Massachusetts Congressional Bills

in committee · Massachusetts · House Dec 2, 2025

HRES 856: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Department of Agriculture should use its contingency funds and interchange authority to finance the supplemental nutrition assistance program.

HRES 856 is a non-binding resolution expressing the House of Representatives' view that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) should use its existing contingency funds and interchange authority to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for November 2025. The resolution cites that the USDA holds over $5 billion in contingency funds set aside for emergencies and has legal authority under the Department of Agriculture Organic Act to transfer funds between nutrition programs to maintain SNAP benefits. This would directly support approximately 42 million people relying on SNAP, including 16 million children, 8 million seniors, 4 million people with disabilities, and 1.2 million veterans, preventing disruption during a potential funding gap. The resolution does not create new law but urges the administration to use existing resources to ensure continued food assistance.

Suzanne Bonamici (D) · 51 co-sponsors

in committee · Massachusetts · Senate Dec 2, 2025

S 3302: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act of 2025

S 3302, the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act of 2025, requires drug manufacturers developing cancer treatments to conduct pediatric-focused research for certain drugs targeting pediatric cancer mechanisms. It amends FDA drug approval processes to mandate molecularly targeted pediatric cancer investigations for drugs with new active ingredients or specific approved combinations, ensuring studies address dosing, safety, and efficacy for children. The bill also extends priority review vouchers (which expedite FDA reviews) for rare pediatric disease treatments until 2030 and mandates GAO studies to evaluate how effectively these incentives spur new pediatric cancer drug development. These changes apply to new drug applications submitted three years after the law's enactment, with reports due to Congress at 6, 8, and 10 years.

Topics ✓ Healthcare

Markwayne Mullin (R) · 37 co-sponsors

in committee · Massachusetts · Senate Dec 2, 2025

S 3308: Artificial Intelligence Civil Rights Act of 2025

The Artificial Intelligence Civil Rights Act of 2025 regulates AI systems that make decisions affecting people's lives, such as employment, housing, healthcare, credit, and education. It requires developers and deployers to conduct pre-deployment evaluations and annual impact assessments by independent auditors to prevent discrimination and harm. The law mandates clear consumer disclosures about AI use, provides the right to human alternatives for AI-driven decisions, and creates enforcement mechanisms through the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general. It also includes whistleblower protections for employees reporting violations and requires transparency about how AI systems operate.

Topics ✓ Housing ✓ Labor & Employment ✓ Technology

in committee · Massachusetts · Senate Dec 2, 2025

S 2042: Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2025

The Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2025 would maintain existing protections for designated roadless areas within the National Forest System by prohibiting new road construction, reconstruction, or logging in those areas. It directly affects National Forest lands managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, where the Roadless Rule already restricts such activities. The bill’s key mechanism requires the Secretary of Agriculture to enforce these current restrictions without adding new limitations. This policy change preserves existing protections for watersheds, wildlife habitats, recreation opportunities, and culturally significant sites within these roadless areas.

Topics ✓ Environment ✗ Transportation

Maria Cantwell (D) · 30 co-sponsors

in committee · Massachusetts · House Dec 2, 2025

HR 6356: Artificial Intelligence Civil Rights Act of 2025

The Artificial Intelligence Civil Rights Act of 2025 requires developers and deployers of AI systems that make decisions affecting "consequential actions" (such as employment, housing, healthcare, education, and credit) to conduct pre-deployment evaluations and annual impact assessments by independent auditors. The bill mandates transparency requirements including clear disclosures to individuals about how AI is used in decision-making, establishes a right to human alternatives for significant AI-driven decisions, and prohibits discrimination based on protected characteristics like race, gender, or disability. It creates enforcement mechanisms through the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general, and private lawsuits, with penalties including civil penalties of up to 4% of annual revenue. The act also requires developers to provide explanations for AI-driven decisions and sets standards for data collection to prevent harm and ensure fairness in critical life areas.

Topics ✓ Housing ✓ Labor & Employment ✓ Technology

Yvette D. Clarke (D) · 29 co-sponsors

in committee · Massachusetts · House Dec 2, 2025

HR 6358: Veteran Education Empowerment Act

HR 6358, the Veteran Education Empowerment Act, creates a federal grant program to help colleges establish or improve dedicated Student Veteran Centers. These centers provide veterans, active-duty service members, and their families with lounge space, benefits counseling, academic support, and mental health services. Institutions must serve significant numbers of veterans and have sustainability plans to qualify for grants, with funding capped at $500,000 per institution over four years. The bill directly affects colleges serving veterans and aims to address challenges like isolation and transition difficulties through centralized campus support.

