Mark Messmer

Direct Seller and Real Estate Agent Harmonization Act

This bill excludes a real estate agent or a direct seller of consumer products from the definition of an employee for the purpose of applying the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA). Workers who are considered employees under the FLSA must be paid the minimum wage and are generally eligible to receive overtime compensation for hours worked in excess of a 40-hour workweek.

This resolution (1) condemns the assassination of Charles "Charlie" James Kirk and all forms of political violence; and (2) honors the life, leadership, and legacy of Charlie Kirk.

Pay Our Troops Act of 2026

This bill provides continuing appropriations for military pay for any period during which interim or full-year appropriations for FY2026 are not in effect (i.e., a government shutdown).

Specifically, the bill provides FY2026 continuing appropriations for the pay and allowances of (1) members of the Armed Forces, including reserve components, who perform active service during the period; and (2) civilian personnel and contractors of the Department of Defense (and the Department of Homeland Security in the case of the Coast Guard) who are providing support to such members of the Armed Forces.

If a government shutdown occurs, the bill provides the continuing appropriations until the earlier of (1) the enactment into law of specified appropriations legislation, or (2) January 1, 2027.

Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2025

This bill excludes Indian tribes and tribal enterprises and institutions on tribal land from requirements for employers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). (Currently under the NLRA, employers may not engage in unfair labor practices and must allow employees to form unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take collective action.)

Federal Mechanical Insulation Act

The bill directs federal agencies to identify energy saving and water saving measures, such as the installation of mechanical insulation property, in certain annual energy and water evaluations of federal buildings. Thus, the bill allows the installation of mechanical insulation property (e.g., thermal insulation) to be considered an energy or water efficiency measure that may be used in federal buildings under the National Energy Conservation Policy Act.

United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025

This bill requires or authorizes certain actions to increase defense-related cooperation between the United States and Israel.

Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to

• establish a cooperative program, with the concurrence of Israel's Ministry of Defense (MOD), to develop and deploy advanced technologies for countering unmanned systems that threaten the United States and Israel;

• establish in Israel an office of the Defense Innovation Unit (an organization that focuses on rapidly fielding and scaling commercial technology across the U.S. military); and

• seek to engage Israel's MOD on the ascension of Israel into the national technology and industrial base (currently defined in law as the persons and organizations engaged in research, development, production, integration, services, or information technology activities conducted within the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada).

The bill authorizes DOD, upon request of Israel's MOD, to jointly conduct research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics to meet defense challenges.

Additionally, the bill extends the authority for DOD to (1) carry out RDT&E on a joint basis with Israel to establish anti-tunnel and counter unmanned aerial systems capabilities through 2028, and (2) transfer defense articles intended for use as reserve stocks for Israel through January 1, 2029.

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.

Save Our Bacon Act

This bill prohibits a state or local government from enacting or enforcing a condition or standard on livestock production for livestock physically raised in another state or locality.

Further, the bill prohibits a state or local government from enacting or enforcing a condition for sale or consumption that requires an out-of-state livestock producer to meet any of the state or local government’s conditions or standards of production that are in addition to, or different from, those in the state of production.

Under the bill, production means the raising (including breeding) of a domestic animal for the purpose of (1) slaughter for human consumption, or (2) producing products manufactured for human consumption which are derived from milk processing (e.g., fluid milk). The bill excludes domestic animals raised for the primary purpose of egg production.

Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025

This bill adds a new source of revenue for the Crime Victims Fund (CVF). Specifically, the bill requires certain civil monetary penalties collected from settlements and judgments in cases involving fraud and false claims against the federal government to be deposited into the CVF through FY2029.

The CVF supports federal, state, and local programs and activities to compensate and assist victims of crimes. Currently, the CVF is funded by deposits from a variety of sources, including federal criminal fines, penalties, and assessments; forfeited bail bonds; and certain other gifts, donations, and bequests.

Locating Every Disbursement in Government Expenditure Records Act or the LEDGER Act

This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to implement a system that tracks all outlays from each appropriation, receipt, or other fund account in the Treasury by each department, agency, office, or other establishment in the executive, legislative, or judicial branches of the federal government. The system must also track the period of availability of the amounts in the applicable appropriation, receipt, or other fund account.

