Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar

Maddy summaryHR 287, the CRT Transparency Act, requires states and local school districts to publicly post all curriculum materials for every elementary and secondary school grade level on accessible websites. Specifically, it amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to mandate that states ensure local agencies post curricula online, and that local agencies themselves must make their grade-level curricula publicly available. This directly affects all public K-12 schools and their governing bodies by creating a new transparency requirement for teaching materials. The bill focuses solely on making curriculum content publicly accessible online, without specifying content types or subject areas. It does not alter curriculum content itself but requires existing materials to be posted online for public review.

Maddy summaryHJRES 8 proposes a constitutional amendment to permanently set the Supreme Court's size at nine justices. The bill would require any future changes to the Court's composition to follow this specific number, locking in the current structure. It does not alter the existing Court size (which has been nine since 1869) but aims to prevent future adjustments through legislative action. The amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures within seven years to take effect. This is a procedural proposal focused on constitutional structure, not a direct policy affecting citizens or programs.

Justice for Victims of Kleptocracy Act of 2023 This bill requires the Department of Justice to publish and regularly update its website with an accounting of property that is forfeited to the United States as a result of foreign government corruption. It also expresses the sense of Congress that recovered assets shall be returned for the benefit of the people harmed by the corruption.

Maddy summaryHR 214, the Veterans’ True Choice Act of 2023, allows veterans with service-connected disabilities to choose TRICARE Select over VA health care. It creates a new category of "covered veteran beneficiaries" who can enroll in TRICARE Select during the annual open enrollment period, with cost-sharing based on their disability status - not their military service date. The bill requires the VA and Defense Departments to establish a reimbursement agreement for these enrollments and mandates quarterly reports to Congress on implementation. This change directly affects veterans who qualify for TRICARE only through this new provision, giving them a formal choice between VA care and TRICARE Select.

COI Elimination Act This bill limits U.S. contributions to the United Nations pertaining to the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. Current law imposes a cap on the annual U.S. contribution to the U.N. budget. The bill lowers that cap by 25% of the amount budgeted for the commission. The bill also states that it shall be U.S. policy to seek the abolition of the commission and combat systemic anti-Israel bias in international bodies.

Maddy summaryHR 59, the SAVE Act, prohibits the sale of petroleum products drawn from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to entities headquartered in specific countries listed in federal regulations or to any entity based in Russia. This policy change directly affects energy companies and organizations operating in those designated countries or Russia, restricting their access to the government's emergency oil stockpile. The bill amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act by adding a new section (170) that mandates this sales prohibition, with minor updates to existing law to reflect the change. The key mechanism is a direct ban on SPR petroleum sales to the specified entities, effective upon the bill's enactment.

Maddy summaryHR 208, the Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2023, restricts where research facilities can obtain dogs and cats for laboratory use. It requires facilities to source animals only from licensed breeders, registered shelters meeting specific criteria, owners who've had the pet over a year, or other research facilities - banning purchases from pet stores or random sources. The bill amends the Animal Welfare Act to define permissible sources and imposes $1,000 fines per violation for non-compliance. It affects research facilities, shelters, and breeders by changing their legal sourcing options for animals used in research. The changes take effect 90 days after the bill becomes law.

Faster Payments to Veterans' Survivors Act of 2022 This act modifies policies and procedures related to the payment of benefits under certain life insurance programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). If a primary beneficiary has not made a claim for payment within one year (currently two years) after the death of the insured under the National Service Life Insurance (NSLI) program or the United States Government Life Insurance (USGLI) program, the VA is authorized to make payment to another designated beneficiary as if the primary beneficiary had predeceased the insured. If no designated beneficiary makes a claim within two years (currently four years) after the death of the insured, the VA is authorized to make a payment to a person the VA deems to be equitably entitled to such benefit. The act also modifies the beneficiary designation process under NSLI and USGLI. Specifically, if a person does not designate a beneficiary for insurance, or if the designated beneficiary predeceases the insured person, the VA must determine the beneficiary in a specified order of succession. Additionally, the act requires the VA to improve its processes and procedures with respect to identifying, locating, and paying hard-to-find beneficiaries of life insurance policies, including by improving its website search tools.

This act designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 6000 South Florida Avenue in Lakeland, Florida, as the U.S. Marine Corporal Ronald R. Payne Jr. Post Office.

Aviation Funding Stability Act of 20 21 This bill provides continuing appropriations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund if an appropriations bill for the FAA has not been enacted before a fiscal year begins or a joint resolution making continuing appropriations for the FAA is not in effect. The bill provides appropriations at the rate of operations that was provided for the prior fiscal year to continue programs, projects, and activities for which funds were provided in the preceding fiscal year.