Friends,
This past week saw progress on several legislative efforts that have been months in the making. Some cleared the House of Representatives and will now be considered by the Senate, while three bills I’ve been working on won final approval in both houses and were signed into law by President Trump.
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On Wednesday, the Senate passed the House-amended National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (NDAA) (S. 1071) on a bipartisan vote of 77-20. The bill then made its way to the White House where President Trump signed the bill on Thursday evening. As I have long said, our Armed Forces must remain the most capable and lethal military force in the world. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I am pleased to have contributed to that effort – for Kansans and for our nation.
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The NDAA also included bills I cosponsored that will improve public safety, which are:
- Protect Our Children Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R. 1274) reauthorizes and strengthens the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program. This legislation authorizes increased funding for ICACs, updates the national strategy to prevent child exploitation, and strengthens ICAC task forces.
- Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act of 2025 (H.R. 1236) expands the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits program to include retired officers who are killed or permanently disabled in targeted attacks due to their prior service.
- Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act (H.R. 1269) ensures the death or permanent disability of a public safety officer due to an exposure-related cancer is presumed a personal injury sustained in the line of duty under the Public Service Officer Benefits program when certain conditions are met. I heard from several constituents how important this legislation is to Kansas firefighters; I appreciated that input and was happy to support it.
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On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee debated and voted on several bills. I am a cosponsor of the Medal of Sacrifice Act (H.R. 3497) introduced by Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), which would establish a formal recognition by the President of the United States for law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. I consulted with our Kansas officials who operate the Kansas Law Enforcement Memorial in Topeka, and with their input, offered an amendment to the bill that will make it work better in practice. During debate, I told the Judiciary Committee about the four Kansas officers killed in the line of duty this year.
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Rep. Derek Schmidt (KS-2) during consideration of the Medal of Sacrifice Act (H.R. 3497) in the House Judiciary Committee. Click here to watch full remarks.
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Throughout the week, the House debated and passed legislation to address border security, rising healthcare costs, and rising energy costs. I supported the following:
- Kayla Hamilton Act (H.R. 4371) would ensure the federal government conducts a proper review of unaccompanied migrant children entering our country.
- Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act (H.R. 6703) would lower insurance premium costs by at least 11% through cost-sharing reduction payments that would stabilize the insurance individual market.
- SPEED Act (H.R. 4776) would amend the National Environment Policy Act of 1969 to streamline the environmental review process.
- Reliable Power Act (H.R. 3616) would ensure future federal regulations that impact power generation will not harm electric reliability.
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