WASHINGTON – Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) today introduced the Jobs and Opportunities for Medicaid Act. The bill would require able-bodied adults without dependents who receive Medicaid benefits to work or volunteer for at least 20 hours per week. This change could save taxpayers more than $100 billion over 10 years.

“Medicaid doesn’t work the way it should. Able-bodied adults without dependents are better off with jobs than with hand-outs, and so are their communities and American taxpayers. My Jobs and Opportunities for Medicaid Act would help pave a path out of poverty for millions of Americans,” said Kennedy.

“By incorporating work requirements for able-bodied adults, Medicaid can serve as a bridge to self-sufficiency, fostering pathways to employment, job training, and community engagement. This not only helps recipients gain financial independence but also preserves resources for the most vulnerable populations, including children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities,” said Schmitt.

“The goal of this bill is straightforward: if you’re a healthy adult on Medicaid, we want to make sure you have every opportunity to find employment that leads to better health coverage. Welfare programs shouldn’t incentivize people against working. This is about empowering Americans—helping them become independent, thrive in the workforce, and reach their highest potential,” said Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), who introduced the bill in the House of Representatives.

Background:

• As the United States has seen a decrease in the labor force participation rate since 2000, the number of able-bodied adults enrolled in Medicaid has rapidly grown. Per a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate, approximately 15 million Medicaid recipients would be subject to work requirements under a similar policy.

• The CBO estimates that Medicaid work requirements would save $109 billion over 10 years.

• A 2023 Axios-Ipsos survey revealed that 63% of Americans, including 49% of Democrats, supported work requirements for Medicaid and Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits. 

• Kennedy also penned this op-ed in the National Review explaining the need for Medicaid work requirements.

The full bill text is available here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, joined Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) in reintroducing the Fair Access to Banking Act to prevent banks from denying services to law-abiding businesses for political purposes.  

“Banks shouldn’t stop customers from accessing accounts or services based on political affiliation or industry. I’m proud to help introduce the Fair Access to Banking Act to make sure financial institutions aren’t working as political activists against law-abiding Americans,” said Kennedy.

“When progressives failed at banning these entire industries, what they did instead is they turned to weaponizing banks as sort of a backdoor to carry out their activist goals. Financial institutions are backed by taxpayers, for crying out loud! They should be obligated to provide services in an unbiased, risk-based manner. The Fair Access to Banking Act ensures that banks provide fair access to services and enacts strict penalties for categorically discriminating against legal industries and individuals,” said Cramer.

In 2021, the Trump administration finalized its Fair Access Rule to require banks to make individual risk assessments and stop broad discrimination against customers. However, the Biden administration paused the rule’s implementation. 

The Fair Access to Banking Act would penalize banks and credit unions with more than $10 billion in assets for refusing services to law-abiding companies or people. The bill also requires banks to give a written explanation for denying services to a customer.

Background:

• The Fair Access to Banking Act would protect Americans in the wake of major banks’ move to discriminate against legal businesses. Some of the largest U.S. banks have blocked businesses and consumers from accessing financial services based on political ideology.

• In 2020, five of the country’s largest banks announced they will not provide loans or credit to support oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge even though Congress explicitly authorized it.

• In 2021, JPMorgan Chase declared it would refuse financial services to coal producers. Bank of America also began a politically motivated effort to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from its financing activities by 2050, an effort directly targeting producers of reliable American energy. Earlier this year, however, Bank of America quietly withdrew from a climate alliance seeking net-zero emissions.

• Payment services like Apple Pay and PayPal have denied their services for transactions involving firearms or ammunition.

Sens. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), John Curtis (R-Utah), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) also cosponsored the bill. 

The full bill text is available here.

View Kennedy’s full remarks here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today introduced the Fairness in Fentanyl Sentencing Act of 2025. The bill would lower the threshold required for mandatory minimum sentencing for fentanyl possession to better reflect the drug’s deadliness.

“The sentencing rules for fentanyl don’t reflect the drug’s extreme deadliness. My bill would stop treating the ghouls who deal fentanyl with kid gloves and start using fair and realistic sentencing rules,” said Kennedy.

Currently, it would take 400 grams of fentanyl—enough to kill roughly 200,000 people—to trigger a 10-year mandatory minimum prison sentence. This is inconsistent with fentanyl’s capacity to end lives. 

In addition to lowering these thresholds for sentencing fentanyl dealers, the bill would improve the U.S. Postal Service’s ability to screen and intercept fentanyl and other substances imported into the U.S.

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) cosponsored the bill.

“Current federal mandatory minimums are drastically out of step with the deadly threat fentanyl poses to American lives. Fentanyl-related overdoses kill 70,000 Americans each year and cause a new 9/11 every two weeks. We know that even a minuscule amount of fentanyl can be lethal. It’s time the federal code treats fentanyl for what it is: a weapon of mass destruction,” said Graham.

“The time is now to stop fentanyl from flowing freely into America and ravaging families and communities around the country. With Senator Kennedy’s and my Fairness in Fentanyl Sentencing Act, we are ensuring that the federal sentencing regime for this deadly substance is better aligned with the threat it poses to the public. It also requires the U.S. Postal Service to increase its chemical screening and dedicate more personnel to interdicting fentanyl. Congress has a duty to act in order to prevent American families from experiencing the deadly destruction of fentanyl firsthand,” said Britt. 

Background: 

• Fentanyl is the leading cause of death among Americans ages 18-45.

• In fiscal year 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 21,889 pounds of fentanyl, enough to kill more than 4.9 billion people (assuming a lethal dose of two milligrams)—or enough to wipe out the entire U.S. population more than 14 times over.

