Edward Markey

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.)

Senior Hunger Prevention Act of 2026

This bill expands and modifies nutrition programs for older adults and adults with disabilities, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP).

Under the bill, a household's eligibility for SNAP benefits may be certified for 36 months if all adult household members are elderly or disabled, an increase from 24 months. The bill also expands the SNAP medical expense deduction and increases the minimum allotment for households with one and two persons.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must establish an elderly simplified application program that allows a state to implement a streamlined SNAP application and certification process for households where all adult household members are elderly or disabled and have no earned income.

The bill also directs USDA to authorize public-private partnerships between USDA, retail food stores participating in SNAP, and community-based organizations to provide free or low-cost food delivery under SNAP, including through the use of private funds.

Further, the bill reauthorizes CSFP, provides additional funding for the program, and expands eligibility to include low-income adults with disabilities. CSFP benefits may also be certified for 36 months. Currently, benefits may be certified for not less than one year, but not more than three years.

The bill also expands eligibility for the Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) to include adults with disabilities, provide a 36-month certification period, and include minimum and maximum benefit amounts.

Under the bill, USDA must also establish various related grant programs.

This resolution designates the first week of April as National Asbestos Awareness Week.

It also urges the Office of the Surgeon General to warn and educate people about asbestos exposure, which may be hazardous to their health.

This resolution celebrates the successes of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women and the contributions they have made in the United States. The resolution also recognizes the importance of providing for the safety and upholding the interests of these women.

Food Date Labeling Act of 2025

This bill establishes uniform requirements for quality and discard date phrases (e.g., best by and use by) placed voluntarily on food labels.

Specifically, if a food is labeled with a quality date (i.e., the date after which the quality of the item may deteriorate), the label must include the phrase BEST If Used By or the abbreviation BB. Similarly, if a food is labeled with a discard date (i.e., the date after which the item should not be consumed), the label must include the phrase USE By or the abbreviation UB. Abbreviations may be used only if an item’s packaging is too small to fit the full phrase.

Quality and discard dates must be written in a single, easy-to-read font and placed in a prominent location on an item’s label or package. The phrase or freeze by may be added after a quality or discard date phrase where appropriate.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) must promulgate regulations to carry out these provisions and ensure that the uniform phrases are standardized across all food products. HHS and USDA may specify alternative quality and discard date phrases through regulations.

The bill specifies that no state or local government may enforce a requirement related to quality and discard date phrases that differs from the requirements of the bill. The bill does not apply to infant formula, which is subject to separate labeling requirements under current law.