The STAR Act modifies how Medicare pays long-term care hospitals, which provide extended treatment for patients recovering from acute illnesses or injuries. The bill extends reduced payment rates for these hospitals through 2032, six years longer than currently scheduled, and creates a new "high acuity criterion" that allows certain long-term care hospitals to receive higher payments if their patients come from acute care hospitals and are assigned to specific high-severity diagnosis categories. This high acuity exemption applies only to long-term care hospitals that enrolled before the bill's enactment and meet certain requirements, such as having construction agreements in place or state approval. The legislation takes effect October 1, 2026, and aims to preserve access to long-term care services for Medicare patients with complex medical needs while maintaining cost controls through the extended payment reductions.

The Precious Metals Parity Act would change tax rules for regulated investment companies, which are investment funds that must meet certain requirements to receive favorable tax treatment. Currently, these companies can count income from foreign currencies as "qualifying income" for tax purposes, but precious metals are not included in this category. The bill would amend the tax code to treat income from gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bullion the same way as foreign currency income, giving precious metals equal standing. This change would apply to investment companies' tax years beginning after the bill is enacted, with no specific funding or sunset date mentioned. The legislation was introduced in May 2026 with bipartisan support and referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.

The Choice Arrangement Act creates a new type of employer health benefit called a "custom health option and individual care expense arrangement" that allows employers to reimburse employees for individual health insurance coverage purchased on the private market or through Medicare, rather than offering traditional group health plans. These arrangements must be funded entirely by employers, offered equally to all employees in defined classes (such as full-time or part-time workers), and capped at fixed annual dollar amounts that can vary by age and number of dependents. The bill affects employers with fewer than 50 full-time employees (those not classified as "applicable large employers") and their workers who enroll in individual or Medicare coverage. To incentivize adoption, the legislation provides employers with a tax credit of $100 per employee per month during the first year they offer such arrangements and $50 per employee per month during the second year, with the credit amount adjusted for inflation after 2026. The changes take effect for plan years beginning after December 31, 2025.

The American Franchise Act clarifies when a franchisor (the company that licenses a brand, like McDonald's) can be held legally responsible for the employment practices of franchisees (independent business owners who operate individual franchise locations). The bill protects the franchise business model by establishing that a franchisor is only a "joint employer" if it exercises substantial, direct, and continuous control over key employment decisions like wages, hiring, firing, or work schedules—not merely setting quality standards or providing training materials. The legislation defines specific employment terms and details what actions do and do not count as direct control; for example, recommending staffing changes or enforcing brand standards does not constitute control, but actually determining wage rates or work schedules does. This change applies to both the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act, and takes effect immediately upon enactment, excluding any cases already filed in court. The franchise industry employs approximately 8.4 million American workers and generates roughly $825 billion in annual economic output, making this clarification significant for both franchisors and franchisees navigating labor law compliance.

The Home Health Stabilization Act aims to protect Medicare payments to home health agencies by reversing significant payment cuts scheduled for 2026 and 2027. Under current Medicare rules, home health agencies were set to face a combined 9 percent payment reduction in 2026, threatening their ability to serve patients. This bill requires the federal government to fully offset those cuts for both years by adjusting Medicare payment rates upward, keeping payments stable based on 2025 levels. The bill affects home health agencies nationwide and the Medicare beneficiaries who depend on home-based care services. By delaying and reversing these payment adjustments for two years, the legislation aims to ensure home health agencies remain financially viable and continue providing services to seniors and disabled Americans covered by Medicare.

This House resolution elects specific members to two standing committees in the House of Representatives. The resolution assigns Mr. Fine to serve on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and designates Mr. Garbarino as the Chair of the Committee on Homeland Security. These committee assignments determine which lawmakers will have primary responsibility for overseeing foreign policy issues and domestic security matters respectively. The resolution was passed by the House on July 22, 2025, and represents routine organizational business that occurs when filling committee vacancies or making leadership changes.

H.Res. 503 is a symbolic resolution expressing the House of Representatives' support for designating June 11, 2025, as "World Franchise Day." The resolution recognizes the franchise business model's historical importance and contemporary role in the U.S. economy, noting that franchising supports nearly 8.8 million direct jobs and generates nearly $897 billion in economic output. The bill highlights how franchising has enabled hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs—including minorities and veterans—to achieve business ownership and has contributed substantially to job creation across over 200 industries. There is no funding or specific timeline associated with this resolution, as it is a non-binding expression of support for an annual observance established by the World Franchise Council, an international organization comprising franchise associations from around 40 countries.

This bill creates a new federal tax on profits earned by third-party litigation funding companies—firms that provide money to finance lawsuits in exchange for a share of the settlement or judgment. The tax rate equals the top individual income tax rate plus 3.8 percentage points, and applies to companies, individuals, partnerships, and foreign entities that receive litigation financing proceeds. The bill exempts small agreements (under $10,000) and traditional loans with reasonable interest rates from the tax. Payors involved in the litigation are required to withhold 50 percent of the applicable tax from payments made to third-party funders, similar to how employers withhold payroll taxes. The changes take effect for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, and are designed to discourage what supporters view as predatory litigation funding practices by making them more costly.

Access to Prescription Digital Therapeutics Act of 2025This bill provides for Medicare and Medicaid coverage of prescription digital therapeutics (i.e., software applications that are used to prevent, manage, or treat medical conditions). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must establish a Medicare payment methodology for payments to manufacturers that takes into account certain factors (e.g., ongoing use); manufacturers must report specified information about private payors, subject to civil penalties.

