Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet

Maddy summaryThis bill authorizes a single Congressional Gold Medal for seven individuals: Chad Robichaux, Sarah Verardo, Tim Kennedy, Kevin Roarke, Sean Gabler, Dave Johnson, and Dennis Price. It recognizes their leadership in a 2021 rescue mission that evacuated over 17,000 people from Afghanistan during the U.S. withdrawal. The medal, struck by the Treasury Department, will be presented by congressional leaders and permanently displayed at the Smithsonian Institution. The bill does not create new laws or policies but formally honors these veterans' actions through a commemorative medal.

Maddy summaryThe Stop COYOTES Act (HR 4472) increases penalties for certain crimes involving minors by adding up to 10 years in prison for offenders who commit felonies against children within 1,000 feet of schools, colleges, or youth facilities like playgrounds. It also raises maximum fines for fentanyl-related drug offenses under the Controlled Substances Act and requires federal agencies to share border crime data - including human trafficking, smuggling, and drug trafficking - with state and local law enforcement near U.S. borders. This bill directly affects individuals convicted of these specific offenses and mandates regular reports to Congress on border-related criminal activity.

Maddy summaryThe Child Care for Working Families Act creates a federal program to provide affordable, high-quality child care for working families with children under age 6. It would provide direct child care assistance through certificates or grants to parents, with no copayment required for families at or below 85% of state median income. The program requires states to implement quality standards for child care providers, including a tiered quality system and minimum wage requirements for staff (at least a living wage equivalent to elementary educators). The bill appropriates $20 billion for the program over five years, with additional funding for quality improvement initiatives and universal preschool services.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires the Coast Guard to develop a strategy for building a new Great Lakes icebreaker (at least matching the Mackinaw cutter's capabilities) within 90 days of enactment, including cost and timeline estimates. It mandates a 5-year pilot program to test whether the current fleet can keep key waterways open 95% of the time during ice seasons, with annual reports to Congress on results and performance measures. The bill also updates reporting requirements to publicly disclose the Coast Guard's costs for meeting icebreaking standards, including annual briefings to relevant congressional committees on fiscal year costs. These provisions directly affect the Coast Guard's operations and Great Lakes shipping industries reliant on open waterways.

Maddy summaryHR 4382 authorizes the U.S. Mint to produce commemorative coins for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics/Paralympics and 2034 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics/Paralympics. It specifies gold, silver, and half-dollar coin designs with defined mintage limits (e.g., up to 100,000 $5 gold coins for each event), all bearing inscriptions like "2028" or "2034" and standard coin features. A surcharge ($5-$50 per coin) is added to sales, with all funds directed to the respective Olympic committees to support event hosting and legacy programs like youth sports. The bill ensures no net cost to the government by requiring surcharge revenues to cover all design, production, and marketing expenses before funds are disbursed.

Maddy summaryHRES 575 is a symbolic resolution designating July 10th as "Journeyman Lineworkers Recognition Day." It honors lineworkers who face significant risks daily - working at heights near live wires and responding to disasters like hurricanes and wildfires. The resolution specifically references Henry Miller, an early leader of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, who died on July 10, 1896, while troubleshooting an outage. It encourages the public to recognize these workers' contributions but does not create new laws or allocate funding.

Maddy summaryThe Head Start for Our Future Act amends Section 441(c)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to replace "literacy training" with "child development and early learning (including Head Start programs and Early Head Start programs carried out under the Head Start Act), literacy training." This technical change formally integrates Head Start and Early Head Start programs into the federal definition of early learning initiatives under the Higher Education Act, while maintaining a separate reference to literacy training. The bill directly affects how federal grants for early childhood education are categorized and administered under the Higher Education Act. It does not alter funding levels, program requirements, or operations but updates administrative terminology to explicitly include Head Start services.

Maddy summaryHR 4351 amends the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to shorten the employment duration required for spouses of active-duty military members to qualify for leave. It reduces the qualifying time from 12 months to 90 calendar days with the employer. This change directly affects spouses of service members on covered active duty, making it easier for them to access FMLA leave for their partner’s military service. The bill achieves this by revising the FMLA’s definition of "eligible employee" to include this new 90-day requirement for military spouses.

Maddy summaryHR 4296, the CROP for Farming Act, amends existing federal conservation programs to expand eligible practices for farmers. It updates the Food Security Act of 1985 to explicitly include reducing greenhouse gas emissions (like nitrous oxide or methane) and increasing carbon storage in plants or soil as qualifying conservation activities under incentive contracts. This directly affects farmers enrolled in these programs by broadening the types of environmental practices they can pursue for program benefits. The key change modifies two specific sections of the law to add these new criteria to the existing conservation requirements.

Maddy summaryThe CONNECT for Health Act of 2025 expands Medicare telehealth coverage by removing geographic restrictions that limited where patients could receive care, expanding the types of health care providers who can offer telehealth services, and eliminating the requirement for an in-person visit before receiving telemental health services. The bill includes specific provisions to support telehealth use for Native American health facilities, rural health clinics, and Federally Qualified Health Centers. It requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to collect and publish data on telehealth usage and impacts, and to develop resources to improve accessibility for people with disabilities and limited English proficiency. Program integrity measures are added to monitor telehealth billing practices and prevent fraud while maintaining coverage for telehealth services during public health emergencies.