Sen. Ruben Gallego

Maddy summaryThis bill (HR 1607) clarifies jurisdiction for Bureau of Reclamation pumped storage development on specific land in Arizona. It reserves approximately 18 miles of land along the Salt River south of Roosevelt Dam to the United States for exclusive use in developing electrical power for the Salt River Federal Reclamation Project. The bill permanently withdraws this land from public land laws, mining activities, and mineral leasing. Any facilities developed by the Salt River Project on this land must meet Bureau of Reclamation standards and receive approval from the Secretary of the Interior. The Bureau of Reclamation is designated as the lead agency for environmental compliance related to these developments.

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 summaryHR 663, the Native American Child Protection Act, amends the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act to strengthen child protection systems for Native American children. It expands definitions of child abuse to include serious physical injuries (like fractures or burns) and sexual exploitation, and requires culturally appropriate services in grant programs. The bill creates a National Indian Child Resource and Family Services Center, mandates reports on grant usage, and allows tribes, urban Indian organizations, and intertribal consortia to partner in prevention and treatment. These changes directly affect tribal governments, child welfare agencies, and families in tribal communities by improving response systems for child abuse and neglect.

Maddy summaryHR 4377 extends the military withdrawal period for Arizona's Barry M. Goldwater Range until October 5, 2049, and adds approximately 2,366 acres in Maricopa County (the Gila Bend Addition) to the range. It revokes prior land withdrawals and transfers a specific mining claim to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for management within Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. The bill directly affects military operations at the Goldwater Range and land management responsibilities for the Fish and Wildlife Service. These changes ensure continued military use of the range while updating land boundaries and resolving prior land claims.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to allow funds to be used for cybersecurity training and materials specifically for community water systems. It updates existing provisions to explicitly include protecting public water systems from cyberattacks and responding to such incidents. The bill also extends the funding authorization period for these programs through 2030. This directly affects community water systems by providing resources to strengthen their digital security measures.

Maddy summaryHR 3269, the Law Enforcement Innovate to De-Escalate Act, exempts specific less-than-lethal projectile devices from federal firearm taxes and National Firearms Act restrictions. The bill defines these devices as those firing projectiles at under 500 feet per second and designed not to cause death or serious injury. This directly affects law enforcement agencies using such devices and manufacturers producing them, by removing tax burdens and registration requirements. The key change is creating a clear legal exemption for these devices under federal law, streamlining their use for de-escalation purposes.

Maddy summaryThe U.S. Foreign Trade Zone Parity Act of 2024 amends customs procedures to clarify how goods withdrawn from foreign-trade zones are entered for consumption. It updates Section 321 of the Tariff Act to specify that entries for goods withdrawn from zones must follow new rules for single consignees and invoices, and explicitly includes zone withdrawals in entry procedures. The bill also modifies the Foreign-Trade Zones Act to exclude low-value electronic commerce transactions (under $800) from retail trade definitions, treating them differently for customs valuation. These changes directly affect businesses using foreign-trade zones, particularly e-commerce companies handling low-value imports, by streamlining entry processes and adjusting duty calculations based on withdrawal value. The law requires new Treasury regulations within 120 days to implement these changes, including a 60-day public comment period.

Maddy summaryThis bill changes how Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are calculated for seniors. It requires using either the standard CPI-W (for wage earners) or the new CPI-E (tracking inflation specific to seniors aged 62+) - whichever results in a higher COLA. The Bureau of Labor Statistics must now publish the CPI-E monthly to reflect seniors' spending habits. This directly affects Social Security beneficiaries, potentially increasing their annual benefit adjustments starting September 2024. The bill does not create new benefits but alters the inflation measure used to determine COLAs.

Maddy summaryHR 7717 requires pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and related entities to report detailed fee information to the government and health plans. Specifically, it mandates that PBMs disclose the total fees paid by drug manufacturers, including how much is passed through to health plans, broken down by type. This applies to PBMs managing coverage under Medicare Part D plans, Medicaid, or Affordable Care Act health insurance exchanges. The law takes effect for plan years beginning January 1, 2027, and requires the government to publish an annual report summarizing this data.

Maddy summaryHR 7718 requires Medicare Part D drug plans to allow any pharmacy meeting standardized contract terms to join their networks, directly affecting Medicare beneficiaries who choose pharmacies and participating pharmacies. It mandates that plan contract terms must be "reasonable and relevant," with new standards to be established by the Health Secretary by April 2027. The Secretary must gather industry input by January 2025 on current contracting practices before setting these standards. Implementation begins for plan years starting January 1, 2028.