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United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
This resolution (1) mourns the passing of former President Jimmy Carter and extends sympathy to his family; and (2) honors his life, legacy, and contributions to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
Washington, D.C. Admission Act This bill provides for the establishment of the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, and its admission into the United States. The state is composed of most of the territory of the District of Columbia (DC), excluding a specified area that encompasses the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the U.S. Supreme Court building, federal monuments, and federal office buildings adjacent to the National Mall and the U.S. Capitol. The excluded territory shall be known as the Capital and serve as the seat of the government of the United States, as provided for in Article I of the Constitution. The state may not impose taxes on federal property except as Congress permits. The bill provides for the DC Mayor to issue a proclamation for the first elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative of the state. The bill eliminates the office of Delegate to the House of Representatives. The bill applies current DC laws to the state. DC judicial proceedings and contractual obligations shall continue under the state’s authority. The bill also provides for specified federal obligations to transfer to the state upon its certification that it has funds and laws in place to assume the obligations. These include maintaining a retirement fund for judges and operating public defender services. The bill establishes a commission that is generally comprised of members who are appointed by DC and federal government officials to advise on an orderly transition to statehood.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2025
Health Care Affordability Act of 2025 This bill makes permanent temporary changes enacted by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) that generally expand eligibility for and increase the amount of the premium tax credit. Currently, eligible taxpayers may be able to claim the premium tax credit, which applies toward the cost of obtaining health insurance through health insurance exchanges. To be eligible for the premium tax credit, a taxpayer’s household income must meet or exceed 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL) and, after 2025, may not exceed 400% of the FPL (maximum income limit). For 2021-2025, the ARPA and IRA eliminated the maximum income limit, which generally expands eligibility for the premium tax credit. Further, under current law, the amount of the premium tax credit is (1) generally the plan premium (conditions apply), minus (2) the taxpayer’s household income multiplied by the applicable percentage. The applicable percentage is a specific percentage that varies depending on which of six income ranges (adjusted for inflation after 2025) the taxpayer’s household income falls within. For 2021-2025, the ARPA and IRA lowered the applicable percentages and eliminated the adjustment of the applicable percentages for inflation, which generally increases the amount of the premium tax credit. The bill makes permanent the elimination of the 400% maximum income limit, the lower applicable percentages, and the elimination of the inflation adjustment for the applicable percentages.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act of 2025 This bill revises antitrust laws applicable to mergers and anticompetitive conduct. Specifically, the bill applies a stricter standard for permissible mergers by prohibiting mergers that (1) create an appreciable risk of materially lessening competition, or (2) create a monopsony (i.e., where a single buyer or employer has sufficient market power to lower the price of goods or wages due to a lack of competition) Additionally, for some large mergers or mergers that concentrate markets beyond a certain threshold, the bill shifts the burden of proof to the merging parties to prove that the merger does not violate the law. The bill also prohibits exclusionary conduct that presents an appreciable risk of harming competition. No predispute arbitration agreements or predispute joint-action waivers are valid or enforceable with respect to an antitrust dispute. The bill also establishes monetary penalties for violations, requires annual reporting for certain mergers and acquisitions, establishes within the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the Office of the Competition Advocate, and sets forth whistleblower protections. The Government Accountability Office must report on (1) the success of merger remedies required by the Department of Justice or the FTC in recent consent decrees; and (2) the impact of mergers and acquisitions on wages, employment, innovation, and new business formation.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
Handgun Permit to Purchase Act This bill authorizes a grant program for states, local governments, and Indian tribes to implement and evaluate handgun purchaser licensing requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
This resolution recognizes the contribution of women serving in combat roles in the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2025
Lumbee Fairness Act This bill extends federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and makes its members eligible for the services and benefits provided to members of federally recognized tribes. Members of the tribe residing in Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland Counties in North Carolina are deemed to be within the delivery area for such services. The Department of the Interior and the Department of Health and Human Services must develop, in consultation with the tribe, a determination of needs to provide the services for which members of the tribe are eligible. Interior may take land into trust for the benefit of the tribe. Finally, North Carolina must exercise jurisdiction over all criminal offenses committed, and all civil actions that arise, on North Carolina lands owned by, or held in trust for, the Lumbee Tribe or any dependent Indian community of the tribe unless jurisdiction is transferred to the United States pursuant to an agreement between the tribe and the state.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2025
