Rep. Robert P. Bresnahan, Jr.

Maddy summaryHR 1960, the Simplifying Veterans Assistance Act of 2025, modifies how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) assists organizations applying for grants to support homeless veterans. It requires the VA to make online guidance and best practices publicly available and hold at least two mandatory pre-application information sessions for entities seeking these grants. Each session must last at least one hour, include Q&A, explain application language, and detail other assistance resources. This directly affects veterans' service organizations applying for homeless assistance grants under existing VA programs.

Maddy summaryHR 2687, the End Kidney Deaths Act, creates a federal tax credit for living kidney donors who give non-directed donations (meaning they don't know the recipient's identity). It provides a $10,000 annual credit for five years ($50,000 total) to donors whose kidney is removed after December 31, 2026, with special rules if the donor dies during this period. The credit applies only to living, non-directed kidney donations and explicitly states it does not count as "valuable consideration" under laws prohibiting organ sales. This bill directly affects living kidney donors who choose to donate anonymously, aiming to incentivize such donations by offsetting related costs through tax relief. The credit expires after December 31, 2036.

Maddy summaryHR 2678, "Ellie’s Law," authorizes $20 million annually from fiscal years 2026 through 2030 for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to conduct new research on unruptured brain aneurysms. The funding specifically aims to study diverse patient populations by age, sex, and race, addressing gaps in current research. This bill directly affects the estimated 6.8 million Americans with unruptured brain aneurysms - particularly women and people of color, who face higher rupture risks - by advancing medical understanding of the condition. The law requires the funds to supplement, not replace, existing research budgets.

Maddy summaryThe Tax Fairness for Workers Act (HR 2671) would allow certain employees to deduct work-related expenses directly from their gross income. Specifically, it creates an above-the-line deduction for union dues (amending IRC Section 62(a)(1)) and reinstates a deduction for other out-of-pocket work costs like uniforms or tools (amending IRC Section 67(g)), effective for 2025 tax years. This directly affects union members and workers with significant job-related expenses who previously could not deduct these costs. The bill removes the prior limitation that barred these deductions, making them available without needing to itemize. The policy change simplifies tax filing for affected workers by treating these expenses as deductible business costs.

Maddy summaryThis bill, HR 2102 (Major Richard Star Act), allows veterans with combat-related disabilities to receive both full military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation simultaneously, without the previous offset that reduced retired pay. It directly affects veterans already eligible for both benefits due to combat-related injuries, removing the requirement that their retired pay be reduced by the disability compensation amount. The key provision amends Title 10 and Title 38 to eliminate the offset rule (sections 5304 and 5305 of Title 38) for these veterans. The change applies to payments starting after the bill’s enactment date, effective for all qualifying veterans. This is a policy change to increase financial support for affected veterans, not a new benefit.

Maddy summaryHR 2630, the Youth Suicide Prevention Research Act, amends the Advancing Research to Prevent Suicide Act to require the National Science Foundation (NSF) to prioritize research on adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress as key factors in youth suicide prevention. This change directly affects the NSF's research funding decisions under existing law, directing it to include these specific areas in its studies on childhood suicide. The bill does not create new funding but expands the scope of research the NSF must consider when conducting or supporting suicide prevention studies. It aims to strengthen the evidence base for understanding risk factors in youth mental health.

Maddy summaryHR 2594 establishes a Water Risk and Resilience Organization (WRRO), certified by the EPA Administrator, to develop and enforce cybersecurity standards for large water systems. It directly affects community water systems serving 3,300+ people or similar treatment works, requiring them to meet WRRO-developed cybersecurity risk and resilience requirements. The WRRO proposes these standards, which the EPA must approve within 90 days if deemed reasonable, and monitors compliance through annual self-attestations and 5-year third-party assessments. The bill creates a process for penalties (up to $25,000/day) for noncompliance, with appeals to the EPA, while ensuring state authority remains intact.

Maddy summaryHR 1995, the Securing American Agriculture Act, requires the Secretary of Agriculture to annually assess U.S. dependency on critical agricultural inputs that could be exploited by China, such as fertilizers, feed, veterinary drugs, seeds, and equipment. The assessment must detail current domestic production, supply chain vulnerabilities, and recommend ways to reduce reliance on China, including legislative changes to encourage domestic production. It protects confidential business data by prohibiting the use of submitted information for purposes beyond aggregate reporting and ensuring no identifiable details are disclosed. The bill directly affects the Department of Agriculture, which must report these findings to Congress annually, without mandating new regulations or actions.

Maddy summaryThe FARMLAND Act of 2025 strengthens oversight of foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land, particularly from countries like China and other "foreign entities of concern" as defined in the law. It requires agricultural land buyers to conduct due diligence and certify compliance, creates civil penalties for false or missing reports, and prohibits foreign persons from participating in Farm Service Agency programs. The bill mandates annual reports to Congress on foreign ownership of farmland by specific countries and requires development of a centralized database tracking foreign ownership. It also expands the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' authority to review certain real estate transactions involving foreign entities of concern.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes special base pay rates for wildland firefighters employed by the Forest Service or Department of the Interior, increasing their base pay by specific percentages (from 1.5% to 42%) based on their grade. It creates "incident response premium pay" at 450% of hourly rate for firefighters deployed to respond to qualifying wildfire incidents, with a yearly maximum of $9,000. The bill also provides for paid rest and recuperation leave following wildfire incident response. These provisions replace temporary pay increases that were previously authorized under other legislation and directly affect wildland firefighters who perform duties related to wildland fires.