Give Kids a Chance Act of 2025

This bill expands the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) authority with respect to research on rare pediatric diseases, including by permitting the FDA to take enforcement action against drug sponsors that fail to satisfy pediatric study requirements and by reauthorizing programs that support pediatric research.

Specifically, the bill

• modifies requirements relating to molecularly targeted pediatric cancer investigations to permit research on new drugs in combination with active ingredients that have already been approved, provided certain conditions are met;

• permits the FDA to take enforcement action against drug sponsors that fail to comply with pediatric study requirements, if such sponsors demonstrated a lack of due diligence in satisfying the requirement;

• renews the FDA’s authority to award priority review vouchers to sponsors of new products intended to treat rare pediatric diseases through September 30, 2029; and

• reauthorizes through FY2027 certain funding for the National Institutes of Health to support priority pediatric research.

The bill also provides statutory authority for the FDA’s interpretation of the orphan drug exclusivity period. The bill specifies, consistent with FDA regulations, that the seven-year market exclusivity period for drugs for rare diseases or conditions (i.e., orphan drugs) prohibits the approval of the same drug for the same approved use or indication with respect to the disease or condition. (In Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Becerra, a court rejected the FDA’s interpretation and held that orphan drug exclusivity extends to all uses or indications for the disease or condition.)

Focused Assistance and Skills Training for Veterans' Employment and Transition Success Act or the FAST VETS Act

This act establishes conditions under which a veteran's individualized vocational rehabilitation plan (under the Veteran Readiness and Employment program) must be redeveloped. The program provides job training and employment-related services to veterans with service-connected disabilities.

Currently, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must formulate and annually review an individualized vocational rehabilitation plan for veterans who have a serious employment handicap and have a reasonably feasible vocational goal.

The act provides that such plan must be redeveloped with the veteran if the VA determines the achievement of the long-range rehabilitation goals for the veteran are no longer feasible due to changes in the employment handicap of the veteran and are more likely under a different plan.

Accreditation Choice and Innovation Act

This bill revises the accreditation process for reviewing the quality of education offered by institutions of higher education (IHEs).

Under current law, an IHE seeking to participate in many federal programs (e.g., federal student aid programs) must be accredited by an agency recognized by the Department of Education (ED) as a reliable authority on the quality of the education being offered at the IHE. An ED-recognized accrediting agency must meet various provisions under the Higher Education Act of 1965 and in regulations.

Under this bill, states may designate an entity (e.g., an industry-specific quality assurance entity) as an accrediting agency for programs or IHEs in the state. The bill outlines the requirements for the state to submit a plan to ED and for ED to respond to the plan.

Additionally, the bill provides an accelerated path to recognition by authorizing ED to recognize new accrediting agencies within two years of their application.

ED must convene a panel of experts to develop common terminology for accrediting agencies to use in making accrediting decisions and publish those recommendations.

Further, the bill (1) requires accrediting agencies to establish specified standards for measures assessing student success (e.g., labor market outcomes), and (2) requires accrediting agencies to establish procedures for assessing compliance with agency standards that reflect an IHE's risk of losing accreditation.

The bill reauthorizes through September 30, 2028, and revises the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, which advises ED on matters related to accreditation.

Fighting Irrational Regulatory Enforcement to Avert Retailers’ Misfortune Act or the FIREARM Act

This bill prohibits the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from bringing an enforcement action to revoke or deny renewal of a federal firearms license on the basis of a self-reported violation that is correctable, so long as the violation did not involve the transfer of a firearm to a prohibited person.

The term self-reported violation means a violation of a statutory provision or implementing regulation by a federal firearms licensee (e.g., a gun dealer) that the licensee reports to the ATF before it is discovered during a compliance inspection.

The bill applies retroactively.

Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2025

This bill establishes several requirements and standards relating to prior authorization processes under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans.

Specifically, MA plans must (1) establish an electronic prior authorization program that meets specified standards; (2) annually submit to the CMS for publication specified prior authorization information, including the percentage of requests approved and the average response time; and (3) meet other standards, as set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), relating to the quality and timeliness of prior authorization determinations.

The CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology must publish on the CMS' website a report that analyzes the information received from MA plans, the feasibility of implementing real-time decision making with respect to prior authorization requests, and the impact of decisions that are made using artificial intelligence on patient access.