US Senate

Sen Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act to clarify the legal definition of “obscenity” for all states, making the transmission of obscene content across state lines more easily prosecuted. Rep Mary Miller (R-IL) is the bill’s co-lead in the House of Representatives. The Interstate Obscenity Definition Act:

Sens Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) introduced the Lowering Broadband Costs for Consumers Act of 2025 to direct the Federal Communications Commission to require proper contributions to the Universal Service Fund from edge providers and broadband providers.

In a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Sen Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) asked him to expedite the review and release of updated guidance for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program and urged that West Virginia not have to redo significant portions of its application. "When the BEAD program review was initiated on March 5, my state was 6 weeks away from completing the arduous application process after so many steps including a completed fair project selection process.

Sen Deb Fischer (R-NE), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, reintroduced her Precision Ag Package—three pieces of legislation that will help America’s producers harness the full potential of precision agriculture. 

Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Mark Warner (D-VA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Peter Welch (D-VT), and John Barrasso (R-WY) led a bipartisan group of 60 senators in reintroducing the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act. The CONNECT for Health Act will expand coverage of telehealth services through Medicare, make COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities permanent, improve health outcomes, and make it easier for patients to connect with their doctors.

Sen John Thune (R-SD) led his colleagues in sending a letter to Howard Lutnick, secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, requesting the removal of extraneous regulations as Secretary Lutnick conducts his review of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, which is aimed at expanding internet access to Americans in rural areas and other unserved communities. The senators wrote, "We write to thank you for committing to a rigorous review of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.

Sen Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act of 2025, legislation which would prevent inmates from using contraband cellphones in prison facilities by allowing state and federal prisons to use cellphone jamming systems. Rep David Kustoff (R-TN-8) is leading companion legislation in the House. The bill would prevent the Federal Communications Commission from stopping the use of jamming equipment in state and federal prisons. 

Five US Senators wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi, raising concerns about reports that Elon Musk’s social media company “X” (formerly Twitter) is leveraging his influential position in the Trump Administration to extract revenue from advertisers. If Musk uses his government position to protect those who engage in business with him—or harm those who do not—then he risks running afoul of criminal ethics laws. The Department of Justice (DOJ) would be responsible for investigating a potential criminal violation of federal ethics laws.