Gabe Evans

Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2025

This bill requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to review and update its regulations and policies on mental health for pilots and air traffic controllers.

The FAA must update regulations and take any other actions necessary to implement the recommendations of (1) the Aviation Workforce Mental Health Task Group, and (2) the Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee (the ARC).

The FAA must also annually review and update, as appropriate, the applicable regulations and policies on mental health-related special issuance for pilots and air traffic controllers. As background, an Authorization for Special Issuance of a Medical Certificate is a discretionary document from the FAA which allows an airman with a disqualifying medical condition to fly under a restricted medical certificate.

Among other things, the review and update must

• reclassify and approve additional medications that may be safely prescribed to airmen to treat mental health conditions,

• delegate additional authority to aviation medical examiners (AMEs) consistent with the ARC recommendations, and

• improve the special issuance process for pilots and air traffic controllers.

The bill authorizes the FAA to take actions to recruit and train additional AMEs.

The bill also authorizes an FAA public information campaign or education efforts to (1) destigmatize individuals in (or interested in joining) the aviation industry who seek mental health care, (2) broaden awareness of available supportive services, and (3) establish trust with pilots and air traffic controllers.

Fair Access to Banking Act

This bill places restrictions on certain banks, credit unions, and payment card networks if they refuse to do business with a person who complies with the law. Restrictions include prohibiting the use of electronic funds transfer systems and lending programs, termination of an institution's depository insurance, and specified civil penalties.

Banks and other specified financial institutions are allowed to deny financial services to a person only if the denial is justified by a documented failure of that person to meet quantitative, impartial, risk-based standards established in advance by the institution. This justification may not be based upon reputational risks to the institution.

The bill establishes the right for a person to bring a civil action for a violation of this bill.

Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Stopping Prison Contraband Act

This bill increases federal criminal penalties for providing or attempting to provide a cell phone to an individual who is incarcerated at a prison.

Chemical Tax Repeal Act

This bill repeals the Hazardous Substance Superfund excise tax imposed on certain chemicals and chemical substances.

Under current law, an excise tax is imposed through December 31, 2031, on taxable chemicals and taxable chemical substances that are (1) manufactured or produced in the United States, or (2) imported into the United States. The excise tax rate varies between 44 cents per ton to $9.74 per ton, depending on the chemical and certain other variables. (There are 42 listed taxable chemicals and 151 listed taxable chemical substances.)

Further, under current law, amounts collected from the excise tax on taxable chemicals and taxable chemical substances are deposited into the Hazardous Substance Superfund, which finances the remediation of certain environmentally contaminated sites.

Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act of 2025

This bill requires states to establish a process through which qualifying out-of-state providers may temporarily treat children under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) without undergoing additional screening requirements.

Specifically, states must establish a process through which qualifying out-of-state providers may enroll for five years as participating providers to treat individuals under the age of 21 without undergoing additional screening requirements.

A qualifying out-of-state provider (1) must not have been excluded or terminated from participating in a federal health care program or state Medicaid program; and (2) must have been successfully enrolled in Medicare or a state Medicaid program based on a determination that the provider posed a limited risk of fraud, waste, or abuse.

The bill’s changes take effect three years after enactment.

AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025

This bill requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to issue a rule requiring AM radio capabilities to be standard in all new passenger vehicles. (AM radio is often used to deliver emergency alerts and news and entertainment programming; some newer vehicles do not include AM equipment.)

Specifically, this bill applies to passenger vehicles (1) manufactured in the United States for sale in the United States, imported into the United States, or shipped in interstate commerce; and (2) manufactured after the rule's effective date. The rule must require all such vehicles to have devices that can receive signals and play content transmitted by AM stations or digital audio AM stations installed as standard equipment and made easily accessible to drivers.

Prior to the rule's effective date, manufacturers that do not include devices that can access AM radio as standard equipment (1) must inform purchasers of this fact through clear and conspicuous labeling, and (2) may not charge an additional or separate fee for AM radio access.

DOT may assess civil penalties for any violation of the rule. The Department of Justice may also bring a civil action to enjoin a violation.

The rule, including DOT’s authority to enforce it, must expire 10 years after the bill’s enactment.

Further, the Government Accountability Office must study and report on the dissemination of emergency alerts to the public, including by conducting an assessment of AM radio relative to other Integrated Public Alert and Warning System communication technologies.

Hauling Exemptions for Livestock Protection Act or the HELP Act

This bill exempts livestock hauling vehicles and the vehicle operators from hours of service and electronic logging device (ELD) requirements. The exemption applies to a hauling vehicle carrying livestock (i.e., livestock, insects, or aquatic animals) and to a vehicle that is picking up or returning from delivering livestock (i.e., an unladen vehicle).

Under current law, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules limit how many hours most commercial truck drivers can drive and work and requires a vehicle to be equipped with an ELD, which tracks how long a vehicle has been driving. Limited exemptions exist, including for livestock hauling.

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.

Dignity for Immigrants while Guarding our Nation to Ignite and Deliver the American Dream Act of 2025 or as the DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2025

This bill addresses various immigration-related issues, including by requiring higher pay for U.S. Border Patrol agents, deferring the removal of eligible individuals without lawful immigration status, and implementing a mandatory electronic employment eligibility verification system patterned off the E-Verify system.

The bill establishes several programs for individuals present in the United States without lawful status, including a path to lawful permanent resident status for qualified individuals, including those with deferred action for childhood arrival (DACA) status. In addition, the bill establishes the Dignity Program, which defers the removal of eligible individuals without lawful immigration status on a seven-year, renewable basis, provided individuals meet employment or education requirements, pay restitution, and satisfy other conditions.

The bill also makes various changes to penalties and processes applicable to individuals entering the United States, for example by

• increasing the maximum criminal penalty for individuals previously removed or denied admission to the United States who attempt to reenter,

• authorizing the use of DNA testing to verify family relationships of immigrants, and

• establishing campuses at the border to process asylees.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must create, and U.S. employers must use, a nationwide electronic employment eligibility verification system.

Furthermore, DHS may grant relatives of U.S. citizens relief from removal.

The bill also increases the per country percentage ceiling for family-sponsored and employment-based visas.

This resolution commends and congratulates Petty Officer Third Class Scott Ruskan for his bravery and heroic efforts to rescue 165 victims during the July 2025 catastrophic flooding in central Texas.

It also extends gratitude to all members of the Coast Guard, other federal and state agencies, first responders, and volunteers who risked their lives to protect and rescue others.

Supersonic Aviation Modernization Act

This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to allow civil aircraft to operate at speeds above Mach 1 (i.e., supersonic) over land in the United States under certain conditions.

Specifically, the FAA must issue or revise regulations to allow for the operation of civil aircraft at speeds greater than Mach 1 in the national airspace system without a special authorization, so long as no sonic boom reaches the ground in the United States.

The FAA must also issue a final rule to establish noise standards that prohibit civil aircraft operating at speeds greater than Mach 1 from exceeding takeoff and landing noise levels required for subsonic aircraft (i.e., aircraft that operate at speeds that do not exceed Mach 1). As part of the rule, the FAA must specify a process to periodically review and update the noise standards to reflect future advances in aircraft noise reduction technology and regulatory changes.

Current regulations prohibit civil aircraft from operating above Mach 1 speeds over land in the United States without a special flight authorization issued by the FAA.