No Subsidies for Wealthy Universities ActThis bill limits the indirect costs that are allowable under federal research awards to institutions of higher education (IHEs) with endowments above specified thresholds. (Generally, indirect costs represent expenses that are not specific to a research project but are needed to maintain the infrastructure and administrative support for federally funded research.)Specifically, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) must annually collect information regarding the endowments of each IHE that has entered into a program participation agreement with the Department of Education.With this collected information, NCES must identify and make lists of (1) each IHE with an endowment of more than $5 billion, and (2) each IHE with an endowment of more than $2 billion (but not more than $5 billion). NCES must submit these lists to the Office of Management and Budget, which must then distribute the lists to federal agencies, Congress, and the public.The bill establishes the following limits on the indirect costs allowable under federal research awards:for an IHE with an endowment of more than $5 billion, the IHE is prohibited from using these awards for indirect costs;for an IHE with an endowment of more than $2 billion (but not more than $5 billion), the IHE is limited to an indirect cost rate of 8%; andfor all other IHEs, an indirect cost rate of 15%.The Government Accountability Office must annually report to Congress on indirect cost reimbursement on federal research awards for IHEs.
Endowment Tax Fairness ActThis bill increases the excise tax on the net investment income of certain private university and college endowments. Under current law, certain private universities and colleges with 500 or more tuition-paying students (of which more than 50% are located in the United States) and endowments that are at least $500,000 per student pay an excise tax in the amount of 1.4% on the net investment income from such endowments.The bill increases the amount of the excise tax to 21% of the net investment income from such university and college endowments. Further, the bill provides that amounts collected from the increase to the excise tax on the net investment income from such university and college endowments are (1) to be deposited into the general fund of the Treasury; and (2) used to reduce the national deficit and, subsequently, the national debt.
Surveilling Effluent Water for Epidemic Response Act or the SEWER ActThis bill provides statutory authority for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) program, which detects and monitors pathogens in wastewater. It requires the CDC to expand and intensify the activities of the NWSS, including with respect to SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), influenza, mpox, dengue, West Nile virus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The NWSS provides funding and guidance to public health departments for wastewater surveillance activities. Under the NWSS, health departments and other partners coordinate on wastewater surveillance at sampling sites and share data with the CDC. The NWSS was initially implemented to monitor SARS-CoV-2 and has since expanded to include influenza A, avian influenza A, mpox, and RSV.
To exempt certain forest management activities in Yosemite National Park from requirements of section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and for other purposes.
Drain the Intelligence Community Swamp Act of 2025This bill revokes the security clearances of 51 individuals who signed a statement titled Public Statement on the Hunter Biden Emails and dated October 19, 2020. It also (1) specifies that a security clearance may not be granted or renewed for any of them, and (2) requires the Departments of Defense and Justice to investigate these individuals.
Protecting Agricultural Spaces Through Effective Ranching Strategies Act or the PASTURES ActThis bill prohibits the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior from imposing penalties on livestock owners for grazing on certain public lands. Under the bill, covered lands are National Forest System lands, lands administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or public lands (1) on which grazing is allowed by a permit or lease on or after the date of the bill's enactment and is then subsequently prohibited, and (2) that border private property.Specifically, the departments may not impose a penalty on an owner of livestock (including cattle, bison, horses, sheep, and goats) for grazing on covered lands that do not have a fence to prevent grazing.The bill specifies that USDA or Interior, depending on the covered land, is responsible for any expense related to the construction or maintenance of a fence for the prevention of grazing by livestock.
Increasing Public Access to Recreation ActThis bill increases the amount made available from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for recreational public access projects on federal land.
Armed Forces Endangered Species Exemption ActThis bill establishes exemptions from the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) for defense-related operations.First, the bill prohibits the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) from designating military installations or state-owned National Guard installations as critical habitat under the ESA. It also prohibits FWS and NMFS from designating other lands, waters, or geographical areas as critical habitats if the Department of Defense (DOD) determines that the areas are necessary for military training, weapons testing, or other reasons. While DOD must submit such determinations in writing to the FWS, DOD is not required to consult with the FWS under the ESA about such determinations. Next, the bill exempts military personnel engaged in national defense-related operations (actions or duties that DOD deems necessary to support its mission) from ESA prohibitions on (1) taking (e.g., harming or killing) of endangered species or threatened species; (2) importing or exporting such species; and (3) damaging, destroying, removing, cutting, or digging up such species. Further, the bill exempts any injury to or mortality of a threatened or endangered species that results from, but is not the purpose of, a national defense-related operation.The term military personnel means a member of the Armed Forces as well as a civilian employee or contractor of (1) DOD; or (2) any other federal agency, or any provisional authority, to the extent such employment relates to supporting the mission of DOD overseas.
Federal Employee Return to Work ActThis bill prohibits providing certain annual or locality-based pay increases to teleworking federal employees.Currently, federal law mandates annual adjustments to General Schedule (GS) pay rates according to (1) a formula based on the annual percentage change in the Employment Cost Index (a measure of labor costs in the private sector); and (2) the difference between public and private sector pay rates in an employee's locality, if that difference exceeds 5%. For example, in 2025, the default annual rate of pay for a GS-7 (step 1) employee is $49,960; the adjusted annual rate of pay for a GS-7 (step 1) employee in the locality pay area that includes Washington, DC, is $57,164. The bill makes executive agency employees who telework at least one day each week (or, in the case of an alternative work schedule, 20% or more each week) ineligible for these payments.The bill is effective on the first day of the fiscal year beginning after the bill's enactment.
Setting Manageable Analysis Requirements in Text Act of 2025 or the SMART Act of 2025This bill requires agencies, when publishing a proposed or final major rule, to include a framework for assessing whether the rule achieves its regulatory objective. An agency must assess a rule in the time frame included in the framework. The assessment must compare the rule's anticipated and actual benefits and costs.Additionally, the assessment must determine whether (1) the rule has been rendered unnecessary because of changes to the subject area affected by the rule or it overlaps with, duplicates, or conflicts with other rules, or state and local government regulations; (2) the rule should be expanded, streamlined, or otherwise modified to accomplish the rule's objective; and (3) other alternatives or modifications to the rule could better achieve the rule's objective. The bill defines a major rule as a rule likely to cause (1) an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; (2) a major increase in costs or prices; or (3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, health, safety, the environment, or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises.