Rep. William R. Keating

Maddy summaryThe TRUST in Congress Act requires current and new Members of Congress, along with their spouses and dependent children, to place certain investments - such as stocks, commodities, and derivatives - into a blind trust within 90 to 180 days of taking office. It excludes U.S. Treasury securities and widely held mutual funds from this requirement and exempts investments tied to a spouse’s or dependent child’s primary job. Members must certify the trust’s setup to the House Clerk or Senate Secretary within 15 days, with these records posted publicly online. The act also prohibits dissolving such trusts until 180 days after a member leaves office.

Maddy summaryThe Combating Global Corruption Act of 2025 requires the State Department to annually rank all foreign countries into three tiers based on anti-corruption efforts: Tier 1 (full compliance with minimum standards), Tier 2 (making progress), and Tier 3 (minimal or no efforts). Countries ranked Tier 3 trigger potential sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act against corrupt foreign officials and entities. The bill also mandates U.S. embassies in Tier 2 and Tier 3 countries to appoint anti-corruption liaisons to coordinate U.S. anti-corruption programs. This directly affects foreign governments' international standing and targets specific individuals for sanctions based on documented corruption.

Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act of 2025 This bill expands the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program to include separate grants to rescue sea turtles for the next seven years. The grants must be used for the recovery, care, or treatment of sick, injured, or entangled sea turtles; responses to rescue stranded sea turtles; the collection of data and samples from living or dead stranded sea turtles for scientific research or health assessments; facility operating costs that are directly related to activities to assist sea turtles; or  development of stranding network capacity where facilities do not exist or are sparse. In addition, the bill establishes the Sea Turtle Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Rapid Response Fund.

Maddy summaryThe Proxy Voting for New Parents Resolution (HRES 23) would allow U.S. House Members who have given birth or whose spouse has given birth to appoint another Member as a proxy to cast their vote or record their presence in the House and committees for up to 12 weeks after childbirth. To use this, the new parent must submit a signed letter to the Clerk detailing the birth or medical condition and naming the proxy; the proxy must vote exactly as instructed and announce the vote as "by proxy." The proxy vote does not count toward quorum, and the new parent can revoke the proxy at any time by submitting a new letter or casting their own vote. This resolution applies to all House Members, including Delegates and the Resident Commissioner, though they cannot cast votes for the House itself.

Maddy summaryThis resolution symbolically recognizes Russian actions in Ukraine as genocide, based on documented atrocities including mass killings, attacks on civilians and infrastructure, deliberate deprivation of necessities, and forced transfers of Ukrainians. It directly affects Ukraine as the targeted group and calls on the U.S. government to support Ukraine with allies and back international tribunals. The resolution condemns Russia for these acts, urges U.S. action to prevent further genocide, and supports holding Russian leaders accountable. As a symbolic resolution (not a law), it has no legal force but expresses congressional stance. It aligns with the Genocide Convention's definition of genocide through specific evidence cited in the text.

Maddy summaryHR 82, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023, repeals two provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for certain government workers. It eliminates the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which cuts spousal or survivor benefits for people with pensions from jobs not covered by Social Security (like federal or state government roles), and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), which lowers retirement benefits for those with similar pensions. The law takes effect for benefits paid after December 2023, requiring the Social Security Administration to adjust benefit calculations to remove these reductions. This change directly affects public-sector employees who previously had their Social Security benefits reduced due to their government pensions.

Washington, D.C. Admission Act This bill provides for the establishment of the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, and its admission into the United States. The state is composed of most of the territory of the District of Columbia (DC), excluding a specified area that encompasses the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the U.S. Supreme Court building, federal monuments, and federal office buildings adjacent to the National Mall and the U.S. Capitol. The excluded territory shall be known as the Capital and serve as the seat of the government of the United States, as provided for in Article I of the Constitution. The state may not impose taxes on federal property except as Congress permits. The bill provides for the DC Mayor to issue a proclamation for the first elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative of the state. The bill eliminates the office of Delegate to the House of Representatives. The bill applies current DC laws to the state. DC judicial proceedings and contractual obligations shall continue under the state’s authority. The bill also provides for specified federal obligations to transfer to the state upon its certification that it has funds and laws in place to assume the obligations. These include maintaining a retirement fund for judges and operating public defender services.  The bill establishes a commission that is generally comprised of members who are appointed by DC and federal government officials to advise on an orderly transition to statehood.

Maddy summaryThis bill, HR 1097 (Everett Alvarez, Jr. Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2023), authorizes the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Everett Alvarez, Jr., in recognition of his service as a U.S. Navy pilot and Vietnam War prisoner of war. It directly honors Alvarez, who was the first U.S. pilot shot down in the Vietnam War, spent over 8.5 years in captivity, and later served in the Peace Corps and Veterans Administration. The bill’s key mechanism is directing the U.S. Mint to strike a gold medal bearing his name and image, with bronze duplicates available for sale to cover costs. It does not create new policies or affect any group beyond the honoree.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends the 1955 Long-Term Leasing Act to allow the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) to lease land held in trust for their reservations for up to 99 years. It directly affects these two tribes by expanding their existing leasing authority under the federal law. The key provision adds their specific reservations to the list of tribal lands eligible for long-term leases, replacing the previous reference to other tribes. This change modifies the legal framework for managing tribal trust lands without altering the tribes' ownership or sovereignty. The bill focuses solely on updating leasing terms for these tribes' designated reservation lands.

Maddy summaryThis bill codifies existing U.S. sanctions against the Russian Federation into law, making current executive order sanctions permanent unless lifted through a specific process. It requires the President to certify to Congress before ending sanctions for individuals or entities, confirming they’ve stopped the activities that triggered sanctions and will avoid future violations. Key exceptions include allowing imports of agricultural goods, food, medicine, medical devices, and humanitarian aid, as well as activities needed for U.S. compliance with the UN Headquarters Agreement or intelligence operations. The bill does not create new sanctions but solidifies current measures under statutory authority.