Sen. Michael F. Bennet

Maddy summaryS 696 creates "Ukrainian guest status" for individuals paroled into the U.S. under the Uniting for Ukraine program (announced April 2022). This status, effective from their initial parole date, grants eligible Ukrainians employment authorization and temporary legal presence. The status expires 120 days after the Secretary of State certifies that Ukraine hostilities have ended and safe return conditions exist. It can be revoked if the Secretary of Homeland Security determines an individual meets specific grounds under immigration law. This bill directly affects Ukrainians admitted through the Uniting for Ukraine parole process.

Maddy summaryThe Protect the West Act of 2025 establishes a $60 billion Outdoor and Watershed Restoration Fund to support ecological restoration projects across western U.S. landscapes. It creates two main programs: a $20 billion grant program to help eligible entities like state governments, tribes, and nonprofits plan and coordinate restoration projects, and a $40 billion partnership program focused on carrying out projects on Federal and non-Federal lands with high wildfire risk. The bill requires projects to improve forest conditions, watersheds, wildlife habitat, and reduce wildfire risks while creating jobs in outdoor industries, with special priority for projects in the wildland-urban interface and underserved communities. Projects must be coordinated with existing conservation programs and follow scientific best practices, with annual reporting requirements to track environmental benefits and job creation.

Maddy summaryThe Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act (S 674) excludes specific federal and state broadband grants from being counted as taxable income for recipients. It applies to grants from programs like the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) and similar state/local initiatives funded by federal broadband grants. The law prevents double tax benefits by disallowing deductions for expenses covered by the excluded grant and reducing the property’s cost basis by the grant amount. This directly affects broadband providers and local governments receiving these grants, making the funds tax-free without allowing additional tax deductions for the same spending.

Maddy summarySRES 80 is a Senate resolution introduced on February 13, 2025, expressing gratitude to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, the Architect of the Capitol, the Sergeant at Arms, the Secretary of the Senate, law enforcement officers, emergency personnel, and volunteers. It specifically acknowledges their work during the January 20, 2025 inauguration of President Donald J. Trump, noting their efforts to adapt to cold weather challenges that required relocating events indoors. The resolution has no policy impact and serves solely as a ceremonial acknowledgment of their contributions to the inauguration's security and success.

Maddy summaryThis bill, S 566 (the REPLACE Act), requires the President to waive fees for replacing critical documents (like passports or licenses) for individuals or households whose documents were destroyed in a major disaster where federal assistance is provided under the Stafford Act. It mandates that the President, after consulting with a state governor, must automatically provide these fee waivers to affected people. The Secretary of State and USCIS must publicly post information about these waivers online, and both agencies must annually report to Congress on the number of waivers granted and associated costs. This directly affects disaster survivors who lose essential identification documents, streamlining their access to replacements without fees.

Maddy summaryThis bill provides compensation to specific individuals and businesses affected by the 2015 Gold King Mine spill in Colorado. It allows eligible "injured persons" (like homeowners, farmers, or recreation businesses) who submitted claims by August 5, 2017, to seek payment for documented losses including lost income (excluding vacation rentals), livestock relocation costs, and crop damage occurring between August 5, 2015, and December 31, 2015. The Environmental Protection Agency Administrator will review claims, with payments limited to actual damages claimed and capped at $3.3 million total for fiscal year 2025. Accepting payment releases all related claims against the U.S. government under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a tax incentive for retrofitting fire sprinkler systems in qualifying high-rise residential buildings. It directly affects building owners and developers who install sprinklers in structures over 75 feet tall (measured from fire department access) that were built before current standards. The key provision amends the tax code to classify these sprinkler retrofits as "15-Year property," allowing faster depreciation deductions. This change applies to systems meeting National Fire Protection Association 13 standards installed in existing residential buildings. The bill modifies tax treatment but does not require sprinkler installation.

This resolution supports the designation of Career and Technical Education Month to celebrate career and technical education across the United States.

Protecting Sensitive Locations Act This bill prohibits immigration enforcement actions within 1,000 feet of a sensitive location except in exigent circumstances, such as the imminent risk of death, violence, or physical harm to any person. Sensitive locations include  health care facilities; schools and school bus stops; places that provide assistance for people such as children, pregnant women, and abuse victims; child care facilities; places that provide disaster or emergency services; places of worship; courthouses and lawyers’ offices; facilities used as polling places; certain labor union facilities; and public assistance offices. The prohibition shall apply to Department of Homeland Security officers and agents, as well as state employees pursuing immigration enforcement actions. If an enforcement action is carried out in violation of this prohibition (1) no information resulting from the action may be entered into the record in a resulting removal proceeding, and (2) the affected individual may move to immediately terminate such a proceeding. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall annually report to Congress about enforcement actions taken at sensitive locations in the preceding year.

Maddy summaryThis bill directs $1.4 billion annually (2025-2029) to upgrade U.S. Postal Service mailboxes with high-security models and replace physical "arrow keys" with electronic locks, directly affecting postal carriers and mail collection points. It requires the Attorney General to appoint dedicated prosecutors in each judicial district to coordinate investigations and prosecutions of crimes against postal employees, including assaults or robberies. The bill also mandates the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend guidelines so that assaults or robberies against postal employees are treated with the same severity as assaults against law enforcement officers. These changes aim to enhance physical security, improve legal responses to violence, and increase penalties for attacks on postal workers.