Sen. Peter Welch

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 617, the OPIOIDS Act) provides federal funding to improve data collection and law enforcement response to opioid overdoses. It directly affects states, localities, and law enforcement agencies in areas with high overdose rates by authorizing grants for better toxicology testing, data linkage across systems, and training officers to identify overdoses and trace drugs. Key provisions include mandatory reporting to a national database for grant recipients, standardized reporting requirements for forensic labs, and funding for fentanyl containment equipment for first responders. The bill focuses on concrete data-sharing improvements and resource allocation, without mandating new reporting burdens for state/local labs.

Maddy summaryThe I CAN Act aims to expand healthcare access by removing barriers for nurse practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthetists, and certified nurse-midwives in Medicare and Medicaid programs. Key provisions include allowing nurse practitioners to certify patients for cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation programs without physician supervision, expanding coverage for services provided by certified nurse-midwives in home health care, and removing unnecessary supervision requirements for nurse anesthetists. The bill changes Medicare rules to permit these advanced practice nurses to provide more services directly to patients in settings like hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health care. This would directly affect millions of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries who receive care from these healthcare providers. The changes would take effect 90 days after enactment, with some provisions applying to services furnished on or after that date.

Maddy summaryThe SAD Act prohibits crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) from making deceptive claims about offering abortion services, contraception, or licensed medical care. It targets CPCs - anti-abortion organizations that mislead patients with false information, often near community health centers - to prevent them from discouraging access to reproductive care. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces the law, with penalties up to $100,000 per violation or 50% of a CPC’s revenue, and requires annual FTC reports on enforcement actions. This directly affects CPCs and aims to ensure accurate information for people seeking abortion care, particularly low-income women and women of color facing heightened barriers post-Dobbs.

Credit Union Board Modernization Act This bill revises the required frequency of meetings held by a credit union's board of directors. Specifically, new credit unions and credit unions with a low soundness rating must meet monthly. All other credit unions must hold at least six meetings annually, with at least one meeting held during each fiscal quarter. Currently, all credit union boards must meet at least once a month.

Maddy summaryS 526, the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act of 2025, requires pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) - the middlemen managing drug coverage for health plans - to disclose financial details and stop unfair practices. It prohibits PBMs from keeping price differences between what they charge health plans and pay pharmacies, arbitrarily clawing back payments, or inflating fees to offset government-mandated changes. PBMs must annually report to the FTC and HHS on rebate sharing, fee structures, formulary changes, and reimbursement differences, including whether drug tier shifts were influenced by manufacturers. This directly affects PBMs, pharmacies, health plans, and patients by increasing transparency in drug pricing and reimbursement.

Maddy summaryS 529, the Capping Prescription Costs Act of 2025, limits how much individuals and families must pay annually out-of-pocket for prescription drugs under most health insurance plans. Starting in 2026, it caps these costs at $2,000 per person or $4,000 per family per year, with automatic annual adjustments using the medical care inflation rate (CPI). This applies to both individual health plans (under the Affordable Care Act) and group health plans (like employer-sponsored coverage), as amended across multiple federal laws. The bill does not change drug prices but directly affects millions of health plan enrollees by setting a maximum annual cost for covered prescriptions.

Maddy summaryThis resolution expresses the Senate's non-binding position that the U.S. should not deploy military assets or personnel to Gaza for the purpose of "taking over" the territory. It directly addresses the executive branch, opposing any military actions that could lead to U.S. control of Gaza, which the Senate cites as violating constitutional requirements for congressional authorization of military force. The resolution references President Trump's February 4, 2025, comments about taking over Gaza and emphasizes concerns about regional relations, humanitarian impacts, and taxpayer costs. It does not create new law but formally states the Senate's opposition to such military deployments.

Maddy summaryThe Carried Interest Fairness Act of 2025 would change how investment fund managers are taxed on their "carried interest" - the share of profits they earn for managing investment funds. Currently, this is often taxed at lower capital gains rates, but the bill would require it to be taxed as ordinary income instead. It creates new rules for "investment services partnership interests" and specifies that gains and losses from these interests must be treated as ordinary income or loss. The bill directly affects investment fund managers and aims to align their tax treatment more closely with how other business income is taxed.

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 creates a tax deduction for attorney fees paid in consumer protection lawsuits where a defendant is found liable for violating specific federal or state consumer laws. It directly affects consumers who win such cases and their attorneys, by allowing them to deduct these fees from taxable income instead of paying tax on them. The key provision amends the tax code to add an "above-the-line" deduction for fees related to violations of laws like the Truth in Lending Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and Fair Credit Reporting Act. This change removes a tax burden on the portion of settlement awards covering legal costs, ensuring consumers keep more of their recovery.