Viral List of Proposed Legislation Is Actually From 2017

A March 2017 PolitiFact fact check article noted that while the list was based on authentic legislative proposals introduced, some of the descriptions are “overly broad or misleading.” Here’s a breakdown of the bills in the list.

In February 2017, now-former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida introduced H.R. 861, “to terminate the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA.]”

The bill never made it out of committee. Its last action was a referral to the House Subcommittee on the Environment on April 25, 2017, where it then stood idle for more than a year. The bill expired on January 3, 2019, when the 115th Congress ended.

No bill proposing the EPA’s elimination has been introduced so far into this current congressional term, which began on January 3, 2025. Gaetz himself resigned from Congress in November 2024 after Trump nominated him to serve as attorney general, though he withdrew himself from consideration later that month. 

There is an H.R. 861 in the 119th Congress, but it has no connection to the EPA. That bill, the “American Music Fairness Act of 2025,” seeks “to provide fair treatment of radio stations and artists for the use of sound recordings” by requiring AM/FM broadcasters to pay a royalty to the copyright owner of those sound recordings.

Former GOP Rep. Steve King of Iowa introduced H.R. 610 on January 23, 2017, the “Choices in Education Act of 2017,” that would establish an “education voucher system.” The bill also died at the end of the 115th Congress—its last action was a referral to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce the same day it was introduced. (King lost his  2020 primary race to current-GOP Rep. Randy Feenstra.)

A slightly different education voucher system has been proposed in the 119th Congress, which GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana introduced to the Senate on January 29 and, two days later, GOP Rep. Adrian Smith of Nebraska introduced in the House. That bill, S. 92 in the Senate and H.R. 833 in the House—titled the “Educational Choice for Children Act”—would create tax credits from donations made to nonprofit groups awarding scholarships and vouchers for K-12 students. The bill would provide $10 billion annually in tax credits for student scholarships and vouchers. This differs from King’s bill, which proposed having the federal government distribute educational “block grants” to states, conditional upon each state meeting “education voucher program requirements.” Cassidy’s bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance the same day it was introduced and has yet to move forward through committee. Likewise, Smith’s bill was also referred to both the House Committee on Ways and Means and the House Committee on Education and Workforce and has yet to advance. 

In each of the last five congressional terms, GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky has introduced a bill to eliminate the Department of Education, H.R. 899. He most recently introduced the bill on January 31, which was referred to committee later that same day. 

Massie first introduced his bill proposing the Education Department’s elimination in February 2017, where it was also referred to committee later that same day—its last action of that 115th Congress. Massie again introduced the bill in January 2019 and February 2021, but both attempts failed to make it out of committee. 

In August 2016, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under former President Barack Obama introduced new federal regulations on national wildlife refuges in Alaska. Refuges are under the jurisdiction of their respective states, but federal law gives the FWS—an agency within the Department of the Interior—the authority to ensure refuges are preserved over time. “All activities on those acres are reviewed for compatibility with this statutory purpose,” the agency states on its website. H.J.R. 69, a bill that then-GOP Rep. Don Young introduced in February 2017, repealed those regulations. (Young died in March 2022 at age 88.) 

The FWS justified its regulations by blaming Alaska for “allowing activities on refuges in Alaska that are inconsistent with the conservation of fish and wildlife populations and their habitats in their natural diversity,” such as predator control, the practice of decreasing predator populations to protect certain prey species. Alaska had the authority to enact predator control policies, which the FWS said was “in direct conflict” with its mandate to ensure “natural diversity.” Young, wanting to return that authority to the state of Alaska, introduced legislation to repeal the FWS regulations. 

Describing the bill as “repealing [a] rule protecting wildlife,” as the newly circulating social media posts does, leaves out context. The FWS argued its rule protected wildlife by restricting predator control, thereby protecting those wildlife predators. However, opponents of the rule contended that restricting predator control would bring less protection for certain wildlife species of prey. 

Nine days after the bill was introduced, it passed the House in a 225-193 vote almost entirely along party lines, with 10 GOP House members voting against and five Democratic members voting in favor. The Senate then passed the bill in March in a 52-47 vote, completely along partisan divides, and was signed into law by President Trump on April 3, 2017. 

A different H.J.R. 69 bill has been introduced in the current Congress, but it seeks to block the sale of military weapons to Israel. Introduced on March 3 by Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, the bill has not seen any action since it was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. 

On January 7, 2017, GOP Rep. Bill Flores of Texas introduced H.R. 370 to repeal the Affordable Care Act—commonly known as “Obamacare”—effective January 1, 2020. Flores’ legislation was referred to several House committees, but no action was taken on it after February 2017. 

However, similar bills introduced by Flores’ Republican colleagues that same term garnered more support. In March 2017, GOP Rep. Diane Black of Tennessee introduced the American Health Care Act to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. It passed the House later that May in a 217-213 vote, with all Democrats opposing and all but 20 GOP members voting in favor. However, the Senate voted it down in a 51-49 vote, with three Senate Republicans voting against it. 

