Maddy summaryThis bill, S 4106 (Students Bill of Rights Act of 2024), requires public colleges and universities receiving federal student aid (Title IV funds) to follow specific rules protecting student organizations. It mandates that institutions cannot deny recognition to student groups based on lack of faculty advisors, organizational affiliations, or viewpoint, and must use neutral standards for distributing student activity fees and setting security fees for events. The law provides an appeals process for denied recognition or funding and allows students harmed by violations to sue for remedies like injunctions or damages. Institutions failing to comply face potential loss of federal funding after a court ruling, with the Secretary of Education tracking violations and enforcement actions.
Sponsored bills
Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the "Expanding Childcare in Rural America Initiative" within the USDA to improve childcare access in rural and agricultural communities. It directs the USDA to prioritize funding through existing programs (like rural business grants and essential community facilities loans) for projects addressing childcare availability, quality, or cost in rural areas, with special focus on farming-dependent counties. The initiative requires a balanced geographic distribution of funds and allows USDA to work with childcare networks or nonprofits to support facility upgrades and provider assistance. The USDA must evaluate the initiative's impact and report results to Congress within three years.
Maddy summaryThe PSLF Payment Completion Fairness Act (S 1331) amends the Higher Education Act to change the eligibility requirement for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) from requiring borrowers to be *currently* employed in qualifying public service jobs to requiring them to have *completed* the required period of such employment. This change directly affects federal student loan borrowers who have fulfilled the service requirements but may no longer work in public service roles (e.g., teachers, firefighters, government employees). The bill removes a barrier where borrowers lost eligibility after leaving public service jobs, even if they met the 10-year service threshold. It aims to align the program with its original intent of forgiving loans for completed service, not ongoing employment.
Maddy summaryThis bill restricts who can submit low-value shipments (under $800) eligible for duty-free entry ("de minimis entries") to only the consignee, owner, purchaser, or a licensed customs broker. It increases penalties for repeated negligence or fraud in these entries, with fines up to 10 times the duties evaded or $2,000 per violation. The bill also requires new data collection about the origin of goods to prevent entries of items made with forced labor, counterfeit goods, or illegal controlled substances. Finally, it mandates annual reports to Congress on seized de minimis shipments and a GAO assessment of data-sharing gaps among federal agencies.
Maddy summaryThis bill requires the Energy Secretary to study whether the U.S. electricity grid can reliably meet future demand as power plants retire and renewable energy grows. The study must examine impacts of retiring coal/nuclear plants, how variable wind/solar power affects grid stability, and whether more reliable power sources or transmission lines are needed to match peak demand. It also analyzes future electricity demand under climate change, decarbonization, and economic shifts. The Secretary must submit findings and recommendations to Congress within 180 days of the bill becoming law.
Maddy summaryS 4090, the "Enforcing the Rule of Law on Campus Act," would deny federal funding to colleges and universities that employ individuals working in the U.S. without legal authorization. Specifically, it makes institutions ineligible for all federal funding if they have a policy allowing undocumented workers on campus, violating U.S. immigration law (8 U.S.C. 1324a). This directly affects higher education institutions that hire undocumented staff, cutting off access to federal grants, loans, and other programs. The policy change targets employment practices, not campus activities or student enrollment.
Maddy summaryThe Revoke Iranian Funding Act of 2023 revokes existing licenses and exemptions that permitted U.S. funds to be released to Iran for humanitarian purposes, including the $6 billion South Korea transfer in September 2023, and blocks the Treasury from issuing new such licenses for one year. It also rescinds a specific waiver issued by the State Department in September 2023 that allowed humanitarian funding. The bill requires the Treasury to report within 30 days on Iranian assets held in the U.S. and current licenses related to Iran sanctions, directly affecting Iran's government and entities linked to its military, nuclear program, or terrorist groups like Hamas. This targets financial transactions involving Iran's accounts in Qatar and aims to prevent funds from being diverted to support terrorism.
Maddy summaryThe REPO for Ukrainians Act authorizes the U.S. government to confiscate Russian sovereign assets held in the United States and use them to compensate Ukraine for damages caused by Russia's invasion. It establishes a Ukraine Support Fund to hold these assets and directs funds to be used for Ukraine's reconstruction, humanitarian aid, and rebuilding efforts. The bill prohibits releasing these assets until hostilities cease and full compensation is made to Ukraine or Russia participates in a bona fide international compensation mechanism. It requires regular reports to Congress on asset use and establishes mechanisms for international coordination with allies on using these assets for Ukraine's reconstruction.
Maddy summaryThe FEND Off Fentanyl Act authorizes sanctions against foreign individuals and entities involved in trafficking fentanyl and its precursors into the United States, with specific focus on transnational criminal organizations like Mexican cartels and the flow of precursor chemicals from China. It requires the President to submit annual reports to Congress on actions taken under the law and designates fentanyl-related transactions as a primary money laundering concern for financial institutions. The bill also repeals a prohibition on imposing sanctions related to importation of goods under previous fentanyl sanctions law. It aims to increase financial costs for traffickers by blocking assets and prohibiting transactions involving sanctioned persons.
Maddy summaryThis joint resolution seeks congressional disapproval of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule that would have limited credit card penalty fees under Regulation Z. If approved, the resolution would block the rule from taking effect, meaning credit card companies would not be required to comply with the proposed fee restrictions. The measure uses a standard congressional review process under federal law to invalidate the rule, which was submitted to Congress in March 2024. This directly affects credit card issuers by allowing them to maintain current penalty fee practices without new federal limits.