Sen. Cory A. Booker

Maddy summaryThis is a ceremonial Senate resolution (SRES 902) honoring the late Senator Timothy Peter Johnson of South Dakota, who died after a long career in public service. The resolution expresses the Senate's "profound sorrow" over his death, directs the Secretary of the Senate to share the resolution with the House and send a copy to his family, and calls for the Senate to adjourn in his memory. It does not create new laws or affect any policies, as it is purely a formal expression of respect for a former senator. The resolution commemorates his decades of service, including his time as Chairman of the Banking Committee and his return to work after a serious health setback.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates two federal grant programs to improve access to support services for people with developmental disabilities through 211 helplines. It allocates $75 million annually for grants to states and 211 providers to upgrade databases, train staff, make services accessible (including text/phone interfaces), and collect data by race and disability type. A separate $50 million program funds family-led or disabled-led organizations to provide peer navigators who help individuals and families connect to services like transition planning for education, housing, and healthcare. The bill directly affects individuals with developmental disabilities, their families, caregivers, and 211 service providers nationwide, requiring annual reports to track outcomes and identify gaps in support.

Maddy summaryThe DIPLOMA Act (S 5387) establishes a federal program to support community schools that integrate academic and community services to improve student outcomes. It authorizes competitive grants for local school-community partnerships (called "local consortia") to develop comprehensive strategies addressing students' academic, health, social, and emotional needs, with priority for high-poverty schools. The bill requires states to develop strategies for implementing community schools, using evidence-based services to improve attendance, graduation rates, and academic achievement while addressing pandemic learning loss. It mandates annual reporting on progress toward specific goals and includes accountability measures to ensure effective use of funds for disadvantaged students and families.

Maddy summaryThe Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2024 (S 5399) creates new bankruptcy protections for individuals facing financial hardship due to medical expenses. It defines "medically distressed debtors" as those with significant unpaid medical debt (exceeding $10,000 or 10% of income) linked to their own or a dependent's illness, injury, or care-related job loss. Key provisions include allowing these debtors to exempt up to $250,000 in primary residence value (instead of standard exemptions), waiving certain bankruptcy filing requirements, and expanding student loan hardship exceptions. The bill applies only to bankruptcy cases filed after enactment and requires debtors to attest under penalty of perjury to their medical expenses.

Maddy summaryS 5395, the Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act, creates two new offices within the Supreme Court to strengthen ethics oversight. The Office of Ethics Counsel advises justices and their spouses on financial disclosures, gift acceptance, conflicts of interest, and other ethics matters. The Office of Investigative Counsel reviews and investigates ethics complaints filed by congressional leaders, conducts investigations, and reports findings to the Chief Justice (or senior associate justice if the Chief is the subject), with results made available to Congress. The bill requires annual reporting to Congress on ethics advice provided and mandates biannual ethics training for justices, aiming to increase transparency and accountability in the Court's operations.

Maddy summaryThe Second Look Act of 2024 allows federal courts to reconsider long sentences for incarcerated individuals who have served at least 10 years of a sentence exceeding 10 years. It specifically creates a process where courts can reduce sentences for people who are no longer a danger to public safety, have demonstrated rehabilitation, and are 50 years or older (with a rebuttable presumption for this age group). The law requires courts to consider factors like age at the time of the offense, rehabilitation efforts, victim input, and family circumstances before granting sentence reductions. It establishes procedures for filing applications, holding hearings, and mandates annual reports on the program's implementation to track outcomes for different demographic groups. This bill directly affects federal inmates serving long sentences, particularly older inmates, by providing a structured mechanism for sentence review based on changed circumstances.

Maddy summarySRES 901 is a non-binding Senate resolution supporting Transgender Day of Remembrance by recognizing the epidemic of violence against transgender people in the U.S. It memorializes 38 transgender individuals, including transgender women of color, who were killed between October 2023 and September 2024. The resolution affirms the need for solutions to this violence while upholding the dignity of all transgender people. As a symbolic measure, it does not enact new policies or laws.

Maddy summaryThis bill expands disaster assistance eligibility under FEMA for individuals without documented property ownership but who have occupied land or housing in declared disaster areas (e.g., Hurricane Maria victims). It allows FEMA to use funds for title acquisition costs (like surveys and taxes) and creates a self-certification form using common documents (utility bills, pay stubs, school records) to prove occupancy - without requiring notarization. The bill amends the Stafford Act to replace "uninhabitable" with "damaged" in eligibility criteria and prioritizes habitable housing recovery over temporary solutions. It also mandates multilingual forms, 30-day implementation timelines for FEMA, and retroactive access for cases since 2017.

Maddy summaryThis bill clarifies that individuals can seek compensatory damages for emotional harm in lawsuits alleging discrimination under key civil rights laws, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Title IX, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. It directly affects people facing discrimination based on disability, race, color, national origin, age, or sex in areas covered by these laws, such as education, healthcare, and federally funded programs. The key provision amends existing law to explicitly include emotional harm damages as a remedy in civil rights cases against both private and public entities, including state governments. The change applies to cases where a final court decision has not yet been made as of the bill's enactment date. This does not create new rights but ensures existing remedies for emotional harm are available.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a new federal grant program to address toxic substances in schools and early childhood facilities. It would provide $5.2 billion annually to states and tribes to identify and remove environmental hazards like lead, asbestos, and PCBs from schools, child care centers, and facilities for incarcerated youth. The funds can be used for inspections, remediation work, and training school staff on environmental health practices. The bill requires at least 40% of funds to go to high-poverty schools, 10% to early childhood settings serving vulnerable populations, and 5% to tribal schools. It also includes requirements for workforce development, using American-made materials, and real-time monitoring of indoor air quality.