Sen. Jerry Moran

Maddy summaryThis resolution designates the week of May 14-20, 2023, as "National Police Week" to honor law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty. It recognizes 444 officers killed in 2022 (including specific names listed in the resolution) and acknowledges 32 officers killed in 2023, while expressing support for law enforcement personnel. The resolution encourages the public to observe this week by honoring law enforcement officers and promoting awareness of their essential service. As a ceremonial resolution, it does not create new policy or alter existing laws.

Maddy summaryThe Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act amends the law governing the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), allowing the federal government to use grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements for its operation instead of only contracts. It clarifies that the OPTN’s management must be separate from the entity supporting its board of directors. The bill also mandates a two-year review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) of the OPTN’s historical financing - including how registration fees were used - and requires a report to Congress with recommendations. These changes directly affect the OPTN, its operating entities, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Maddy summaryThis bill imposes sanctions on foreign individuals, entities, and governments that provide significant financial or material support to Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or their affiliates. It requires the President to block transactions with those supporting these groups and to suspend U.S. aid to governments providing material support for their terrorist activities. The bill also mandates regular reports on foreign countries' efforts to disrupt Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fundraising, financing, and money laundering networks. Specific exceptions include military use and humanitarian aid for medicine and food. The bill includes a sunset provision, terminating either after 3 years or when Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are no longer designated as terrorist organizations.

Maddy summaryThis bill removes key restrictions on Medicare telehealth services for rural patients. It eliminates geographic limits on where telehealth can originate (allowing services from patients' homes starting January 2025), expands access to audio-only telehealth for specific services like behavioral health, and creates new payment rules for critical access hospitals and rural health clinics providing telehealth. These changes directly affect rural Medicare beneficiaries and healthcare providers in underserved areas by making telehealth more accessible and flexible. The policy changes take effect January 1, 2025, and apply to Medicare Part B services.

Maddy summaryThis bill provides annual funding increases for four USDA research agencies (Agricultural Research Service, Economic Research Service, National Agricultural Statistics Service, and National Institute of Food and Agriculture) by 5% above inflation each year, adjusted using the Consumer Price Index. It specifically exempts these funding amounts from automatic budget cuts (sequestration) under federal law. The funding applies to fiscal years 2024 through 2034 and beyond, with amounts remaining available for obligation through the end of each fiscal year. The bill does not create new programs but ensures stable, inflation-adjusted funding for existing agricultural research and data collection activities.

Maddy summaryS 1554, the National American Indian Veterans Charter Act, grants a federal charter to the existing nonprofit organization National American Indian Veterans, Incorporated. This charter formally recognizes the group as a federally chartered entity under Title 36 of the U.S. Code, authorizing it to operate as a nonprofit dedicated to serving American Indian veterans. Key provisions include granting the organization exclusive rights to its name and insignia, requiring it to maintain tax-exempt status, and mandating annual reports to Congress on its activities (though these reports are not public documents). The bill directly affects American Indian veterans by legally solidifying the organization’s role as their representative body for advocacy, outreach, and support services.

Maddy summaryThis bill, the "Back the Blue Act of 2023," strengthens federal protections for law enforcement officers by creating new criminal penalties for killing or assaulting them while on duty. It makes it a federal crime to kill or attempt to kill law enforcement officers, federal judges, or federally funded public safety officers (including firefighters and first responders) during official duties, with penalties ranging from 10 years to life in prison or death if the victim dies. The bill also establishes a new federal offense for fleeing interstate to avoid prosecution for killing law enforcement officers and adds a new aggravating factor for death penalty cases involving officers. Additionally, it expands law enforcement officers' rights to carry firearms in certain circumstances and limits federal habeas corpus relief for murder convictions involving law enforcement officers.

Maddy summaryThe Classification Reform Act of 2023 aims to modernize how the U.S. government classifies and declassifies information to reduce unnecessary secrecy while protecting national security. It establishes the Director of National Intelligence as Executive Agent for Classification and Declassification, requiring agencies to declassify information after 25 years unless specific national security reasons justify longer classification, with automatic declassification for records over 50 years old. The bill creates a Declassification Working Capital Fund to support technological solutions for declassification, mandates written justifications for classification decisions, and requires agencies to identify records of public interest through transparency officers. This reform directly affects all federal agencies that handle classified information, including intelligence agencies and executive departments. The law also includes provisions for security reviews of Presidential records and mandatory counterintelligence risk assessments for mishandling of classified information.

Maddy summaryThe Sensible Classification Act of 2023 aims to reform how the U.S. government classifies and declassifies information to reduce unnecessary secrecy. It requires federal agencies to review and reduce the number of personnel with access to classified information, particularly at Top Secret and Secret levels, and mandates studies on whether security clearances are truly necessary. The bill mandates training to prevent over-classification and promotes classifying information only at the minimum level required for national security. Agencies must report on the number of personnel with access to classified information at different levels and how they will maintain the smallest possible number of clearances. Additionally, the bill directs the development of technology using machine learning and AI to improve classification and declassification processes across government agencies.

Maddy summaryThe Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation Settlement Act of 2023 resolves a historical land dispute by affirming the Tribe's ownership of approximately 129 acres (the "Repurchased Lands") within a 1,280-acre reservation in Illinois. It ends the Tribe's legal ownership of the remaining reservation land, confirming that the State of Illinois, Dekalb County, and other non-Indian occupants have clear title to that land as of 1849. The bill requires the Tribe to waive all claims against the U.S. government and these occupants, and provides $50 million over five years for the Tribe to support economic development and acquire up to 1,151 additional acres within the reservation or a designated "Replacement Area." This settlement aims to address historical injustices while clarifying land ownership for the Tribe and surrounding communities.