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2025
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2025
Withstanding Extreme Agricultural Threats by Harvesting Economic Resilience Act of 2025 or the WEATHER Act of 2025 This bill requires the federal crop insurance program (FCIP) to provide for the research and development of a single index insurance policy to insure against agricultural income losses due to covered weather conditions. Specifically, the FCIP must develop a single index policy that is available in every state, each U.S. territory, and the District of Columbia to insure against agricultural income losses due to one or more covered weather conditions. Covered weather conditions are those found to be closely correlated with agricultural income losses, including high winds, excessive moisture and flooding, extreme heat, abnormal freeze conditions, wildfire, hail, drought, and any other severe weather or growing conditions applicable to small-scale farmers. Under an index policy, claim payments are generally triggered based on a predetermined index that is entirely independent of the individual farm operation (e.g., rainfall level). Under such a policy, the payments are automatically triggered when the index reaches a certain level rather than when an insured farmer files a claim. In carrying out the research and development, the FCIP must hold stakeholder meetings to solicit producer and agent feedback. In addition, the FCIP must make publicly available a report on the results of the research and development, and any recommendations to Congress with respect to those results.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2025
This resolution supports the designation of January as Muslim-American Heritage Month and honors the contributions and integral role of Muslim Americans in the economy, culture, and identity of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2025
This resolution disapproves of pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting U.S. Capitol Police officers.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2025
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2025
Kids Off Social Media Act This bill limits children’s access to social media platforms and requires both platforms and schools to implement certain restrictions on children’s social media usage. Specifically, the bill prohibits social media platforms from knowingly allowing children under the age of 13 to create or maintain accounts. Platforms must delete existing accounts held by children and any personal data collected from child users. Platforms are also generally prohibited from using automated systems to suggest or promote content based on personal data collected from users under the age of 17. The bill directs the Federal Trade Commission to enforce these provisions. States may also bring civil actions against platforms whose violations of these provisions have adversely affected their residents. Further, as a condition of receiving discounted telecommunications service under the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support (E-Rate) program, schools must enforce policies preventing the use of E-Rate-supported services, networks, and devices to access social media, and must use blocking or filtering technology to prevent such access. Schools that do not make a good faith effort to comply and correct known violations are required to reimburse any E-Rate support they received for the applicable period. Schools must also submit copies of their internet safety policies to the Federal Communications Commission for publication. Under the bill, social media platforms are defined as public-facing sites that function primarily as forums for user-generated content. Some categories of online platforms are explicitly excluded, including sites that provide primarily videoconferencing, emailing, or educational services.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2025
AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025 This bill requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to issue a rule requiring AM radio capabilities to be standard in all new passenger vehicles. (AM radio is often used to deliver emergency alerts and news and entertainment programming; some newer vehicles do not include AM equipment.) Specifically, this bill applies to passenger vehicles (1) manufactured in the United States for sale in the United States, imported into the United States, or shipped in interstate commerce; and (2) manufactured after the rule's effective date. The rule must require all such vehicles to have devices that can receive signals and play content transmitted by AM stations or digital audio AM stations installed as standard equipment and made easily accessible to drivers. Prior to the rule's effective date, manufacturers that do not include devices that can access AM radio as standard equipment (1) must inform purchasers of this fact through clear and conspicuous labeling, and (2) may not charge an additional or separate fee for AM radio access. DOT may assess civil penalties for any violation of the rule. The Department of Justice may also bring a civil action to enjoin a violation. DOT’s authority to issue the rule expires 10 years after the bill’s enactment. Further, the Government Accountability Office must study and report on the dissemination of emergency alerts to the public, including by conducting an assessment of AM broadcast stations relative to other Integrated Public Alert and Warning System communication technologies.
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 · 30 January 2025
Stop Sports Blackouts Act This bill requires cable and satellite broadcast providers to issue rebates to customers who are denied access to video programming included in their subscription because of programming negotiations. Specifically, where a provider’s negotiations related to the retransmission or carriage of video programming result in the provider failing to offer access to programming included in a customer’s subscription, the customer must be issued a rebate for the affected period. The Federal Communications Commission is directed to issue rules to this effect, including to establish the appropriate amount for such a rebate.