• Kennedy first introduced the Fairness in Fentanyl Sentencing Act in March 2023. Senate Democrats blockedthe bill in May 2023. 

• Also in May 2023, Kennedy penned this op-ed in the Lafayette Daily Advertiser on the importance of Congress’s acting to combat fentanyl trafficking, including by passing his Fairness in Fentanyl Sentencing Act.

• In Jan. 2025, Kennedy backed the HALT Fentanyl Act, which would permanently list fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I substances under the Controlled Substances Act. 

• In a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, Kennedy highlighted how the Fairness in Fentanyl Sentencing Act would punish fentanyl dealers more appropriately and thus save American lives.

The full bill text is available here.

WASHINGTON – Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, today led 14 colleagues in introducing the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act. The bill would prevent veterans from losing their Second Amendment right to purchase or own firearms when they receive help managing their Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits.

“Our veterans should not receive less due process rights than other Americans just because they served our country and asked the federal government for a helping hand. Under the VA’s interpretation of the law, however, unelected bureaucrats punish Louisiana and America’s veterans by forcing them to choose between their Second Amendment rights and getting the help they need as they manage their financial affairs. I’m proud to introduce the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act to stand up for veterans’ constitutional rights by ending this unfair practice,” said Kennedy.

"Veterans should never be forced to choose between receiving assistance from VA to manage their benefits and their fundamental Second Amendment rights. Our nation should be encouraging veterans to utilize VA services, not discouraging them by denying them due process. The Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act makes certain that the rights of those who have served are protected, and that veterans are not penalized for receiving support that they have earned and deserve. I thank Sen. Kennedy for his partnership in this effort,” said Moran. 

Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, introduced the bill in the House of Representatives.

“It should go without saying that veterans should not be treated like second-class citizens simply because they need help managing their books—but under current law they are. Without a permanent fix in place, VA bureaucrats can continue to strip veterans with fiduciaries of their Second Amendment right with no court ruling in place that they are a danger to themselves or others. It’s as simple as that. I have heard from too many veterans that VA’s current NICS reporting measures prevent them from seeking mental health care at VA—we must change that. I want to thank Chairman Moran, Senator Kennedy, and my House colleagues for working with me last Congress to pass a temporary solution, but veterans need a permanent fix. House and Senate Republicans will fulfill the American people’s mandate to get this bill to President Trump’s desk to protect veterans’ due process and constitutional rights for good,” said Bost. 

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Mike Rounds (S.D.), Kevin Cramer (N.D.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) cosponsored the legislation.

“I take the constitutional right to bear arms very seriously. Our bill would preserve due process for veterans and put a stop to unelected bureaucrats unjustifiably stripping away the Second Amendment rights of those who’ve served,” said Grassley.

“Veterans must not be required to forfeit the Second Amendment without a careful, constitutional process. Attempting to deprive former servicemembers of firearms for protection or recreation simply because they require assistance managing the benefits they have earned is bureaucracy at its worst. Our legislation would correct this injustice and preserve these law-abiding patriots’ rights,” said Boozman.

“The veterans who served our country shouldn’t lose their 2nd Amendment rights just because they need financial help,” said Cassidy.

“Veterans who have served our country deserve the same Second Amendment rights and protections as every other American. This commonsense legislation ensures that veterans aren’t punished simply because they need assistance managing their benefits and guarantees they are not denied their constitutional rights without due process,” said Tillis. 

“Our veterans have sacrificed so much to defend this great country, and it is critical their God-given right to protect themselves and their families doesn’t rest on judgement of unelected bureaucrats. It takes a lot of courage and humility for our brave veterans to admit that they need help managing their financial benefits. But it shouldn’t place their constitutional freedoms in jeopardy. This bill ends the ability of government workers to take away the Second Amendment freedoms of our veterans when they ask for help with their money unless a judge finds them to be a danger to himself or others. I stand with our veterans and will continue to fight to preserve the freedoms they fought for on the battlefield,” said Tuberville.

“I’m proud to stand with our veterans to ensure equal protection of their rights with the Second Amendment Protection Act. Our veterans have fought to protect our nation and defend our rights, and they deserve to be treated fairly with the same due process under the law,” said Scott.

Because of the VA’s interpretation of current law, the VA sends a beneficiary’s name to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) whenever a fiduciary is appointed to help a beneficiary manage his or her VA benefit payments.

Ultimately, VA employees decide whether veterans receive help from a fiduciary.

The bill would prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from transmitting a veteran’s personal information to NICS unless a relevant judicial authority rules that the beneficiary is a danger to himself or others.

Vietnam Veterans of America, National Association of County Veterans Service Officers, Veterans of Foreign Wars, The American Legion, Black Veterans Empowerment Council, Military Order of the Purple Heart, National Shooting Sports Foundation, National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, AMAC Action, Turning Point Action, Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, National Disability Rights Network and the National Association for Gun Rights support the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act.

Background:

• In the 116th Congress, Kennedy introduced the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act. 

• In the 118th Congress, Kennedy and Moran re-introduced the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act with six co-sponsors. 

• In Oct. 2023, the Senate passed Kennedy and Moran’s amendment to the Consolidated Appropriations Act based on the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act. The same language passed into law as part of an appropriations package in March 2024.

• The language included in the appropriations package only provided a temporary solution tied to appropriations. The Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act would make the fix permanent and prevent future VA administrations from undoing the work to restore veterans’ due process and Second Amendment rights. 

The bill text is available here.