Mark DeSaulnier

This resolution expresses support for the designation of National Firearm Suicide Prevention Day.

Original Honoring Our WWII Merchant Mariners Act of 2025

This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to distribute a payment of $25,000 to U.S. merchant marines who engaged in qualified service during World War II. To be eligible, an individual must apply for the benefit and must not have received benefits under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. The bill sets forth what constitutes qualified service, including time frame of service and licensing requirements.

Break the Cycle of Violence Act

This bill establishes federal grant programs and related entities to support violence intervention initiatives.

Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants for coordinated community violence intervention initiatives in communities disproportionately impacted by homicides and community violence. HHS must also establish several related entities, including

• an Office of Community Violence Intervention to administer programs and activities related to violence intervention;

• the Community Violence Intervention Advisory Committee to advise and assist the office and HHS; and

• the National Community Violence Response Center to provide training and technical assistance, coordinate research, and develop data collection policies.

Additionally, the bill directs the Department of Labor to award grants for job training and workforce programs in communities disproportionately affected by gun violence to connect youth ages 16 to 24 to in-demand occupations.

Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion Act or the GOSAFE Act

This bill establishes a framework to regulate gas-operated semiautomatic firearms and large capacity ammunition feeding devices under federal firearms laws.

First, the bill generally prohibits the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, receipt, or possession of

• a firearm that is or is modified to operate as a prohibited gas-operated semiautomatic firearm;

• a combination of parts that modify or can be assembled into a prohibited gas-operated semiautomatic firearm, or that produce an unlawful gas-operated semiautomatic cycling action;

• a device or combination of parts designed to materially increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm; or

• a firearm that is modified to materially increase the rate of fire.

Second, the bill generally prohibits (1) the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or receipt of a large capacity ammunition feeding device; or (2) the possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device manufactured after the date of enactment.

A violation is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to 12 months, or both, for each violation.

In addition, an individual who possesses a prohibited gas-operated semiautomatic firearm during a federal felony offense is subject to additional penalties—a fine, a mandatory minimum prison term of two years, or both.

Finally, the bill allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender gas-operated semiautomatic firearms and large capacity ammunition feeding devices under a buy-back program.

Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act

This bill expedites payment of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and eligibility for Medicare coverage for those with metastatic breast cancer (i.e., breast cancer that has spread to other sites in the body).

Specifically, the bill eliminates the 5-month waiting period for SSDI benefits and the subsequent 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage for individuals with metastatic breast cancer. Under current law, individuals generally must wait 5 months after the onset of disability to begin receiving SSDI benefits and an additional 24 months to become eligible for Medicare.

This bill prohibits the President from selling, transferring, or exporting certain defense articles or services to Israel, except in specified circumstances.

Defense articles covered by the prohibition include BLU-109 bunker busting bombs, Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) assemblies, and 155mm artillery ammunition. Defense services directly related to such articles are also covered.

The President may sell, transfer, or export such defense articles or services to Israel if (1) a law is enacted specifying the purposes for which such articles or services may be used, and (2) Israel provides written assurances that the defense articles or services will be used for those specific statutory purposes and in a manner consistent with certain other laws, including international human rights laws.

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

Food Deserts Act

This bill establishes a grant program within the Department of Agriculture to reduce food deserts. Under the program, grants are provided to states for revolving funds that support the establishment and operation of grocery stores in underserved communities. Underserved communities are communities that have (1) limited access to affordable, healthy foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, in grocery retail stores or farmer-to-consumer direct markets; and (2) a high rate of hunger, a high rate of food insecurity, or a high poverty rate.

The bill requires states to use such funds for loans that support grocery stores in underserved communities, including for opening a store (excluding new construction), or supporting an existing store.

In order to qualify for loans, grocery stores must meet criteria enumerated in the bill. For example, grocery stores must (1) emphasize unprocessed, healthful foods; (2) provide staple foods and a variety of raw fruits and vegetables; and (3) charge affordable prices at or below market values.

Further, states must prioritize loan applications from entities that meet criteria related to

• hiring workers from the underserved community,

• providing classes or educational information about a healthful diet,

• sourcing food from local urban farms and gardens, and

• demonstrating existing supply chain relationships in the grocery industry.

Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act

This bill establishes the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans.

The commission must (1) compile documentary evidence of slavery in the United States; (2) study the role of the federal and state governments in supporting the institution of slavery; (3) analyze discriminatory laws and policies against freed African slaves and their descendants; and (4) recommend ways the United States may recognize and remedy the effects of slavery and discrimination on African Americans, including through a formal apology and compensation (i.e., reparations).

The commission consists of individuals from civil society and reparations organizations and individuals appointed by the President and congressional leadership; Members of Congress and governmental employees may not serve on the commission. The commission may hold hearings, subpoena witnesses and records, and contract with other entities to conduct its work.

The commission must submit its final report within 18 months of its first meeting.

Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2025

This bill expands eligibility for Post-9/11 GI bill benefits and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) home loan program by updating terminology related to certain Black veterans. Specifically, the bill explicitly includes the following individuals as eligible veterans under the programs:

• Black veterans who served on active duty during World War II and can certify they were denied a specific benefit on the basis of race; and

• the living surviving spouses, children, grandchildren, or other direct descendants of such veterans described above who can certify the veteran was denied a specific benefit on the basis of race.

Eligible veterans must apply for educational or home loan benefits within the five-year period after the bill is enacted.

The Government Accountability Office must report on the number of individuals who received VA educational or housing loan benefits due to the amendments made by the bill and the total value of such benefits.

Finally, the VA must appoint a panel of independent experts to develop recommendations regarding additional benefits and assistance for female and minority members of the Armed Forces.

Stephanie Tubbs Jones Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act of 2025

This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to expand research on, and take other actions to address, uterine fibroids. These are muscular tumors that grow in the wall of the uterus and may cause pain, heavy menstrual bleeding, and reproductive issues.

In coordination with the National Institutes of Health and appropriate federal agencies, HHS must undertake research activities on uterine fibroids.

In addition, HHS must establish a database of services furnished to individuals diagnosed with uterine fibroids under Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program and must develop a report on federal and state expenditures for such services.

Additionally, HHS must disseminate information on uterine fibroids to the public and to health care providers, including information on the elevated risk for minority women and available treatments.

College for All Act of 2025

This bill establishes measures to expand access to higher education, including by eliminating tuition and required fees for eligible students, revising the Federal Pell Grant program, and reauthorizing certain programs to assist students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Specifically, the bill provides funding to enable states and tribal colleges and universities, through a federal-state partnership, to eliminate tuition and required fees for (1) all students at community colleges and two-year tribal colleges and universities, and (2) working- and middle-class students at four-year public institutions of higher education and tribal colleges and universities.

The bill provides funding to enable private, nonprofit historically Black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions to eliminate tuition and required fees for eligible students.

The bill permanently reauthorizes and otherwise revises the Federal Pell Grant program by

• providing funding to increase the maximum award for each eligible student,

• increasing the duration limit for the use of Pell Grants,

• allowing students to use their awards to cover living and nontuition expenses, and

• expanding eligibility to Dreamer students (i.e., students who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status and who entered the United States before the age of 16) and students with other immigration statuses.

Further, the bill requires the Department of Education to award grants to eligible states and tribal colleges and universities for improving student outcomes.

The bill reauthorizes through FY2035 the Federal TRIO Programs and reauthorizes through FY2029 the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs.