Rep. James R. Baird

Maddy summaryThis bill directs the U.S. Treasury to mint commemorative coins marking the Marine Corps' 250th anniversary in 2025. It authorizes three coin types: $5 gold coins (max 50,000), $1 silver coins (max 400,000), and half-dollar coins (max 750,000), with surcharges of $35, $10, and $5 respectively. The surcharge proceeds will fund the Marine Corps Heritage Center's educational programs, with no net cost to taxpayers as the Treasury must recover all minting costs through the surcharges. The coins can only be issued during 2025, and the Treasury must ensure all costs are covered before distributing funds to the Heritage Foundation.

Maddy summaryHR 4860, the PROTECT the Second Amendment Act, prevents landlords in specific federally assisted housing from banning or restricting residents' lawful possession of firearms in their private units or during travel between units and common areas. It directly affects tenants in housing funded by HUD or USDA programs, including public housing, Section 8 vouchers, and housing for veterans or people with disabilities. The bill prohibits landlords from imposing firearm bans or additional conditions on residents who lawfully carry firearms within their dwelling units or while moving through common areas to reach their units. This changes current policies in these housing programs by explicitly allowing firearm possession where state law permits.

Maddy summaryThis bill expands eligibility for business loans at credit unions to include veterans. It amends the Federal Credit Union Act to define "member business loan" as including loans made to veterans, using the standard definition of "veteran" from Title 38 of U.S. Code. Credit unions offering these loans will now be able to serve veteran business owners under the same terms as other qualifying borrowers. The policy change directly affects veterans seeking business financing and credit unions providing such loans.

Doctors in our Borders Act This bill increases the number of Conrad 30 waivers available each year from 30 to 100. Typically, a J-1 visa holder (nonimmigrant exchange visitor) must leave the United States for two years after finishing the exchange visitor program, including J-1 visa holders who entered the United States to receive graduate medical training. The Conrad 30 waiver program waives this requirement for eligible foreign medical graduates who agree to practice medicine in an underserved area or for an underserved population in the United States.

Maddy summaryHR 4157, the "Not Just a Number Act," requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to produce annual reports on veteran suicide rates and their connection to VA healthcare and benefits. The reports must break down suicide rates by age, gender, and race, and examine how engagement with VA services (like Vet Centers, healthcare enrollment, benefits claims, and housing loans) correlates with suicide trends. The bill also mandates a VA toolkit for state/local coroners to improve veteran suicide death reporting, and a study on creating a dedicated VA suicide prevention office. These measures aim to standardize data collection and identify effective prevention strategies, directly affecting VA operations, congressional oversight, and veteran care systems.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency to set thermostats in their headquarters buildings to no lower than 78°F when air conditioning is running. It also mandates that both agencies submit reports to Congress detailing their past thermostat settings from January 2021 through the bill's enactment date. The law directly affects only the operational temperature settings at these two federal agencies' main offices. It is a procedural measure focused on energy conservation standards for specific government buildings.

Maddy summaryHR 4795, the Fentanyl Kills Act, reclassifies illegal fentanyl trafficking as attempted murder under federal law. If convicted of trafficking fentanyl (including manufacturing, distributing, or selling related chemicals), individuals would face the same penalties as those for attempted murder. The bill broadly defines trafficking to cover activities like producing fentanyl precursors intended for U.S. distribution. This policy change directly affects drug traffickers by imposing stricter criminal penalties for fentanyl-related offenses.

Maddy summaryHR 4708, the H-2 Improvements to Relieve Employers Act, streamlines U.S. visa processes for agricultural (H-2A) and non-agricultural (H-2B) workers. It extends the validity of employer certifications and petitions for these visas from one year to three years, reducing administrative burdens. The bill also allows interview waivers for workers renewing status within four years of their previous visa expiration. Additionally, it requires the Department of Labor to publish seasonal employment data on its website at an employer's request, enhancing transparency for seasonal hiring. These changes directly affect U.S. employers seeking temporary foreign workers and the workers themselves.

Maddy summaryHR 4721, the Main Street Tax Certainty Act, makes a permanent the 20% tax deduction for eligible small business owners under Section 199A of the tax code. This provision directly affects pass-through business owners (like S-corps, partnerships, and sole proprietorships) who qualify for the deduction. The bill achieves this by removing the temporary expiration language (subsection (i)) from the existing tax code provision. The key change is ending the need for annual congressional extensions of this deduction, providing long-term tax certainty for small businesses.

Maddy summaryHR 4690, the Gray Zone Defense Assessment Act, requires the U.S. government to assess and improve its capacity to counter "gray zone" state-led actions - such as disinformation, cyberattacks, or economic coercion - below the threshold of military conflict. The bill mandates two key reports: a presidential review within 180 days evaluating U.S. interagency capabilities to identify and respond to such campaigns, and a State Department report detailing its capacity to coordinate responses to adversaries like China, Russia, and Iran. These reports must include recommendations for better coordination, resources, and thresholds for action, with classified and unclassified summaries for Congress. The law aims to strengthen the U.S. government’s whole-of-government approach to countering gray zone tactics that challenge national interests without triggering direct military conflict.