Greg Stanton

Equality Act

This bill prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity with respect to businesses, employment, housing, federally funded programs, and other settings.

Specifically, the bill expands Title II and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit public accommodations and federally funded programs, respectively, from discriminating based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. It also includes stores, transit services, recreational facilities, and establishments that provide health care, accounting, or legal services as public accommodations under Title II.

The bill also expands Title IV (desegregation of public schools) and Title VII (employment discrimination) to specifically include sexual orientation and gender identity. (The Supreme Court held in Bostock v. Clayton County that Title VII's prohibition of employment discrimination based on sex also prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.)

The bill similarly expands the Fair Housing Act (discrimination in public and private housing) to include sexual orientation and gender identity. It also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity by creditors and with respect to jury selection.

The bill defines sex for purposes of the aforementioned provisions to include sex stereotypes, pregnancy, childbirth, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.

This joint resolution provides that the Equal Rights Amendment, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, was ratified by three-fourths of the states and is therefore a valid constitutional amendment, regardless of any time limit that was in the original proposal.

The Equal Rights Amendment was originally proposed to the states in 1972. The original proposal included a deadline for ratification of March 22, 1979; Congress subsequently extended the deadline to June 30, 1982. Although the requisite 38 states have ratified the amendment, three of these states did so after the deadlines, and five states subsequently rescinded their ratifications. The status of the amendment has been the subject of litigation.

Protect America's Workforce Act

This bill nullifies the Executive Order titled Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs (issued on March 27, 2025), which excludes specified executive agencies and subdivisions from the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute. The statute authorizes federal employees' participation in collective bargaining and enforces collective bargaining rights.

The bill also specifies that a covered collective bargaining agreement in place as of March 26, 2025, shall have full force and effect through the stated term of the agreement.

This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico are in violation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). (President Donald J. Trump issued executive orders on February 1, 2025, to impose an additional 25% tariff on most imports from Canada and Mexico.)

Homes for Every Local Protector, Educator, and Responder Act of 2025 or the HELPER Act of 2025

This bill establishes a program administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide mortgage assistance to law enforcement officers, elementary and secondary school teachers, firefighters, or other first responders. Specifically, these individuals may be eligible for a first-time mortgage on a primary family residence with no down payment. Instead, the mortgage is subject to a one-time, up-front mortgage insurance premium.

Congressional Trade Authority Act of 2025

This bill requires congressional approval for a presidential import adjustment due to a national security threat from an import and limits the adjustments to certain goods that are essential to national security.

Specifically, the bill limits the President's authority for such import adjustments to goods related to the development, maintenance, or protection of military equipment, energy resources, or critical infrastructure essential to national security. The bill specifies that the term national security (1) means the protection of the United States from foreign aggression, and (2) does not otherwise include the protection of the general welfare of the United States.

The bill requires the President to submit a proposal to Congress to adjust imports. Congress must then approve the proposal with a joint resolution before an import adjustment takes effect. Under current law, the President determines whether any adjustment of an import is necessary and must submit to Congress the reasons for any action taken or not taken. Currently, there is a congressional disapproval mechanism to override presidential actions related to petroleum imports.

The bill also

• requires the Department of Defense (currently, the Department of Commerce) to investigate the effect of these imports on national security and submit a report before the President determines whether an adjustment to an import is necessary,

• establishes requirements for a process to grant requests to exclude certain goods from import adjustments, and

• applies retroactively to any proposed action taken up to six years before the enactment of this bill.

Strategic Ports Reporting Act

This bill requires the Department of State to conduct a study and submit a report to Congress on strategic ports.

The report shall contain various elements related to such ports, including (1) a detailed list of all strategic ports owned, operated, or controlled by China or a foreign person of China; (2) a detailed list of all strategic ports owned, operated, or controlled by the United States or a U.S. person; (3) an assessment of the national security and economic interests relevant to each such port; (4) an analysis of actions by China to gain control or ownership of strategic ports; and (5) courses of action to protect strategic ports and maritime infrastructure from Chinese control.

The bill also requires the State Department to develop and provide to Congress a global mapping of foreign and domestic ports of importance to the United States because of a capability to provide military, diplomatic, economic, or resource exploitation superiority.

Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025

This bill imposes sanctions on certain foreign persons (individuals and entities) that are involved in Iran's petroleum sector as well as certain associated persons. The bill also requires or authorizes actions to facilitate the enforcement of sanctions on Iran.

Specifically, the bill requires the President to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on any foreign person that, after the bill's enactment, knowingly engages in any transaction related to the processing, export, or sale of oil, condensates, gas, liquefied natural gas, or other petrochemical products in whole or in part from Iran. The President must also impose sanctions on certain foreign persons associated with a sanctioned individual or entity. For example, the President must sanction the subsidiaries and corporate officers of a sanctioned business.

The bill provides certain exceptions to these sanctions, including specifying that sanctions do not apply to the importation of goods or to conducting or facilitating transactions for humanitarian assistance.

The Department of State must establish an interagency working group that shall seek to establish a multilateral contact group to coordinate international efforts to enforce sanctions on Iran.

The bill expands the State Department rewards program to authorize a reward payment to any individual who furnishes information leading to the identification of a person (1) subject to sanctions under this bill, or (2) that has attempted or is attempting to evade sanctions under this bill.

This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that every individual has the right to emergency health care, including abortion care.

Access to Family Building Act

This bill provides a statutory right to access assisted reproductive technology (e.g., in vitro fertilization).

Specifically, under the bill, individuals have the right to access assisted reproductive technology, and to retain all rights with respect to the use or disposition of reproductive genetic materials (e.g., eggs or sperm), without prohibitions or unreasonable restrictions. Health care providers and insurers also have the right to provide and cover these services, respectively.

The bill does not affect state or local health and safety regulations that achieve their purpose in the least restrictive manner possible.

The Department of Justice may bring civil actions against states, localities, or government officials or entities that enact or enforce limitations or requirements that violate this bill. Individuals and health care providers who are affected by violations may also bring civil actions for relief.