Rep. Scott DesJarlais

Maddy summaryThe Fight Fentanyl Act increases annual funding for fentanyl-related law enforcement efforts to $333 million from 2025 through 2030. It requires the Office of National Drug Control Policy to report annually on how HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) funds target fentanyl trafficking, including seizure data and threat assessments. The bill also mandates the Attorney General to prioritize fentanyl prosecutions by temporarily reassigning U.S. attorneys to these cases. These provisions directly affect federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies working on fentanyl interdiction and prosecution.

Maddy summaryHR 2930, the PROTECT the Second Amendment Act, prevents landlords and housing authorities from banning or imposing extra restrictions on lawfully possessed firearms in specific federally assisted housing. It directly affects tenants living in properties covered by HUD or USDA housing programs, including public housing, Section 8 voucher recipients, and other subsidized rental units. The bill explicitly allows residents to possess firearms within their own dwelling units or while moving through common areas to reach their unit, without additional prohibitions. This changes existing policies in these housing programs by mandating that firearm possession cannot be restricted solely based on housing type.

Maddy summaryHR 2767, the BRAIN Act, aims to advance brain tumor research and improve patient care by requiring the NIH to create a public database of tumor samples collected with federal funding. It authorizes $50 million annually for a Glioblastoma Therapeutics Network to accelerate treatment development and $10 million for cellular immunotherapy research (including CAR-T therapies) targeting brain tumors. The bill also mandates a national awareness campaign to increase understanding of cancer clinical trials and biomarker testing, plus $5 million yearly for pilot programs studying survivor care coordination and follow-up services. Additionally, it directs the FDA to issue guidance ensuring brain tumor patients can access clinical trials. These provisions directly affect patients, researchers, and healthcare providers focused on brain tumors and rare cancers.

Nuclear Family Priority Act This bill imposes limits on various types of family-sponsored immigration visas. The non-U.S. national ( alien  under federal law) parents of U.S. citizens shall not qualify for visas for immediate relatives, which are not subject to any direct numerical limits. Currently, the spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of citizens are considered immediate relatives. The bill also creates a nonimmigrant visa for such parents of citizens. Such non-U.S. nationals shall not be eligible for employment or any public benefits. The bill also reduces the baseline annual cap for family-sponsored visas from 480,000 to 88,000, and revises the methods for calculating the cap. Currently, the 480,000 cap may be adjusted depending on various factors but shall not be less than 226,000. The bill eliminates preference allocations (visa categories subject to various annual caps) for various family-sponsored visas, including those for the siblings and married children of citizens. The bill provides for a preference allocation for the unmarried children under 21 and spouses of permanent residents, subject to the 88,000 annual cap.

Maddy summaryHR 2735, the Strengthening Child Exploitation Enforcement Act, updates federal laws to better protect children from exploitation. It amends kidnapping statutes to include deception in abduction definitions and explicitly states that consent is not a defense for offenses involving victims under 16. The bill adds a new provision (2243(f)) making it illegal to intentionally touch a minor under 16 without clothing for sexual purposes in specific settings like prisons or federal facilities. These changes apply retroactively to conduct occurring before, on, or after the law’s enactment.

Maddy summaryThe Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025 would reform the Low-Income Housing Credit program, which provides tax credits to developers of affordable housing. It would increase state allocations based on population with annual cost-of-living adjustments, modify tenant eligibility rules to allow higher income limits for some residents, and add protections for domestic violence victims in housing. The bill would simplify rules for rural and Native American housing projects, clarify credit eligibility requirements, and require greater transparency in program administration. These changes would directly affect developers, property owners, and low-income tenants in housing projects that receive LIHC tax credits.

Maddy summaryHR 2752, the Ensuring Safer Schools Act of 2025, amends federal grant programs to prioritize hiring veterans and retired law enforcement officers as school resource officers (SROs). The bill requires COPS grants to give preferential consideration for applications focused on recruiting these individuals, adds annual mental health screenings and training for SROs, and defines "veteran or retired law enforcement officer" for grant eligibility. It also mandates coordination between the Department of Veterans Affairs and schools to connect veterans with SRO roles. This directly affects schools receiving COPS grants, veterans seeking SRO positions, and local law enforcement agencies partnering with schools. The law changes how federal funds are administered for school safety roles, not school policies.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends immigration law to expand mandatory detention for non-citizen immigrants convicted of specific property crimes. It adds trespassing, vandalism, and arson to the list of offenses that trigger detention under Section 236(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, alongside burglary and serious bodily injury. Non-citizen immigrants convicted of these crimes would now face automatic detention without bond, rather than potentially being released pending removal proceedings. The key change modifies existing detention criteria to include these three property crimes as grounds for mandatory immigration detention.

Maddy summaryThe Invest to Protect Act of 2025 establishes a $50 million annual grant program (2027-2031) for local governments employing fewer than 175 law enforcement officers, including counties, municipalities, and Tribal governments. Grants fund de-escalation training, victim-centered domestic violence response training, evidence-based safety training for scenarios like mental health crises or active shooters, recruitment/retention bonuses (capped at 20% of salary), and mental health resources for officers. Recipients must report on program use, disclose bonus amounts publicly, and comply with audits to prevent misuse of funds. The bill aims to improve officer safety and community relations through targeted support for smaller law enforcement agencies.

Maddy summaryThis bill, HR 2102 (Major Richard Star Act), allows veterans with combat-related disabilities to receive both full military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation simultaneously, without the previous offset that reduced retired pay. It directly affects veterans already eligible for both benefits due to combat-related injuries, removing the requirement that their retired pay be reduced by the disability compensation amount. The key provision amends Title 10 and Title 38 to eliminate the offset rule (sections 5304 and 5305 of Title 38) for these veterans. The change applies to payments starting after the bill’s enactment date, effective for all qualifying veterans. This is a policy change to increase financial support for affected veterans, not a new benefit.