The H.R. 370 introduced in the 119th Congress has nothing to do with health care policy. That new bill, introduced by Republican Rep. David Rouzer of North Carolina and titled the “Voluntary School Prayer Protection Act of 2025,” would bar all federal funding to “any State or local educational agency that denies or prevents participation in constitutionally protected prayer in schools, and for other purposes.” It was referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce on January 13 and has remained motionless since. 

Before she introduced the American Health Care Act, Black introduced H.R. 354 in January 2017 to prohibit federal funding to Planned Parenthood for a one-year period, while also directing federal dollars to “community health centers.” It was first referred to the House Committee on Energy and Finance, then, more than two weeks later, referred to the House Subcommittee on Health, where it then lingered until the term’s end. 

Bills to defend Planned Parenthood have been introduced this term in both the House and Senate. On January 9, Republican Rep. Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota introduced a bill to defund Planned Parenthood, and GOP Sen. Rand Paul introduced similar legislation in the Senate later that month, referred to the House Committee on Energy and Finance and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, respectively. 

Legislation to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving federal taxpayer dollars has been introduced in each recent congressional term, though none has garnered serious consideration. In 2015, two years before Black proposed a one-year moratorium on federal funding to Planned Parenthood, she proposed the “Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015.” While it passed the House in a 241-187 vote in September 2015, it was not voted on in the Senate and died at the end of that term. 

At the start of the 116th Congress in January 2019, then-GOP Rep. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri introduced the “Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2019,” identical to Black’s bill introduced four years prior. That bill, too, stalled in House committees. Hartzler tried again that next term by introducing the same bill, verbatim, in January 2021, which also stalled in committee. In 2023, GOP Reps. Fischbach and Lauren Boebert of Colorado introduced separate pieces of legislation to defund Planned Parenthood, again identical to each other and earlier bills proposed by Black and Hartzler, though without greater success, with both stalling out in committee.

This January, Fischbach alone introduced the “Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2025” in H.R. 271, referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce the day it was introduced. In the Senate, Paul has also introduced legislation to defund Planned Parenthood in 2025, referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

There has been a H.R. 354 bill introduced this current congressional term, but it does not relate to federal funding of Planned Parenthood. That bill, titled the “Small Business Growth Act” and introduced on January 13 by Republican Rep. Blake Moore of Utah, would allow businesses to deduct a greater amount of equipment purchases from federal taxes. It has since been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

National right-to-work proposals would not “end unions,” as the recently circulating description claims. Such legislation seeks to ensure that individual workers are not required or compelled to sign up for union membership in order to work. 

In February 2017, King—who had previously introduced the education voucher system—proposed H.R. 785 to amend the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to prohibit employers from requiring employees and prospective employees to join a union as a condition of employment. King’s bill saw no action after it was referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. 

In this current term, Paul has introduced in the Senate a “National Right-to-Work Act,” as he has done on several occasions in previous congressional terms. None of his right-to-work proposals have made it out of committee. In the House, GOP Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina—who has introduced national right-to-work legislation in each of the last three congressional terms—announced on February 12 he was introducing the bill yet again, though it has yet to be formally introduced. None of his previous bills progressed after referral to the House Committee on Education and Labor. 

The H.R. 785 currently before Congress would add a member to a committee within the Department of Veterans Fairs. This bill was most recently referred on March 4 to the House Subcommittee on Veterans’ Health. 

On January 3, 2017, then-GOP Rep. Lou Barletta introduced H.R. 83, the “Mobilizing Against Sanctuary Cities Act,” which would ban “federal financial assistance by sanctuary cities.” Specifically, the bill would entrust the attorney general to report to Congress annually which states and local governments are not abiding by federal immigration law. Governments found in violation would then not receive federal funding for at least one year. The bill was referred to several committees but no action was taken.

A similar piece of legislation was introduced on January 3 this year by GOP Rep. Nick LaLota of New York. His bill would also forbid funding to state and local governments that would be used “for the benefit (including the provision of food, shelter, healthcare services, legal services, and transportation) of aliens who are present in the United States without lawful status.” However, the bill has seen no action since being referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. 

The H.R. 83 bill introduced in the 119th Congress has nothing to do with sanctuary cities and border enforcement, but with education policy. GOP Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona introduced the
“Ending Common Core and Expanding School Choice Act” on January 3, and it has been referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. 

Former GOP Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona in January 2017 introduced H.R. 147, the “Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act,” which would outlaw certain abortion procedures nationwide, but did not propose an outright prohibition. Specifically, it would have made illegal abortions performed on the basis of the “sex, gender, color or race of the child, or the race of a parent.” The bill failed to make it out of committee.

One bill introduced this current term would essentially ban abortion at the federal level by protecting life at conception. Introduced by GOP Rep. Eric Burlison on January 24, H.R. 722 would extend “equal protection under the 14th article of amendment to the Constitution for the right to life of each born and preborn human person.” No action has been taken on the bill since it was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. 

The H.R. 147 bill that currently stands in the House would require that the Treasury Department inform specific congressional committees of the activity of the Financial Enforcement Network (FinCEN), an intelligence bureau within the Treasury Department focused on weeding out money laundering and terrorist financing. GOP Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio introduced the bill earlier this year in January, where it was referred that same day to the House Committee on Financial Services.

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