Rep. John W. Rose

Maddy summaryThis bill requires that AM radio receivers be included as standard equipment in all new motor vehicles (such as cars and trucks) sold in the United States, with a rule to be issued by the Department of Transportation within one year. The rule must ensure AM radio is easily accessible on the dashboard and allows manufacturers to use digital AM radio technology instead of traditional AM. During the one-year period between the bill's enactment and the rule's effective date, manufacturers must clearly label vehicles without AM radio. The bill also directs a study to evaluate whether an alternative system could deliver emergency alerts as reliably as AM radio across the country, especially during crises.

Maddy summaryThis bill clarifies that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has final authority over energy efficiency standards for manufactured housing. It requires any energy standards developed under federal law (like those from the Energy Independence and Security Act) to be formally adopted into HUD's manufactured housing construction standards before becoming enforceable. The bill directly affects manufactured housing manufacturers and HUD, as it ensures HUD - not other agencies - controls which energy standards apply. Key provisions eliminate references to the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and establish HUD as the sole authority for adopting these standards into its code. This streamlines the process but does not create new energy requirements.

Maddy summaryThe CERTS Tax Exemption Act (HR 3510) exempts certain grants received by transportation service providers from federal taxation under the Coronavirus Economic Relief for Transportation Services Act. It directly affects eligible transportation providers who receive these specific grants by excluding the grant amounts from their gross income and preventing related tax deductions or basis adjustments from being denied. Key provisions ensure that for partnerships and S corporations, excluded grant amounts are treated as tax-exempt income, and partner basis increases align with grant-funded costs. This creates a clear tax treatment for these grants without altering the underlying grant program.

Farmworker Access and Waiver Act or the FAWA This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to waive the interview requirement for certain returning H-2A (temporary agricultural workers) visa holders. Specifically, this waiver shall apply to a visa holder who (1) previously had an H-2A visa and is returning to resume work with the same employer as the previous year, and (2) is not inadmissible. The waiver shall be valid for up to three years from issuance. (Current law typically requires individuals applying for a nonimmigrant visa, such as an H-2A visa, to submit to an in-person interview, with waivers available in certain instances.)

Safe Access to Cash Act of 2023 This bill establishes a new federal statutory framework to govern robbery offenses involving ATMs and related conduct. Currently, the federal bank robbery statute makes it a federal crime to take or attempt to take by force and violence or by intimidation, money or other property from any bank, credit union, or savings and loan association. A violation is punishable by a statutory maximum prison term of 20 years (or 25 years, if the offense includes assault or use of a dangerous weapon). However, federal circuit courts have split on whether forcing someone to withdraw money from an ATM qualifies as an offense under the federal bank robbery statute. In United States v. Chavez, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the bank customer, rather than the bank, had possession of the funds when the robbery occurred, so a necessary element of the federal bank robbery statute--that the money belonged to the bank--was not satisfied. In contrast, the Tenth, Seventh, and Fourth Circuits have held that directly forcing a bank customer to withdraw money from an ATM constitutes a federal bank robbery because the funds belonged to the bank when the withdrawal occurred. This bill establishes new statutory criminal offenses for ATM robbery and related offenses such as ATM theft. A violation is subject to the same criminal penalties as an offense under the federal bank robbery statute--a statutory maximum prison term of 20 years (or 25 years, if the offense includes assault or use of a dangerous weapon).

This resolution commends the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a federally owned electric utility corporation, on the 90th anniversary of the signing of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933. It also honors the accomplishments of the TVA in improving navigation, controlling floods, promoting environmental stewardship, and providing electricity. Further, it recognizes the TVA, its employees, and its retirees for their service in the areas of energy, the environment, and economic development in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia.

Maddy summaryHR 3328 (Protecting Children From Experimentation Act of 2023) prohibits healthcare professionals from performing or referring for gender transition procedures on minors under 18. The bill defines "gender transition procedures" to include puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries (like genital or non-genital procedures) aimed at altering physical characteristics to match a gender different from a minor’s biological sex. It excludes care for minors with medically verified disorders of sex development or conditions requiring urgent medical treatment. Violations could result in fines, up to 5 years in prison, or both for providers, while minors receiving such care cannot be prosecuted.

Maddy summaryHJRES 61 is a resolution seeking to block a Department of Labor rule published in March 2023. The rule would have removed legal requirements related to religious exemptions under the Equal Opportunity Clause in federal employment regulations. If passed, this resolution would prevent the rule from taking effect, maintaining the existing requirements for religious exemptions. It uses a specific congressional disapproval process under Title 5 of the U.S. Code to stop the rule without requiring presidential action.

Maddy summaryHRES 396 is a non-binding House resolution recognizing motherhood on Mother's Day. It expresses support for the term "mother" and criticizes language alternatives like "pregnant people" or "birthing person," while stating mothers are defined as women. The resolution contains no policy changes or concrete effects - it is purely symbolic, affirming traditional definitions of motherhood without altering laws or impacting any programs. It was introduced by multiple House members and referred to the Education and Workforce Committee.

Maddy summaryHR 3238, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2023, updates the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program to increase the availability of affordable housing across the United States. The bill makes several key changes including increasing state funding formulas, modifying tenant eligibility rules to better serve vulnerable populations (such as domestic violence victims and students), and expanding credit eligibility for projects in rural and Native American communities. Specific provisions raise the credit for properties serving extremely low-income households, clarify rules around tenant income increases, and require housing providers to protect victims of domestic violence. The bill also updates terminology from "low-income" to "affordable" throughout the tax code and enhances program transparency through data sharing requirements. These changes aim to make the LIHTC program more effective at creating and preserving affordable housing units for low-income households nationwide.