Sen. Cory A. Booker

Maddy summaryThe PASTEUR Act of 2023 creates a subscription model to incentivize development of new antimicrobial drugs to combat antibiotic resistance. It establishes a Committee on Critical Need Antimicrobials and a Critical Need Antimicrobial Advisory Group to identify priority infections and evaluate drug characteristics like treating multi-drug resistant infections or having novel mechanisms of action. The bill authorizes the Secretary to enter into subscription contracts with drug developers for up to $3 billion per contract, with payments based on specific drug characteristics. Drug developers receiving these contracts must meet requirements including ensuring commercial availability, tracking resistance data, and developing appropriate use plans. The act allocates $6 billion for fiscal year 2024 to fund these initiatives.

Maddy summaryS 1329, the Armenian Genocide Education Act, establishes a program through the Librarian of Congress to support K-12 education about the 1915-1923 Armenian Genocide. The program develops and distributes educational resources (including digital tools and print materials), provides teacher training through workshops and fellowships, and maintains an online resource hub on the Library of Congress website. It directly affects local school districts, independent schools, and educational organizations that adopt the program’s materials into their curricula. The program is funded with $2 million annually for five years, requiring the Librarian to submit annual reports on its implementation.

Maddy summaryThe Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2023 would change how food assistance benefits are calculated by replacing the "thrifty food plan" with a "low-cost food plan" that better reflects actual food costs for families. The bill establishes a specific family diet for calculating benefits (a 4-person household with defined age groups), requires reevaluation of the food cost calculations by 2029 and every 5 years thereafter, and adjusts benefits for Hawaii and Alaska to reflect regional food costs. It also eliminates a cap on shelter expenses and includes Puerto Rico in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), with specific transition provisions for Puerto Rico to join the program.

Maddy summaryS 1383 restricts the possession of firearm silencers and mufflers for most individuals, making it unlawful to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess them except for specific exemptions. These exemptions include use by federal, state, or campus law enforcement officers (defined as officers employed by eligible private colleges with arrest powers), nuclear facility security personnel, and licensed manufacturers testing under Attorney General authorization. The bill also establishes a federal buy-back program using Byrne grant funds, allowing individuals to voluntarily surrender silencers/mufflers for compensation, with the Attorney General required to implement this program within 90 days of enactment. The law takes effect 90 days after enactment.

Maddy summaryThis bill authorizes the U.S. Treasury to mint three commemorative coins in 2026 to honor Golda Meir (Israel’s first female Prime Minister) and mark the 75th anniversary of U.S.-Israel relations. It specifies $5 gold, $1 silver, and half-dollar coins bearing her image and inscriptions like "Golda Meir, Israel 75, 2026," with surcharges of $35, $10, and $5 per coin respectively. All surcharge revenue will fund Kiryat Sanz Laniado Hospital in Israel, while the coins - minted only in 2026 - will be sold as collectibles with no net cost to the U.S. government.

Maddy summaryThe Food Labeling Modernization Act of 2023 would require standardized front-of-package nutrition labels showing calories, added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat to help consumers quickly understand a product's nutritional value. It would mandate specific disclosures for whole grain content, fruit, vegetable, and yogurt content, and require labeling of artificial colors, flavors, and noncaloric sweeteners. The bill revises requirements for terms like "natural" and "healthy" to better reflect actual product content and mandates clearer formatting for ingredient lists to improve readability. These changes would apply to most packaged foods sold in the U.S., with implementation beginning three years after enactment.

Maddy summaryThis bill would designate approximately 1.3 million acres of public land across Utah's Colorado Plateau and Great Basin regions as wilderness areas, protecting them from development and extractive industries. It specifically creates 77 wilderness areas across eight designated regions including the Grand Staircase-Escalante, Moab-La Sal Canyons, Henry Mountains, and San Rafael Swell areas. The bill maintains existing recreational uses like hiking, camping, and fishing while allowing continued livestock grazing under certain conditions and protecting water rights and Tribal cultural resources. It withdraws the designated lands from mining, mineral leasing, and other forms of development under federal law. The Bureau of Land Management would manage these areas according to wilderness preservation standards under the Wilderness Act.

Maddy summaryThe John Lewis Equality in Medicare and Medicaid Treatment Act of 2023 requires Medicare and Medicaid programs to address health disparities and social determinants of health when designing new care models. It mandates that the Secretary consult with the Office of Minority Health, Office of Rural Health Policy, and Office on Women’s Health before selecting models, and that models tested after 2024 must specifically reduce disparities for minority, rural, and low-income beneficiaries. The law also requires annual reports detailing how these models improve health equity, reduce disparities, and save federal funds by addressing social determinants of health. This bill directly affects how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation evaluates and implements new healthcare delivery models, prioritizing underserved communities.

Maddy summaryThis bill strengthens penalties for individuals or organizations charging veterans unauthorized fees when assisting with VA benefit claims. It directly affects veterans who might be targeted by unscrupulous representatives and the representatives themselves who attempt to charge such fees. The key provision adds a new subsection (b) to Section 5905, making it illegal to solicit, charge, or receive any fee for preparing or submitting VA claims - except as allowed under specific other sections. Violations can result in fines, up to one year in prison, or both.

Maddy summaryThe Caring for Survivors Act of 2023 (S 414) increases monthly payments for surviving spouses of veterans. It changes how dependency and indemnity compensation is calculated, replacing a fixed amount with 55% of another veterans' compensation rate, and ensures survivors whose veterans died before January 1, 1993, receive the higher of the old or new payment amount. The bill also modifies rules for survivors of veterans who were totally disabled at death, reducing the required continuous disability rating period from 10 to 5 years, with payments adjusted proportionally for shorter periods. These changes directly affect surviving spouses of veterans, particularly those with veterans who died prior to 1993 or who had shorter disability ratings before death. The bill takes effect six months after enactment.