The Restoring Trade Fairness Act would suspend normal trade relations (NTR) status with China, requiring the U.S. to apply significantly higher tariffs to Chinese goods. It establishes minimum duty rates of 35% for most Chinese products (with a 100% minimum for specific items listed in Section 10), with these increases phased in over five years. The bill also creates a trust fund to compensate U.S. producers for losses resulting from Chinese retaliation against U.S. trade measures. These changes aim to address what Congress views as China's failure to comply with its WTO obligations and its "unfair trade practices" that have allegedly harmed U.S. manufacturing.
This bill creates a legal right for individuals who received gender-transition medical procedures (like puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or surgery) before age 18 to sue the medical practitioner up to 30 years after turning 18, if they suffered harm. It defines "gender-transition procedure" broadly to include those changing the body to align with gender identity (excluding specific medical exceptions like ambiguous biological characteristics or life-threatening conditions). The law applies when the procedure involves interstate commerce, such as payments or communications crossing state lines. It does not ban such procedures but establishes a civil liability framework for minors affected by them.
This bill prohibits federal funding (directly or indirectly) for colleges and universities that host or are affiliated with campus health clinics providing abortion drugs or abortions to students or staff. Institutions must submit annual reports certifying no such services are offered to remain eligible for federal funds. The law also prevents states from penalizing schools for complying with this funding restriction. It specifically defines "abortion drugs" and "school-based service sites" (excluding hospitals) to clarify coverage.
S 213, the Main Street Tax Certainty Act, makes the qualified business income deduction permanent for small business owners. It directly affects pass-through business owners (like sole proprietors and small partnerships) who currently benefit from this tax break. The bill removes the temporary expiration of Section 199A of the tax code, providing long-term certainty for these taxpayers by ensuring they can continue deducting up to 20% of their qualified business income.
The MERIT Act of 2025 makes significant changes to federal personnel management by repealing Chapter 43 performance-based actions and modifying procedures for disciplinary actions, furloughs, and bonus recoupment. It extends probationary periods for senior executives (to 2 years) and competitive service employees (to 2 years), establishes new rules for reducing retirement benefits of employees convicted of felonies related to their federal service, and creates standardized procedures for adverse actions including written notice requirements and response periods. The bill also allows agencies to recoup bonuses for misconduct and modifies procedures for handling furloughs of more than 14 days. These changes apply to all federal employees across government agencies and aim to clarify and streamline personnel management processes.
HR 685, the SAVE Moms and Babies Act of 2025, prohibits the FDA from approving new abortion drugs or allowing investigational use of existing ones. It restricts existing abortion drugs to in-person administration by certified healthcare providers in clinics or hospitals (not pharmacies), limits use to pregnancies under 70 days gestation, and requires providers to certify they can handle complications like severe bleeding or ectopic pregnancies. The bill mandates reporting of adverse events (such as hospitalizations or infections) to the FDA without patient identifiers and defines "abortion drug" broadly as any drug intended to terminate pregnancy, excluding specific medical exceptions. This directly affects FDA approval processes, healthcare providers prescribing these drugs, and drug manufacturers.
HR 715, the BNA Fairness Act, amends the tax code to exclude the basic needs allowance provided to members of the Armed Forces from taxable income. This allowance, paid for daily living expenses like food and housing, directly affects active-duty service members who receive it. The bill adds a specific provision clarifying that this allowance qualifies as a non-taxable "qualified military benefit" under existing tax law. The change takes effect for tax years after the bill becomes law, ensuring service members no longer pay income tax on this specific benefit.
HR 703, the Main Street Tax Certainty Act, makes a key tax deduction permanent for small business owners. It removes the temporary sunset provision (subsection (i)) from Section 199A of the tax code, ensuring the qualified business income deduction remains available for eligible small businesses. This change directly affects pass-through business owners (like S-corps, partnerships, and sole proprietorships) who currently qualify for this deduction. The permanent change takes effect for tax years starting after December 31, 2025.
HJRES 28 proposes a constitutional amendment to permanently fix the number of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court at nine. This would require ratification by 38 state legislatures (three-fourths of states) within seven years to become part of the Constitution. The amendment directly affects the structure of the Supreme Court, which has had nine justices since 1869 but could otherwise be altered by future congressional action. It does not change current court operations or create new laws, but instead seeks to make the nine-justice composition a permanent constitutional requirement.
This bill prohibits U.S. real estate purchases by Chinese citizens, Chinese government-linked entities, and individuals acting for them. It bans new acquisitions after enactment and requires the sale of existing properties deemed a national security risk within one year. Exceptions apply for refugees/asylees and property owned by U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. The law directly affects Chinese nationals and entities tied to China's government or Communist Party, with no impact on U.S. citizens or approved immigrants.
This bill prohibits federal funds from being used for abortions or health plans covering abortion. It amends the Affordable Care Act to block premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions for health plans that include abortion coverage (except for rape/incest cases or life-threatening conditions), and requires clear disclosure of abortion coverage and related surcharges in plan materials. The law explicitly exempts abortions performed due to rape, incest, or to preserve a mother's life, and allows separate abortion coverage using non-federal funds. It applies to all federal health programs and ACA marketplace plans, effective for plan years beginning after 2025.
S 187, the ALIGN Act, permanently allows businesses to immediately deduct the full cost of qualified property (like machinery or equipment) instead of depreciating it over time. This directly affects businesses that purchase qualifying property after September 27, 2017, by eliminating the previous requirement to spread deductions across multiple years. The key provision changes the tax code to set the "applicable percentage" for such property at 100% permanently. This simplifies tax treatment for eligible investments without altering other tax rules. The bill does not change tax rates or affect individual taxpayers.
