Chuck Edwards

This resolution honors the veterans who gave their lives in service to the country and recognizes the families and loved ones of such veterans. Additionally, the resolution requests that the President issue an annual proclamation designating Fallen Heroes Memorial Month.

This resolution censures Representative Al Green.

This resolution expresses condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims of the crash of American Eagle Flight 5342 and the U.S. Army helicopter flying under the call sign PAT 25 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025. The resolution also commends the heroic actions of the first responders, emergency services personnel, and all those who aided in the recovery efforts.

**Preventing Aliens Through Rivers or Land Act or the PATROL Act** This bill prohibits the Department of Justice (DOJ) from bringing certain civil actions against a state for building a physical structure impacting navigable waters along the U.S. border for security purposes. Specifically, the DOJ is prohibited from bringing an action for (1) the construction of a bridge, causeway, dam, dike, or other structure over or in a port, harbor, or other navigable water of the United States without federal approval; or (2) the creation of any obstruction to the navigable capacity of waters of the United States without federal approval.

**Cost Estimates Improvement Act** This bill requires cost estimates prepared by the Congressional Budget Office or the Joint Committee on Taxation to include the costs of servicing the public debt.

**No User Fees for Gun Owners Act** This bill prohibits a state or local government from imposing any insurance requirement, tax, user fee, or similar charge on the manufacture, import, acquisition, transfer, or continued ownership of a firearm or ammunition. The bill includes an exception for a generally applicable sales tax that is assessed against firearms or ammunition in the same proportion to which the tax applies to other goods or services.

**Lower Grocery Prices Act** This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to submit a report to Congress on changes in the Consumer Price Index for food at home over the past 20 years. The report must also include recommendations to help lower food at home costs for U.S. consumers.

**Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act or the A PLUS Act**  This bill creates a framework under which states may receive federal elementary and secondary education funds on a consolidated basis and use such funds for any educational purpose permitted by state law.

**Restoring Access to Mountain Homes Act** This bill authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide Public Assistance (PA) grant funding, under certain conditions, to reimburse government entities covered under the major disaster declaration for North Carolina relating to Tropical Storm Helene for the costs of repairing, replacing, or restoring private roads and bridges damaged by Helene. Under current law, the PA program provides grants for repairing disaster damage to infrastructure owned or legally maintained by government entities (or certain nonprofits). The bill authorizes PA funding for permanent repair work on privately owned and maintained roads and bridges significantly damaged by Helene in North Carolina, as costs incurred by state, tribal, or local governments for such work are eligible for reimbursement. Also, under current law, the costs of repairing damage that existed before the disaster are generally ineligible for PA. The bill makes the repair, replacement, or restoration costs eligible for reimbursement under PA regardless of pre-existing condition. Additionally, the bill contains criteria and conditions for reimbursement, including that to be eligible a road or bridge must be used as the sole means of accessing primary residences or essential community services. Reimbursement is under PA’s alternative procedures, and the bill requires FEMA to determine eligible costs based on estimates prepared by engineers. Recipients of funds from FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program (IHP) before the bill’s enactment may use IHP funds for repairs eligible under the bill without those costs counting against their maximum amount of IHP assistance.

**Stop Illegal Reentry Act** This bill increases criminal penalties for certain non-U.S. nationals (*aliens* under federal law) who illegally reenter the United States after removal or exclusion. Generally, an individual who had been denied entry into or removed from the United States and who later enters or attempts to enter the United States without prior approval from the Department of Homeland Security shall be fined, imprisoned for up to five years, or both. Current law requires a fine, imprisonment for up to two years, or both, for such an individual. An individual who had been denied entry or removed three or more times and who later enters or attempts to enter the United States shall be fined, imprisoned for up to 10 years, or both. An individual who was convicted of an aggravated felony or convicted at least two times before removal or departure and who subsequently enters or tries to enter the United States shall be imprisoned at least 5 years and for up to 20 years and may also be fined. Currently, there is no minimum term of imprisonment for an individual who reenters after a conviction for an aggravated felony, and there are no criminal penalties for a reentering individual who had been convicted at least two times (other than the penalties for illegal reentry generally).