Rep. Josh Harder

Maddy summaryHR 3885, the Community TEAMS Act of 2025, creates a new grant program to expand medical student clinical training in rural and medically underserved communities. It provides funding for consortia of medical schools partnered with rural health clinics, community health centers, or facilities in underserved areas to support student rotations in outpatient settings. The grants, lasting 1-5 years, require applicants to detail project plans, sustainability, and how the program will improve community access to healthcare. This directly affects medical students, training facilities, and residents of high-need areas by aiming to build a sustainable physician workforce in those locations.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a grant program allowing state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies to hire retired officers for non-enforcement tasks like crime scene analysis, forensics, financial investigations, and IT support - excluding arrest or force authority. Agencies must verify retired officers have appropriate training or will complete continuing education and conduct background checks for disciplinary records using the National Decertification Index. The program requires annual Department of Justice audits to prevent fund misuse, with agencies having unresolved audit findings barred from receiving grants for two years. Priority for funding is given to agencies without unresolved audit findings over the past three years, and the Attorney General must report annual audit results to Congress.

Maddy summaryThis bill expands Medicare coverage for mental health services provided by clinical social workers to seniors in skilled nursing facilities. It removes an exclusion that previously prevented these services from being covered under Medicare's skilled nursing facility payment system. The bill specifically adds defined mental health service codes (including those for assessment and treatment) to Medicare's coverage, ensuring seniors can access these services without additional barriers. These changes will take effect for services provided on or after January 1, 2026.

Maddy summaryThe VET PFAS Act (HR 3639) provides VA health care coverage for veterans and their family members exposed to PFAS chemicals at military bases, without requiring proof linking illness to exposure. Veterans who served at contaminated bases and family members who resided there (or were in utero while the veteran lived there) can now receive treatment for specific conditions like testicular cancer, kidney cancer, thyroid disease, and pregnancy-related hypertension. The law creates a presumption that these conditions are service-connected, streamlining access to VA benefits. Annual reports will track program usage, including the number of veterans and families receiving care and the conditions treated.

Maddy summaryThis bill directs the Department of Defense to study providing apartment or dormitory housing for civilian workers at four specific naval shipyards: Norfolk (VA), Pearl Harbor (HI), Portsmouth (ME), and Puget Sound (WA). The study must assess costs, recruitment/retention benefits, feasibility at each location, operational impacts, and rent deduction options. It requires a report to Congress within 18 months, but does not authorize or implement housing. The bill affects civilian shipyard workers at these facilities by triggering a federal review of potential housing solutions.

Maddy summaryThe STOCK Act 2.0 requires Members of Congress, federal officials, Federal Reserve employees, Supreme Court justices, and their spouses and dependent children to report and divest certain financial interests, including investments in stocks, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and futures. It mandates that covered individuals report these financial interests within 120 days of taking office or upon the bill's enactment, and sell any existing investments that conflict with public duties. The bill establishes a fine of 10% of the value of unreported or undivested interests for noncompliance and requires electronic filing of financial disclosures with public online access to searchable reports. This legislation expands and strengthens the original STOCK Act by creating more comprehensive reporting requirements and improving public transparency about potential conflicts of interest. The provisions apply to a wide range of government officials and their families, with specific requirements for Federal Reserve officials added through this bill.

Maddy summaryHR 3768, the Gas Prices Relief Act of 2025, eliminates the federal gasoline tax for all gasoline sold between its enactment and December 31, 2025. This directly affects gasoline consumers (drivers and businesses) and fuel producers/dealers, who must pass the tax savings to consumers by lowering prices. The bill requires the Treasury to transfer equivalent funds to the Highway Trust Fund and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund to maintain existing funding streams. It mandates that the tax reduction benefit be immediately reflected in lower consumer prices, with enforcement authority granted to the Secretary to ensure compliance.

Maddy summaryThe PEAKS Act (HR 3778) modifies rules for critical access hospitals (CAHs) in mountainous or remote areas with limited road access. It changes ambulance service fee schedules to use a 15-mile drive limit (instead of 35 miles) in such locations, aligning with terrain challenges. The bill also allows CAHs that met the 15-mile distance requirement at their last certification to be deemed compliant through 2025, provided they have a new facility 10-15 miles away. These changes, effective January 1, 2026, aim to help CAHs maintain their status and funding eligibility. Regulations must be issued within one year of enactment.

Maddy summaryHR 3762, the Supporting Healthy Moms and Babies Act, requires health insurance plans to cover comprehensive prenatal, childbirth, neonatal, perinatal, and postpartum care without cost-sharing (like copays or deductibles). It mandates specific services including ultrasounds, care for pregnancy loss, delivery support, and postpartum behavioral health services for conditions like diabetes or hypertension. The bill applies to group health plans and individual insurance policies starting after the law's enactment, covering both biological mothers and legal parents who did not give birth. This policy directly affects insured individuals seeking maternal and newborn healthcare, ensuring these essential services are fully covered under existing Affordable Care Act requirements.

Maddy summaryHR 649, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025, amends the National School Lunch Act to allow schools participating in the program to offer students both organic and non-organic whole milk, in addition to reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-free options. Key provisions include clarifying that milk fat in whole milk should not count toward saturated fat limits for meal compliance, prohibiting schools from purchasing milk from Chinese state-owned enterprises, and ensuring schools cannot be barred from offering the full range of milk types listed. The bill directly affects public and private schools serving the National School Lunch Program by expanding their milk options for students. It focuses on concrete policy changes to dietary offerings and sourcing restrictions within the school nutrition program.