Rep. Daniel S. Goldman

Maddy summaryThis bill, HR 1097 (Everett Alvarez, Jr. Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2023), authorizes the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Everett Alvarez, Jr., in recognition of his service as a U.S. Navy pilot and Vietnam War prisoner of war. It directly honors Alvarez, who was the first U.S. pilot shot down in the Vietnam War, spent over 8.5 years in captivity, and later served in the Peace Corps and Veterans Administration. The bill’s key mechanism is directing the U.S. Mint to strike a gold medal bearing his name and image, with bronze duplicates available for sale to cover costs. It does not create new policies or affect any group beyond the honoree.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis to conduct an annual audit of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis' information systems and large data collections (bulk data). The audit must follow existing intelligence oversight guidelines, and the Under Secretary must submit the findings to specific congressional committees within 30 days of completing the audit. The required committees are the House Homeland Security and Intelligence committees, and the Senate Homeland Security and Intelligence committees. This bill establishes a routine transparency measure for DHS intelligence operations, directly affecting DHS's internal oversight process.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a task force within Homeland Security to reunite children separated from parents or guardians at the U.S.-Mexico border between January 20, 2017, and January 20, 2021, under the Zero-Tolerance Policy. The task force must identify all affected children, recommend legal pathways for reunification (including parole, visas, or services like mental health support), and consult with affected families and organizations. It must report to Congress every 60 days and will sunset within 120 days of all reunifications or by January 20, 2039, whichever comes first. The bill directly affects children separated during that specific policy period and requires federal agencies to coordinate on practical solutions.

Maddy summaryHR 5401, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum Act, provides a one-time federal grant of $5 million to $10 million to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum (operated by the World Trade Center Foundation). The grant funds the museum's operations, security, and maintenance, with specific requirements including free admission for veterans, first responders, and victims' families, dedicated weekly free public hours, and annual financial audits. The museum must also report annually to Congress on how the funds were used. This bill directly affects the museum's financial operations and access policies, not broader legislative changes.

Maddy summaryThis bill increases compensation for people wrongfully convicted and imprisoned. It raises the base damages from $50,000 to $70,000 under federal law and requires annual adjustments for inflation using the Consumer Price Index. The changes directly affect individuals exonerated after serving time for crimes they didn't commit. The key mechanism ensures compensation keeps pace with rising living costs over time.

Maddy summaryThis bill (HR 10237) requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to create new guidelines within 180 days for handling personal belongings of individuals arrested, restrained, or confined by CBP. The guidelines must ensure detainees can keep as much property as operationally feasible, return all stored items upon release, and specify essential categories like medical devices, IDs, phones, and legal documents that must remain with or be returned to the individual. CBP must also provide written receipts for stored items, detail circumstances for discarding property, and track compliance through annual reports to Congress. The bill mandates consultation with advocacy groups and includes oversight by the Comptroller General to review implementation and effects on CBP operations.

Maddy summaryThis bill extends Medicare payment adjustments for physicians and other practitioners through 2025 instead of ending in 2024. It specifically adds a 4.73% payment increase for services provided between January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026. The legislation modifies existing Medicare payment rules to stabilize practice revenues during transition periods. It directly affects doctors and healthcare providers who bill Medicare for patient services. The key change is the extended timeframe and the defined 4.73% rate for the 2025-2026 period.

Maddy summaryThe STAR Plus Scholarship Act creates a federal program to fund scholarships for students pursuing careers in mental health and substance use disorder treatment. It requires scholarship recipients to work full-time in designated mental health professional shortage areas for one year for each year of scholarship funding received. The program authorizes $75 million annually (2025-2029) to cover tuition and educational expenses for students enrolled in approved programs at accredited institutions. This directly affects students in behavioral health fields and aims to address workforce shortages in underserved communities by linking scholarship support to service requirements.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires Medicare Advantage plans to implement electronic prior authorization systems by 2027 and publish detailed data on their approval and denial rates for medical services by 2026. It directly affects Medicare Advantage plans (private insurers offering Medicare coverage) and their enrollees (seniors 65+), mandating transparency about prior authorization decisions, processing times, and appeal outcomes. Key provisions include requiring plans to report annual statistics on request approvals/denials, average processing times, and use of technology, with this data published publicly by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The bill also sets timelines for plan responses to prior authorization requests and mandates reports to Congress on implementation and impacts.

Maddy summaryThe Community Housing Act of 2024 significantly increases federal investment in affordable housing through major funding boosts, including $44.5 billion for the Housing Trust Fund and $1.5 billion for the Capital Magnet Fund over the next decade. It repeals the Faircloth amendment, which had limited public housing construction since 1992, allowing public housing authorities to build new units without the previous cap. The bill establishes a permanent emergency rental assistance program providing $3 billion annually through 2029 to help low-income households with rent payments and creates the Unlocking Possibilities program to fund local efforts to streamline housing regulations and reduce zoning barriers. These provisions directly affect low- and moderate-income households, community land trusts, and rural communities facing housing insecurity and affordability challenges.