Rep. Julia Letlow

Maddy summaryHJRES 11 proposes a constitutional amendment that would limit Members of Congress to serving a maximum of three terms in the House of Representatives and two terms in the Senate. If passed and ratified, it would prevent any member who has already served the maximum terms from running for re-election, including time spent filling vacancies (for more than one year in the House or three years in the Senate). This amendment directly affects current and future members of Congress by changing eligibility rules for re-election. The proposal is currently a joint resolution in the House, requiring ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures to become part of the Constitution.

Drought Assistance Improvement Act This bill modifies access to two Farm Service Agency (FSA) administered programs: the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP). The bill modifies the LFP to allow for one monthly payment when a county has four consecutive weeks of a D2 rating (severe drought) and two payments for eight consecutive weeks of D2. Currently, one payment is available for eight consecutive weeks of D2. (LFP makes payments to eligible livestock producers who have suffered grazing losses on drought-affected pastureland, including cropland planted specifically for grazing.) The bill also expands coverage under ELAP for losses caused by adverse weather or drought. The bill includes under ELAP the loss of a crawfish harvest due to adverse weather or drought. (ELAP provides payments to producers of livestock, honey bees, and farm-raised fish as compensation for losses due to disease, adverse weather, feed or water shortages, or other conditions that are not covered under other programs.) The FSA must establish ELAP documentation standards for (1) collecting data, (2) the production of crawfish, and (3) defining loss conditions due to drought.

Maddy summaryHR 3152, the "Fight CRIME Act," aims to maintain international restrictions on Iran's missile-related activities by requiring diplomatic efforts to extend these restrictions before they expire in October 2023. The bill mandates annual reports detailing U.S. diplomatic strategies, potential impacts of expiration, and measures to deter missile technology transfers to Iran. It establishes sanctions against foreign individuals or entities that knowingly support Iran's missile or drone programs, including asset freezes and visa restrictions. These sanctions apply regardless of whether UN restrictions remain in effect after their expiration, directly affecting foreign entities involved in these activities.

Maddy summaryHR 4547, the Laws Ensuring Safe Shrimp Act (LESS Act), creates a dedicated fund using 70% of U.S. import duties on shrimp and shrimp products (e.g., frozen shrimp, shrimp-based dishes) to improve safety and labor compliance. The fund allocates 50% to the FDA for inspecting high-risk shrimp for antibiotic contamination and verifying imports aren’t sourced from forced labor or illegal fisheries, and 50% to the USDA to boost domestic shrimp consumption. It directly affects shrimp importers (who pay the duties), federal agencies (FDA, USDA, CBP), and domestic shrimp producers (who benefit from consumption programs). The bill ensures funding supplements existing programs and remains available until spent, focusing on concrete safety and labor checks rather than speculative outcomes.

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 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 summaryThe ACE Act changes how federal education grants are calculated to better support schools in high-poverty areas. It phases out a current system that favored larger school districts by shifting to a formula based solely on the percentage of students from low-income families, starting in 2024. This directly benefits smaller school districts with high concentrations of economically disadvantaged students that were previously disadvantaged under the old dual-weighting system. The change aims to align funding more closely with congressional intent to direct more resources to schools serving the most economically disadvantaged students.

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 summaryHR 4335, the VA Loan Informed Disclosure Act of 2023, requires mortgage lenders to include specific information about VA home loan programs in standard mortgage disclosures. The bill amends the National Housing Act to mandate that lenders provide details on VA loans (guaranteed under Title 38) alongside other loan options, including assumptions about prevailing interest rates. This change directly affects lenders processing VA-guaranteed mortgages, ensuring borrowers receive clearer comparisons between VA loans and other financing. The law does not require lenders to verify borrower eligibility for VA loans, only to include the specified disclosure language.

This bill increases funding for the Conservation Stewardship Program. This Department of Agriculture program provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to maintain and improve existing conservation systems and to adopt additional conservation activities in a comprehensive manner on a producer's entire operation.