Topics ✓ Education ✓ Healthcare ✓ Veterans

Lois Frankel (D) · 42 co-sponsors

in committee · Massachusetts · House Dec 2, 2025

HR 6350: College Athletics Reform Act

This bill establishes comprehensive name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights for college athletes, prohibiting institutions from restricting athletes' ability to earn compensation for their personal branding or taking adverse action against them for doing so. It requires transparent NIL agreements for compensation over $600, including specific details about services, compensation amounts, and termination terms. The bill also amends immigration laws to better accommodate international student athletes participating in college sports and updates regulations governing sports agents. Additionally, it establishes a Commission to study college athletics governance, focusing on collective bargaining, revenue sharing, and Title IX compliance, while expanding disclosure requirements for colleges regarding athletics revenue and expenses.

Topics ✓ Immigration ✓ Labor & Employment

Lori Trahan (D) · 25 co-sponsors

in committee · Massachusetts · House Dec 2, 2025

HR 5731: School Food Modernization Act

HR 5731, the School Food Modernization Act, provides funding to help schools upgrade facilities and equipment for healthier meal programs. It authorizes $300 million in loan guarantees (covering up to 80% of costs) and $35 million annually for grants to support kitchen renovations, equipment purchases, and food safety improvements for local schools and tribal organizations. The bill also allocates $10 million yearly to fund training programs for school food service staff, developed by third-party organizations, to meet nutrition standards. These provisions directly affect public school districts, tribal schools, and their food service operations by enabling infrastructure upgrades and staff training.

Topics ✓ Education ✓ Healthcare

Mark DeSaulnier (D) · 21 co-sponsors

passed · Massachusetts · House Dec 2, 2025

HR 1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act

Give Kids a Chance Act of 2025 This bill expands the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) authority with respect to research on rare pediatric diseases, including by permitting the FDA to take enforcement action against drug sponsors that fail to satisfy pediatric study requirements and by reauthorizing programs that support pediatric research. Specifically, the bill modifies requirements relating to molecularly targeted pediatric cancer investigations to permit research on new drugs in combination with active ingredients that have already been approved, provided certain conditions are met; permits the FDA to take enforcement action against drug sponsors that fail to comply with pediatric study requirements, if such sponsors demonstrated a lack of due diligence in satisfying the requirement; renews the FDA’s authority to award priority review vouchers to sponsors of new products intended to treat rare pediatric diseases through September 30, 2029; and reauthorizes through FY2027 certain funding for the National Institutes of Health to support priority pediatric research. The bill also provides statutory authority for the FDA’s interpretation of the orphan drug exclusivity period. The bill specifies, consistent with FDA regulations, that the seven-year market exclusivity period for drugs for rare diseases or conditions (i.e., orphan drugs) prohibits the approval of the same drug for the same approved use or indication with respect to the disease or condition. (In Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Becerra , a court rejected the FDA’s interpretation and held that orphan drug exclusivity extends to all uses or indications for the disease or condition.)

Topics ✓ Healthcare

in committee · Massachusetts · Senate Dec 1, 2025

S 3282: Targeting Environmental and Climate Recklessness Act of 2025

This bill authorizes U.S. sanctions against foreign entities and individuals engaging in activities that worsen climate change or harm the environment. It targets specific actions including: building inefficient fossil fuel infrastructure that undermines climate goals, illegal deforestation (especially in the Amazon), misleading environmental claims, and violence against environmental defenders. Sanctions would include visa bans, asset freezes in U.S. accounts, and other penalties under existing Global Magnitsky frameworks. The law applies only to foreign actors, not U.S. citizens or companies, and requires evidence of intentional or reckless conduct.

Topics ✓ Energy ✓ Environment

in committee · Massachusetts · House Dec 1, 2025

HR 6334: Deepfake Liability Act

HR 6334, the Deepfake Liability Act, requires online platforms to implement specific processes to address non-consensual intimate content and cyberstalking. It amends Section 230 of the Communications Act to create a "duty of care" for platforms, mandating they prevent and remove intimate privacy violations (like non-consensual deepfakes or intimate images) within 48 hours of a valid request. The law directly affects victims of non-consensual intimate content and platforms classified as "covered platforms" (social media, apps, and websites), while excluding email, messaging services, and data storage. Key provisions include minimum data logging for legal proceedings, clear removal processes, and a 48-hour removal timeline for verified violations.

Topics ✓ Technology

in committee · Massachusetts · House Dec 1, 2025

HR 6335: Education Not Endless Scrolling Act

HR 6335, the "Education Not Endless Scrolling Act," imposes a 50% tax on large digital advertising companies (those with over $2.5 billion in annual U.S. digital ad revenue) starting in 2026. The tax revenue funds three new trust funds: one for local journalism support, one for individual tutoring programs in schools, and one for career and technical education initiatives. These trust funds will distribute one-third of the collected tax revenue to directly support journalism entities, school tutoring programs, and career education programs without requiring new annual appropriations. The bill’s key mechanism is redirecting tax revenue from major digital ad platforms to specific education and journalism programs, effective for taxes paid after December 31, 2025.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Education

Massachusetts Congressional Bills

Bill results