Sen. James Lankford

Maddy summarySRES 386 designates October 4, 2023, as National Energy Appreciation Day to honor energy workers and highlight the sector's contributions to reducing poverty, strengthening national security, and improving global quality of life. The resolution encourages federal, state, local, and community organizations - including schools, businesses, and nonprofits - to observe the day with educational events. It does not create new laws or alter existing policies, serving solely as a symbolic recognition of the energy industry's role in the U.S. economy and global impact.

Maddy summaryThis joint resolution seeks congressional disapproval of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule that designated the Northern Long-Eared Bat as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. The rule, published in November 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 73488), would have provided federal protections for the bat and restricted activities impacting its habitat. If passed, this resolution would block those protections from taking effect, removing the bat’s endangered status. It uses a procedural mechanism under Title 5, U.S. Code, allowing Congress to reject agency regulations.

Maddy summarySenate Joint Resolution 9 seeks to disapprove a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule that would have classified the Lesser Prairie-Chicken as "threatened" (for the northern population) and "endangered" (for the southern population). If passed, this resolution would block the rule from taking effect, preventing new federal protections and restrictions on land use, development, and conservation activities in the bird's habitat across states like Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The bill uses a procedural disapproval process under federal law to halt the rule without altering the species' actual status.

Maddy summarySRES 380 is a non-binding Senate resolution designating October 1-7, 2023, as "Religious Education Week" to recognize the role of religious education in U.S. schools. It calls on all 50 states, territories, and the District of Columbia to accommodate students attending religious classes during school hours through "released time" programs. The resolution affirms that religious education contributes to students' moral, ethical, and civic development, referencing existing programs where approximately 540,000 public school students participate annually. As a symbolic gesture, it does not create new laws or alter funding, focusing instead on celebrating current religious education practices.

Maddy summaryThe IRS Accountability and Transparency Act (S 2981) requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to submit certain tax-related regulations for review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) before implementation. It directly affects the IRS and other federal agencies by mandating this review for "tax regulatory actions" that could disrupt other agencies' work, create novel legal issues, or impact the economy by $100 million or more annually. Key provisions define these qualifying actions and require OIRA compliance under existing Executive Order 12866, which focuses on regulatory analysis and cost-benefit evaluation. The bill does not change tax law itself but alters the process for reviewing IRS rulemaking. This adds a federal oversight step for significant IRS regulatory proposals.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires public colleges receiving federal funds to provide annual information to students about pregnancy-related accommodations and resources that exclude abortion services. It mandates colleges to send campus-wide emails or include this information in student handbooks/orientations, establish protocols for meetings with leadership regarding pregnancy-related concerns, and submit annual reports to Congress. The reports must include confidential student feedback on whether they felt adequate non-abortion resources were available, experienced potential Title IX violations due to pregnancy, or considered dropping out because of pregnancy or related health events. The bill directly affects public colleges and enrolled students, particularly those who are pregnant or may become pregnant while seeking to continue their education.

Maddy summaryThis bill modifies U.S. tax code provisions to provide financial relief for intelligence community employees who relocate for mission-critical assignments. It expands tax deductions for moving expenses and excludes certain relocation reimbursements from taxable income for non-military intelligence employees (as defined under the National Security Act of 1947). Specifically, it adds new language to tax code sections allowing these employees to deduct moving costs and excluding travel reimbursements for temporary duty on authorized intelligence activities from taxable income. These changes apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019, directly benefiting intelligence agency staff facing relocation due to job assignments.

This resolution supports the designation of September 21, 2023, as National Teach Ag Day and recognizes the important role of agricultural education and the National FFA Organization in developing the next generation of agricultural leaders.

Maddy summarySenate Resolution 376 clarifies the existing requirement for business attire on the Senate floor, specifying that men must wear a coat, tie, and long pants. The resolution designates the Senate Sergeant at Arms to enforce this dress code and mandates that any future changes to the rule require a two-thirds vote of all senators. This procedural resolution formalizes current standards without altering them, ensuring consistency in Senate decorum.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires all states to apply a uniform asset test to every Medicaid applicant and recipient, removing previous exemptions for people based on age, blindness, or disability. It ties the asset limit to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program's maximum resource threshold, meaning individuals with assets exceeding SSI limits would lose eligibility (except for pregnant/postpartum women and children under 19, who retain continuous eligibility). States must implement electronic asset verification systems within one year and report on eligibility determinations, including asset checks conducted. The bill also mandates the federal government track savings from these verification efforts and requires states to submit compliance reports to Congress.