William Cassidy

73% of Americans say the cost of health care is a very big problem. Pew Research Center, April 2026.

• Extend ACA Subsidies Three YearsVoted no

  Extends the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits through 2028. Monthly premiums stay lower for people who buy their own coverage on the marketplace.

  D100%

  R8%

  What the terms mean

  Premium tax credits are the federal discounts that lower the monthly bill for people who buy their own coverage on the ACA marketplace rather than getting it through an employer. The “enhanced” credits are the larger version that has been in place since 2021.

• Fund HSAs Instead of SubsidiesVoted yes

  The Senate Republicans' alternative. Instead of subsidizing insurers, the government puts cash into people's Health Savings Accounts, plus cost-sharing help, for those on bronze, catastrophic, and silver plans.

  D0%

  R92%

  What the terms mean

  A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax-free account an individual uses to pay out-of-pocket medical costs. Under this approach the government would deposit money into people's accounts rather than pay insurers on their behalf.

• Make ACA Subsidies PermanentNo action on record

  Makes the enhanced ACA premium tax credits permanent. More people qualify for marketplace subsidies, and the subsidies stay larger, for good.

  D98%

  R0%
• Rein In Drug MiddlemenCosponsored

  Reins in the pharmacy benefit managers who sit between drugmakers and pharmacies. It curbs tactics like “spread pricing,” requires PBMs to pass manufacturer rebates through to health plans, and unlinks their pay from a drug's list price.

  D27%

  R30%

  What the terms mean

  A pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) is the middleman an insurer or employer hires to decide which drugs a plan covers and to negotiate their prices with drugmakers and pharmacies. “Spread pricing” is when a PBM bills the health plan more for a drug than it pays the pharmacy and keeps the difference; a rebate is a payment a drugmaker sends back after the fact to win favorable coverage.

• Benchmark Drug Prices to Other CountriesNo action on record

  Compares brand-name drug prices against what five peer countries pay. If a U.S. price is judged “excessive,” the government strips the drug's market exclusivity and licenses generic competitors to force the price down.

  D16%

  R0%

  What the terms mean

  “Market exclusivity” is the window when only the brand-name maker may sell a drug; ending it early lets generic competitors enter and compete on price. Judging a U.S. price against what other wealthy countries pay is known as international reference pricing.

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64% of Americans say the federal budget deficit is a very big problem. Pew Research Center, April 2026.

• Rescind Enacted SpendingVoted yes

  Cancels money Congress has already approved. The 2025 version clawed back about $9 billion, mostly from foreign aid and public broadcasting, and was signed into law.

  D0%

  R92%

  What the terms mean

  A rescission is a law that cancels funding Congress previously appropriated before it is spent. Because it undoes spending that is already enacted, it needs only a simple majority under special budget rules.

• Restore Impoundment PowerNo action on record

  Repeals the 1974 law that bars a president from refusing to spend money Congress has appropriated. It would let the president “impound” funds, that is, decline to spend them, to hold down federal outlays.

  D0%

  R4%

  What the terms mean

  “Impoundment” is a president declining to spend money Congress has appropriated. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 largely ended the practice; repealing it would restore that presidential power.

• Bipartisan Fiscal CommissionCosponsored

  Creates a bipartisan commission of lawmakers and outside experts to write a plan to stabilize the debt, with a guaranteed up-or-down vote in Congress. It doesn't choose the spending cuts or tax increases itself; it forces a process to decide.

  D9%

  R9%
• Surtax on Top IncomesNo action on record

  Adds an extra tax on income above roughly $1 million a year, on top of the existing rates.

  D9%

  R0%
• Tax on Unrealized GainsNo action on record

  Taxes the yearly rise in the value of billionaires' assets, such as stock, even before they are sold. Today those gains are taxed only when the asset is sold, if ever.

  D49%

  R0%

  What the terms mean

  A gain is “unrealized” while you still hold the asset and “realized” once you sell. This “mark-to-market” approach would tax the annual gain for people worth more than $1 billion, whether or not they sell.

• Annual Wealth TaxNo action on record

  Levies a yearly tax on net worth above $50 million, a small percentage of a household's total wealth rather than its income, rising for billionaires.

  D24%

  R0%

  What the terms mean

  A wealth tax is charged on what a household owns, its assets minus debts, not on what it earns in a year. This one starts at 2% on net worth above $50 million.

55% of Americans say drug addiction is a very big problem. Pew Research Center, April 2026.

