Sen. Bill Cassidy

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 extends Medicare payment incentives for healthcare providers using alternative payment models, directly affecting Medicare participating doctors and hospitals. It updates specific years in payment formulas from 2026 to 2027 and adjusts the 2027 incentive rate from 1.88% to 3.53%. The key mechanism modifies Medicare payment rules to maintain existing financial incentives through 2028, ensuring continuity for providers participating in these models. The changes are technical amendments to the Social Security Act's Medicare provisions.

Maddy summaryThe NO FAKES Act of 2025 establishes legal rights for individuals to control how their voice and visual likeness is used in AI-generated digital replicas. It defines "digital replicas" as highly realistic computer-generated representations that are readily identifiable as an individual's voice or appearance, granting individuals (and their heirs) the right to authorize or prohibit such uses. The law creates liability for unauthorized use of digital replicas or distribution of products designed to create them without authorization, while providing safe harbors for online services that follow specific procedures for handling claims. It preempts state laws regarding voice and visual likeness rights in digital replicas (with limited exceptions) and establishes a 10-year post-mortem right that can be renewed for additional 5-year periods if there's active public use.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends federal rules governing physician self-referral to improve access for rural hospitals. It creates a new exemption for "covered rural hospitals" (defined as rural facilities meeting specific criteria) from certain referral restrictions, while clarifying they aren't required to meet additional criteria. It also removes a prohibition on expanding existing physician-owned hospitals, allowing such expansions to begin immediately upon enactment. The changes directly affect rural hospitals qualifying under the new definition and physician-owned hospitals seeking to expand. The bill modifies existing Social Security Act provisions without creating new programs or funding.

Maddy summaryThe Foreign Pollution Fee Act of 2025 would impose a variable fee on imported goods from countries with higher pollution intensity than equivalent US-made products. The fee rate (ranging from 0% to 200%) would be determined by the difference in pollution intensity between the country of origin and the US baseline. It targets specific products including aluminum, cement, steel, fertilizers, glass, hydrogen, solar products, and battery inputs. The bill includes mechanisms for countries to reduce or eliminate the fee through international partnership agreements that meet certain environmental standards. The fee is intended to address what the bill describes as an unfair cost advantage for foreign producers with weaker environmental regulations.

Maddy summaryThe REPAIR Act of 2025 creates new rules for challenging environmental project approvals required under federal law. It sets a 120-day deadline for filing challenges to project approvals and limits courts to remanding approvals (sending them back for review) rather than vacating them, unless there's an immediate threat to health or the environment. The bill establishes a mediation process where project sponsors and federal agencies must work with the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council to fix approval issues within 60 days. It also requires a public database tracking cases not resolved within 90 days of filing.

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 1357, the SAFE Act) requires companies seeking to list securities on U.S. exchanges or already listed to disclose specific ties to the Chinese government. It mandates annual disclosures on whether the Chinese government provided financial support (like subsidies, loans, or tax breaks), the conditions attached to that support (such as export requirements or intellectual property use), the presence of Chinese Communist Party committees within the company, and details about officers/directors with prior government roles in China. The disclosure rules apply to all issuers filing reports under Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act. The Securities and Exchange Commission must implement these rules within 180 days of the bill's enactment.

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 1358, the TASK Act) requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to mandate specific reporting for publicly traded U.S. companies with operations in China or supply chains linked to Xinjiang, China. It directs companies to report on: (1) supply chain sourcing checks for products imported from Xinjiang using forced labor; (2) transactions with companies sanctioned by Commerce or Treasury (e.g., military-linked firms); and (3) annual disclosures about Chinese Communist Party committees in their China operations and related decisions. The reporting aims to increase transparency around supply chain risks and ties to sanctioned entities, as part of the SEC’s evaluation of ESG (environmental, social, governance) disclosure guidance. It directly affects U.S. companies operating in China or sourcing goods from Xinjiang.

Maddy summaryThis resolution (SRES 159) is a ceremonial Senate measure honoring the late Senator John Bennett Johnston, Jr. (1932-2024), who represented Louisiana in the U.S. Senate from 1972 to 1997. It commemorates his career, including his work on energy policy, flood control, and Louisiana conservation efforts, and requests the Senate adjourn in his memory while sending condolences to his family. As a non-binding resolution, it has no policy impact or direct effect on any individuals or laws.

Maddy summarySJRES 46 is a joint resolution seeking congressional disapproval of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule concerning California's vehicle emission standards. The rule, submitted in 2023, relates to California's pollution control requirements for motor vehicles, including advanced clean trucks, zero-emission airport shuttles, and heavy-duty engine emissions. This resolution would block the rule from taking effect using a specific federal disapproval process under Title 5 of the U.S. Code. If passed, the rule would have no legal force, meaning California's current standards would remain without the EPA's formal approval for these specific provisions.