The Leader’s Floor Lookout: Week of December 15, 2025
In 2010, Democrats implemented the Affordable Care Act – more accurately called the Unaffordable Care Act – with the promise that it would lower premiums and health care costs and allow people to keep their existing plans and doctors. Instead, it did the opposite. Since the Unaffordable Care Act took effect, premiums have increased for American workers and families by 80 percent.
To cover up for their failure and broken promises, Democrats send hundreds of billions of dollars to insurance companies to mask the high cost of the Unaffordable Care Act, keeping Americans trapped in a broken program. Democrats are focused on the 7 percent of Americans on Obamacare, while House Republicans are working to deliver better choices and premiums for ALL Americans.
This week, House Republicans are bringing forward legislation to reform the health care system Democrats broke by providing better choices for workers and families, boosting competition, and increasing transparency to lower health care costs for every American. Our legislation includes provisions to:
- Codify and expand Association Health Plans and CHOICE Arrangements, providing small businesses and employees more affordable health care options, and safeguard stop-loss insurance for small employers
- Allocate money for Cost-Sharing Reductions (CSRs) that lower premiums in the individual market by more than 12 percent
- Demand transparency from pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) with employers so small businesses can negotiate better deals and lower costs for workers
H.R. ___, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, sponsored by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, reforms our health care system by improving health care options, expanding choice for workers and families, lowering premiums for all Americans, and increasing transparency and competition in health care.
House Republicans will continue to fight to fix what Democrats broke and make health care more affordable and efficient for all Americans.
Streamlining Permitting to Boost Economic Development and Lower Energy Costs
The National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) is a federal law from 1969 that requires the assessment of potential environmental impacts before certain federal actions, including action on energy and infrastructure projects, can move forward. While originally intended to balance environmental concerns with economic development, the NEPA process has grown unreasonably and oppressively complex.
Drawn out NEPA review processes and constant legal battles significantly hinder critical energy production, infrastructure projects, forest management, and more across the country, stalling ready-to-go projects that could benefit Americans, create jobs, and lower costs.
By stalling energy production and projects, America’s permitting process is standing in the way of making sure Americans have access to reliable and affordable energy at a time when our energy demand is on the rise.
It is vital that we cut the burdensome bureaucracy and unnecessary litigation impeding energy infrastructure development and streamline permitting so America can get back to building, ensuring we have reliable access to the energy we need. Permitting reform presents a significant opportunity to foster economic growth, increased wages, and improved affordability for working families.
This week, House Republicans are bringing forward legislation that reforms NEPA to simplify and streamline the permitting process, shortening timelines for permitting approvals, preventing frivolous lawsuits, and restoring NEPA to its intended scope.
H.R. 4776, the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act, sponsored by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, reforms the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) to streamline the permitting process and agency procedures by restricting NEPA lawsuits to parties impacted by a project, putting in place reasonable filing deadlines, and restoring NEPA to its original purpose and scope.
House Republicans are working to lower energy costs and establish global energy dominance – will Democrats join us, or instead vote to bring America closer to an energy crisis?
Supporting Reliable Power for Americans
Reliable and adequate delivery of electric power – a crucial aspect of Americans’ daily life – depends on our electric power grid, which consists of a complex network of generators, transmission lines, and distribution centers, and other crucial infrastructure.
As demand for reliable electric power increases with the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), American manufacturing, and general electrification, we are also seeing premature retirements of dispatchable and baseload power plants due to overly burdensome regulations pushed by radical liberals, threatening our ability to reliably deliver power across the country.
Over the past several years, radical state and federal environmental policies have limited production and increased compliance costs of more traditional and dependable dispatchable generation resources like coal, natural gas, and nuclear, while favoring renewables like wind and solar. The problem? Wind and solar are intermittent resources and can’t reliably meet our increasing electricity demand.
At a time when we need to be expanding production and increasing development for more reliable baseload and dispatchable power, these onerous regulations continue to encourage accelerated retirements of power plants. It’s past time we stop burdensome red tape that threatens the security and reliability of our power system.
This week, House Republicans are bringing forward legislation that mandates that the North American Electric Reliability Corporation conduct annual assessments on electricity generation and grid reliability, and empowers the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to prevent any future rules that would hurt grid reliability
H.R. 3616, the Reliable Power Act, introduced by Rep. Troy Balderson, amends the Federal Power Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to assess regulations that may impact grid reliability before finalizing new rules.
