Jerry Nadler

The FABRIC Act prohibits garment industry employers from paying workers by piece rate and requires hourly wages at least equal to the federal minimum wage, taking effect six months after enactment. The bill also makes companies that contract for or license garment manufacturing brands jointly liable with employers for wage violations, unless they can prove they had no knowledge of the violation, though exceptions exist for certain collective bargaining agreements and performance bonuses. To enforce these requirements, the legislation establishes a new Office of the Garment Industry within the Department of Labor, headed by an Undersecretary who will oversee manufacturer registration, support domestic garment production, and enforce federal wage and hour laws. The bill authorizes $10 million for fiscal year 2027 to establish the office and $3 million annually through 2032 for ongoing operations. A severability clause ensures that if any portion of the act is ruled unconstitutional, the remainder will continue to be enforced.

This bill requires health insurance plans to automatically cover newborns for 30 days after birth at no additional cost, protecting new parents from unexpected medical bills during a critical period. During this initial 30-day coverage window, newborns receive the same coverage as their parent for any service normally covered by the plan. After those 30 days, parents get a 60-day window to formally enroll their newborn in the plan, and insurance companies must notify parents if a claim is denied because the newborn is not yet enrolled. The bill applies to all group health plans and individual health insurance coverage offered by private insurers and affects millions of new parents across the country. The requirements take effect for all insurance plan years beginning on or after the bill's enactment date, with no new federal funding specified.

The Restoring Justice for Workers Act would prohibit employers from requiring workers to sign agreements that force them into arbitration for workplace disputes or prevent them from joining class action or collective lawsuits against their employers. The bill applies to all workers, including employees and independent contractors, and affects any employer or entity that engages workers to provide services. Currently, millions of workers must accept these mandatory arbitration clauses as a condition of employment, often without understanding they have given up their right to sue in court or join together with coworkers. The legislation would allow workers to pursue legal claims in courts and join collective actions, with special protections for post-dispute arbitration agreements requiring a 45-day waiting period, written disclosures in plain language, and explicit written consent. The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment and applies to any disputes that arise after the law passes, with enforcement through civil lawsuits in federal district court where workers can recover attorney's fees and damages.

The PROTECT Act (Prohibiting Repressive Officials from Titular Engravings, Commemorations, and Tributes Act) would ban the federal government from naming, renaming, or designating any federal building, land, or other asset in the name of Donald J. Trump. The bill also prohibits the use of any federal funds for such naming or renaming activities. Additionally, any federal property already named after Trump as of the bill's enactment would be required to revert to its previous federally designated name. The legislation affects federal agencies that manage federal buildings and properties. The bill does not specify any dedicated funding or implementation timeline beyond the effective date of enactment.

The Helicopter Safety Parity Act of 2026 requires commercial turbine-powered helicopters carrying two or more paying passengers to meet the same strict safety standards as commercial airlines, including terrain awareness equipment, cockpit voice recorders, flight data recorders, and enhanced pilot training and maintenance requirements. The bill targets a gap in federal aviation regulations where helicopter operators currently follow less rigorous safety rules than airlines despite offering similar passenger services, a distinction highlighted by recent helicopter crashes including a fatal 2025 Hudson River accident. Helicopter operators have 24 months from the bill's enactment to comply with these new requirements, with the possibility of a six-month extension if they demonstrate good faith progress, while emergency medical helicopter services are exempt from these rules. The Federal Aviation Administration must issue final regulations within 18 months and submit an implementation plan within 12 months detailing staffing needs and inspector hiring plans. The bill authorizes $50 million annually through fiscal year 2030 to fund FAA rulemaking, enforcement, oversight, and the hiring of additional aviation safety inspectors to monitor helicopter operators.

H.Res. 985 is a resolution expressing opposition to cat declawing, a surgical procedure that removes a cat's claws and third bones in the toe. The resolution emphasizes that declawing causes lifelong pain and behavioral problems in cats, including chronic pain, nerve damage, litter box avoidance, and increased aggression and biting. The resolution does not create new law or provide funding; instead, it calls for veterinarians to discourage the practice and urges states that haven't already done so to ban elective declawing, while allowing the procedure only when medically necessary to treat disease or injury. The resolution notes that many countries and several U.S. states—including New York, California, Maryland, and Massachusetts—have already banned elective declawing, and it affirms support from medical organizations like the American Association of Feline Practitioners and the CDC. The measure is supported by numerous members of Congress and represents a symbolic statement that declawing is inhumane and unnecessary for pet management or property protection.

The Antisemitism Response and Prevention Act of 2025 creates new federal infrastructure to combat antisemitism and hate crimes while addressing concerns about the politicization of antisemitism enforcement. The bill establishes a National Coordinator to Counter Antisemitism within the Department of Justice (to begin operations within 180 days) and a Hate Crime Reporting Center within the FBI to comprehensively track and publicly report all hate crimes nationwide. The legislation increases annual funding for nonprofit security grants from $360 million to $500 million starting in 2027, authorizes $25 million yearly for a public awareness campaign to help at-risk communities access security assistance, and provides $50 million annually through 2032 for the FBI's reporting center. The bill requires the Attorney General to submit regular reports to Congress on extremist activities and domestic terrorism threats and designates 31 federal agencies to coordinate implementation efforts over a 10-year period.

Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act or the MORE ActThis bill decriminalizes marijuana.Specifically, it removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminates criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana.The bill replaces statutory references to marijuana and marihuana with cannabis.The bill also makes changes related to the economic impact of decriminalization, including the following:requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly publish demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees,establishes a trust fund to support various programs and services for individuals and businesses in communities impacted by the war on drugs,imposes an excise tax on cannabis products produced in or imported into the United States and an occupational tax on cannabis production facilities and export warehouses, andmakes Small Business Administration loans and services available to entities that are cannabis-related legitimate businesses or service providers.The bill also makes changes to other federal programs and legal processes to account for decriminalization, including the following: prohibits the denial of federal public benefits to a person on the basis of certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions,prohibits the denial of benefits and protections under immigration laws on the basis of an event (e.g., conduct or conviction) relating to possession or use of cannabis that is no longer prohibited under the bill, andestablishes a process to expunge convictions and conduct sentencing review hearings related to federal cannabis offenses.

This bill would ban pharmaceutical manufacturers from advertising prescription drugs directly to consumers through any media, including television, radio, print, digital platforms, and social media. The prohibition would apply to all FDA-approved prescription drugs and would take effect 30 days after the bill becomes law. The legislation targets what the pharmaceutical industry calls "direct-to-consumer advertising"—the practice of marketing drugs directly to patients rather than only to doctors. This change would primarily affect drug manufacturers, which currently spend billions annually on consumer-facing drug advertisements, as well as advertising companies and media outlets that profit from such ads. If passed, the United States would join most other developed nations in restricting direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising.

The Refuge From Cruel Trapping Act would ban the possession and use of body-gripping traps—including steel-jaw leghold traps, kill-type traps, and snares—across the entire National Wildlife Refuge System. The bill would take effect 120 days after passage, though it includes limited exceptions allowing federal agencies to use these traps when controlling invasive species or protecting endangered or sensitive species, provided all nonlethal alternatives have been thoroughly attempted and documented. The law also exempts Alaska refuges, members of federally recognized Indian tribes using traps for subsistence purposes, and anyone dismantling existing traps. Violations would result in civil fines up to $500 per trap or per use (adjusted annually for inflation), imprisonment up to 180 days, or both, along with forfeiture of the traps and any wildlife caught. The Secretary of the Interior has 120 days to issue implementing regulations, though lack of regulations would not delay the law's enforcement.

The American Royalties Too Act creates a "resale royalty" system that entitles visual artists to receive a percentage of sale proceeds whenever their artworks are resold by art dealers, auction houses, or other professionals for $5,000 or more. Artists would receive 5 percent of the resale price, capped at $50,000 per transaction, with this amount adjusted annually for inflation. The law applies to U.S. citizen artists, artists in countries with similar royalty laws, and works first created in the U.S., and the royalty rights pass to heirs and descendants according to inheritance law. Designated collecting societies would handle collecting payments from art market professionals within 90 days of sale and distributing them to artists at least quarterly, with unclaimed royalties held in escrow for three years before being transferred to the Copyright Office for artist education programs. The law takes effect one year after enactment and requires a study within five years to evaluate its implementation.

Improving Helicopter Safety Act of 2025This bill generally prohibits the operation of a civil helicopter within a 20-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in New York, New York.The bill includes an exception for flights carried out for the purposes of (1) public health and safety (e.g., for law enforcement or the provision of medical services), or (2) heavy-lift operations in support of construction and infrastructure maintenance.The Federal Aviation Administration must issue or update regulations to carry out the requirements of this bill.

The West Bank Violence Prevention Act of 2025 authorizes the President to impose sanctions against foreign individuals and entities responsible for violence, property destruction, and forced displacement in the West Bank. The bill targets those engaged in violent acts against civilians, efforts to intimidate Palestinians into leaving their homes, terrorist activities, and officials of organizations involved in such actions. Sanctions include blocking assets held in the United States, denying visas and entry to the country, and revoking existing travel documentation. The bill applies to foreign persons determined to threaten West Bank stability and undermine U.S. foreign policy goals, including the viability of a two-state solution. Within 90 days of enactment and quarterly thereafter, the Treasury Department must report to Congress on implementation and provide names of sanctioned individuals, with limited exceptions for international diplomatic obligations and law enforcement needs.

The Children's Health Protection Act of 2025 requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to maintain and strengthen its Office of Children's Health Protection as a permanent office. The office, headed by a director appointed by the EPA Administrator, would identify environmental health risks affecting infants, children, and adolescents, work to ensure federal policies address these disproportionate risks, and coordinate research and grant programs to protect children from environmental hazards. The bill also establishes a permanent advisory committee to provide guidance on children's health issues and would authorize $7.8 million annually for the office's operations, plus an additional $13.2 million per year from 2026 through 2030 for broader implementation of the act. This legislation essentially protects the office from elimination and expands its mandate to address environmental justice concerns and support school environmental health programs.

The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act imposes a one-time tax of up to $1 trillion on fossil fuel companies to address climate change damages, which cost the U.S. economy more than $150 billion annually. Companies responsible for over 1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions between 2000 and 2023 must pay by September 30, 2026, with the option to spread payments over nine years. The tax applies to both U.S. and foreign companies doing business in America, with payments distributed proportionally based on each company's documented emissions history. Revenue from this tax will support a new federal fund to help vulnerable communities, low-income neighborhoods, and tribal lands adapt to climate impacts. The bill also preserves state and local governments' authority to establish their own climate policies and recovery efforts alongside federal action.