Rep. Shontel M. Brown

Maddy summaryThe REPORTS Act requires federal agencies to analyze how new significant regulations affect people living near or below the poverty line and racial inequity when proposing rules. It also mandates annual reports from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examining government programs' impacts on poverty and racial inequity over the past five years. Agencies must include these analyses with proposed rules, and GAO reports must cover two to five programs annually. The law applies to major federal regulations and programs, focusing on transparency about equity impacts without altering policy outcomes.

Maddy summaryThe Stop Campus Hazing Act requires colleges and universities to publicly report hazing incidents involving student organizations. It defines hazing as intentional acts causing physical or psychological harm during initiation or membership in student groups, including activities like forced substance consumption, sleep deprivation, or sexual acts. Institutions must include hazing statistics in annual security reports and publish a "Campus Hazing Transparency Report" on their websites by July 1, 2025, detailing findings about organizations violating hazing policies. The reports must include organization names, violation descriptions, and key dates while excluding personally identifiable student information. This applies to all colleges participating in federal student aid programs.

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 creates a new federal grant program to expand STEM education opportunities for girls and underrepresented minorities in K-12 schools. Qualified local educational agencies (those serving schools with at least 40% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch) can apply for up to $250,000 annually per school year to fund specific activities like mentorship programs, teacher training on addressing bias, summer STEM camps, parent engagement, and field trips to STEM workplaces. The program is authorized for $10 million yearly from 2025-2028, requiring grantees to supplement existing funding and submit annual evaluations tracking student engagement and academic progress in STEM. It directly affects schools serving underrepresented student populations by providing targeted resources to increase their participation in STEM fields.

Maddy summaryHR 9774, the Health Care Affordability Act of 2024, would expand premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act for households earning between 150% and 400% of the federal poverty level. It modifies the sliding scale calculation to reduce the percentage of monthly insurance premiums these households must pay, with the lowest out-of-pocket costs for those near 400% of poverty. This directly affects individuals and families purchasing health insurance through marketplace plans who qualify for these tax credits. The changes apply to tax years beginning after December 31, 2025.

Maddy summaryHR 8796, the "Stop Comstock Act," removes outdated restrictions from federal law that previously banned the distribution of materials related to contraception and abortion as "obscene" or "indecent." The bill amends Title 18 and the Tariff Act by deleting references to "indecent," "immoral," "unlawful abortion," and "procuring abortion" from provisions governing obscene materials. It clarifies that the law only prohibits "obscene materials" in commerce, eliminating broad restrictions on reproductive health information. This directly affects internet platforms, healthcare providers, and individuals sharing reproductive health resources by removing legal barriers to their distribution.

Maddy summaryThis bill, the Promoting Permanency Through Kinship Families Act, requires states to actively seek kinship placements for children in foster care or at risk of entering foster care, and removes barriers to such placements. It eliminates automatic denials of kinship placements based on past criminal records without evidence of current safety threats, removes upper age limits for kinship caregivers, and mandates participation in kinship guardianship assistance programs. The bill also eliminates AFDC eligibility requirements for foster care maintenance payments for children placed in foster family homes. These changes directly affect children in foster care, kinship caregivers, and state child welfare agencies, with the goal of reducing the number of children aging out of foster care without family connections.

Maddy summaryHR 6541 directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to refund duties paid on specific steel and aluminum imports that were retroactively approved for exclusion from additional duties under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. It applies only to steel articles (Harmonized Tariff Schedule 9903.80.01) and aluminum articles (9903.85.01) that received retroactive exclusion approval from the Department of Commerce during 2020-2021. Importers must submit a request within 180 days of the bill’s enactment with details to verify eligibility, and refunds must be issued within 90 days of processing. This bill corrects past overpayments without interest, directly affecting businesses that paid duties on these excluded products.

Maddy summaryThe MORE Act (HR 5601) would federally decriminalize cannabis by removing it from the Schedule I list of controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act. It requires federal courts to expunge non-violent cannabis convictions and associated arrests, with a focus on addressing racial disparities in cannabis enforcement. The bill creates an Opportunity Trust Fund that would allocate 50% of funds to criminal justice programs, 20% to small business assistance for minority cannabis entrepreneurs, and 20% to community reinvestment grants for individuals impacted by the War on Drugs. It also prohibits federal agencies from denying benefits or security clearances based on cannabis use or past cannabis convictions, and establishes a Cannabis Justice Office to administer these programs.

Maddy summaryThe Social Security 2100 Act would significantly enhance Social Security benefits for millions of Americans by increasing monthly payments for retirees, disabled workers, widows/widowers, and children. Key provisions include raising the minimum benefit for long-term low earners, improving cost-of-living adjustments using a more accurate index, eliminating the 5-month waiting period for disability benefits, and extending child benefits to age 26. The bill also changes how Social Security taxes are calculated by applying them to income above $400,000 and establishes a unified Social Security Trust Fund to manage program finances. Most provisions would apply to benefits payable from 2025 through 2034, affecting all current and future Social Security beneficiaries.