Rep. Derrick Van Orden

Maddy summaryThis resolution disapproves a Department of Energy rule that would have set new energy efficiency standards for consumer furnaces. The rule, published in the Federal Register (88 Fed. Reg. 87502), aimed to require furnace manufacturers to produce models meeting higher energy conservation levels. If enacted, this resolution would cancel the rule, preventing it from taking effect. As a result, current energy efficiency standards for furnaces would remain unchanged, and manufacturers would not face the new requirements.

Maddy summaryHRES 993 is a non-binding congressional resolution designating February as "Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month" to celebrate CTE programs nationwide. It supports CTE as a pathway preparing students for high-demand, skilled careers in fields like infrastructure and technology, recognizing that over 12 million students currently participate in CTE programs across high schools and colleges. The resolution encourages educators, counselors, and parents to promote CTE as a respected educational option, highlighting its role in reducing high school dropout rates and aligning student skills with workforce needs. It does not create new laws or allocate funding, but symbolically affirms bipartisan support for CTE, referencing the 1917 Smith-Hughes Act as foundational to current efforts.

Maddy summaryThe AFIDA Improvements Act of 2024 updates the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act to require foreign individuals or entities owning at least 1% of U.S. agricultural land (directly or through multiple ownership tiers) to report their holdings. It creates new enforcement duties for the Farm Production and Conservation Business Center (FPAC-BC) to validate data, ensure compliance, and identify violators. The bill mandates the Secretary of Agriculture to share foreign ownership reports with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and update agency handbooks using recommendations from a 2024 Government Accountability Office report. These changes apply directly to foreign landowners and agricultural agencies like the Farm Service Agency, aiming to improve transparency around foreign ownership of U.S. farmland.

This bill designates the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Tomah, Wisconsin, as the Jason Simcakoski Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Maddy summaryHR 6873 requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to include suicide rate data for former Reserve members who were never activated for active duty in its annual National Veteran Suicide Prevention Report. Specifically, the bill directs the VA Secretary (with Defense Department consultation) to add "covered Reserves" statistics - defined as former Reserve members who never served in active military service - to each report. This change addresses a gap noted in VA reports since 2020, which previously excluded data on this group despite 538 suicides among them in 2018. The bill does not alter benefits or services but mandates expanded data collection for transparency in suicide prevention reporting.

Maddy summaryThis bill expands federal support for biorefinery development by creating new competitive grants to fund pilot and demonstration-scale facilities that produce advanced biofuels (like ultra-low-carbon bioethanol), renewable chemicals, and biobased products. Eligible entities, including companies and cooperatives, can apply for grants covering up to 60% of project costs, with funding prioritized based on criteria like environmental benefits, rural economic development potential, innovative feedstock use, and market viability. The legislation authorizes $100 million annually from 2024 through 2028 for these grants, while updating existing loan guarantee provisions to align with the new program structure. It directly affects developers of biorefinery technologies aiming to commercialize renewable biomass conversion processes.

Maddy summaryThe LAKES Act (HR 6906) allows local governments and nonprofit organizations to collect and retain user fees for managing lakes and recreation facilities under Army Corps of Engineers projects. It requires that at least 80% of fees collected at a specific site be used for that site's maintenance, while permitting entities to keep up to 100% of fees for related operations. The bill modifies existing laws to ensure these fees supplement, not replace, regular federal funding for recreation facilities. It directly affects local public entities and nonprofits managing Corps-managed water resources. The key change is enabling these groups to retain and use user fees they collect, improving local funding for facility upkeep.

Maddy summaryThe Death Tax Repeal Act would eliminate the federal estate tax and generation-skipping transfer tax for estates of people who die on or after the bill's enactment date, and for generation-skipping transfers made after that date. It would also establish a new $10 million lifetime gift tax exemption (adjusted annually for inflation) and replace the existing gift tax rate schedule with a revised structure. These changes would primarily affect high-net-worth individuals and their heirs, as the estate tax and gift tax typically apply to large estates or gifts exceeding the new exemption threshold. The bill's provisions would take effect on the date of enactment, with transitional rules for the year the bill is signed into law.

Maddy summaryHR 7037, the SPEAR Act, amends the Endangered Species Act to prevent the federal government from listing lake sturgeon populations in Wisconsin as threatened or endangered. It specifically excludes Wisconsin's lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) from federal protection under the Endangered Species Act by modifying Section 4(a) of the law. The bill directly affects Wisconsin's lake sturgeon populations and preserves the state's existing management program, including the annual sturgeon spearing season, which is managed through mandatory data collection and harvest caps. This change ensures Wisconsin's successful, locally managed sturgeon fishery and cultural traditions remain unaffected by federal endangered species determinations.

Maddy summaryHR 1147, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2023, allows schools participating in the National School Lunch Program to offer whole milk as an option during lunch. It amends the school lunch law to explicitly permit schools to serve flavored and unflavored whole milk alongside reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-free milk choices for students. The bill also requires the Secretary of Agriculture to adjust meal regulations to account for saturated fat from whole milk, ensuring it doesn't count against meal fat limits. This change directly affects participating schools and the students who receive school lunches, expanding their milk beverage options.