Rep. Anna Paulina Luna

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits federal involvement in commercial greyhound racing, live lure training, and open field coursing by banning interstate activities related to these practices. It makes it unlawful to conduct betting on greyhound races (including remote gambling), use live animals as bait, or transport animals for these purposes. The law specifically targets the declining greyhound racing industry (now operating at only two tracks in West Virginia), banning federal facilitation of betting, live bait use, and interstate transport of animals for racing or training. It does not affect horse racing or state laws already prohibiting these activities in most states.

Maddy summaryHR 4922, the Lacey Act Amendments of 2023, establishes a new rule that generally prohibits importing non-native wildlife species (including mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles) into the U.S. unless they were imported in "more than minimal quantities" during the year before the law passed or the Secretary of the Interior determines they pose no significant invasion risk. This directly affects importers and businesses handling non-native wildlife, requiring them to meet specific criteria to legally import such species. The bill also grants the Secretary emergency authority to immediately ban imports of a species deemed an imminent threat to humans, agriculture, or wildlife, with a 3-year limit on such bans. The new rules take effect one year after enactment, with the Secretary required to define "minimal quantities" within that timeframe.

Maddy summaryThis bill directs the U.S. Treasury to mint commemorative coins marking the Marine Corps' 250th anniversary in 2025. It authorizes three coin types: $5 gold coins (max 50,000), $1 silver coins (max 400,000), and half-dollar coins (max 750,000), with surcharges of $35, $10, and $5 respectively. The surcharge proceeds will fund the Marine Corps Heritage Center's educational programs, with no net cost to taxpayers as the Treasury must recover all minting costs through the surcharges. The coins can only be issued during 2025, and the Treasury must ensure all costs are covered before distributing funds to the Heritage Foundation.

Maddy summaryHR 4726 terminates the requirement that aliens (non-citizens) must be vaccinated against COVID-19 to obtain visas, adjust to permanent residency, or naturalize as U.S. citizens. The bill immediately ends this mandate upon enactment and prohibits federal funding for any administration or enforcement of the vaccination rule. It specifically targets requirements set by the CDC and DHS under existing public health laws. This change directly affects non-citizens applying for visas, green cards, or U.S. citizenship who previously faced this vaccination condition. The policy shift removes a specific health-related barrier from three key immigration processes.

No Taxpayer Funding For Climate Zealots Advancing Radical Schemes Act or the No Taxpayer Funding For CZARS Act This bill prohibits the use of federal funds for any activity of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.

Maddy summaryHR 4721, the Main Street Tax Certainty Act, makes a permanent the 20% tax deduction for eligible small business owners under Section 199A of the tax code. This provision directly affects pass-through business owners (like S-corps, partnerships, and sole proprietorships) who qualify for the deduction. The bill achieves this by removing the temporary expiration language (subsection (i)) from the existing tax code provision. The key change is ending the need for annual congressional extensions of this deduction, providing long-term tax certainty for small businesses.

Maddy summaryThis bill, the Veteran Care Improvement Act of 2023, establishes new standards for when veterans can receive care from private providers instead of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It requires the VA to allow veterans to seek community care if they cannot get an in-person appointment within 30 days for primary care or 60 days for specialty care at a VA facility within a 30 or 60-minute drive, respectively. The legislation also mandates that the VA notify veterans of their eligibility for community care within two business days, provide information about telehealth options, and explain reasons for denied care requests along with appeal instructions. Additional provisions include requiring the VA to conduct outreach to inform veterans about community care options, mandate the use of value-based reimbursement models for community care, and establish a pilot program to improve care administration through scheduling improvements and provider incentives. The bill also extends the deadline for health care entities to submit claims under the prompt payment standard from 180 days to one year, and requires the VA Inspector General to assess VA medical center performance in implementing community care programs within three years of enactment.

Maddy summaryThis bill, HR 1282 (Major Richard Star Act), expands benefits for certain military retirees by allowing them to receive both veterans' disability compensation and military retirement pay simultaneously. It specifically affects combat-related disabled retirees under Chapter 61 of the military retirement system who have fewer than 20 years of service. The key change removes the automatic reduction of military retirement pay when these retirees also receive disability compensation, as amended in Section 1413a(b)(3) of Title 10. Technical updates to the law’s structure and effective date (starting after enactment) complete the provisions.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a 30-day grace period for flood insurance policyholders under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) who choose to pay premiums monthly. During this period, policyholders won't lose coverage for nonpayment, but they must later pay back unpaid premiums plus an extra fee. The bill also prohibits charging extra fees for choosing monthly payments compared to annual payments, directly affecting NFIP policyholders who select the monthly payment option.

Maddy summaryHR 3952 limits the flags that can be flown over Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities to just six specific flags: the U.S. flag, any state flag, any federally recognized tribal government flag, the VA department flag, any military branch flag, and the POW/MIA flag. This applies directly to all VA buildings and properties nationwide. The bill explicitly restricts all other flags, including political or commemorative flags, from being displayed on these facilities.