Rep. John P. Sarbanes

Maddy summaryThis bill protects living organ donors from insurance discrimination by prohibiting life, disability, and long-term care insurers from denying coverage, raising premiums, or altering policy terms solely because someone donated an organ while alive. It also updates the Family and Medical Leave Act to include recovery from organ donation surgery as a qualifying health condition, allowing donors to take protected leave for this purpose. Additionally, the bill requires the Health and Human Services Secretary to update public educational materials about living donation benefits, risks, and insurance protections within six months of enactment. These changes directly affect living organ donors, insurers, employers, and healthcare systems by ensuring fair access to insurance and workplace leave.

Maddy summaryHR 2904, the Anti-Racism in Public Health Act of 2023, establishes a National Center on Antiracism and Health within the CDC. The center will declare racism a public health crisis, conduct research on how structural racism affects health outcomes, and develop data systems to track health disparities across race, ethnicity, gender, and other factors. It will fund regional centers in minority communities, create public health interventions, and require CDC to report annually on antiracist efforts. This bill directly affects public health agencies, researchers, and communities of color by mandating systemic analysis of racial inequities in healthcare and public health policy.

Maddy summaryThe Child Care for Working Families Act establishes a federal entitlement program providing subsidized child care for working families with children under age 6 who are not yet in kindergarten. It creates a sliding fee scale where families at or below 85% of State median income pay no copayment, while higher-income families pay up to 7% of their income based on income thresholds. The bill requires states to develop quality rating systems for child care providers and ensures providers receive sufficient funding to meet quality standards, including wages equivalent to elementary educators. It prioritizes access for underserved populations including children with disabilities, infants and toddlers, children experiencing homelessness, and families in low-income communities. The program is funded with $20 billion for fiscal year 2024 and subsequent years through 2029.

Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act of 2023 or the FAIR Act of 2023 This bill prohibits a predispute arbitration agreement from being valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of an employment, consumer, antitrust, or civil rights dispute.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a federally chartered National Center for the Advancement of Aviation to develop the U.S. aviation and aerospace workforce. The Center will provide grants for education and training programs, including scholarships, internships, and curriculum development for middle schools, high schools, and colleges focused on aviation careers. It will specifically support underrepresented groups and veterans transitioning to aviation careers while coordinating with government agencies to avoid duplicating existing programs. The Center must operate as a non-profit entity, maintain tax-exempt status, and submit annual reports to Congress on its activities.

Raise the Age Act of 2023 This bill establishes new restrictions on the sale or transfer of certain semiautomatic firearms to individuals under 21 years of age. Specifically, this bill makes it unlawful for a licensed gun dealer, importer, manufacturer, or collector to sell or deliver a semiautomatic center-fire rifle or semiautomatic center-fire shotgun that has (or has the capacity to accept) an ammunition feeding device with a capacity of more than five rounds to an individual who the licensee knows or has reasonable cause to believe is under age 21. The prohibition does not apply if the individual under age 21 is a full-time law enforcement officer or active-duty member of the Armed Forces. The bill also requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to report on the operation of its public access line, including a description of information sharing protocols and recommendations for improving such protocols.

Maddy summaryThe Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2023 establishes a new trust fund funded by increasing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 24.5% to support water infrastructure and affordability programs. It allocates funds to clean water programs (42%), safe drinking water funding (42.5%), household water wells (1%), colonias assistance (0.5%), Indian health services (3%), and water operator job training (0.5%). The bill requires the EPA to conduct a study and submit a report on water affordability, discrimination in water services, public participation in regionalization, and data collection related to service disconnections. It includes specific provisions for colonias, household water wells, and job training programs for water system operators to improve water access and equity.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a comprehensive framework to address environmental justice by requiring federal agencies to identify and address disproportionately adverse environmental and health effects on communities of color, low-income communities, and Tribal and Indigenous communities. It creates a White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council to coordinate federal efforts, mandates that agencies develop environmental justice strategies, and requires consideration of cumulative impacts in permitting decisions for pollution sources. The bill also establishes grant programs for environmental justice communities, creates training requirements for federal employees, and includes specific provisions for safer cosmetics and economic revitalization in fossil fuel-dependent communities. These provisions aim to ensure fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in environmental decision-making processes, directly affecting federal agencies and communities disproportionately burdened by environmental hazards.

Maddy summaryThe ACTION for National Service Act reorganizes the Corporation for National and Community Service into the AmeriCorps Administration, an Executive department, and establishes new programs to expand national service opportunities. It increases national service educational awards to twice the average in-state tuition for public 4-year colleges and raises living allowances for participants. The bill creates a Civilian Climate Corps focused on climate-related projects in disproportionately impacted communities and establishes a National Service Foundation to accept private donations. It also creates a new outreach program to notify individuals aged 17-30 about service opportunities, with a goal of reaching 1 million participants annually by 2033.

Maddy summaryThe Armenian Genocide Education Act (HR 2803) establishes a Library of Congress program to support U.S. schools in teaching about the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923. The program will develop educational resources, provide teacher training, and maintain an online resource center to help schools incorporate accurate historical information into curricula. It prioritizes schools without existing Armenian Genocide education programs, with $2 million authorized annually for five years. The Librarian of Congress will report yearly on the program’s activities to Congress.