Sen. Mike Braun

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits the U.S. Department of Defense from requiring defense contractors to report greenhouse gas emissions. It specifically bans the Secretary of Defense from mandating any "greenhouse gas inventory" or reports on Scope 1, Scope 2, or Scope 3 emissions from contractors holding federal defense contracts. The law directly affects defense contractors who would otherwise have been required to track and disclose their emissions data. It removes a specific reporting requirement for contractors under Defense Department contracts, without altering other environmental regulations.

Maddy summaryThis bill (S 43) repeals the automatic pay adjustment provision for Members of Congress, ending their annual automatic salary increases. It directly affects all current and future members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate by requiring Congress to approve pay changes annually instead of applying them automatically. The key change eliminates Section 601(a)(2) of the 1946 Legislative Reorganization Act, shifting pay adjustments to an annual legislative process. The repeal takes effect when the 119th Congress begins, meaning the next Congress will need to act on pay changes each year.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits the Department of Defense from imposing new COVID-19 vaccine mandates without explicit congressional approval. It directly affects military members discharged or facing adverse actions (like separation or rank reduction) solely due to refusing the vaccine. Key provisions require the DoD to adjust discharges to "honorable," reinstate members to their prior rank, expunge adverse records related to vaccination status, and provide back pay for lost benefits. The bill also mandates equal retention and promotion opportunities for unvaccinated service members and creates exemption processes for specific cases like natural immunity or religious objections. These changes apply regardless of whether members previously sought vaccine accommodations.

Maddy summaryThe Education Savings Accounts for Military Families Act of 2023 would establish a program providing $6,000 annually (increasing with inflation) into education savings accounts for children of military personnel on active duty. Eligible children must have a parent on active duty and have attended public school for at least 100 consecutive days in the previous school year. Parents could use account funds for private school tuition, online learning, tutoring, educational materials, and other approved expenses, but not for full-time public school enrollment. The program would prioritize siblings of previously enrolled children, followed by children of enlisted members, warrant officers, and commissioned officers when funding is limited. Unused funds would return to the Treasury at the end of the account period, which ends when children turn 22 (or 26 for children with disabilities).

Maddy summaryThis bill proposes a constitutional amendment that would limit Members of Congress to a maximum of three terms in the House of Representatives and two terms in the Senate. It specifies that filling a vacancy for more than one year in the House or more than three years in the Senate counts toward these term limits. The amendment would not apply to terms served before its ratification. If approved by three-fourths of state legislatures within seven years, it would change how long representatives and senators could serve. This is a proposed constitutional change, not current law.

Maddy summaryThis Senate resolution (SRES 10) proposes a symbolic gesture: lowering the U.S. flag to half-staff on January 22 each year to "memorialize the unborn." It references the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling and the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning it, citing that over 60 million unborn children have "perished" since 1973. The resolution encourages the public to observe this day by lowering flags to mourn and honor those affected, while also urging legislators to support laws respecting "the sanctity of life." As a non-binding resolution, it does not create new laws or policies but makes a symbolic recognition.

Maddy summaryThis bill raises the reporting threshold for payment platforms like PayPal or Venmo. It requires these platforms to report transaction data only if a business receives over $20,000 in payments across more than 200 transactions in a year. This change directly affects payment processors and their business users by reducing the volume of transactions they must report to the IRS.

Maddy summaryS 15, the Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act of 2023, requires states to submit standardized abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) annually to continue receiving Medicaid funding for family planning services. States must report specific mandatory data points - including maternal age, gestational age, race, ethnicity, and abortion method - by December 31 of the previous year, using a CDC-maintained standardized system. The CDC will publish an annual report on this data, and states that fail to submit timely reports may still receive retroactive Medicaid payments, but knowingly providing false data can result in losing future Medicaid funding. This bill directly affects all states receiving Medicaid funds for family planning services, aiming to create uniform national abortion data collection.

Maddy summaryS 16, the Protecting Life on College Campus Act of 2023, prohibits federal funding for colleges and universities that host campus health clinics providing abortion drugs or abortions to students or employees. It requires these institutions to submit annual certifications confirming their clinics do not offer such services, with funding eligibility contingent on this compliance. The bill defines "abortion drugs" broadly as any medication intended to terminate a pregnancy (excluding specific medical exceptions), and clarifies that campus health clinics - not hospitals - are covered under this restriction. This policy directly affects public and private institutions of higher education receiving federal funds, altering their funding eligibility based on campus health service offerings.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits the U.S. Secretary of Energy from selling petroleum products from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to entities controlled by the Chinese Communist Party or to any buyer unless they guarantee the oil won't be exported to China. It directly affects the Department of Energy (which manages the SPR) and any companies or entities seeking to purchase SPR oil with potential Chinese ties. The key mechanism requires the Secretary to block sales to China-linked entities or impose strict export restrictions on all sales. The bill aims to prevent SPR oil from reaching China, without creating new programs or altering existing SPR management rules.