Enhancing COPS Hiring Program Grants for Local Law Enforcement Act This bill allows funds under the Community Oriented Policing Services grant program to be used to provide bonuses for the recruitment and retention of law enforcement officers or career law enforcement officers.
Maddy summaryHR 3205, the Project Precursor Act, authorizes $64 million to strengthen Mexican law enforcement's capacity to disrupt fentanyl supply chains through equipment, training, and forensic support for agencies targeting fentanyl trafficking. The bill requires the U.S. to prioritize Mexico in anti-fentanyl efforts and mandates using U.S. fentanyl-related death tolls as the primary metric to evaluate program success, rather than drug seizure statistics. It also includes provisions for a public diplomacy campaign to delegitimize cartels, a report on Chinese operations in Mexico related to fentanyl, and expanded sanctions against foreign banks, money transmitters, and transnational criminal organizations like the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartels.
This resolution addresses the need for improvements to broadband infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, and the role of specified federal agencies in making such improvements.
Maddy summaryThe FEND Off Fentanyl Act (HR 3333) establishes new sanctions targeting foreign persons and transnational criminal organizations involved in fentanyl trafficking, specifically naming Mexican cartels like the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel. It authorizes the President to block transactions with individuals facilitating fentanyl trafficking and requires annual reports to Congress on enforcement actions. The bill also designates fentanyl-related transactions as a primary money laundering concern for financial institutions and extends the statute of limitations for sanctions violations to eight years. These measures aim to disrupt fentanyl trafficking networks by targeting both the drug flow and the financial mechanisms supporting them.
Maddy summaryHRES 372 is a non-binding House resolution expressing support for designating May 2023 as "Mental Health Awareness Month." It does not create new laws or allocate funds but formally urges the nation to recognize mental health as a priority. The resolution supports reducing stigma around mental illness, expanding access to mental health services, and emphasizing that mental well-being is as important as physical health. It highlights the need for greater awareness and resources, particularly for youth, veterans, and communities of color facing mental health disparities, but does not mandate any specific policy changes.
Maddy summaryThe PAST Act of 2023 amends the Horse Protection Act to ban specific devices used to cause pain (soring) in horses at shows, particularly affecting Tennessee Walking Horses, Racking Horses, and Spotted Saddle Horses. It defines prohibited "action devices" (like boots or chains causing friction) and requires licensed, conflict-free inspectors at events to enforce rules. The bill increases penalties for violations to up to $5,000 fines or 3 years in jail, and mandates longer disqualifications for repeat offenses (180 days → 1 year → 3 years). Horse show organizers, exhibitors, and participants must comply with these new inspection and penalty requirements.
Maddy summaryHR 3238, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2023, updates the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program to increase the availability of affordable housing across the United States. The bill makes several key changes including increasing state funding formulas, modifying tenant eligibility rules to better serve vulnerable populations (such as domestic violence victims and students), and expanding credit eligibility for projects in rural and Native American communities. Specific provisions raise the credit for properties serving extremely low-income households, clarify rules around tenant income increases, and require housing providers to protect victims of domestic violence. The bill also updates terminology from "low-income" to "affordable" throughout the tax code and enhances program transparency through data sharing requirements. These changes aim to make the LIHTC program more effective at creating and preserving affordable housing units for low-income households nationwide.
Direct Capital Access Act of 2023 or the DCA Act of 2023 This bill increases the number of daily round-trip flights allowed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Specifically, this bill adds 56 new slots at DCA to allow for 28 additional daily round-trip flights. (Airlines flying to and from DCA are subject to slot and perimeter rules set by federal law and regulation. The slot rules determine the total number of flight slots that can be handled in a given time period. In addition, a statutory perimeter rule limits nonstop flights to a 1,250-mile radius unless they are granted an exemption in law.) Current law limits DCA to a maximum of 67 hourly slots for flights both within- and beyond-perimeter; a round-trip flight serving DCA requires two slots (or a slot pair). Of those slots, 40 daily slots are exempt from the perimeter rule. Under the bill's slot increase, operations at DCA may not increase by more than eight flights per hour.
Maddy summaryThe Pay Our Correctional Officers Fairly Act adjusts pay for Bureau of Prisons employees currently assigned to the "Rest of U.S." pay locality. It directs that if an employee's worksite is within 200 miles of another pay locality, they will be paid according to the nearest locality with the highest pay rate - replacing the lower "Rest of U.S." rate. This applies to correctional officers and other Bureau of Prisons staff, but excludes employees whose worksite is more than 200 miles from any other locality. The change takes effect 180 days after the bill is enacted.
Maddy summaryThe Teachers LEAD Act of 2023 establishes a federal grant program to support teacher leadership development in public schools. The bill provides $400 million annually to fund structured leadership programs that allow experienced teachers to take on leadership roles while maintaining classroom teaching responsibilities. These programs must include shared decision-making, distributed leadership, and professional development opportunities, with specific requirements for teacher selection, compensation for leadership duties, and data collection on teacher retention. The program prioritizes high-need schools and aims to improve teacher retention, particularly for teachers from underrepresented populations. The Department of Education will track program effectiveness through annual reporting on teacher retention rates and other metrics.