• Permanently Schedule Fentanyl-Related DrugsVoted yes

  Permanently places all fentanyl-related substances into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the most tightly controlled category, so making or selling any chemical cousin of fentanyl carries the same penalties as fentanyl itself. Before this, the class was scheduled only under temporary orders that had to be renewed.

  D67%

  R96%

  What the terms mean

  “Scheduling” is how federal law sorts controlled drugs by how dangerous and how medically useful they are deemed to be. Schedule I is the most restricted tier. A “fentanyl-related substance” is a chemical variant, or analogue, of fentanyl, altered slightly to skirt existing bans.

• Lower the Bar for Mandatory MinimumsNo action on record

  Lowers the quantity of fentanyl that triggers a mandatory-minimum prison sentence, so far smaller amounts carry the same automatic penalties that today apply only to large quantities. Despite its name, it makes trafficking sentences harsher, not lighter.

  D0%

  R9%

  What the terms mean

  A mandatory minimum is a sentence a judge must impose regardless of the case's specifics, set by law according to the drug quantity involved. Lowering the quantity that triggers it means more defendants, holding smaller amounts, face the automatic sentence.

• Prescribe Addiction Medications by TelehealthNo action on record

  Permanently lets clinicians prescribe medications for opioid use disorder, such as buprenorphine, over telehealth, without requiring an in-person visit first. It makes permanent a flexibility that began during the pandemic.

  D42%

  R8%

  What the terms mean

  Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), such as buprenorphine and methadone, are the standard clinical treatment for opioid addiction; they reduce cravings and overdose deaths. Telehealth is care delivered remotely by phone or video.

• Let Pharmacies Dispense MethadoneNo action on record

  Lets addiction specialists prescribe methadone for opioid use disorder and lets ordinary pharmacies fill it, breaking the current rule that methadone for addiction can be dispensed only at federally licensed opioid-treatment clinics.

  D13%

  R2%

  What the terms mean

  Methadone is one of the medications for opioid use disorder. In the U.S. it can currently be dispensed for addiction only at a limited number of specially licensed clinics, which many patients live far from; this would let a pharmacy fill a prescription for it as with other drugs.

• Fund State Overdose Treatment HubsCosponsored

  Creates a five-year Medicaid pilot, in up to ten states, that pays for “health engagement hubs”: one-stop sites offering rapid-access addiction treatment, physical and mental health care, peer support, and case management, with the federal government covering at least 90 percent of the cost.

  D2%

  R2%

  What the terms mean

  Medicaid is the joint federal-state health program for lower-income people and pays for much of the addiction treatment in the country. A demonstration, or pilot, tests an approach in a few states before any decision to expand it.

49% of Americans say gun violence is a very big problem. Pew Research Center, April 2026.

• Universal Background ChecksNo action on record

  Requires a background check for nearly all firearm sales, including private transfers between individuals. Today only licensed dealers must run the check; sales between private parties are generally exempt.

  D100%

  R0%

  What the terms mean

  A background check runs a buyer's name against the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to flag people barred from owning a gun. Federal law requires it only for sales by licensed dealers, so private and online sales between individuals can happen without one.

• Safe Firearm StorageNo action on record

  Sets a federal safe-storage standard: firearms in a home where a minor could reach them must be locked or otherwise secured, with penalties when an unsecured gun is accessed. It is named for a teenager killed by an unsecured firearm.

  D87%

  R0%
• Raise the Purchase Age to 21No action on record

  Raises the minimum age to buy certain semiautomatic rifles and shotguns from a licensed dealer from 18 to 21. Handgun sales from dealers already carry a 21-and-older minimum.

  D40%

  R0%
• Assault Weapons BanNo action on record

  Bans the manufacture, sale, and import of many semiautomatic rifles and pistols the bill defines as “assault weapons,” along with the large-capacity magazines it defines. Firearms already owned are grandfathered in.

  D93%

  R0%

  What the terms mean

  “Assault weapon” is a legal category defined by features, such as a detachable magazine combined with a pistol grip or a folding stock. It is not a description of how fast a gun fires. A “large-capacity magazine” is one the bill defines by round capacity: more than fifteen rounds in the House version, more than ten in the Senate companion.

• Red-Flag Protection OrdersNo action on record

  Funds and creates a federal extreme-risk protection order: a court process letting police or family members ask a judge to temporarily remove firearms from a person found to be a danger to themselves or others.

  D40%

  R0%

  What the terms mean

  An extreme risk protection order, often called a “red-flag” law, is a temporary civil court order that requires a judge's finding and expires after a set period. Roughly twenty states already have one; these bills would fund and standardize the process nationally.

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39% of Americans say climate change is a very big problem. Pew Research Center, April 2026.

