Rep. Blake D. Moore

Maddy summaryThe STAR Act of 2025 adds a 25% tax credit for qualified semiconductor design expenses incurred by U.S. companies. It directly affects businesses conducting semiconductor design in the United States, covering both in-house costs (like wages and supplies for U.S. design work) and contracted design services. The credit excludes duplicating existing products, cosmetic design, or activities unrelated to performance or reliability improvements. This incentive expires for design expenses paid after December 31, 2036.

Maddy summaryHR 817, the Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025, creates a new tax credit allowing individuals to claim up to 10% of their adjusted gross income (capped at $5,000) for charitable contributions to scholarship granting organizations. These organizations provide education scholarships to eligible students from households with income not exceeding 300% of the area median gross income, covering qualified expenses like tuition, curriculum materials, and educational therapies. The bill establishes strict requirements for scholarship organizations, including verifying household income, conducting annual audits, and distributing scholarships to multiple students without government control. It also prohibits government entities from mandating or controlling scholarship organizations or excluding private or religious schools from receiving scholarship funds, while exempting scholarship amounts from taxable income for recipients. The tax credit is limited to $5 billion annually for 2025-2028, allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Maddy summaryHR 801, the Charitable Act, creates a new tax deduction for individuals who do not itemize deductions on their federal tax returns. It allows these taxpayers to deduct up to one-third of their standard deduction amount for charitable contributions in 2026 and 2027. The bill directly affects non-itemizing individual taxpayers by providing a limited, direct deduction for charitable giving without requiring them to itemize. The deduction is capped at 1/3 of the standard deduction amount for those tax years, effective for returns filed in 2027 and 2028.

Maddy summaryHR 745 requires federal agencies to conduct studies on the monetary value of minerals in specific areas. The Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management must each complete studies within three years to assess the value of oil, gas, and minerals in designated onshore and offshore areas, excluding national parks and certain monuments. These studies will cover areas like national monuments (excluding marine ones), areas under environmental protection, and lands withdrawn from mining or leasing. The bill does not authorize new mining or leasing but mandates data collection for future decision-making.

Maddy summaryHR 21, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, requires medical staff at abortion facilities to provide the same immediate care and hospital admission to any infant born alive during an abortion as they would for any newborn. It mandates reporting failures to provide this care to law enforcement and imposes penalties of up to 5 years in prison for violations, with harsher penalties for intentional killing. The bill also allows women who undergo abortions to sue for civil damages, including triple the abortion cost, and provides for attorney fees. It defines "abortion" to exclude procedures performed after viability to preserve a live birth. This law directly affects healthcare providers at abortion facilities and creates new federal legal obligations for them.

Maddy summaryHR 703, the Main Street Tax Certainty Act, makes a key tax deduction permanent for small business owners. It removes the temporary sunset provision (subsection (i)) from Section 199A of the tax code, ensuring the qualified business income deduction remains available for eligible small businesses. This change directly affects pass-through business owners (like S-corps, partnerships, and sole proprietorships) who currently qualify for this deduction. The permanent change takes effect for tax years starting after December 31, 2025.

Maddy summaryHR 650, the Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act, protects parents’ fundamental right to direct their child’s education, moral or religious upbringing, and health care decisions. It prohibits government (including agencies and officials) from substantially interfering with these parental choices without proving a "compelling governmental interest" using strict scrutiny. The bill applies to all federal laws and programs, allowing parents to challenge government actions in court and seek remedies if their rights are violated. It specifically exempts cases involving serious child safety risks but aims to prevent government overreach in parenting decisions based on disagreement with parental choices. This bill directly affects parents of children under 18 and sets a legal standard for how government can interact with family decisions.

Maddy summaryThis bill clarifies the definition of "numismatic material" to explicitly include coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects under U.S. import rules. It requires importers to provide sworn declarations confirming such items were lawfully acquired, are of a known type (as documented in published numismatic references), and are not linked to illicit excavations. Customs officers must accept this documentation alone unless they have probable cause to suspect fraud, preventing unnecessary additional requirements. The changes primarily affect collectors, dealers, and importers of numismatic items by streamlining lawful import procedures.

Maddy summaryThe ALIGN Act (HR 574) allows businesses to immediately deduct the full cost of certain qualifying equipment and property (like machinery or tools) instead of spreading the deduction over several years. This permanent tax change directly affects businesses that invest in eligible property placed in service after September 2017. The key provision eliminates the previous depreciation rules for these assets, providing an immediate tax benefit to encourage capital investment. It does not change tax rates or apply to all business expenses, only specific types of equipment meeting the defined criteria.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires the Treasury Secretary to regularly report to Congress about foreign countries that impose taxes on U.S. businesses or individuals considered unfair (extraterritorial or discriminatory taxes). For countries identified in these reports, it authorizes the U.S. to increase tax rates on income and withholdings from those countries, starting at 5% and increasing up to 20% over time. The bill also allows the U.S. to prohibit federal government purchases from entities in those countries and to consider these tax policies when negotiating tax treaties or trade agreements. It would directly affect U.S. businesses and individuals doing business with countries that have these tax policies, as well as those countries' businesses operating in the U.S.