Sen. John Thune

Maddy summaryThis bill delays the implementation of a 2016 federal rule governing sheep and goat imports for one year. It requires the Secretary of Agriculture to study the rule's potential economic impacts, including import volumes, regional market effects, pandemic influences, and effects on U.S. producers and animal health. The study must assess costs, benefits, and risks before the Secretary submits a report to Congress with recommendations for modifying the rule. The delay and study directly affect U.S. sheep/goat producers, importers, and federal agencies managing livestock regulations.

Maddy summaryS 2911, the "Protecting the Right To Keep and Bear Arms Act of 2023," prevents federal officials from using emergency declarations to impose gun control. It bans the President from declaring emergencies under the National Emergencies Act or the Stafford Act for gun control purposes, and stops the Health and Human Services Secretary from declaring public health emergencies for the same reason. The bill also amends the Stafford Act to explicitly prohibit emergency declarations that would restrict firearm possession, sale, or transfer of firearms, ammunition, or related accessories. This directly affects how federal emergency powers can be used during crises, limiting actions that could impact gun rights under the Second Amendment.

Maddy summaryS 2806, the Homeowner Energy Freedom Act, repeals three specific provisions from the Inflation Reduction Act that provided federal funding for home energy programs. It eliminates the high-efficiency electric home rebate program, state grants for contractor training, and assistance for adopting modern building energy codes. The bill also rescinds unobligated funds from these repealed programs and amends a related section to remove references to the repealed rebate program. This directly affects homeowners who would have accessed these energy efficiency programs and contractors who relied on the training grants. The bill makes no new program provisions but formally removes existing federal support for these specific home energy initiatives.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to allow schools to use existing federal funds for student sports clubs, teams, training, and related outdoor wellness activities. It directly affects K-12 schools by removing a previous restriction that barred such uses of ESEA funds. The key mechanism is an exception added to Section 8526(7), explicitly permitting these activities before the period ending that section. The change applies to funds already allocated under the ESEA, not creating new spending.

Maddy summaryThe DETOUR Act (S 2708) prohibits large online platforms (those with over 100 million users) from designing interfaces to secretly manipulate user choices or collect data without clear, active consent. It requires platforms to obtain "affirmative express consent" for data use - meaning users must actively agree, not just click through pre-checked boxes - and bans features that cause compulsive usage, especially for children and teens. Platforms must also establish independent review boards to approve research involving users, disclose research purposes publicly every 90 days, and delete data if consent wasn’t properly obtained. The law targets deceptive design tactics like auto-playing videos without consent or segmenting users for hidden experiments, aiming to protect user autonomy and privacy.

Maddy summaryS 2671, the DRIVE Act, prohibits the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from requiring large trucks (over 26,000 pounds gross weight) operating in interstate commerce to install speed limiting devices. This directly affects commercial trucking companies and operators transporting goods across state lines with qualifying vehicles. The bill prevents the agency from creating a new rule mandating these devices, effectively maintaining the current regulatory status for such vehicles. The legislation focuses solely on blocking this specific requirement, without altering other safety regulations.

Maddy summaryThe SEASONAL Act allows U.S. states to request supplemental H-2B visas for seasonal labor shortages. Governors can petition for extra visas if a state has low unemployment (≤3.5%), unmet labor needs in specific job categories or economic zones, and certifies the visas won’t displace domestic workers or lower wages. The bill sets a 4-year expiration and requires states to comply with federal rules for visa allocation, including random assignment if demand exceeds requests. It mandates annual reports to Congress tracking visa usage, labor market impacts, and economic effects by state.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends the Clean Air Act to adjust fuel standards and support small refineries. It changes how the EPA grants waivers for fuel additives (allowing fuels similar to certified vehicles or meeting specific waiver conditions) and modifies Reid Vapor Pressure limits from "10 percent" to "10 to 15 percent" for certain fuels. Small refineries that retired credits for 2016-2018 compliance years and had pending or denied petitions by December 2022 can now have those credits returned or applied to future compliance. The bill directly affects fuel retailers, ethanol producers, and small refineries by altering compliance rules and credit eligibility under the renewable fuel program.

Maddy summaryThe Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2023 aims to increase employee ownership in S corporations by making it easier for companies to adopt Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). Key provisions include extending tax deferral for sales of company stock to ESOPs, creating a Treasury Department office to provide technical assistance for ESOPs, and amending small business laws to ensure ESOP-owned businesses remain eligible for small business programs. The bill also establishes a dedicated Advocate for Employee Ownership within the Department of Labor to promote ESOP adoption, provide education, and help resolve disputes related to ESOPs. This legislation directly affects S corporations considering employee ownership transitions, their employees who would become partial owners, and small businesses that want to maintain eligibility for small business programs after an ESOP transition. The bill seeks to expand a model that studies show provides employees with retirement savings and greater job stability compared to traditional companies.

Maddy summaryThis bill increases crop insurance cost assistance for beginning farmers and ranchers under the Federal Crop Insurance Act. It defines "beginning farmer or rancher" as someone with fewer than 10 years of farming experience (up from 5 years) and creates a tiered system of percentage-point adjustments for insurance premium subsidies over 10 years of participation. For the first two years, participants receive 15 percentage points of subsidy, decreasing to 13 for year three, 11 for year four, and 10 for years five through ten. The policy directly affects new farmers seeking federal crop insurance coverage by reducing their out-of-pocket costs during their initial decade in farming.