Madeleine Dean

Safe Schools Improvement Act

This bill requires states to direct their local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish policies that prevent and prohibit bullying and harassment of elementary and secondary school students. In particular, these policies must prohibit bullying and harassment based on race, color, national origin, disability, religion, or sex. Sex includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics (including intersex traits).

Further, LEAs must provide (1) students, parents, and educational professionals with annual notice of the conduct prohibited in their disciplinary policies; (2) students and parents with grievance procedures that target such conduct; and (3) the public with annual data on the incidence and frequency of that conduct at the school and LEA level.

The Department of Education must conduct and report on an independent biennial evaluation of programs and policies to combat bullying and harassment in elementary and secondary schools. The National Center for Education Statistics must collect state data to determine the incidence and frequency of the conduct prohibited by LEA disciplinary policies.

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.)

Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Reauthorization Act of 2026

This act reauthorizes through FY2031 and revises programs that support research and development of drugs and other therapies to address amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) and other neurodegenerative diseases.

The act reauthorizes

• grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for scientific research on investigational drugs to prevent or treat ALS for individuals not otherwise eligible for clinical trials,

• grants from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for research and development of therapies to prevent and treat ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases, and

• a Public-Private Partnership including the FDA and NIH that supports development and regulatory review of treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.

Also, the NIH, in considering renewal of its grants, must assess available information on the safety and efficacy of the investigational drugs. It must also require grantees to promptly report serious and unexpected adverse events associated with their investigational drugs.

Additionally, the FDA must publish a plan describing actions it will take over a five-year period to foster development of safe and effective drugs, and facilitate access to investigational drugs, that treat ALS and other rare neurodegenerative diseases. The FDA must also publish a report describing the actions it has taken under the plan.

Kira Johnson Act

This bill establishes various grants for establishing or expanding programs to advance maternal health equity.

Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must award grants for

• community-based programs to improve maternal health outcomes for demographic groups with elevated rates of maternal mortality and morbidity, maternal health disparities, and other adverse outcomes;

• training for health care providers and others who work in maternity care settings on reducing and preventing racism, bias, and discrimination; and

• programs in hospitals, health systems, and other maternity care settings to establish processes to identify and address instances of racism or evidence of bias in maternity care (i.e., respectful maternity care compliance programs).

Also, HHS must contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study issues related to the training programs, and the Government Accountability Office must study issues related to the respectful maternity care compliance programs.

Extending WIC for New Moms Act

This bill amends the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to extend the eligibility periods for breastfeeding and postpartum women.

Specifically, a state program may elect to certify a breastfeeding woman for up to 24 months (currently 1 year) postpartum. The bill also expands the eligibility period for postpartum women to up to 24 months after termination of pregnancy (currently 6 months).

The Department of Agriculture must submit a report to Congress evaluating the effect of these changes to the program on (1) maternal and infant health outcomes, (2) breastfeeding rates, and (3) qualitative evaluations of family experiences under WIC.

Resident Education Deferred Interest Act or the REDI Act

This bill allows borrowers in medical or dental internships or residency programs to defer student loan payments until the completion of their programs.

Reducing Hereditary Cancer Act

This bill provides for Medicare coverage of germline mutation testing for individuals with a personal or family history of a hereditary cancer gene mutation or suspected history of hereditary cancer, as well as for associated coverage of risk-reducing surgeries and screenings.