Rep. Vern Buchanan

Maddy summaryThis bill, titled the Ensuring Better Interest Treatment and Deductibility Act, would change how businesses calculate the limit on interest expenses they can deduct on their taxes. It directly affects corporations and other businesses that pay interest on loans by modifying the rules for determining adjusted taxable income. The key provision removes a specific clause from the tax code that currently limits how much interest can be deducted based on a company's earnings, effectively allowing more interest to be treated as a deductible business expense. These changes would apply to tax years starting after December 31, 2025, meaning businesses would need to adjust their financial planning for future tax filings.

Maddy summaryHRES 971 is a non-binding resolution condemning China's economic and military actions against Japan following Japanese officials' comments about Taiwan. It specifically addresses China's travel advisory (causing $1.2 billion in tourism losses), a ban on Japanese seafood imports, and military drills near Japanese territory. The resolution reaffirms U.S. support for the U.S.-Japan alliance under their mutual security treaty and calls on China to cease coercion. It emphasizes U.S. commitment to upholding a "free and open Indo-Pacific" based on international law. This resolution directly affects Japan's economy and security, with no new legal obligations but serving as a formal U.S. policy statement.

Maddy summaryHR 7464, the TEMP Act, requires the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to research and develop index-based insurance for specific crops (like tomatoes, citrus, and strawberries) against frost or cold weather damage. This research must evaluate risk management tools and aim to create policies covering either production or revenue loss from such events. The Corporation must report its findings and recommendations to Congress within one year of the bill's enactment. The bill directly affects farmers growing these frost-vulnerable crops by initiating a process to potentially expand their insurance options.

Maddy summaryThis bill proposes to add 7-hydroxymitragynine to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, classifying it as a controlled substance. The legislation specifically excludes naturally occurring 7-hydroxymitragynine found in kratom plants from this classification while including synthetic versions. This change would require federal regulation of synthetic forms of the compound but would not affect kratom products containing the substance in its natural state. The bill directly impacts pharmaceutical manufacturers and synthetic drug producers who would need to comply with new federal scheduling requirements.

Bill to Outlaw Wounding of Official Working Animals Act or the BOWOW Act This bill establishes that a non-U.S. national ( alien under federal law) convicted of, or who admits to having committed, an offense related to harming animals used in law enforcement is inadmissible and deportable.

Maddy summaryThis bill, titled the Stop Unemployment Fraud Act, requires states to verify the identity of unemployment compensation claimants using government-issued IDs and supporting documents like utility bills or lease agreements. It mandates that states use data-matching systems to cross-check claimant information against employment records, new hire directories, and databases of incarcerated or deceased individuals to detect and prevent fraud. The legislation also prohibits relying solely on a claimant's self-attestation to prove eligibility and strengthens work search requirements by mandating that claimants maintain and submit weekly records of job search activities. Additionally, the bill allows states to use up to 5% of recovered overpayments or collected contributions to fund fraud prevention efforts, technology modernization, and proper employment classification programs.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to create a safety standard that classifies and labels electric bicycles and off-road electric devices sold in the United States. The Commission must analyze past crash data, consult with manufacturers and safety experts, and establish clear definitions for different device types along with minimum age recommendations. Manufacturers will be required to permanently label their products with classification details, motor power, maximum speed, and age limits, while sales of misclassified or modified devices will be prohibited. The bill also authorizes funding for grants to help law enforcement and other agencies collect safety data and provides for ongoing analysis of accidents and injuries related to these devices.

Maddy summaryThis bill, known as the AI Fraud Accountability Act, makes it a federal crime to use artificial intelligence or other technology to create realistic digital impersonations of real or fictional people for the purpose of defrauding others of money, documents, or other valuable items. The law applies to communications across state lines and foreign borders, and it allows for criminal penalties including fines and up to three years in prison, along with the forfeiture of assets used to commit the fraud. In addition to criminal provisions, the bill gives the Federal Trade Commission authority to enforce these rules as unfair or deceptive business practices and requires the creation of a working group to develop technical best practices for detecting and preventing digital impersonation fraud. The legislation also establishes mechanisms for international cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies to combat cross-border fraud and includes a safeguard protecting parody, satire, and journalism from being classified as illegal impersonation.

Critical Mineral Consistency Act of 2025 This bill modifies the Energy Act of 2020 to expand the definition of  critical minerals to include critical materials designated by the Department of Energy (DOE). Under current law, DOE's critical materials list contains certain materials that are essential for energy, including those on the critical minerals list of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS's list, which contains certain minerals that are essential to the nation's economic or national security, is not required to include the materials on DOE's list. Currently, both lists include minerals with a high risk of supply chain disruptions, and both DOE and USGS must conduct a variety of efforts to ensure a secure and reliable supply chain of the minerals.  By expanding the definition of critical minerals , this bill requires the USGS to include on its list the materials on DOE's list. Within 45 days of DOE adding a  mineral, element, substance, or material to its critical materials list, the USGS must update its list to include such mineral, element, substance, or material.

Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act This bill requires certified national governing bodies (NGBs) of amateur sports (e.g., USA Gymnastics) to prohibit a person whose sex is male from participating in an amateur athletic competition that is designated for females, women, or girls. Under the bill, male  means an individual who has, had, will have—or would have, but for a developmental or genetic anomaly or historical accident—the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes sperm for fertilization.