Rep. Lloyd Smucker

USA Batteries Act This bill removes lead oxide, antimony, and sulfuric acid from the list of taxable chemicals subject to the environmental excise tax.

Maddy summaryThis bill authorizes a Congressional Gold Medal to honor the "Hello Girls" - female telephone operators who served in the Army Signal Corps during World War I. They provided critical battlefield communications in France (connecting 26 million calls), wore military uniforms, and faced combat risks, but were denied veteran benefits for 60 years due to being classified as civilian contractors. The medal recognizes their pioneering service, devotion, and the decades-long struggle to gain military recognition. The award follows similar recognition for other WWII women veterans and aims to correct the historical injustice they faced.

Maddy summaryThe PHIT Act of 2023 allows individuals and families to deduct certain fitness expenses as medical costs on their federal taxes. It covers gym memberships, fitness classes, and specific equipment used exclusively for exercise (like home workout gear), with a yearly limit of $1,000 ($2,000 for joint returns). Expenses for activities like golf, hunting, or non-exercise-focused facilities (e.g., private clubs) are excluded, and equipment must be used solely for physical activity. This directly affects taxpayers who pay for qualifying fitness programs, making these costs partially tax-deductible under revised IRS rules.

Maddy summaryThe Unauthorized Spending Accountability Act of 2023 establishes a process for handling federal programs that have expired authorizations (unauthorized programs). It requires a 10% budget reduction in the first year after authorization expires, followed by 15% reductions in the second and third years. If a program remains unauthorized for three years, it must be terminated unless Congress reauthorizes it with a 3-year sunset provision. The bill creates a Spending and Accountability Commission to review direct spending programs and propose spending reductions that could prevent these budget cuts from taking effect.

Maddy summaryHR 1475, the Hospital Adoption Education Act of 2023, requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and distribute educational resources for hospital staff about adoption sensitivities and best practices for interacting with prospective birth mothers and adoptive families. The bill mandates creation of digital and print materials, a dedicated webpage for healthcare workers, and a committee including adoption experts, maternal health professionals, and social workers to guide development. It also directs HHS to provide hospital staff with adoption-focused training and consultation services through grants to eligible health education organizations (excluding child-placing agencies or abortion providers), with a $5 million authorization for 2023-2026. The law includes an evaluation to track hospitals adopting the training and staff receiving education, reporting results to Congress within three years.

Maddy summaryHR 1388 authorizes the minting of commemorative coins to honor the 1865 Sultana steamboat disaster, the deadliest maritime tragedy in U.S. history. It specifies three coin types ($5 gold, $1 silver, and half-dollar) with defined weights and compositions, to be sold at face value plus surcharges ($35, $10, and $5 per coin, respectively). All surcharges collected will fund the Sultana Historical Preservation Society for museum development, including exhibits, artifact preservation, and facility construction. The coins are legal tender but intended for collectors, with sales limited to a one-year period starting January 2023.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires student loan lenders to provide clear, plain-language disclosures to borrowers before loan disbursement and monthly throughout the loan term. Before disbursing a loan, lenders must give a written statement showing the loan's principal, interest rate, estimated repayment timeline, total projected cost (including fees), and how existing loans affect the borrower's total debt. Monthly statements must detail current balances, interest rates, payments made, interest accrued, and projections of future payments, including explanations of how interest capitalization increases long-term costs. These disclosures directly affect all borrowers of federal student loans and the lenders/servicers managing those loans, aiming to improve transparency about loan terms and costs.

Debt Solution and Accountability Act This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to submit to Congress a debt report and a statement of intent within 60 days of an increase in the public debt limit. The debt report must include the historic, current, and projected levels of debt; the drivers and composition of future debt; and how the United States will meet debt obligations. The statement of intent must include a detailed explanation of proposals of the President to reduce the debt; the impact the increased debt limit will have on future government spending, debt service, and the position of the U.S. dollar as the international reserve currency; and projections of the fiscal health and sustainability of major entitlement programs (including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid). Treasury must make the information required by this bill available to the public on its website. Upon request, Treasury must submit to Congress specified financial and economic data relevant to determining the amount of the public debt.

Maddy summaryHR 1200, the National Right-to-Work Act, prohibits requiring workers to join a union or pay dues as a condition of employment in both private-sector workplaces (covered by the National Labor Relations Act) and railroad industries (covered by the Railway Labor Act). The bill amends key sections of these laws to eliminate provisions that allowed union security agreements, meaning workers in unionized settings would no longer be forced to pay dues to retain their jobs. This directly affects employees in unionized workplaces across the U.S., particularly those in industries with existing union contracts that included mandatory dues. The law changes the legal framework to ensure union membership and dues payment remain voluntary for all workers.

Women's Public Health and Safety Act This bill allows a state to exclude from participation in the state's Medicaid program a provider that performs an abortion, unless (1) the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or (2) the woman suffers from a physical issue that would place her in danger of death unless an abortion is performed. Under current law, a state plan for medical assistance must provide that any individual eligible for medical assistance may obtain required services from any provider qualified to perform them.