H.R. 2436 would allow people to withdraw up to $5,000 from their health savings accounts (HSAs) without penalty to pay for funeral expenses after the account holder's death. Currently, HSAs are restricted to paying for qualified medical expenses, and withdrawals for other purposes are subject to taxes and penalties. This bill expands the definition of qualified uses to include funeral-related costs such as burial, cremation, casket purchases, funeral director services, and grave preparation. The change would apply to funeral expenses paid within 90 days after the account holder's death and would take effect for amounts paid after the bill is enacted. The legislation affects millions of Americans who use HSAs as a tax-advantaged savings tool for healthcare costs and could help families cover end-of-life expenses without tax consequences.

Securing Access to Care for Seniors in Critical Condition Act of 2025This bill exempts discharges from long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) from the Medicare site-neutral payment rate if the discharge meets specified high acuity criteria and occurs on or after October 1, 2026. (The site-neutral rate is the lower of Medicare’s acute care hospital payment rate under the inpatient prospective payment system or 100% of the cost of the stay. LTCH stays that do not qualify for the specialized LTCH payment rate under Medicare are instead paid at the site-neutral rate.)

This bill permanently removes in-person evaluation requirements for mental health telehealth services under Medicare.

Protecting Life from Chemical Abortions ActThis bill nullifies certain changes made by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to dispensing requirements for mifepristone. (Mifepristone is a drug that is approved to end pregnancies through 10 weeks gestation when used in conjunction with the drug misoprostol. The procedure is often referred to as medication abortion or the abortion pill.)The FDA regulates mifepristone through the Mifepristone Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program. The program requires health care providers to comply with certain requirements in order to prescribe or dispense mifepristone to end a pregnancy; the program previously included an in-person dispensing requirement that required mifepristone to be directly dispensed to patients in clinics, medical offices, or hospitals. During the COVID-19 public health emergency, the FDA stopped enforcing the in-person dispensing requirement, which allowed mail-order pharmacies to fill and dispense mifepristone prescriptions.In January 2023, the FDA modified program requirements so as to (1) remove the in-person dispensing requirement, and (2) require pharmacies to be program-certified in order to dispense mifepristone. The modifications allow certified retail pharmacies to dispense mifepristone pursuant to prescriptions that are written by certified prescribers.The bill nullifies the January 2023 changes and prohibits the FDA from (1) exercising any enforcement discretion with respect to program requirements, or (2) reducing program protections until every state submits certain data regarding abortions to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The bill also generally prohibits the declaration of a public health emergency with respect to abortions.

Promoting Responsible Oversight To Eliminate Communist Teachings for Our Kids Act or the PROTECT Our Kids ActThis bill prohibits federal education funding for any elementary or secondary school that directly or indirectly receives support from the Chinese government.Specifically, the bill prohibits such funding for any school that (1) has a partnership in effect with a cultural or language institute funded by the Chinese government, including a Confucius Institute; (2) operates a learning center supported by the Chinese government (commonly referred to as a Confucius Classroom); or (3) receives support from an individual or entity acting on behalf of the Chinese government, including support in the form of teaching materials, personnel, funds, or other resources. However, the Department of Education (ED) may issue a waiver of the prohibition if a school has an existing contract with one of these entities and the school demonstrates that the contract is for the benefit of the school and promotes the security, stability, and economy of the United States.The bill directs ED to provide notice of the bill's requirements to schools, as well as guidance for achieving compliance with the requirements.

The Enhancing Energy Recovery Act modifies the federal tax credit for carbon dioxide sequestration under Section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code. Currently, the law offers different tax credit amounts depending on how captured carbon is used—whether it's stored permanently underground or used in oil and gas recovery operations. This bill creates "parity" by establishing a single credit amount of $17 per metric ton for carbon dioxide that is either stored in secure geological formations or used in enhanced oil and gas recovery projects, with the credit indexed to inflation after 2026. The legislation also raises the credit to $36 per metric ton for carbon dioxide used in other specified utilization methods. These changes apply to tax years beginning after December 31, 2024, and primarily affect companies and industries involved in carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies. The bill aims to provide more consistent financial incentives across different carbon management practices.

Student Empowerment ActThis bill expands the education-related expenses that may be paid for with tax-free distributions from a qualified tuition program (also known as a 529 plan) to include certain expenses related to elementary, secondary, and homeschool education.Under current law, distributions from a 529 plan are excluded from gross income if they are used to pay for qualified higher education expenses, which includes up to $10,000 (per year and per beneficiary) for tuition at an elementary or secondary public, private, or religious school.The bill expands the education-related expenses that may be paid for with tax-free distributions from a 529 plan to include tuition related to homeschooling and the following expenses related to elementary, secondary, and homeschool education:curriculum and curricular materials,books or other instructional materials,online educational materials,tutoring or educational classes outside the home,testing fees,fees for dual enrollment in an institution of higher education, andeducational therapies for students with disabilities.

This resolution provides for the House to attend the inaugural ceremonies of the President and Vice President of the United States on January 20, 2025, and, thereafter, for the House to stand adjourned until 12:00 p.m. (noon) on January 21, 2025.

This resolution elects Members to the Committees on Agriculture; Foreign Affairs; Natural Resources; and Science, Space, and Technology.