Sen. Jim Banks

Maddy summaryThis bill directs the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism when reviewing discrimination complaints under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. It specifically applies to cases involving discrimination based on Jewish ancestry or ethnic characteristics in schools and programs receiving federal funding. The bill clarifies that this guidance does not expand the Department’s authority, alter existing discrimination standards, or affect First Amendment rights. It aims to ensure consistent enforcement against antisemitism in federally funded education settings, building on existing Department practices since 2019.

Maddy summaryThe Combating Organized Retail Crime Act amends federal law to strengthen legal tools for addressing organized retail crime, including theft from stores, online, and supply chains. It establishes a new Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement efforts. The Center will share information, assist with investigations, track crime trends, and provide training to combat these crimes. The bill expands legal definitions to include organized retail crime as a specific category and requires annual reports on the Center's activities. The Center will operate for 7 years before sunset.

Maddy summaryThis bill increases the federal tax credit for rehabilitating historic buildings from 20% to 30% for projects under $3.75 million (or $5 million in rural areas), up from the current rate. It allows property owners to transfer unused credits to other taxpayers and expands eligibility to include more building types. The bill also removes certain tax adjustments for these projects and simplifies rules for tax-exempt properties. These changes primarily affect developers and owners of small historic properties, especially in rural communities seeking tax incentives for rehabilitation.

Maddy summaryThis bill modifies tax reporting rules for payment platforms like Venmo or PayPal. It reinstates a higher reporting threshold, requiring third-party payment processors to report transactions only if a user's total exceeds $20,000 or 200 transactions in a year - reverting to pre-American Rescue Plan rules. The law directly affects payment processors and small businesses/freelancers who receive frequent small payments through these platforms. It takes effect for 2025 calendar years, reducing administrative burdens for low-volume transactions.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires states that use federal Medicaid funds to pay abortion providers to submit detailed annual reports to the federal government. The reports must include specific payment amounts, purposes, comparisons to prior years, the number of abortions performed, gestational age, and abortion method for each provider. States must also publish these reports online, and the federal government must compile and publish a summary for Congress. The law directly affects states administering Medicaid who fund abortions, mandating transparency about these payments using plain language definitions of "abortion" and "abortion provider."

Maddy summaryThe Family First Act permanently expands the child tax credit to $4,200 per child under age 6 and $3,000 per child ages 6-16, with phaseouts for higher-income households. It creates a new $2,800 credit for pregnant mothers requiring medical certification of pregnancy at 20+ weeks, excluding cases involving induced abortion (except for medical reasons). The bill also simplifies the Earned Income Tax Credit, eliminates the head of household filing status, and limits certain deductions for taxpayers. These provisions apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025, and require social security numbers for both taxpayers and qualifying children to claim the credits.

Maddy summaryS 1399, the Health Tech Investment Act, creates a new Medicare payment category for algorithm-based healthcare services (like AI tools used in diagnosis or treatment) starting January 1, 2026. It requires Medicare to pay based on manufacturer costs (including software, staff, and overhead) and protects these services in the special payment category for at least five years, preventing reassignment without sufficient claims data. This directly affects Medicare beneficiaries receiving these AI-driven services and healthcare technology companies developing them. The bill also codifies existing Medicare payment rules for software-as-a-service starting January 1, 2023.

Maddy summaryThe Returning Education to Our States Act would terminate the U.S. Department of Education and transfer its functions to other federal departments, including moving elementary and secondary education block grants to the Department of Health and Human Services, student financial assistance to the Department of Treasury, and career and technical education programs to the Department of Labor. The bill would repeal most of the General Education Provisions Act but preserve FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) protections for student records. Specific programs like Native American education would transfer to the Department of Interior, while special education programs would move to the Department of Health and Human Services. The transfer would occur one year after enactment, fundamentally reorganizing federal education administration by shifting oversight from the Department of Education to other executive branch departments.

Maddy summaryThis bill, the Nuclear Family Priority Act, would change U.S. immigration policy by removing parents from the list of immediate family members eligible for visas, prioritizing only spouses and children of permanent residents. It reduces the worldwide annual cap for family-sponsored visas from 226,000 to 88,000, with the remainder subject to country-specific limits. Additionally, it creates a new temporary nonimmigrant visa category for parents of adult U.S. citizens (age 21+), requiring the U.S. citizen child to provide health insurance, cover support costs, and limiting stay to 5 years with no work authorization. These changes directly affect family immigration pathways and parents seeking to join adult children in the U.S.

Maddy summaryS.1329, the PEER Support Act, establishes formal standards for peer support specialists in mental health and substance use recovery. It defines the profession (requiring lived experience and certification), mandates the federal government to create a new occupational category for these specialists by 2026, and creates an Office of Recovery within SAMHSA to support workforce development and best practices. The bill also requires a federal report analyzing state criminal background check policies for peer specialists and recommending ways to reduce barriers to certification. This legislation directly affects peer support specialists, state certification agencies, and federal agencies like SAMHSA, aiming to professionalize the field and improve access to recovery support services.