• Charge Polluting Imports a Carbon PriceNo action on record

  Sets a fee on imported steel, cement, and other heavy industrial goods based on how much carbon pollution it took to make them, and holds American producers to the same standard.

  D13%

  R0%

  What the terms mean

  A carbon border fee charges imported goods for the emissions released making them, so that domestic producers held to a standard are not undercut by foreign producers who are not.

• Clear Out Wildfire Fuel FasterNo action on record

  Speeds up environmental reviews for forest-thinning and controlled-burn projects on federal land, and sets up a joint federal center to coordinate wildfire work. The House passed it in 2025.

  D4%

  R4%

  What the terms mean

  Thinning and controlled burns remove the dense undergrowth that turns a fire into a severe one. This is adaptation, that is, limiting the damage from a warming climate, rather than an effort to cut emissions.

• Fast-Track Nuclear Fuel PlantsNo action on record

  Puts the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on a deadline when it licenses the plants that make and recycle fuel for advanced reactors, the step that currently holds up new reactors.

  D2%

  R2%
• Undo California's EV Sales MandateVoted yes

  Cancels the federal permission that let California require carmakers to sell a rising share of zero-emission vehicles, a standard more than a dozen other states had adopted. It passed both chambers and was signed into law in 2025.

  D2%

  R91%

  What the terms mean

  The Congressional Review Act lets Congress nullify a recent federal rule by simple majority, and the president sign the nullification into law. Because both chambers must vote, it puts every member on the record by name.

• Scrap the Methane Emissions FeeVoted yes

  Kills the federal charge that made oil and gas companies pay for the methane they leak or vent into the air, a fee created by the 2022 climate law. It passed both chambers and was signed into law in 2025.

  D0%

  R96%

  What the terms mean

  Methane is the main component of natural gas and a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over the short term. The fee charged producers per ton of it released.

38% of Americans say illegal immigration is a very big problem. Pew Research Center, April 2026.

• Detain and Deport for Theft CrimesVoted yes

  Requires the federal government to detain immigrants without legal status who are arrested for or charged with theft-related crimes, assaulting a police officer, or a crime causing death or serious injury. It also lets states sue the federal government over immigration-enforcement decisions.

  D27%

  R92%

  What the terms mean

  The bill is named for Laken Riley, a nursing student killed in 2024. It became law in January 2025, so its two chambers' roll-call votes place nearly every member on the record by name.

• Fund Border and Interior EnforcementVoted yes

  Provides about $70 billion through 2029 to the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for border security and immigration enforcement.

  D0%

  R96%

  What the terms mean

  A reconciliation bill is a budget measure that can pass the Senate by simple majority, without the 60 votes most legislation needs. That is why this one became law on a near party-line vote, unlike the bipartisan Laken Riley Act above.

• Cut Funds to Sanctuary JurisdictionsNo action on record

  Makes a state or locality ineligible for certain federal funds if it limits cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, such as by declining to hold people for federal agents or withholding immigration-status information.

  D0%

  R21%

  What the terms mean

  A jurisdiction that limits such cooperation is often called a “sanctuary” city or state. There is no single legal definition; the bill targets specific practices like declining federal detainer requests.

• End Birthright Citizenship by StatuteNo action on record

  Redefines who is a citizen at birth so that a child born in the United States is a citizen only if at least one parent is a citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or a noncitizen serving in the armed forces.

  D0%

  R21%

  What the terms mean

  The Fourteenth Amendment grants citizenship to those “born … in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” This bill reinterprets that phrase by statute; critics argue only a constitutional amendment or the Supreme Court could make the change.

• Protect Children of Visa HoldersNo action on record

  Grants permanent residence to people who grew up in the United States as the children of long-term visa holders and who “aged out” of their dependent status when they turned 21.

  D11%

  R11%

  What the terms mean

  These young people are sometimes called “Documented Dreamers” because, unlike others brought here as children, they grew up in legal status but lose it at adulthood if their parents' green card has not come through.

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• Overturn Citizens UnitedNo action on record

  A constitutional amendment authorizing Congress and the states to limit the raising and spending of money in elections.

• Disclose Dark MoneyNo action on record

  Require any organization spending over $10,000 in an election to publicly identify donors above $10,000.

• Open PrimariesNo action on record

  Permit unaffiliated voters to participate in federal primary elections in every state.

• End GerrymanderingNo action on record

  Require every state to draw congressional districts through an independent redistricting commission.

• Ban Stock TradingNo action on record

  Prohibit members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from owning or trading individual stocks.

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