Maddy summaryS 23, the "DRAIN THE SWAMP Act," requires federal agencies to relocate at least 30% of their Washington, D.C.-based headquarters employees to offices outside the Washington metropolitan area within one year of enactment. It mandates that relocated employees receive pay based on their new location’s pay locality, cannot telework full-time, and excludes national security staff (e.g., Defense, Intelligence, and Homeland Security personnel) from the requirement. The bill also directs agencies to reduce headquarters office space by 30% within two years and requires annual reports to Congress detailing employee relocations, telework status, and disability accommodations. It directly affects federal employees with permanent Washington, D.C. duty stations (excluding exempt national security roles), altering their work location, pay structure, and telework eligibility.
Sponsored bills
Maddy summaryThis bill would make daylight saving time permanent across the United States by repealing the current rule that requires switching back to standard time in the fall. It directly affects all states and territories, though it preserves exemptions for areas like Arizona and Hawaii that currently skip daylight saving time. Key provisions include adjusting time zone calculations in historical laws (e.g., changing "4 hours" to "3 hours" in time zone references) and allowing states that already opted out of daylight saving time to maintain their preferred standard time. The bill does not create new policies but changes the legal framework to end seasonal time changes.
Maddy summaryThis bill adds new federal district court judgeships to address growing case backlogs. It authorizes 66 permanent judgeships to be appointed starting in 2025 (with an additional 34 in 2029) across specific districts in Arizona, California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New York, and others, based on current caseload data. It also creates temporary judgeships for Oklahoma districts (Eastern and Northern) that expire after five years if vacancies occur. The bill aims to reduce the average of 491 cases per judgeship by increasing staffing in overburdened courts, as identified by the Judicial Conference.
Maddy summaryThis bill extends existing authorities for the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to address drone technology (UAS). It changes the expiration date of these authorities from December 20, 2024, to September 30, 2025. The bill does not create new powers but allows current drone-related operations to continue under the same framework for an additional year.
Maddy summaryThis bill requires federal agencies responsible for emergency response (covered agencies) to create internal control plans for managing taxpayer funds during disasters or health emergencies. Agencies must identify a senior official accountable for these plans and assess fraud or improper payment risks before spending emergency funds. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must issue guidance within 180 days, and agencies must submit their plans to OMB within one year of enactment, with updates every three years. Annual reports on these plans will also be submitted to Congress. The law aims to improve accountability for emergency spending without subjecting OMB or agency actions to judicial review.
Maddy summaryThis bill designates the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Tulsa, Oklahoma (located at 440 South Houston Avenue) as the "James Mountain Inhofe VA Medical Center." It changes the facility's official name for all federal references, including laws, documents, and maps, to honor former U.S. Senator James Mountain Inhofe. The bill does not alter healthcare services, funding, or eligibility for veterans.
Maddy summaryThe Chance to Compete Act of 2024 reforms federal civil service hiring by replacing degree-based requirements with skills- and competency-based assessments for positions in the competitive service. It requires federal agencies to use "technical assessments" - position-specific tools to evaluate job-related skills, abilities, and knowledge - instead of relying primarily on educational credentials. During a 3-year transition period, agencies must prioritize technical assessments, with limited waivers available for specific job series where such assessments are deemed impractical. The bill also mandates detailed reporting on implementation progress and hiring data, including demographic breakdowns, to track how the new system affects applicants and hiring outcomes.
Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a $137.5 million settlement for the Quapaw Nation and its members, resolving a long-standing legal claim (Bear v. U.S., No. 13-51X) by directing the Secretary of the Interior to create a dedicated trust account. Funds will be distributed according to a plan agreed upon by the Quapaw Nation and its members, with mediation required within 45 days of enactment to resolve allocation disputes. If mediation fails, the Secretary can implement a final distribution plan after a hearing, following procedures outlined in a prior court report. The settlement directly affects the Quapaw Nation and its members identified in the court case.
Maddy summaryThe MERP Clarifications Act of 2024 amends the Clean Air Act to clarify the Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP), primarily affecting small oil and gas facilities. It automatically exempts facilities generating less than 25,000 metric tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalent) and employing 2,500 or fewer people from reporting requirements and charges under the program. The bill also exempts facilities complying with existing EPA regulations (subparts OOOOb/OOOOc) in states with approved implementation plans. Additionally, it delays program charges until specific conditions are met, including full grant disbursement and finalized EPA rule revisions, and mandates clearer public explanations of calculation methods.
Maddy summaryThis bill creates a public online tracker (the "Senate Confirmed Position Tracker") managed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to monitor Senate-confirmed executive branch roles. It requires weekly updates showing, for each covered position (policy/support roles needing Senate confirmation), whether it's filled by a confirmed official, an acting official, or vacant, broken down by agency, Senate committee, and position type. Executive agencies must report data on new positions, acting appointments, and vacancy timelines to the GAO, while the tracker will display trends and analyze long-term vacancies. The system aims to improve transparency about staffing gaps in federal agencies, with annual reports to Congress on agency compliance and biennial reviews assessing implementation.