Rep. Randy K. Weber, Sr.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires federal agencies to analyze indirect economic costs on small businesses when creating new rules, including costs affecting businesses that interact with regulated entities (like suppliers or partners). It creates a new process allowing small businesses to petition the Small Business Administration's Chief Counsel to review agency certifications claiming a rule won't significantly impact them. Agencies must then provide detailed cost analyses, publish guidance online for small business feedback, and face penalties if they fail to cooperate with reviews. The bill does not change existing regulations but adds new review steps for small business input.

Maddy summaryThe PEAT Act of 2026 amends federal regulations to clarify how certain biologic drugs are classified for approval purposes. Specifically, it prevents the Food and Drug Administration from denying approval to a biologic product simply because it contains a protein that does not have a clinical effect. This change ensures that the presence of inactive proteins does not automatically disqualify a drug from being treated as a biological product. The legislation directly impacts pharmaceutical companies developing complex biologics and the regulatory review process for these medicines. By removing this specific barrier, the bill aims to streamline the path to market for drugs that include non-active protein components.

Maddy summaryThe Safeguarding Honest Speech Act of 2026 prohibits federal agencies from using taxpayer money to enforce rules that require employees or contractors to use a person's preferred pronouns if they conflict with that person's biological sex or to use names other than legal names. The bill defines sex strictly based on biological characteristics, such as the reproductive system used for fertilization, to determine these requirements. It also establishes a process where affected workers can file complaints, receive a formal response within 30 days, and sue their agency for violations if the response is unsatisfactory. If a worker wins a lawsuit, the court can order the agency to stop the practice, pay damages up to $100,000, and cover legal fees.

Maddy summaryThis bill, the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act, extends and expands the existing National Quantum Initiative through December 2032. It broadens the initiative's focus from "science" to "science, engineering, and technology" across federal agencies like NIST, NSF, DOE, and NASA, emphasizing the development of quantum applications, commercialization, and a robust domestic quantum industry. Key

Maddy summaryHR 6373 modifies the Clean Air Act to create new permitting flexibility for specific facilities. It allows the President to waive certain emission offset requirements for new or modified semiconductor manufacturing facilities or critical mineral facilities (like those processing lithium or cobalt) if deemed necessary for national security. States can also permit these facilities to use alternative offset methods - such as paying an emissions fee capped at 1.5 times local control costs - if all standard offsets are exhausted, with fees required to fund further emissions reductions in the area. The bill directly affects advanced manufacturing and critical mineral operations seeking streamlined permitting.

Maddy summaryHR 4214 requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish final implementing regulations and guidance for new or revised national air quality standards at the same time as the standards themselves. This affects developers seeking preconstruction permits for facilities like factories or power plants, as the new standards cannot be applied to permit reviews until the EPA provides this guidance. The bill also includes a specific provision delaying the application of the 2024 PM2.5 air quality standard to certain permit applications if they meet timing conditions related to the EPA's final designation of affected areas. It does not change the air quality standards or pollution limits themselves, but ensures permit applicants receive clear guidance alongside new rules. The bill focuses on procedural timing for EPA rulemaking to streamline the permitting process.

New Source Review Permitting Improvement Act This bill modifies terminology for purposes of the New Source Review (NSR) permitting program of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In order for a change to a stationary source to be a modification (a change to a stationary source that increases the air pollutant emissions or results in new pollutants) for purposes of the NSR permitting program, the maximum hourly emission rate achievable by such source must be higher than the maximum hourly rate achievable by such source during any hour in the 10-year period preceding the change. A change at a stationary source is not considered to be a modification under the bill if it is designed to (1) reduce the amount of any air pollutant emitted; or (2) restore, maintain, or improve the reliability of operations at, or safety of, the source. However, such changes are not excepted if the EPA determines the increase in the maximum achievable hourly emission rate from such change would cause an adverse effect on human health or the environment. Construction , in connection with a major emitting facility (a type of stationary source), does not include a change at such a facility that does not result in a significant emissions increase or a significant net emissions increase. In relation to major emitting facilities in nonattainment areas, the terms modifications and modified do not include changes at such facilities that do not result in a significant emissions increase or a significant net emissions increase.

Equal Representation Act This bill requires that the statement sent by the President to Congress after the decennial census indicating the number of persons in each state exclude noncitizens. (This statement is the basis for reapportionment of U.S. Representatives.) The bill also requires any questionnaire used in the decennial census to include a checkbox or other similar option for respondents to indicate whether the respondent and each household member is (1) a U.S. citizen, (2) a U.S. national but not a citizen, (3) a non-U.S. national ( alien under federal law) lawfully residing in the United States, or (4) a non-U.S. national unlawfully residing in the United States. The Department of Commerce must make public the number of persons in each state, disaggregated by each of these four categories.

Maddy summaryThis resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that open water lifeguards qualify as first responders and emergency response providers. It recognizes their essential, lifesaving work and reaffirms their role in protecting lives, property, evidence, and the environment.

Maddy summaryHR 2289, the Proportional Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act, exempts wireless broadband infrastructure deployments from certain federal environmental and historic preservation reviews. Specifically, it removes the requirement for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) reviews when federal agencies approve "eligible facilities requests" for wireless facilities. This directly affects wireless providers seeking federal permits to build broadband infrastructure, streamlining their approval process by eliminating these specific review requirements. The bill modifies existing law to treat such deployments as not constituting "major Federal actions" under NEPA or "undertakings" under NHPA.