Ad astra per aspera
To the stars through difficulties
34th state to join the Union on January 29, 1861
Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act
The bill helps restore accurate identification and commemoration of Jewish servicemembers—providing targeted funding and outreach to notify families and correct records—at the cost of modest federal spending, potential family distress, and limits on contractor types and contract continuity.
Recreational Drone Empowerment Act
The bill clarifies and modernizes recreational drone authorities and makes future safety updates easier, but ambiguous wording or stricter interpretation could create short-term confusion and impose new costs or limits on hobbyists and small businesses.
Honoring the life of Hays, Kansas police sergeant Scott Heimann.
This resolution offers symbolic federal recognition and community consolation for Sergeant Heimann's service and local contributions without creating substantive policy changes or costs.
Honoring the life of Kansas City, Kansas police officer Hunter Simoncic.
This resolution publicly honors Officer Simoncic and highlights volunteerism, providing symbolic comfort and community recognition but no material benefits, services, or policy changes for survivors or law enforcement.
Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025
The bill expands acceptable milk and fortified nondairy options and strengthens allergy-safety training in schools—improving access and safety for many students—while creating modest new costs, administrative requirements, and a possible increase in saturated-fat availability.
Caring for Veterans and Strengthening National Security Act
The bill expands VA telehealth and mail-order pharmacy access for veterans in the Freely Associated States and delays a pension payment deadline to avoid an abrupt change, improving access and administrative clarity but increasing VA/taxpayer costs and creating short-term implementation and reporting burdens, while some veterans may still be excluded by existing agreements.
Fiscal Year 2025 Veterans Affairs Major Medical Facility Authorization Act
The bill directs $1.7627 billion to expand and modernize a major VA medical facility in St. Louis—improving veteran care capacity and creating local jobs—at the cost of a large federal outlay that could increase deficits, carry risks of overruns or delays, and concentrate capital away from other VA needs.
ARCA Act of 2025
The bill centralizes and professionalizes VA acquisition—aiming to reduce cost overruns, improve reliability, and increase transparency—but does so at the cost of near‑term disruption, higher administrative expenses, potential reduced local responsiveness, risks to small contractors, and (via a separate repeal) possible loss of some veteran‑targeted statutory benefits.
Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2025
The bill preserves and increases veterans' VA benefits and aligns VA announcement timing with Social Security—boosting purchasing power and transparency—at the cost of modestly higher federal spending and potential administrative and timing strains for the VA.
Retire through Ownership Act
The bill increases predictability for ESOP fiduciaries and plan sponsors by endorsing a specific IRS valuation approach and limiting agency expansion, but it risks higher valuations, reduced appraisal scrutiny, and potential mispricing that could raise costs for buyers and plan participants.
