Maddy summaryThe JOBS Act of 2023 expands Federal Pell Grant eligibility to short-term job training programs that provide 150-600 clock hours (8-15 weeks) of instruction aligned with in-demand local industries. It directly affects students enrolled in eligible career-focused programs at institutions of higher education, requiring programs to offer industry-recognized credentials and meet validation standards from employers or sector partnerships. Key provisions include mandatory industry validation of program quality, institutional credit articulation for noncredit programs, and lowering the minimum Pell Grant percentage from 10% to 5% for qualifying students. The bill ensures these programs count toward students’ total Pell Grant eligibility period while maintaining standard Pell Grant terms and conditions.
Sponsored bills
Maddy summaryThis bill would prevent government shutdowns by automatically continuing funding for most federal programs at the previous fiscal year's level if Congress fails to pass a full budget by the start of the new fiscal year. The automatic funding would continue in 14-day increments until a budget is enacted, with the government returning to normal funding levels once a budget is passed. During these automatic funding periods, government employees (including congressional staff) would face restrictions on travel, with limited exceptions for returning to Washington, D.C. or responding to national security events. The bill also establishes specific procedures for Congress to prioritize budget negotiations during these periods. This would affect the entire federal government and its operations during budget stalemates.
Maddy summaryThis bill modifies a 1953 wastewater agreement to limit the City of Nogales, Arizona’s share of costs for the Nogales sanitation project to only those directly tied to treating and conveying its own wastewater. It transfers full ownership and control of the International Outfall Interceptor pipeline (which carries wastewater from both Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Mexico) to the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) after required agreements with Arizona and the city. The bill authorizes $6.5 million for IBWC operations in 2025 and $8 million for a debris screen at Manhole One to intercept debris and drug bundles from Mexico. It also limits liability under the Federal Tort Claims Act for overflow claims related to wastewater originating in Mexico. The changes take effect October 1, 2024.
Extending Limits of United States Customs Waters Act of 2023 This bill extends the customs waters territory of the United States. Under current law, customs waters means waters within four leagues of the coast of the United States. This bill revises the definition to include (1) the territorial sea of the United States to the limits permitted by international law in accordance with Presidential Proclamation 5928, dated December 27, 1988, that extended such limits to 12 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States; and (2) the contiguous zone of the United States to the limits permitted by international law in accordance with Presidential Proclamation 7219, dated September 2, 1999, that extended such limits to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States.
Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research Reauthorization Act of 2022 or the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act This act reauthorizes through FY2028 and modifies pediatric cancer research and related programs, including to expand collection of and access to relevant biospecimens and to support the transition of pediatric cancer survivors to primary care.
Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2022 This act authorizes, ratifies, and confirms the Hualapai Tribe water rights settlement agreement negotiated between the tribe, the United States, Arizona, and others, thus satisfying the tribe's claims for groundwater and surface water rights to water in Arizona, including the Verde River, the Bill Williams River, and the Colorado River. The act outlines the tribe's water rights, including the right to divert, use, and store 4,000 acre-feet of agricultural priority water of the Central Arizona Project that was previously allocated to nontribal agricultural entities, but retained by the Department of the Interior for reallocation to tribes in Arizona pursuant to the Central Arizona Project Settlement Act of 2004. Interior must reallocate this priority water to the tribe, firm through 2107 a specified amount of the water, and enter into a water delivery contract with the tribe. The act directs Interior to establish the Hualapai Water Trust Fund Account. Amounts deposited in the trust fund account shall be made available to the tribe for specified purposes, including to construct the Hualapai Water Project. The project must be designed to divert, treat, and convey up to 3,414 acre-feet of water per year from the Colorado River for municipal, commercial, and industrial uses on the Hualapai Reservation. Additionally, the act establishes in the Treasury the Hualapai Water Settlement Implementation Fund Account. Amounts in this account must be used to carry out groundwater monitoring and an estimate for groundwater withdrawals in the Truxton Basin outside the boundaries of the tribe's reservation. The act adds certain land in Arizona to the tribe's reservation and also authorizes Interior to take specified land into trust for the benefit of the tribe. In the future, land located outside the reservation may only be taken into trust through an act of Congress. The act outlines (1) waivers, releases, and retentions of claims by the tribe and the United States under the settlement agreement; and (2) a limited waiver of sovereign immunity by the United States and the tribe with respect to certain claims. The act repeals the settlement agreement (except for provisions related to land added to the reservation and land taken into trust) if Interior does not publish by April 15, 2029, a statement of findings that specified conditions have been fulfilled (including that Interior has executed the required water delivery contract).
Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail Designation Act This act designates the trail extending approximately 3,292 miles and following the route operated by the Butterfield Overland Mail Company, known as the Ox-Bow Route, to transport mail and passengers between the eastern end points of St. Louis, Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee, and extending westward through the states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, to the western end point of San Francisco, California, as the Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail. The United States shall not acquire for the trail any land or interest in land outside of the exterior boundary of any federally administered area without the consent of the owner of such land or interest in land. The Department of the Interior may not use eminent domain or condemnation in carrying out this act.
Colorado River Indian Tribes Water Resiliency Act of 2022 This act authorizes the Colorado River Indian tribes (CRIT) to enter into agreements for the transfer or storage of a portion of its water allocation to be used in other locations in Arizona. The CRIT include four Indian tribes—the Mohave, Chemehuevi, Hopi, and Navajo. The reservation is located along the Colorado River in both Arizona and California. (Sec. 4) The CRIT is authorized to enter into an agreement to lease or exchange a portion of the CRIT's consumptive use of water for use off the reservation if the receiving facility is located in the Lower Basin of the Colorado River in Arizona and is not located in Navajo, Apache, or Cochise counties in Arizona. The term of a lease under this section must not exceed 100 years. (Sec. 5) The CRIT is authorized to enter into a storage agreement, including with the Arizona Water Banking Authority, for the storage of a portion of the consumptive use, or the water received under an exchange pursuant to an exchange agreement under this act, at one or more underground storage facilities or groundwater savings facilities off the reservation if the facility is located in the Lower Basin of the Colorado River in Arizona and is not located in Navajo, Apache, or Cochise counties in Arizona. (Sec. 6) The CRIT is authorized to enter into an agreement for water conservation or other methods for voluntarily leaving a portion of the CRIT reduced consumptive use in Lake Mead, which is located in Arizona and Nevada. If the conserved water is delivered, the delivery must be located in the Lower Basin of the Colorado River in Arizona and is not located in Navajo, Apache, or Cochise counties in Arizona. The term of an agreement under this section must not exceed 100 years. (Sec. 7) This section grants authority to the Department of the Interior to approve or disapprove of an agreement under this act. Interior is also authorized to enter into agreements with CRIT under this act, provided Interior pays fair market value for the reduced consumptive use. Among other requirements, Interior must ensure that water agreements under this act do not permanently alienate any portion of the CRIT water allocation. (Sec. 8) Interior, when approving an agreement under this act, must ensure that such agreement complies with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and other federal environmental laws. (Sec. 9) The CRIT must enter into an agreement with the state of Arizona prior to entering into an agreement under this act. The agreement with Arizona must outline all notice, information sharing, and collaboration requirements. (Sec. 10) Interior must enter into an agreement with the state of Arizona and the CRIT describing the procedural, technical, and accounting methodologies for an agreement under this act. (Sec. 11) This section reserves the CRIT's allocated water rights, including by ensuring that no agreement reduces or limits the right of the CRIT to use the remaining portion of their allocation. (Sec. 12) This section prohibits an agreement under this act from interfering with an allottee's water rights. (Sec. 13) This section establishes that the CRIT is entitled to all consideration from an agreement under this act. (Sec. 14) The United States has limited liability against claims under this act, except for those relating to the above environmental requirements.
This act revises the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2010, including by extending certain deadlines and establishing reporting requirements. (The quantification act approved the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Agreement, settling the tribe's water rights in Arizona. It authorized the design and construction of a rural water system to address the water infrastructure needs on the tribe's reservation.) Specifically, the act extends the enforceability deadline, from 2023 to 2027, for the Department of the Interior to publish a statement of findings required by the quantification act. In particular, the act repeals the settlement agreement on December 31, 2027, if Interior does not publish by December 30, 2027, a statement of findings that specified conditions have been fulfilled (including that funds necessary to construct the rural water system have been deposited into a specified subaccount). The act makes changes to cost indexing for the funds and subaccounts established under the quantification act, including by allowing adjustments for construction costs. The act also requires annual reports to Congress describing all expenditures and including additional information, such as progress and cost accounting on the planning, design, and construction of the Miner Flat Dam and any additional water supply facilities resulting from expenditures. Finally, the act establishes requirements for determining whether the rural water system is substantially complete. In particular, the rural water system shall be determined to be substantially complete if (1) the infrastructure is capable of storing, diverting, treating, transmitting, and distributing a supply of water as set forth in the final project design; or (2) Interior has expended all available funding and cannot complete construction due solely to the lack of additional authorized funding.
Iran Hostages Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to the 53 hostages of the Iran Hostage Crisis (November 4, 1979-January 21, 1981) in recognition of their bravery and endurance throughout their captivity.