Adelita Grijalva

More Options to Develop and Enhance Remote Nutrition in WIC Act of 2025 or the MODERN WIC Act of 2025

This bill permanently allows individuals to remotely certify their eligibility for, and receive benefits through, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Specifically, the bill requires that a state agency allow an individual seeking a WIC certification, recertification, or a nutritional risk evaluation to do so by phone or through video teleconference, in addition to the in-person option.

A state agency has 90 days to collect data for a nutritional risk evaluation for a remotely certified individual. Further, a state agency may consider an applicant who meets the income eligibility standards to be temporarily eligible on an interim basis to participate in the program and may certify the individual for immediate participation without waiting for a nutritional risk evaluation.

The bill also allows states to provide benefits on WIC electronic benefit transfer cards through mail or remote issuance instead of requiring participants to pick up or reload benefits in person at a WIC office.

Further, the Department of Agriculture must report to Congress about the use of remote technologies and other digital tools in the WIC program.

Currently, individuals are generally required to be physically present to certify their WIC eligibility and receive benefits, with exceptions. The Food and Nutrition Service has temporarily waived these requirements and allowed remote certification and benefits using authorities that were provided by laws that were enacted to address COVID-19.

Blind Americans Return to Work Act of 2025

This bill requires the Social Security Administration to carry out a demonstration project during which blind Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries receive reduced benefits commensurate with income above certain thresholds.

Under current law, only individuals who earn under a specified monthly income, known as the substantial gainful activity (SGA) threshold, are considered disabled and thereby eligible for SSDI benefits. For blind workers, this limit is $2,700 per month in 2025. SSDI beneficiaries may earn beyond the SGA threshold for a limited period of time, known as the trial work period, before their benefits are suspended and ultimately terminate.

The bill establishes a 20-year demonstration project during which individuals who are entitled to SSDI benefits by reason of blindness and who earn above the SGA threshold continue to receive benefits at an amount gradually reduced commensurate with their earnings beyond a specified amount.

During this period, blind workers’ SSDI benefits must be reduced by $1 for every $2 that a worker earns above the sum of (1) the SGA threshold, and (2) the worker’s expenses reasonably attributable to their work. The SGA threshold may not be used to determine whether an individual is disabled during this period, and blind workers’ SSDI benefits may not be terminated due to work-related earnings. The trial work period also must not apply.

After 10 years, affected beneficiaries may opt out of the modified benefits structure.

Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2025

This bill establishes several requirements and standards relating to prior authorization processes under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans.

Specifically, MA plans must (1) establish an electronic prior authorization program that meets specified standards; (2) annually submit to the CMS for publication specified prior authorization information, including the percentage of requests approved and the average response time; and (3) meet other standards, as set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), relating to the quality and timeliness of prior authorization determinations.

The CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology must publish on the CMS' website a report that analyzes the information received from MA plans, the feasibility of implementing real-time decision making with respect to prior authorization requests, and the impact of decisions that are made using artificial intelligence on patient access.

Major Richard Star Act

This bill allows a veteran with a combat-related disability to receive retirement pay, without reduction, concurrently with their disability compensation. This includes veterans with a combat-related disability and fewer than 20 years of creditable service. (Currently, veterans who receive combat-related special compensation and retirement pay are subject to an offset in retirement pay for concurrent receipt of such benefits.)

American Apprenticeship Act

This bill authorizes the Department of Labor to make grants to assist states in carrying out projects that defray the cost of pre-apprenticeship or related instruction for qualified apprenticeship programs.

Labor shall (1) establish performance measures and an evaluation system for such grant program; and (2) identify in-demand occupations that lack the use of apprenticeships, analyze the use of the qualified apprenticeship program model in those occupations, and report on such analysis to states and Congress.

Access Technology Affordability Act of 2025

This bill allows a refundable federal tax credit, through 2030, equal to the amounts paid for qualified access technology for use by a blind individual who is the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, or a dependent of the taxpayer. (Limits apply.)

The bill defines qualified access technology as hardware, software, or other information technology with the primary function of converting or adapting information that is visually represented into forms or formats usable by blind individuals.

The tax credit is limited to (1) amounts paid that are not compensated by insurance or otherwise, and (2) an aggregate amount of $2,000 (adjusted for inflation) per blind individual in any period of three consecutive taxable years.

Raise the Age Act of 2025

This bill establishes new restrictions on the sale or transfer of certain semiautomatic firearms to individuals under 21 years of age.

Specifically, this bill makes it unlawful for a licensed gun dealer, importer, manufacturer, or collector to sell or deliver a semiautomatic center-fire rifle or semiautomatic center-fire shotgun that has (or has the capacity to accept) an ammunition feeding device with a capacity of more than five rounds to an individual who the licensee knows or has reasonable cause to believe is under age 21.

The prohibition does not apply if the individual under age 21 is a full-time law enforcement officer or active-duty member of the Armed Forces.

The bill also requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to report on the operation of its public access line, including a description of information sharing protocols and recommendations for improving such protocols.

Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act

This bill requires the Department of Labor to address workplace violence in health care, social service, and similar sectors.

Specifically, Labor must issue an occupational safety and health standard that requires certain employers to take actions to protect workers and other personnel from workplace violence. The standard applies to employers in the health care sector, in the social service sector, and in sectors that conduct activities similar to those in the health care and social service sectors. Among other elements, the standard must require each employer to (1) develop a workplace violence prevention plan, (2) promptly investigate incidents of workplace violence, and (3) provide relevant training and education to employees.

The bill requires certain hospitals and skilled nursing facilities to comply with this standard as a condition of Medicare participation.

Forever Chemical Regulation and Accountability Act of 2026

This bill phases out the release and nonessential use of perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and addresses PFAS research, remediation, regulation, and enforcement.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must require each manufacturer and user of PFAS to submit annual reports that include specified information about the essential (e.g., critical for health or safety reasons) and nonessential uses of PFAS by such entities. Not later than 10 years after the enactment of this bill, manufacturers and users must fully phase out nonessential uses of PFAS.

The bill also

• establishes specified deadlines to phase out the sale of certain products containing PFAS;

• requires federal agencies, to the maximum extent practicable, to eliminate the procurement of products known to contain PFAS;

• imposes a 10-year phaseout of the release of PFAS above a certain threshold of detection;

• provides enforcement authority to the EPA regarding violations of the requirements of the bill, including through civil and criminal penalties;

• allows citizen suits against manufacturers and users of PFAS and the EPA; and

• addresses actions under state law related to damages from exposure to hazardous substances, including with regard to statutes of repose.

The bill exempts from a bankruptcy petition’s automatic stay any proceeding against a non-debtor entity (e.g., a proceeding to obtain property from a non-debtor) with respect to a PBT claim (a claim relating to persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals) against the non-debtor entity, the debtor, or the estate.

Veterans Exposed to Toxic PFAS Act or the VET PFAS Act

This bill provides eligibility for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital care and medical services to veterans and their family members (including those in utero) who have specified conditions and resided at a military installation where individuals were exposed to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS. PFAS are man-made and may have adverse human health effects.

Hospital care and medical services may not be furnished for a condition that is found to have resulted from a cause other than the exposure to PFAS at a military installation.

The VA may provide reimbursement for hospital care or medical services provided to a family member only after the family member or provider has exhausted all claims and remedies otherwise available for payment of such care.

For disability compensation purposes, the bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for specified conditions in veterans who served at a military installation at which individuals were exposed to PFAS. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific conditions diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded.

Dental Care for Veterans Act

This bill expands eligibility for veterans for dental care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Specifically, the bill makes all veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system eligible for VA-provided dental services. Currently, only veterans who have a service-connected dental issue or meet other narrow criteria are eligible for certain dental services.

The bill phases in eligibility over four years based upon existing eligibility, degree of service-connected disability or other disability, prisoner of war status, award of a Purple Heart, financial need, or VA health care eligibility.