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 · 3 February 2025
Stop Arming Cartels Act of 2025 This bill expands the regulation of .50 caliber rifles under federal firearms laws and authorizes new civil remedies for certain violations. Firearms that are trafficked from the United States to Mexico are often routed to transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), including cartels. In recent years, TCOs increasingly use .50 caliber rifles in attacks on Mexican security forces. In 2025, in Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos , the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) bars a civil lawsuit by Mexico against U.S. firearms manufacturers and one U.S. firearms distributor for costs associated with gun violence in Mexico. (The PLCAA limits the civil liability of firearms manufacturers and sellers for damages resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of firearms.) This bill generally criminalizes the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, and possession of .50 caliber rifles under the Gun Control Act and subjects .50 caliber rifles to regulation (i.e., registration and licensing requirements) under the National Firearms Act. Additionally, the bill criminalizes the sale or transfer of firearms and ammunition to foreign individuals or entities designated as significant foreign narcotics traffickers or as part of their networks and sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). Finally, the bill creates an exception under the PLCAA to allow civil lawsuits against firearms manufacturers or sellers that knowingly sell or transfer a firearm or ammunition to a foreign individual or entity designated and sanctioned under the Kingpin Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2025
This resolution recognizes January 2025 as National Mentoring Month.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2025
National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act or the NO BAN Act This bill imposes limitations on the President's authority to suspend or restrict aliens from entering the United States. It also prohibits religious discrimination in various immigration-related decisions, such as whether to issue an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa, unless there is a statutory basis for such discrimination. The President may temporarily restrict the entry of any aliens or class of aliens after the Department of State determines that the restriction would address specific and credible facts that threaten U.S. interests such as public safety. The bill also imposes limitations on such restrictions, such as requiring the President, State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to (1) only issue a restriction when required to address a compelling government interest, and (2) narrowly tailor the suspension to use the least restrictive means to achieve such an interest. Before imposing a restriction, the State Department and DHS shall consult with Congress. The State Department and DHS shall report to Congress about the restriction within 48 hours of the restriction's imposition. If such a report is not made, the restriction shall immediately terminate. Individuals or entities present in the United States and unlawfully harmed by such a restriction may sue in federal court. The bill transfers the authority to suspend the entry of aliens traveling to the United States on a commercial airline that failed to comply with regulations related to detecting fraudulent travel documents from the Department of Justice to DHS.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2025
Safety Enhancements for Communities Using Reasonable and Effective Firearm Storage Act or the SECURE Firearm Storage Act This bill establishes security requirements for the business premises of a licensed firearms importer, manufacturer, or dealer. Specifically, when the premises are closed for business, an importer, manufacturer, or dealer must secure the firearms inventory and securely store paper business records. A violator is subject to penalties—a civil fine, suspension or revocation of a license, or both a civil fine and suspension or revocation of a license.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2025
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2025
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2025
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2025
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 · 11 February 2025
Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2025 or the BEACH Act of 2025 This bill reauthorizes through FY2029 and expands an existing program of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that awards grants to states and local governments to (1) monitor the water quality of coastal recreational waters adjacent to beaches or similar points of access that are used by the public; and (2) notify the public, local governments, and the EPA when the water is not safe for recreational activities. Specifically, the bill expands the program to allow the EPA to award grants for identifying sources of contamination (i.e., pathogens) for coastal recreation waters. It also allows grants to be used for monitoring and notification of contamination in (1) shallow waters upstream from recreational waters, and (2) recreational waters on beaches.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2025
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
Age 21 Act This bill raises the minimum age to purchase a large capacity ammunition feeding device or semiautomatic assault weapon from 18 to 21 years of age.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2025
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 · 18 February 2025
CHAMPVA Children's Care Protection Act of 2025 This bill provides that a child shall be eligible for medical care under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) until the child's 26th birthday, regardless of the child's marital status.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2025
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2025
Ethan's Law This bill establishes a framework to regulate the storage of firearms on residential premises at the federal, state, and tribal levels. At the federal level, the bill establishes statutory requirements for firearms on residential premises to be safely stored if a minor is likely to gain access without permission or if a resident is ineligible to possess a firearm. An individual who violates the requirements is subject to criminal penalties. A firearm stored in violation of the requirements is subject to seizure and forfeiture. At the state and tribal levels, the bill requires the Department of Justice to award grants to implement functionally identical requirements for the safe storage of firearms.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2025
9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025 This bill modifies the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP), including by updating the formula for determining the program’s annual funding amounts and authorizing mental health providers to provide certain evaluations under the program. The WTCHP is a federal health care program (terminating in FY2090) providing responders and survivors with monitoring and treatment of certified medical conditions related to the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. Under current law, the program’s annual federal funding is determined based on the amount specifically appropriated in the previous fiscal year, adjusted for inflation. The bill establishes a new federal funding formula for FY2026-FY2090 that is generally based on annual changes in the number of enrollees. The bill also increases the amounts the program may spend annually on medical research and activities relating to data collection. The bill requires the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which administers the program, to submit a report to Congress on the program’s projected budgetary needs and expenditures. In addition, the bill authorizes licensed mental health providers to perform initial health evaluations with respect to mental health conditions for purposes of determining eligibility under the WTCHP. NIOSH must issue regulations specifying the categories of mental health providers that may perform these activities.
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 · 27 February 2025
Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Reauthorization Act of 2025 This bill reauthorizes the Environmental Protection Agency's Long Island Sound programs through FY2029. The programs, which include a stewardship grant program, focus on conserving and restoring the estuary off the coast of New York and Connecticut.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2025
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2025
Tariff Transparency Act of 2025 This bill requires the U.S. International Trade Commission to investigate and report to Congress on the impact of additional tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. (President Donald J. Trump issued executive orders on February 1, 2025, to impose an additional 25% tariff on most imports from Canada and Mexico. These tariffs applied to all imports, except for Canadian energy or energy resources, which have an additional 10% tariff.) Specifically, the report must assess (1) the impact of these tariffs on consumer prices; (2) the impact of any retaliation (e.g., retaliatory tariffs and export restrictions) imposed by Canada and Mexico on U.S. consumers, small businesses, farmers, and ranchers; and (3) the impact of the threat of tariffs and associated uncertainty with respect to the trade relationship between the United States, Canada, and Mexico on U.S. businesses.