes criminal penalties for an offense, including a mandatory minimum prison term for an offense resulting in death or serious bodily injury. Additionally, a non-U.S. national who is convicted of or admits to committing an offense is inadmissible, deportable, and ineligible for immigration relief (including asylum).
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2025
Forest Data Modernization Act of 2025 This bill directs the Forest Service to expand and update its Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. Under the existing program, the Forest Service collects, analyzes, and reports on information about the condition of forest resources in the United States, such as data concerning wildfires or other forest management issues. The bill directs FIA to include forest carbon in its inventory. The bill also requires FIA's strategic plan to include a detailed description of the organization and procedures necessary to (1) understand and report on changes in land cover and use, and (2) evaluate carbon-related data variables. FIA must update the strategic plan within six months and every five years thereafter. Among other items, the first update must include (1) a plan to implement nationally consistent data collection protocols and procedures; and (2) a plan to expand current data collection, further integrate remote sensing technology, or both. FIA must also prepare and publish a compilation of certain forest statistics every two years. Additionally, the bill requires FIA to continue (1) the Timber Products Output survey, and (2) the National Woodland Owner Survey. To provide data consistency, FIA must include a clear definition of forest when reporting data. Finally, FIA (1) must also establish an office, a data platform, or both to process and respond to complex data requests submitted by external organizations; and (2) may impose fees on the organizations submitting the requests.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2025
Protect Medicaid Act This bill prohibits federal payment under Medicaid for the administrative costs of providing health benefits to noncitizens who are ineligible for Medicaid based on their immigration status. The Department of Health and Human Services must report on specified information regarding states that provide health benefits to such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2025
Credit Union Board Modernization Act This bill revises the required frequency of meetings held by a credit union's board of directors. Specifically, new credit unions and credit unions with a low soundness rating must meet monthly. All other credit unions must hold at least six meetings annually, with at least one meeting held during each fiscal quarter. Currently, all credit union boards must meet at least once a month.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2025
Rural Hospital Closure Relief Act of 2025 This bill temporarily allows additional hospitals to qualify as critical access hospitals (CAHs) that receive special payment under Medicare. Currently, in order to qualify as a CAH under Medicare, a hospital must either (1) be located more than 35 miles (or 15 miles in mountainous regions or areas with only secondary roads) from another hospital, or (2) have been certified prior to January 1, 2006, by the state as a necessary provider of services in the area. The bill allows a hospital to also qualify if the hospital is a small, rural hospital that (1) serves a health professional shortage area, or a high number of low-income individuals or Medicare beneficiaries; (2) has experienced financial losses for two consecutive years; and (3) attests to having a strategic plan to address financial solvency and to committing to provide a service that is in high demand in the hospital's service area. This authority expires nine years after the bill's enactment. The Government Accountability Office must study the effects of the bill's implementation. In addition, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission must study and recommend payment systems for rural hospitals under Medicare. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must subsequently establish a mechanism and issue guidance on how newly designated CAHs may transition to different payment models under Medicare, including any new payment models recommended by the commission.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2025
Supporting Made in America Energy Act This bill requires oil and natural gas lease sales that include certain public land and waters, prohibits lease sales in other areas, and establishes related requirements. Beginning in FY2025, the Department of the Interior must conduct a minimum of four onshore lease sales annually in each state that has federal land available for oil and natural gas leasing. If a lease sale is canceled, delayed, or deferred, Interior must conduct a replacement sale during the same year. Beginning in FY2026, Interior must conduct a minimum of two offshore, region-wide lease sales annually in the Gulf of Mexico Region of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) by specified dates. The sales must include the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area and the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. Interior must also conduct a minimum of six offshore lease sales of at least 1 million acres each over a 10-year period in the Cook Inlet Planning Area. The bill sets a 12.5% royalty rate for such leases. Interior must plan and approve the subsequent OCS oil and gas leasing programs by specified deadlines. The bill extends through 2035 a moratorium on oil and gas leasing in certain eastern and central portions of the Gulf of Mexico and expands the moratorium to include the South Atlantic Planning Area and the Straits of Florida Planning Area. The bill also requires the President to obtain congressional approval before impeding or circumventing certain federal energy mineral leasing processes.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2025
Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act of 2025 This bill prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from transmitting certain information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) utilized by licensed importers or dealers of firearms. Specifically, the bill prohibits the VA from transmitting personally identifying information of a veteran or a beneficiary to the NICS solely on the basis that such veteran or beneficiary has an appointed fiduciary to manage their benefits, unless there is an order or finding of a judicial authority that such veteran or beneficiary is a danger to themselves or others.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2025
Respect State Housing Laws Act This bill eliminates a provision that requires a 30-day notice period before a landlord may begin eviction proceedings against a tenant in federally assisted or federally backed housing.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2025
Alternatives to Prevent Addiction In the Nation Act or the Alternatives to PAIN Act This bill reduces cost-sharing and prohibits the imposition of certain utilization requirements under the Medicare prescription drug benefit for certain non-opioid pain management drugs. Specifically, the bill requires such drugs to be covered without a deductible and to be placed on the lowest cost-sharing tier (if any). The bill also prohibits the imposition of prior authorization requirements (i.e., requiring prior approval from a plan) or step therapy requirements (i.e., requiring the use of alternative drugs before a drug is covered under a plan) with respect to such drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2025
This resolution commemorates the 67 lives lost in the collision of American Eagle Flight 5342 and the U.S. Army helicopter flying under the call sign PAT 25 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025. The resolution also expresses gratitude to the law enforcement and emergency medical personnel who responded to the collision.
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
Rural Health Focus Act This bill provides statutory authority for the Office of Rural Health (ORH) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC established the ORH in 2023 in response to a congressional directive, and it currently leads the CDC’s rural public health strategy. Specifically, the bill requires the CDC to establish the ORH and select a director to head the ORH. The bill specifies the duties and authorities of the ORH director, including improving understanding of particular challenges and implementing programs to improve health care for rural populations.
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
This joint resolution nullifies the final rule issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) titled Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources and published on September 3, 2024. The rule requires operators and lessees conducting oil and gas exploration or development on the Outer Continental Shelf and that are seeking BOEM approval for such activities to also provide BOEM with an archaeological report for the area of potential effects. The report must identify potential archaeological resources (material remains of human life or activities that are at least 50 years old and that are of archaeological interest) on the sea floor. The rule modified regulations that only required such a report when a BOEM regional director has reason to believe that an archaeological resource may be present in the lease area.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2025
This joint resolution nullifies the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule titled Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems: Procedures for Facilitating Compliance, Including Netting and Exemptions and published on November 18, 2024. The rule outlines compliance requirements under the Methane Emissions Reduction Program. Under the program, the EPA collects an annual charge on emissions of methane and other greenhouse gases from entities in the oil and gas sector if their emissions exceed specified waste emissions thresholds.
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 · 4 February 2025
Protecting Our Supreme Court Justices Act of 2025 This bill increases the statutory maximum prison term—from one year to five years—for picketing or parading in or near a building or residence used by a judge, juror, witness, or court officer with the intent of interfering with, obstructing, or impeding the administration of justice, or with the intent of influencing a judge, juror, witness, or court officer, in the discharge of his or her duty.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2025
Fair Access to Banking Act This bill places restrictions on certain banks, credit unions, and payment card networks if they refuse to do business with a person who complies with the law. Restrictions include prohibiting the use of electronic funds transfer systems and lending programs, termination of an institution's depository insurance, and specified civil penalties. Banks and other specified financial institutions are allowed to deny financial services to a person only if the denial is justified by a documented failure of that person to meet quantitative, impartial, risk-based standards established in advance by the institution. This justification may not be based upon reputational risks to the institution. The bill establishes the right for a person to bring a civil action for a violation of this bill.
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
Rural Hospital Support Act This bill modifies and extends certain payment adjustments for rural hospitals under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system. Specifically, the bill indexes payment adjustments for sole community hospitals and Medicare-dependent hospitals to FY2016 operating costs, if it results in higher payments for such hospitals. The bill also makes payment adjustments for Medicare-dependent hospitals and low-volume hospitals permanent (the adjustments currently expire on March 31, 2025).
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2025
Making National Parks Safer Act This bill directs the National Park Service (NPS) to develop a plan to install Next Generation 911 (NG911) systems, which are certain interoperable, digital, and secure Internet Protocol-based systems for receiving 9-1-1 calls. Specifically, the NPS must assess the implementation status and estimated costs of such NG911 systems at existing emergency communications centers in NPS units. The NPS must also develop a plan, based on the assessment, to install NG911 systems at centers.
![Official portrait of Sen. Hyde-Smith, Cindy [R-MS]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h001079_200.jpg)