This resolution commemorates the fifth anniversary of the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack and honors the U.S. Capitol Police, Metropolitan Police Department, and Capitol staff (including custodial, janitorial, and maintenance personnel) who protected the building during the assault. It recognizes their bravery in defending Congress during the attack, which injured over 100 officers and contributed to five officer deaths, and acknowledges their ongoing essential work in maintaining Capitol operations. The resolution expresses Senate gratitude for their service and reaffirms commitment to protecting democratic processes. As a commemorative resolution, it does not create new laws or funding.
The Bycatch Reduction and Research Act of 2026 establishes a Bycatch Reduction and Research Task Force to guide research on reducing bycatch of Alaska-origin salmon. It requires new salmon migration research through tagging and genetic analysis, along with ecosystem studies on habitat impacts in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska. The bill creates a Flume Tank Assistance Fund to support testing of fishing gear that reduces bycatch and habitat damage, and mandates improved electronic monitoring systems for fisheries. It also reauthorizes a Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program with $4 million annually and establishes a Bycatch Mitigation and Habitat Protection Assistance Fund administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act This bill reauthorizes and modifies administration of Marine Debris Program (MDP) activities and the Marine Debris Foundation. (The program and the foundation support efforts to assess, prevent, and otherwise address marine debris and its adverse impacts on the U.S. economy, the marine environment, and navigation safety.) First, the bill reauthorizes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) Marine Debris Program through FY2029. The bill authorizes NOAA to provide contributions for MDP project costs on an in-kind basis in an amount that NOAA determines represents the value it derives from the project. The bill also authorizes NOAA to enter into agreements other than cooperative agreements, contracts, and grant agreements for projects. Next, the bill modifies requirements for the Marine Debris Foundation and reauthorizes it for FY2025. Among other changes, the bill designates the current Chief Operating Officer (i.e., the first officer or employee appointed by the board) as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and specifies that the board has the authority to appoint, review the performance of, and remove the CEO. The bill authorizes the CEO to appoint, supervise, and remove foundation employees and officers. Further, the bill directs the foundation to develop and implement best practices for conducting outreach to Indian tribes and tribal governments. The foundation must locate its principal office in the National Capital Region or a coastal shoreline community. Finally, the bill authorizes the foundation to match contributions from regional organizations, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and foreign governments.
The Alaska Native Vietnam Era Veterans Land Allotment Extension Act of 2025 extends the duration of the Alaska Native Vietnam Era Veterans Land Allotment Program from a five-year period to a ten-year period. This program provides land allotments to eligible Alaska Native veterans who served during the Vietnam era. The bill amends Section 1119(b)(3)(B) of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to adjust the program's timeframe. The extension ensures the program remains active for an additional five years without requiring new congressional authorization.
The Closing the Contraception Coverage Gap Act requires Medicare Part B, Part C, and Part D to cover all FDA-approved contraceptive items and services at no cost-sharing starting January 1, 2027. This includes not just contraceptive methods themselves but also related clinical services like counseling, examinations, device insertion, and follow-up care. The bill ensures dual-eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries receive contraceptive coverage that matches Medicaid's comprehensiveness. It also mandates two studies on contraceptive coverage gaps, with reports to Congress within 1-2 years.
This bill establishes the Bycatch Reduction and Research Task Force to study Alaska salmon migration and bycatch, requiring research on salmon tagging, genetic sampling, and ecosystem impacts in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska. It creates a new Bycatch Mitigation and Habitat Protection Assistance Fund to help commercial fishermen purchase or modify gear designed to reduce bycatch and habitat damage. The bill also mandates improved electronic monitoring systems, streamlined permit processes for innovative gear, and annual reports on research findings and data integration strategies. These provisions directly affect Alaskan commercial fisheries, salmon management, and coastal communities relying on sustainable fishing practices. The legislation requires final reports within three years detailing research outcomes and recommendations for reducing salmon bycatch.
This bill requires the VA to provide telehealth services, mail-order pharmacy benefits, and mandatory beneficiary travel payments to veterans residing in the Freely Associated States (including Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Micronesia) within one year of enactment. It mandates quarterly reporting to Congress on implementation progress and associated costs. The law directly affects veterans in these Pacific Island nations by expanding access to critical healthcare and travel support services previously not uniformly guaranteed.
Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025 This act extends and modifies the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program, under which states and counties containing certain federal land may receive payments from the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for schools, roads, and certain other municipal services. The act modifies the SRS program, including by extending payments made to states and counties containing federal land through FY2026, providing lapsed payments for FY2024 and FY2025, extending the authority of counties to initiate projects using such funds through FY2028, and extending the authority to initiate projects proposed by resource advisory committees through FY2028.
The SPEED Act reforms the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to streamline federal environmental reviews for projects. It limits agencies to considering only "proximate" environmental effects directly tied to a specific project (not speculative or distant impacts), sets strict 180-day deadlines for court remands, and restricts judicial review to procedural errors - not environmental outcomes. This primarily affects federal agencies (like the EPA or Corps of Engineers) and project developers (e.g., for infrastructure, energy, or construction projects) by reducing review scope and accelerating approvals. The bill clarifies NEPA is purely procedural, prohibiting courts from substituting their judgment on environmental effects or delaying actions for new scientific data after deadlines.
This bill, titled "Pet and Livestock Protection Act," is misleading; it actually focuses on gray wolf management. It requires the Secretary of the Interior to reissue a 2020 rule removing gray wolves from the endangered species list within 60 days of enactment. The bill also prohibits courts from reviewing this reissuance. This directly affects gray wolf populations and management policies in states where wolves are present, shifting regulatory control away from federal endangered species protections.
The Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security Act of 2025 restricts U.S. investments in certain technologies in countries of concern, primarily China, by prohibiting investments in "covered national security transactions" involving specific technologies. It targets technologies including advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence systems, quantum information technologies, high-performance computing, and hypersonic systems that could enhance military or surveillance capabilities. The bill requires U.S. persons to notify the government about certain transactions involving "notifiable technologies" and establishes civil penalties for violations, including potential divestment requirements. The law would expire seven years after enactment and mandates annual reports to Congress about implementation and enforcement.
This bill requires that public comments on federal land management rules (administered by the Bureau of Land Management) must come only from U.S. citizens, replacing the previous standard. It mandates that agencies implement CAPTCHA systems to prevent artificial intelligence from submitting comments, explicitly stating this is to deter AI-driven public involvement. The changes apply to rulemaking under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, affecting how the public can participate in decisions about national public lands. The bill does not alter land management policies but modifies the process for gathering public input.
