Mike Lee

Love Lives On Act of 2025

This bill extends entitlement for various benefit programs and services for surviving spouses of deceased members of the Armed Forces or veterans.

The bill provides that the remarriage of a surviving spouse must not bar the furnishing of dependency and indemnity compensation or special pension benefits to such spouse.

Additionally, the Department of Defense may not terminate the payment of an annuity for a surviving spouse under the Survivor Benefit Plan solely because the surviving spouse remarries.

The bill also expands the definition of a dependent under TRICARE to include a remarried widow or widower whose subsequent marriage has ended due to death, divorce, or annulment.

Consumer Labeling for Enhanced API Reporting and Legitimate Accountability for Base Entity Listings Act or the CLEAR LABELS Act

This bill requires drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients made available in the U.S. market to be labeled with the names and locations of their manufacturers.

Specifically, a finished, packaged drug product must be labeled with the name and place of business of (1) the original manufacturer (or manufacturers) of each active pharmaceutical ingredient; (2) the original manufacturer of the finished drug product; and (3) the packer or distributor, if any. This information must be printed on the product label or made available electronically. Active pharmaceutical ingredients (which are generally sold to manufacturers and researchers, not consumers) must also be labeled with the name and place of business of their original manufacturers.

Under the bill, the original manufacturer is the establishment that conducts the majority of the significant phases of manufacturing to produce the ingredient or product.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has discretion to determine whether a violation of these requirements constitutes misbranding and to assess a civil fine. The FDA must consider certain factors in determining whether to assess a fine, including whether the violator was notified of their noncompliance and was provided an opportunity to correct the violation.

Finally, the FDA must coordinate with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to address any overlap between these requirements and existing requirements for imported drugs.

These provisions take effect five years after the bill is enacted.

Veterans' Assuring Critical Care Expansions to Support Servicemembers (ACCESS) Act of 2025

This bill addresses the administration of the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP) and other Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care matters.

Among other provisions regarding the VCCP, the bill

• establishes in statute access standards that determine when a veteran is eligible to receive non-VA care through the VCCP,

• requires the VA to notify veterans regarding their eligibility for care within two business days after the VA is aware the veteran is seeking care, and

• extends the deadline for the submittal of claims under the VCCP by health care entities and providers.

The VA must address its mental health treatment programs by

• establishing a standardized screening process to determine whether a veteran satisfies criteria for priority or routine admission to a mental health residential rehabilitation treatment program or a program for residential care for mental health and substance abuse disorders,

• tracking the performance of medical facilities and Veterans Integrated Service Networks in meeting the requirements for mental health treatment screenings and timely admission to treatment programs under such screenings, and

• establishing an appeal process for when a veteran is denied admission to a covered treatment program or is accepted into a program but not offered bed placement in a timely manner.

Additionally, the VA must establish an online self-service module for veterans to request and manage appointments, track referrals, and appeal and track decisions related to requests for care.

Federal Carjacking Enforcement Act

This bill lowers the threshold the government must meet to establish that a defendant committed a federal carjacking offense.

Under current law, the federal carjacking statute prohibits taking (or attempting to take) a motor vehicle from the presence of another by force and violence or intimidation, with the intent to cause death or serious bodily harm.

This bill removes the requirement that a defendant take (or attempt to take) a motor vehicle with the specific intent to cause death or serious bodily harm. Under the bill, the government need only prove that a defendant took (or attempted to take) a motor vehicle knowingly. A violation (or attempted violation) is subject to the same criminal penalties as under current law—a fine, a prison term of up to 15 years, or both.

A violation that results in death or serious bodily injury is subject to the same criminal penalties as under current law—a fine, a prison term of up to 25 years, or both—but only if the offense involves certain aggravating circumstances: (1) the motor vehicle is taken with the intent to cause death or serious bodily harm, or (2) a firearm is brandished or discharged during the offense.

Smarter Sentencing Act of 2026

This bill reduces statutory mandatory minimum penalties for certain drug offenses, requires reporting on the impact of cost savings from the reductions, and establishes a public database of federal criminal offenses.

First, the bill reduces statutory mandatory minimum penalties for two types of offenders: (1) individuals who manufacture, distribute, or possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance; and (2) couriers who import or export a controlled substance.

Second, the bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to report on how the reduced expenditures on federal corrections and cost savings from the reductions in mandatory minimum sentences help to reduce overcrowding in federal prisons, increase investment in law enforcement and crime prevention, and reduce recidivism.

Third, the bill requires DOJ and federal agencies to report on and create public databases of all criminal offenses—criminal statutory offenses and criminal regulatory offenses.

TAP Promotion Act

This bill requires that pre-separation counseling under the Transition Assistance Program include a presentation that promotes the benefits available to veterans from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The bill also requires the VA to annually report on the presentation to (1) identify veterans service organizations that participate, (2) provide the number of members of the Armed Forces who attend, and (3) provide any recommendations for changes to the presentation.

Home School Graduation Recognition Act

This bill clarifies that students who complete their secondary education in a home school setting recognized under state law are high school graduates for purposes of eligibility for federal student aid.

Pay Less at the Pump Act of 2026

This bill eliminates the excise tax on domestic crude oil and imported petroleum products (known as the petroleum Superfund tax rate) beginning on January 1, 2026. The bill also eliminates the authority for advances to the Hazardous Substance Superfund from the General Fund of the U.S. Treasury.

Under current law, the petroleum Superfund tax rate imposed is 27 cents per barrel (in 2026 and indexed annually for inflation). Amounts collected from this tax are deposited into the Hazardous Substance Superfund, which finances the remediation of certain environmentally contaminated sites.

Further, under current law, the authority for advances to be appropriated to the Hazardous Substance Superfund extends through 2032.

Pregnant Students' Rights Act

This bill requires each institution of higher education (IHE) that participates in federal student aid programs to provide certain information to prospective and enrolled students on the rights and resources for pregnant students to carry a baby to term or students who may become pregnant while enrolled at the IHE to carry a baby to term.

In particular, this required information must include

• a list of community and on-campus resources that exist to help a pregnant student in carrying the baby to term and caring for the baby after birth,

• information about the accommodations available to help a pregnant student carry the baby to term and parent the baby after birth, and

• information on how to file a discrimination complaint related to the student's determination to carry a baby to term.