Rep. W. Gregory Steube

Maddy summaryHR 968, the Time of Service Act, would change the deadline for using benefits under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program from January 1, 2013, to January 1, 2001. This would require veterans to use their educational benefits by 2001, before the program's effective date in 2009. As a result, the bill would make these benefits unavailable for all veterans eligible under the program. It directly affects veterans who served after September 11, 2001, and are currently using or eligible for the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program.

Maddy summaryHR 1772 designates English as the official language of the United States federal government, requiring all official government functions (like laws, regulations, and public proceedings) to be conducted in English. It directly affects federal agencies, naturalization processes (mandating English ceremonies and language standards for new citizens), and government communications. Key exceptions include language teaching, disability education, national security needs, census activities, and protections for Native American languages under existing law. The bill does not restrict the use of other languages in private settings or ban bilingual services for essential government functions. It amends U.S. Code to establish these requirements, with implementation set for 180 days after enactment.

Maddy summaryHR 1792 prohibits U.S. federal funds from being provided to three United Nations agencies: the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study identifying all U.S. funding to these agencies from 2021-2025, including amounts and restrictions, and to assess any funds owed to the U.S. government. It also mandates an audit of the State Department’s Refugee Travel Loan Program. The GAO must submit a report to Congress within 180 days of the bill’s enactment detailing these findings. This bill directly affects federal funding mechanisms for international refugee and migration programs.

Federal Firearms Licensee Protection Act of 2025 This bill modifies criminal penalties for an offense involving the theft of a firearm from a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer, or from their business premises. Specifically, the bill does the following: increases from 10 to 20 years the maximum prison term, and creates a 3- or 5-year mandatory minimum prison term for an offense that occurs during the commission of a burglary or robbery. An attempt to commit an offense is subject to the same penalties as a substantive offense.

Maddy summaryHJRES 65 is a congressional resolution disapproving an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rule published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2024 (89 Fed. Reg. 104419). The resolution blocks the IRS rule that established procedures for supervisory approval of penalties imposed on taxpayers. If passed, this resolution would immediately invalidate the IRS rule, preventing it from taking effect. The bill directly affects the IRS’s penalty enforcement process and taxpayers subject to IRS penalties. This is a procedural disapproval measure, not a new tax law.

Maddy summaryThis resolution urges the European Union to formally designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization under the EU's Common Position 931 framework, which allows for such designations. It cites the U.S. (2019) and Canada (2024) as precedents for designating the IRGC, noting the EU has only sanctioned individual IRGC members, not the entity itself. The resolution emphasizes the IRGC's documented ties to terrorism, human rights abuses in Iran, support for proxy groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, and its role in supplying drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine. The House requests the EU expedite this designation and encourages U.S. diplomatic efforts to prioritize it.

Maddy summaryThis bill protects firearm trace data maintained by the ATF's National Trace Center and related licensee information from public disclosure under FOIA. It directly affects licensed firearms dealers, state/local governments, and other entities that handle this data. Key provisions include adding a new FOIA exemption for this data, imposing fines of $10,000-$25,000 for unauthorized disclosures, and allowing licensed dealers to sue for triple damages or $25,000 per disclosure. The law also prevents sovereign immunity from blocking such lawsuits and specifies that fines apply per individual disclosure.

Maddy summaryHR 1747, the Break the Chain Act, replaces family-based visas for parents of U.S. citizens with a new temporary 5-year nonimmigrant visa program. It creates a new visa category (Section 101(a)(15)(W)) requiring U.S. citizen children to sponsor parents, who must provide proof of health insurance but cannot work or access public benefits during their stay. The bill invalidates future petitions for parents under current family visa categories (like Section 201(b)(2)(A)(i)) and takes effect October 1, 2025, while allowing some pre-existing approved cases to proceed. It directly affects parents seeking to live with U.S. citizen children and the citizens who would sponsor them.

Maddy summaryHR 1748, the "FEMA for America First Act of 2025," would amend the federal disaster relief law to restrict FEMA assistance to "qualified aliens" only. This means non-citizens seeking disaster aid would need to meet specific immigration status criteria defined in existing law, excluding certain groups like asylum seekers who haven’t applied for permanent residency, refugees without adjustment applications, and certain parolees. The bill directly affects non-citizen individuals applying for FEMA disaster assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Act. It changes eligibility rules by requiring applicants to hold a "qualified alien" status as defined by the 1996 welfare law, without altering the core disaster relief program structure.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows House of Representatives employees (including interns and fellows) working in designated Capitol Hill office buildings to store certain self-defense items in secure lockers at building entrances. Specifically, it authorizes employees to bring permitted DC-legal items - self-defense sprays, stun guns, and firearms - into the buildings if stored in Capitol Police-operated lockers upon entry and retrieved before exit. The bill requires the Capitol Police to install these lockers at external pedestrian entrances to six specific House office buildings within 180 days of enactment. It does not change DC or federal weapon laws but creates a safe storage mechanism for employees already authorized to carry these items outside federal buildings.