House Republicans are continuing our work to keep the lights on for American workers and families, make energy affordable again, and protect our energy security.
Combatting Premature Retirements of Baseload Power Plants
Many baseload power plants are being forced to prematurely retire thanks to burdensome Democrat policies and state and federal regulations designed to replace baseload generation with intermittent wind and solar. Due to the growth of artificial intelligence data centers, domestic manufacturers, and general electrification, electricity demand is booming, placing strain on the American electric grid.
As these power plants close while power demands spike, America’s energy supply is left vulnerable, along with the millions of Americans who rely on it to keep their lights on. Additionally, the risk for rolling blackouts and brownouts increases.
Across the country, the states with the least affordable electricity are the same states with the most forceful “Green New Scam” standards. Unfortunately, as the grid spans across state lines, one state’s decision to prematurely close a power plant also impacts the reliability and affordability in neighboring states.
This week, House Republicans are bringing forward legislation that gives plants additional authority to contest their closure if it impacts the affected area’s ability to supply power and hurts electric reliability. Under Section 207 of the Federal Power Act, this important legislation would allow a Regional Transmission Organization or a state Public Utility Commission to request an order from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to remain open and allocate costs until a reliable fix is implemented.
Rep. Morgan Griffith’s legislation, H.R. 3632, the Power Plant Reliability Act, addresses the premature retirements of baseload power plants by allowing states and regional operators to contest proposed closures on power plants in neighboring states if the closure could impact electric reliability and affordability.
House Republicans will continue working to keep the lights on for American families by allowing FERC to mitigate plant retirements and keep our bulk power system strong.
Vetting Unaccompanied Migrant Children and their Sponsors to Keep Communities Safe
In 2022, 20-year-old Kayla Hamilton was tragically and brutally murdered by Walter Javier Martinez. Martinez, a 17-year-old illegal migrant, was in the U.S. as an Unaccompanied Alien Child (UAC) and was released to a sponsor by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) without any background checks being completed.
Because proper background checks did not occur prior to his release, it wasn’t until later that authorities discovered Martinez – who was from El Salvador – had a criminal history and was affiliated with the MS-13 gang. He even confessed to having committed four murders and two rapes, as well as other crimes. In April, Martinez was sentenced to 70 years in prison.
Under the Biden Administration, the number of UACs crossing the border and being released into the U.S. reached all time highs: around 465,000 UACs were released to sponsors during President Biden’s time in office. Due to the surge, the previous administration relaxed safety procedures and protections, such as background checks and file reviews for children and sponsors, prioritizing placing UACs quickly versus placing them safely.
The failure to properly screen UACs and their sponsors incentivizes increased illegal border crossings, results in the trafficking and exploitation of UACs, and threatens the safety of innocent Americans like Kayla Hamilton.
Walter Javier Martinez should have never been released into our country, and Kayla Hamilton should still be here today. House Republicans are bringing legislation to ensure thorough background checks are conducted on UACs and potential sponsors before their placement, keeping Americans safe from dangerous UACs and protecting UACs from exploitation.
Rep. Russell Fry’s legislation, H.R. 4371, the Kayla Hamilton Act, requires HHS contact the consulate or embassy of a UAC’s home country to ascertain criminal history or gang affiliation for UACs aged 12 or older, requires background checks on potential UAC sponsors and adult members of their household, instructs HHS to screen for gang tattoos and place UACs with gang tattoos or ties in secure facilities, and prevents UAC placement with sponsors who are illegal immigrants.
House Republicans are working to keep dangerous criminals out of our communities and ensure American families are safe.
Correcting the Rosemont Decision and Supporting Critical Mining Projects
In May 2022, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision repealing an approved plan for Rosemont Copper-Mine Project. This decision upended decades of precedent by prohibiting the long-standing practice of using adjacent lands for mining support activities like rock waste disposal or processing. This faulty decision is commonly referred to as the “Rosemont decision.”
This misguided and harmful decision threatens hardrock mining and critical mineral projects across Western states rich with minerals, such as Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, and Idaho, by forcing all ancillary mining operations to happen on mineral-rich lands.
These critical mineral projects are important to securing our manufacturing and energy futures, as well as decreasing our dependence on imports from foreign adversaries.
Now more than ever, we should be promoting mining operations and domestic energy production in states with rich mineral resources – not upending responsible mining projects and practices under the false guise of protecting the environment.
