Daniel Meuser

Humane Cosmetics Act of 2025

This bill generally prohibits animal testing in the evaluation of cosmetic products, and it prohibits the sale or transport of cosmetics developed using animal testing, subject to civil penalties. These prohibitions begin one year after enactment.

The bill specifies exceptions to these prohibitions, including if such animal testing (1) is conducted outside the United States to comply with a foreign regulatory authority; (2) is pursuant to a finding by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that there are no nonanimal alternatives to test the safety of a potentially dangerous cosmetic product or ingredient; (3) is of a product or ingredient for a drug or device subject to regulation by the FDA; or (4) is required for a noncosmetic purpose pursuant to a state, federal, or foreign regulatory authority.

Further, evidence derived from animal testing conducted more than one year after the bill's enactment may not be used to establish the safety of a cosmetic product or ingredient that is regulated by the FDA, subject to limited exceptions.

Patients First Act of 2026

This bill modifies payments and incentive programs under the Medicare physician fee schedule.

The bill establishes a temporary program to provide hybrid payments for certain primary care services. Under the program, payments for services relating to care management, behavioral health integration, office-based evaluation and management (including telehealth), and communications (e.g., phone calls) are made on a monthly basis to providers for each individual that is attributed to the provider's practice. The monthly amount is based on the national average amount for such services. Providers may opt into the model; in order to qualify, providers must be owned or controlled by health care practitioners and must have had the majority of their prior year's payments consist of payments for the covered services.

The bill also renames the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and modifies the program to include performance measures relating to care efficiency (e.g., reducing avoidable hospitalizations). (MIPS is an incentive program under Medicare that allows health professionals to receive payment adjustments based on certain performance measures.) The bill generally reduces the program's performance-based payment adjustments, including positive adjustments for providers that are not owned or controlled by health care practitioners.

Finally, the bill allows for larger annual adjustments to the Medicare physician fee schedule and bases these adjustments on inflation. It also requires certain corrections to compensate for expenditures under the fee schedule that exceed a certain amount in a given year, and it limits how much certain adjustment factors may vary each year.

Improper Payments Transparency Act

This bill requires the President's annual budget to include specified information regarding improper payment amounts and rates for programs and activities at certain federal agencies. (An improper payment is any payment that should not have been made or that was made in an incorrect amount, including an overpayment or underpayment, under a statutory, contractual, administrative, or other legally applicable requirement.)

Specifically, the President's budget must include (1) a narrative description, including a detailed explanation of why any improper payment amounts and rates occurred and related trends for programs and activities; and (2) corrective actions and steps the agencies will take to address improper payment amount and rate issues.

Daughters of the American Revolution Membership Integrity Act

This bill limits membership eligibility for the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (commonly known as the Daughters of the American Revolution, or DAR) to biological women. (Under the bill, biological women are human females who naturally have, had, will have, or would have—if not for a congenital anomaly or intentional or unintentional disruption—a female reproductive system.)

Members must also satisfy any genealogical and membership qualifications the organization establishes, as under current law.

As background, DAR's federal charter provides that its purposes include perpetuating the memory and spirit of the men and women who achieved American independence.

North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act

This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to recognize the individuals and communities that provided financial and other support for the North Platte Canteen in North Platte, Nebraska, during World War II.

Tyler’s Law

This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to complete, within one year after the bill’s enactment, a study on how frequently Medicare-participating hospital emergency departments test for fentanyl in patients experiencing an overdose, the costs associated with such testing, and how such testing may impact patients.

Within six months after the study’s completion and based on its results, HHS must issue guidance regarding (1) whether hospital emergency departments should implement fentanyl testing as a routine procedure for patients experiencing an overdose, (2) how to ensure clinicians know which substances they are testing for in routine drug tests, and (3) how fentanyl testing may affect the future risk of overdose and other health outcomes.

Medicare Access to Rural Anesthesiology Act

This bill modifies the Medicare payment methodology for anesthesiologists in rural hospitals.

Specifically, the bill provides that payment must be made on a reasonable cost basis for anesthesiologists in rural hospitals and critical access hospitals that have no more than 800 surgical procedures requiring anesthesia services per year (or a higher number set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services).

Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act of 2026

This bill expands the H-2A agricultural visa program; creates online platforms for H-2A employers, workers, and agencies; and codifies certain wage calculations.

