Energy

KIDS Act

Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act or the KIDS Act This bill requires specified online platforms to establish safeguards for minors. The safeguards include (1) limiting access to specified sexual material, (2) providing parental controls on social media and online video game platforms, and (3) requiring artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to disclose certain information to users who are minors. First, publicly available online platforms on which more than one-third of the content is considered sexual material harmful to minors under the bill must adopt technology to identify minors and prevent them from accessing such material. Next, social media platforms must (1) implement default settings for minors that limit compulsive usage features and the ability of other users to communicate with minors, and (2) provide tools for parents to manage the privacy and account settings of a minor. Social media platforms may not allow ephemeral messaging features for minors. The bill also requires online video game platforms to provide tools that allow parents to (1) limit communication between a minor and other users of the platform, and (2) restrict purchases by a minor on the platform. Further, providers of AI chatbots must disclose to users who are minors (1) that the chatbot is an AI system and not a human, and (2) suicide and crisis intervention hotline information. Finally, the bill requires specified studies and reports about the effects of social media platforms on minors and provides for enforcement of the bill's requirements by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general.

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Act

Held at the desk.

Wabeno Economic Development Act

Wabeno Economic Development Act This bill requires the Forest Service to convey approximately 14 acres of federal land, including the mineral rights, in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Wisconsin, to Tony's Wabeno Redi-Mix, LLC, upon receiving an offer to buy the land for market value. The Forest Service must complete an appraisal to determine the market value of the land, and the offer must be received within 180 days after federal approval of such appraisal. Tony's Wabeno Redi-Mix, LLC, must pay an amount equal to the market value of the land and all associated costs as a condition of conveyance. Additionally, the Department of the Interior must publish a comprehensive review of the federal permitting processes for the development of stone, sand, and gravel on federal lands.

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

Critical Minerals Security Act of 2025

Critical Minerals Security Act of 2025 This bill establishes requirements for the Department of the Interior related to securing U.S. access to critical minerals and rare earth element (REE) resources. Critical minerals mean any mineral, element, substance, or material designated as critical by the U.S. Geological Survey. REEs mean cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium, promethium, samarium, scandium, terbium, thulium, ytterbium, and yttrium. First, Interior must report on the critical mineral and REE resources, including recyclable or recycled materials containing those resources, around the world. Among other information, the report must include an assessment of the global ownership and supply of critical mineral and REE resources. Interior must submit the report within a year and every two years thereafter. Next, Interior must establish a process to assist a U.S. person—a U.S. citizen, a non-U.S. National (alien under federal law) lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or an entity organized under U.S. laws—seeking to divest stock in mining, processing, or recycling operations for critical minerals and REEs in a foreign country with finding a purchaser that is not under the control of North Korea, China, Russia, or Iran. Finally, Interior must develop (1) a strategy to collaborate with U.S. allies and partners to develop advanced mining, refining, separation, processing, and recycling technologies; and (2) a method for sharing related intellectual property with U.S. allies and partners to enable those countries to license those technologies and develop their resources.

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.

Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons Act

Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons Act This bill directs the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to study and report on Holocaust education efforts in states, local educational agencies (LEAs), and public elementary and secondary schools. Among other elements, the study must (1) determine whether states and LEAs require Holocaust education as part of the curriculum taught in public elementary and secondary schools, (2) identify the standards and requirements relating to Holocaust education, and (3) identify the types of instructional material used to teach students about the Holocaust.

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

Wildfire Prevention Act of 2025

This bill establishes forest management requirements for federal lands, particularly with respect to reducing wildfires. For example, the bill establishes annual goals to increase (1) the number of acres of Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land that are mechanically thinned (i.e., a management process related to the removal of trees and vegetation); and (2) the number of acres of Forest Service and BLM land treated by prescribed fire. By FY2029, the goals must be to increase the number of acres of each by at least 40% compared to the average number of acres of each in FY2019-FY2023. The bill also directs the Forest Service and the BLM to (1) implement standardized procedures for tracking data relating to hazardous fuels reduction activities they carry out, and (2) develop a strategy to identify opportunities to use livestock grazing as a wildfire risk reduction tool on federal land. Additionally, the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior must establish a deployment and test bed pilot program for wildfire prevention, detection, communication, and mitigation technologies. The bill mandates use of existing authorities for expedited environmental review for certain forest land at high risk from wildfire, insects, or disease. Finally, the bill provides local governments and Indian tribes the right to intervene in lawsuits concerning certain projects on federal land that (1) reduce risks posed by wildfire, insects, or disease; or (2) generate revenue from harvesting timber.

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.

BADGES for Native Communities Act

Bridging Agency Data Gaps and Ensuring Safety for Native Communities Act or the BADGES for Native Communities Act This bill revises federal policies and procedures related to information sharing, reporting, and investigating cases of missing, unidentified, or murdered Indians. Among other elements, the bill requires the Department of Justice to (1) establish a grant program for specified entities (e.g., tribes) to implement changes to enhance their responses to missing person cases and death investigations of interest to tribes, and (2) work with the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that federal training resources and culturally appropriate mental health and wellness programs are available to tribal and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement officers. The Department of the Interior must establish a five-year demonstration program for the purpose of conducting or adjudicating personnel background investigations for applicants for law enforcement positions in the BIA. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct specified studies, including a study on the evidence collection, handling, response times, and processing procedures and practices of federal law enforcement agencies.

Subcommittee Hearings Held

A bill to redesignate the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming, as the "Barbara L. Cubin National Historic Trails Interpretive Center".

This bill renames the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center located in Casper, Wyoming, as the Barbara L. Cubin National Historic Trails Interpretive Center.

Held at the desk.