Essential Caregivers Act of 2025 This bill prohibits certain health care facilities from limiting the access of essential caregivers to residents of those facilities, including during designated emergency periods. Specifically, the bill generally prohibits Medicare skilled nursing facilities, Medicaid nursing facilities, Medicaid intermediate care facilities, and associated inpatient rehabilitation facilities from restricting the access of essential caregivers to residents of the facilities, including during emergency periods in which visitation rights are otherwise restricted. During emergency periods, facilities may restrict access for an initial period of up to seven days and for one additional maximum seven-day period (if the additional period is approved by the state health department). Facilities may restrict access for a total of 7 days (or 14 days with the approval of the state health department) during an emergency period. Essential caregivers must agree to comply with any safety protocols set by the facility, which may be no more stringent for caregivers compared to those for staff. Caregivers who fail to comply with these requirements may be denied access, subject to an appeals process.
Sponsored bills
Maddy summarySRES 545 designates December 6, 2025, as "National Miners Day" to honor miners' contributions to U.S. economic strength and safety efforts, while commemorating the 1907 Monongah mining disaster (the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history). The resolution encourages public participation in local and national activities celebrating miners' sacrifices. It has no binding effect and serves as symbolic recognition, not a policy change. The bill directly affects miners and the public through this annual observance.
Maddy summaryThe Safeguarding U.S. Rulemaking Act restricts public participation in federal rulemaking to U.S. citizens and entities, excluding foreign governments and their nationals or entities designated as "foreign adversaries" by the Secretary of Commerce under 15 CFR §791.4(a). It amends Section 553 of Title 5, U.S. Code, to add a new provision (f) explicitly barring these foreign adversaries from commenting on or petitioning for agency rules. This change directly affects foreign governments, nationals, and entities meeting the "foreign adversary" definition, preventing them from influencing U.S. regulatory processes during public comment periods. The bill does not alter standard rulemaking procedures but limits who can submit input during agency rulemaking.
Maddy summaryThis bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to improve transparency and efficiency in processing veterans' benefit appeals. It mandates annual reports tracking key metrics like remanded claim processing times, case dismissals (including those related to veteran deaths), and expeditious case advancements under section 7107(b). The VA must also implement new tracking systems for specific claim types (e.g., remanded cases, claims awaiting hearing, and those with fiduciary assignments) and develop guidelines for accelerating case reviews. Additionally, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals gains authority to aggregate similar appeals involving common legal or factual issues to streamline decision-making.
Maddy summaryThis bill requires federal agencies to report detailed payment information - including the purpose, funding source, and payment type - to the Treasury before disbursing funds. It mandates agencies to verify recipient bank account details and cross-check payment records to prevent errors or fraud. The Treasury gains access to databases like the National Directory of New Hires and tax/Social Security data (with privacy safeguards) to identify and recover improper payments. These requirements apply to all agencies using Treasury payment systems, aiming to improve transparency and reduce wasteful spending.
Maddy summaryThe Saving Our Veterans Lives Act of 2025 establishes a Department of Veterans Affairs program to provide eligible veterans with secure firearm lockboxes and educational materials on safe storage, aiming to support suicide prevention. The program distributes lockboxes meeting specific safety standards (e.g., key or combination-locked, U.S.-made, non-resale) and partners with organizations to run public education campaigns, clarifying that participation does not affect lawful firearm ownership. The VA must report annually to Congress on program reach and challenges, and the bill authorizes $5 million yearly (2026-2036) to fund the initiative.
Maddy summaryThe PATRIOT Parks Act (S 2308) would allow national parks to charge international tourists an additional surcharge on entrance fees and recreation passes, in addition to standard fees. Park managers would set the entrance fee surcharge amount to maximize revenue without deterring visitors, with those funds staying at the specific park for local maintenance and services. For recreation passes, the surcharge would be sent to a central restoration fund, not the park itself. This policy applies only to international visitors (nonimmigrant tourists), leaving U.S. citizen fees unchanged.
Maddy summaryThe Back the Blue Act of 2025 creates new federal criminal offenses for killing or assaulting law enforcement officers, judges, and certain public safety personnel (including firefighters and first responders) while they are on duty or because of their official status. It increases penalties for these crimes, including minimum 10-year prison terms for killing officers and longer sentences for assaults causing serious injury, with the death penalty possible for killings. The bill also adds a "flight to avoid prosecution" provision for those fleeing to evade charges for killing officers, expands law enforcement officers' rights to carry firearms in certain circumstances, and limits federal habeas corpus relief for individuals convicted of killing law enforcement officers. This legislation directly affects law enforcement officers, judges, and public safety personnel, as well as individuals who commit violence against them.
Maddy summaryThis bill (S 3372) adds a new tax provision to exclude certain wildfire relief payments from individuals' gross income. It applies to payments received for losses like property damage, additional living expenses, or lost wages (not covered by insurance) resulting from federally declared wildfires after December 2014. The exclusion prevents double tax benefits by disallowing deductions for expenses already covered by these payments. The provision takes effect for payments received after December 31, 2025, and directly affects wildfire victims receiving such compensation.
Maddy summaryThis bill reestablishes the National Coal Council under the Department of Energy, as specified in a charter filed with Congress on June 16, 2025. It requires the Secretary of Energy to operate the council under the governing rules of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (excluding section 1013 of that law). The council would serve as an advisory body to the Secretary on coal-related issues, though the bill itself does not change policy or directly affect specific groups. This is a procedural measure to create a formal advisory structure, not a policy change.