Rep. Marilyn Strickland

Maddy summaryThis bill directs the U.S. President to identify Pakistani officials responsible for undermining democracy and human rights within 180 days of enactment, then impose Global Magnitsky sanctions on them. It targets senior government, military, or security officials found to have committed gross human rights violations or interfered with democratic processes, such as during Pakistan’s 2024 elections or through constitutional changes. Sanctions would include asset freezes and travel bans, with exceptions for humanitarian aid, UN obligations, and national security activities. The bill expires on September 30, 2030, and aims to pressure Pakistan to uphold democratic norms, human rights, and judicial independence.

Maddy summaryThe TERRA Act enables Indian Tribes to integrate funding from multiple federal programs into comprehensive plans addressing environmental threats and natural disasters, including climate impacts like flooding, erosion, wildfires, and sea level rise. The bill streamlines administrative processes by requiring only a single annual report instead of multiple reports from individual programs and allows tribes to reallocate funds across different services as needed. It establishes a streamlined permitting process for environmental reviews and creates an expedited fee-to-trust process for land acquisitions to support community-driven relocation efforts. The Act aims to reduce bureaucratic barriers while empowering tribes to address environmental challenges through their own community-driven strategies within the federal trust responsibility framework.

Maddy summaryThis bill changes how the military calculates income for the Basic Needs Allowance. It excludes the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) from the gross household income calculation for eligible service members. As a result, service members' housing payments will no longer count toward their income when determining their Basic Needs Allowance eligibility or amount. This directly affects active-duty military members and their families who receive the Basic Needs Allowance. The change modifies the existing calculation method under Title 37, U.S. Code, to simplify the process.

Maddy summaryThis bill increases federal funding for Impact Aid, which supports school districts that serve students on federal property (like military bases) or have high numbers of children with disabilities. It authorizes specific annual funding amounts for four key areas: payments for federal property acquisition, basic support for heavily impacted districts, aid for children with disabilities, and school construction. The funding grows incrementally each year from 2026 through 2031, with total annual amounts rising from $85 million to $250 million for property payments, and from $1.49 billion to $2.35 billion for basic district support. This directly affects school districts in communities with significant federal land or federal facility presence.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits Members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from owning or trading certain investments, including stocks, commodities, and derivatives (referred to as "covered investments"). It requires affected individuals to divest these investments within 90-180 days, with specific exemptions for Treasury bonds, diversified mutual funds, small business interests, and family trusts meeting strict conditions. Violations incur penalties of 10% of the investment's value plus disgorgement of profits, paid directly to the U.S. Treasury. The law applies to all covered individuals during federal service, with exceptions for investments acquired through inheritance or occupational trading (e.g., a spouse’s finance job).

Maddy summaryHR 4917, the Expanding the VOTE Act, amends the Voting Rights Act to increase language access for voters. It expands the definition of "voting materials" to include digital formats and requires states to provide language assistance (both written and oral) for minority language groups, with special provisions for American Indian and Alaska Native languages when written translations aren't feasible. The bill creates grants to help jurisdictions provide voting materials in languages that don't currently trigger Section 203 coverage, and mandates a study on lowering population thresholds for language assistance requirements. This directly affects states, local election jurisdictions, and voters who speak minority languages, including those in communities not currently covered by existing language access rules.

Maddy summaryHR 4912, the Help America Run Act, amends federal campaign finance law to allow candidates to use campaign funds for essential personal expenses like childcare, elder care, and health insurance premiums (excluding current officeholders for health insurance). This directly affects everyday Americans - particularly working parents, caregivers, and those relying on employer health insurance - who face economic barriers to running for office. The bill’s key provision expands permissible campaign expenditures to cover these services when necessary for campaign activities or holding federal office. It aims to reduce financial hurdles for non-wealthy candidates, addressing findings that Congress underrepresents working-class individuals and women. The change would take effect upon the bill’s enactment.

Youth Voting Rights Act This bill expands voting access for youth. Specifically, the bill establishes a private right of action to enforce the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, which prohibits denying or abridging the right to vote based on age. Further, the bill authorizes the Department of Justice to enforce the Twenty-Sixth Amendment against age-based restrictions for voting by mail. Additionally, the bill directs each state to designate as voter registration agencies all offices within public institutions of higher education (IHEs) that provide assistance to students, implement a preregistration process to allow minors who are 16 years or older to register to vote in federal elections that take place when or after the preregistered individual turns age 18, and ensure the availability of polling places on campuses of IHEs (with the availability of waivers). The bill prohibits durational residency requirements for voting in all federal elections. Currently, this prohibition applies only to voting for the offices of President and Vice President. States and local jurisdictions with voter identification requirements must treat IHE-issued student identification cards as voter identification. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must make grants to states to increase the involvement of individuals under age 18 in public election activities. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on trends related to voter registration, absentee voting, and provisional voting. The EAC must also collect and make publicly available certain data from states.

Maddy summaryThe Election Mail Act (HR 4915) establishes new standards for handling voting-by-mail materials in Federal elections. It requires the Postal Service to process absentee ballots the same day received, add postmarks showing mailing dates, and treat election mail as first-class with free postage for completed ballots. States must provide ballot return envelopes with tracking barcodes and accept mailed ballots postmarked on election day if received within 7 days. These provisions apply to Federal elections starting in 2026, with some requirements taking effect sooner.

Maddy summaryThe Time Off to Vote Act requires employers with 25 or more employees to provide two hours of paid leave for federal elections. Employees can use this leave to vote in person, return mail-in ballots, or perform other voting activities during open polling hours. Employers may set the specific two-hour window (excluding lunch breaks) but cannot deny the leave, retaliate against employees who take it, or cause loss of accrued benefits. Violations could result in civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation, enforced by the Department of Labor.