Rep. Jim Costa

Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act This bill requires the Department of Labor to address workplace violence in health care, social service, and similar sectors. Specifically, Labor must issue an occupational safety and health standard that requires certain employers to take actions to protect workers and other personnel from workplace violence. The standard applies to employers in the health care sector, in the social service sector, and in sectors that conduct activities similar to those in the health care and social service sectors. Among other elements, the standard must require each employer to (1) develop a workplace violence prevention plan, (2) promptly investigate incidents of workplace violence, and (3) provide relevant training and education to employees.  The bill requires certain hospitals and skilled nursing facilities to comply with this standard as a condition of Medicare participation.

Maddy summaryHR 2585, the Armenian Genocide Education Act, establishes a federal program through the Library of Congress to develop educational resources about the 1915-1923 Armenian Genocide for K-12 schools. It requires the Librarian to create and distribute accurate teaching materials, provide teacher training workshops, and maintain an online resource hub focused on the genocide's history, lessons, and prevention of hate. The program directly supports local educational agencies, independent schools, and educators by offering professional development and curriculum resources. It defines key terms like "denial" and "distortion" to guide the educational content, aiming to improve understanding of this historical event and its relevance to preventing modern-day hate crimes.

Maddy summaryHR 2586, the Reentry Act of 2025, amends Medicaid rules to allow incarcerated individuals to receive Medicaid coverage during the 30 days immediately before their release from prison or jail. This directly affects people leaving correctional facilities, ensuring they can access health care as they transition back into communities. The bill requires a report within 18 months analyzing current health care standards in prisons, the number of people who would gain coverage, and current discharge practices to improve Medicaid enrollment for newly released individuals. The report will also assess how to better connect people with community health services and addiction treatment after release.

Maddy summaryThe SAFETY Act of 2025 defines "common names" for agricultural products and food items (such as "Parmesan" for cheese, "Chardonnay" for wine, or "Bologna" for sausage) to protect U.S. producers' ability to use these terms in international markets. It requires the Agriculture Secretary and U.S. Trade Representative to negotiate agreements with other countries that secure the continued use of these common names on product labels and in exports. The bill provides specific examples of common names and establishes criteria for determining them, including customary market use and alignment with international standards like the Codex Alimentarius. This law directly affects U.S. agricultural exporters who rely on familiar product names to compete globally.

Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025   This bill imposes penalties on certain persons (individuals and entities) if the President determines that the Russian government or a person acting at Russia's direction is involved with (1) refusing to negotiate a peace agreement with Ukraine; (2) violating a negotiated peace agreement; (3) initiating another invasion of Ukraine; or (4) overthrowing, dismantling, or seeking to subvert the Ukrainian government.   If the President makes such a determination, the bill requires certain actions including the President must impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on specified persons such as the Russian president, certain Russian military commanders, and any foreign person that knowingly provides defense items to the Russian armed forces; the President must increase the rate of duty on all goods and services imported from Russia into the United States to at least 500% relative to the value of such goods and services; the President must increase the rate of duty on all goods and services imported into the United States from countries that knowingly engage in the exchange of Russian-origin uranium and petroleum products to at least 500% relative to the value of such goods and services; the Department of the Treasury must impose property-blocking sanctions on any financial institution organized under Russian law and owned wholly or partly by Russia, and any financial institution that engages in transactions with those entities; and the Department of Commerce must prohibit the export, reexport, or in-country transfer to or in Russia of any U.S.-produced energy or energy product.

Maddy summaryHRES 280 is a non-binding House resolution supporting National Women’s History Month in March 2025. It formally recognizes the month-long observance and honors individuals and organizations that have advanced women’s history education and the women’s suffrage movement. The resolution does not create new laws, funding, or obligations - it is a symbolic statement of support. It directly affects no specific group but aims to raise public awareness of women’s historical contributions. The resolution aligns with longstanding congressional practice of recognizing national observances.

Maddy summaryThe American Tank Car Modernization Act of 2025 provides $100 million annually (2026-2029) to fund grants for freight railcar owners to install telematics systems or gateway devices on railcars, with priority for tank cars carrying hazardous materials (toxic inhalation, flammable, or hazardous substances). These systems enable real-time tracking of railcar location, asset health, and specific safety metrics like wheel temperature, hatch status, and internal temperatures. The bill requires railcar owners to report on implementation outcomes, including safety incident data and cost efficiency, to Congress within three years. It directly affects railcar operators managing hazardous material transport by modernizing their data collection capabilities.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes special base pay rates for wildland firefighters employed by the Forest Service or Department of the Interior, increasing their base pay by specific percentages (from 1.5% to 42%) based on their grade. It creates "incident response premium pay" at 450% of hourly rate for firefighters deployed to respond to qualifying wildfire incidents, with a yearly maximum of $9,000. The bill also provides for paid rest and recuperation leave following wildfire incident response. These provisions replace temporary pay increases that were previously authorized under other legislation and directly affect wildland firefighters who perform duties related to wildland fires.

Maddy summaryThe SHOPP Act of 2025 amends the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program to expand eligible food items for SNAP participants. It adds legumes (like beans and peas) to the list of qualifying foods and allows fresh frozen fruits and vegetables to count toward year-round incentives. This directly affects SNAP recipients shopping at participating farmers markets or retailers, making it easier to access more types of produce. The bill updates existing program language to replace "fruits and vegetables" with "fruits, vegetables, and legumes" and "fresh fruits and vegetables" with "fresh or fresh frozen fruits, vegetables, and legumes." These changes aim to increase access to a wider variety of nutritious foods through existing incentive programs.

Save America's Forgotten Equines Act of 2025 or the SAFE Act of 2025 This bill permanently prohibits the slaughter of equines (e.g., horses and mules) for human consumption. (Current law prohibits the slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption. This bill extends the prohibition to equines.) Specifically, this bill prohibits a person from knowingly (1) slaughtering an equine for human consumption; or (2) shipping, transporting, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donating an equine to be slaughtered for human consumption or equine parts for human consumption. The bill subjects a violator to a fine. The bill applies to conduct in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. However, it does not apply to an activity carried out by an Indian for a religious ceremony. As background, in recent years, the appropriations acts have prohibited the Department of Agriculture (USDA) from using federal funds to inspect horses before they are slaughtered for human consumption. Therefore, there are currently no USDA-inspected horse slaughter facilities in the United States.