Rep. Mark Amodei’s legislation, H.R. 1366, the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act, undoes the damaging Rosemont decision, allows mining operations to continue as they have historically under the law, and protects the communities and jobs supported by this industry.
House Republicans will continue working to secure essential mineral supply chains and responsibly harvest our abundant natural resources.
Ending Taxpayer Funding for Transgender Surgeries for Children
In May 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report highlighting serious concerns about medical interventions to transition an individual away from their biological sex, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries, in children and adolescents. The HHS report highlighted significant and irreversible risks, such as infertility, that result from such interventions while noting weak evidence of benefit to the child.
These dangerous and irreversible medical interventions forever alter a person’s body and come with serious risks – and this is what far-left activists are pushing on our nation’s children.
This week, House Republicans are bringing legislation to protect children from irreversible, unproven, and life-altering procedures and treatments that are not medically necessary while also promoting fiscal responsibility.
Our legislation prohibits the use of Medicaid funding for gender transition procedures such as surgeries, hormone therapies, and puberty blockers intended to alter a minor’s biological sex while maintaining funding for medically necessary treatments for conditions including early puberty, genetic disorders, and life-threatening conditions.
Medicaid’s limited resources should not be used to permanently alter the body of a minor – these taxpayer dollars should only be used for scientifically-based and medically necessary care.
H.R. 498, the Do No Harm in Medicaid Act, sponsored by Rep. Dan Crenshaw, prevents federal Medicaid funding being used for gender transition procedures that are not medically necessary for individuals under 18 years old.
House Republicans are working to ensure hardworking Americans are not forced to pay for dangerous, irreversible gender transition procedures for minors.
Protecting America’s Children From Dangerous and Irreversible Gender Transition Treatments
In recent years, some U.S. medical institutions have begun pushing health care based in radical ideology when it comes to treating children.
Taking an “affirmation only” approach, these woke, so-called health care professions instruct doctors, parents, therapists and teachers to simply begin transitioning treatments like puberty-blockers, hormones, and more extreme procedures, instead of considering other potential contributing factors like mental health conditions.
The radical and politically-motivated “gender-affirming care” agenda can have devastating, irreversible effects on children, including infertility and mutilation from sex-change surgeries. It’s dangerous and ridiculous to allow a child who can’t vote or attend an R-rated movie to decide to permanently alter his or her body. House Republicans are bringing forward legislation to protect American children from dangerous gender transition treatments.
H.R. 3492, the Protect Children’s Innocence Act, sponsored by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, makes it a crime for doctors to perform genital or bodily mutilation or chemical castration sex-change procedures on minors.
House Republicans will always fight to protect our children from dangerous, politically-motived medical care that could harm them for life.
Delisting the Recovered Gray Wolf Species
Across the lower 48 states, the gray wolf species has clearly recovered from their once extremely endangered status. Recent scientific analysis has shown their population to be healthy and sustainable from a multitude of threats. As such, it is time for the species to be delisted and returned to state management.
In the Great Lakes region, which claims the largest concentration of gray wolves here in the lower 48 states, there are around 4,200 wolves, and the current population is well past delisting recovery goals. In fact, the delisting recovery goals for gray wolves “have been met since at least 1994,” according to Nathan Roberts, former wildlife biologist at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Furthermore, the Obama, Trump, and Biden Administrations all took actions to delist the gray wolf: In 2013, the Obama Administration proposed delisting the species; in 2020, the Trump Administration published a rule removing the gray wolf as a protected species that was later vacated by a U.S. District Court; and most recently, the Biden Administration appealed the vacated Trump 2020 rule.
While the last three presidential administrations agreed that it is time to delist the gray world, activist judges and radical environmentalists continue to block the removal of the gray wolf from the endangered species list. We should be focusing on allocating resources and taxpayer dollars to species that need to recover, not keeping an already recovered species on the list.
Additionally, allowing the recovered gray wolf population to continue to grow completely protected and unchecked poses an immediate threat to livestock, farmers, pet owners, residents, and more.
Rep. Lauren Boebert’s legislation, H.R. 845, the Pet & Livestock Protection Act, would require the Secretary of the Interior to reissue regulations delisting the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List in the lower 48 states and ensure this decision is not subject to judicial review.
House Republicans are standing with farmers, ranchers, and landowners and delisting gray wolves as an endangered species.
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