Under current law, workers on H-2A visas are only allowed to perform agricultural work of a seasonal or temporary nature. Under the bill, the seasonal work requirement is removed, thus allowing H-2A workers to qualify for agricultural work that occurs year-round. The bill also expands the type of agricultural work that qualifies, including reforestation, aquaculture, and livestock work. The Department of Agriculture must issue rules to define agricultural labor or services for purposes of the H-2A program.

The bill also establishes an H-2A visa pathway for current unauthorized agricultural workers who otherwise meet requirements.

The Department of Labor must maintain a national, publicly accessible online job registry and database of all job offers submitted by employers seeking a labor certification required to employ H-2A workers. The Department of Homeland Security must establish an online platform for employers to submit information and documentation for review by federal agencies in the course of admitting H-2A workers.

The H-2A program requires employers to provide workers with wage rates at or above those set in regulations and such wages must not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers similarly employed in the United States. The bill codifies the current calculation method for the adverse effect wage rate as set in regulation.

Latonya Reeves Freedom Act of 2026

This bill prohibits government entities and insurance providers from denying community-based services to individuals with disabilities that require long-term service or support that would enable such individuals to live in the community and lead an independent life.

Specifically, these entities may not discriminate against such individuals in the provision of community-based services by such actions as imposing prohibited eligibility criteria, cost caps, or waiting lists or failing to provide a specific community-based service. Additionally, community-based services must be offered to individuals with such disabilities prior to institutionalization. Institutionalized individuals must be notified regularly of community-based alternatives.

The bill requires the Department of Justice to issue regulations requiring government entities and insurance providers to offer community-based long-term services to individuals with such disabilities who would otherwise qualify for institutional placement. Government entities must ensure sufficient availability of affordable, accessible, and integrated housing that is not a disability-specific residential setting or a setting where services are tied to tenancy.

Regulations shall also (1) require government entities and insurance providers to perform self-evaluation on current services, policies, and practices and concerning compliance with requirements of this bill; and (2) require government entities to submit a transition plan.

The bill allows civil actions by individuals subjected to, or about to be subjected to, a violation of its requirements.

Take Care of America's Veterans Act

This bill addresses veterans’ benefits, health care, counseling, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) personnel, VA infrastructure, and the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP).

The bill modifies various compensation programs for veterans, including by (1) allowing concurrent receipt of disability compensation and military retired pay for certain retirees with a combat-related disability, (2) extending entitlement for various benefits and services to remarried surviving spouses, (3) increasing the rate of dependency and indemnity compensation, and (4) establishing a supplemental monthly allowance for certain disabled veterans.

The bill also addresses VA education and training benefits, including by (1) modifying which independent study programs are covered under veterans’ educational assistance benefits, (2) requiring Transition Assistance Program counseling to include a presentation about VA benefits, and (3) increasing the housing allowance rate for individuals pursuing apprenticeships.

The bill revises health care provisions, including by (1) expanding support and assistance provided to family caregivers, (2) extending the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, and (3) expanding the scope of VA mental health research.

Among other elements, the bill

• revises VA disability ratings for sleep apnea and tinnitus;

• expands eligibility for a memorial headstone or marker for the spouse, surviving spouse, child, or dependent of a veteran or member of the Armed Forces;

• addresses the administration of the VCCP and codifies the eligibility standards;

• establishes a standardized screening process for priority or routine admission to certain mental health care programs; and

• addresses VA personnel, hiring, and infrastructure matters.

Medicaid VBPs for Patients Act or the MVP Act

This bill provides statutory authority for regulations that allow for the use of varying best price points under value-based purchasing arrangements for purposes of the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. (Value-based purchasing arrangements refer to arrangements in which the price of a drug is linked to clinical outcomes; such arrangements are particularly used for new high-cost treatments, such as gene therapies.)

The Government Accountability Office must study the impact of value-based purchasing arrangements on federal health care programs, including with respect to the bill's changes.

Additionally, the bill (1) exempts sales of drugs that are made under value-based purchasing arrangements from calculations of the manufacturer average sales price for purposes of payments under Medicare medical services, if the manufacturer reports multiple best prices under Medicaid in accordance with the bill's changes; and (2) requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to issue guidance on how state Medicaid programs may cover drugs in inpatient settings via value-based purchasing arrangements.

Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act

This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to print paper currency in the denomination of $250 featuring a portrait of President Donald Trump.

Under current law, U.S. currency may only feature the portrait of a deceased person. The bill creates an exception for individuals who are or were President of the United States.