Sen. Robert P. Casey, Jr.

Maddy summaryThis resolution designates the week beginning September 8, 2024, as "National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week" in the U.S. Senate. It directly recognizes direct support professionals - such as personal assistants and in-home support workers - who provide essential daily care and community support for people with disabilities. The resolution highlights their critical role in enabling community inclusion and independence, though it does not create new policies or funding. As a symbolic gesture, it aims to honor their contributions without altering existing laws or addressing workforce challenges like low wages.

Maddy summarySenate Bill S 5034 creates the Office of American Energy Workers within the Treasury Department to support workers displaced by coal mine or fossil fuel plant closures. It provides up to 60 months of wage replacement (adjusted for inflation), health insurance coverage continuation, retirement savings contributions, and educational benefits for workers and their children. To qualify, workers must have been employed at a coal mine or fossil fuel facility for 12 months at 30+ hours weekly before closure. The bill also prioritizes hiring these workers for new clean energy projects funded by federal grants.

Maddy summaryThe CCAMPIS Reauthorization Act (S 5033) reauthorizes federal grants to colleges and universities to support child care for student parents. It provides $500 million annually (2025-2030) for institutions to establish or subsidize campus-based child care, sliding-fee-scale services, or before/after-school programs for eligible student parents. To qualify, students must be enrolled at participating colleges with significant Pell Grant recipients and meet specific financial criteria. Institutions must report on program outcomes, demographics, and quality standards, while prohibiting use of funds for construction (except repairs) or adding extra eligibility barriers beyond Pell Grant status.

Maddy summaryThis bill directs the National Park Service to conduct a feasibility study for designating Washington’s Trail - 1753 as a National Historic Trail. The study will examine a 500-mile route from Williamsburg, Virginia, to Waterford, Pennsylvania, following George Washington’s 1753 diplomatic journey. It focuses on the route’s historical significance and practicality for official designation under the National Trails System Act. The bill itself only authorizes the study - not the trail’s creation - and affects no specific communities or entities beyond the study’s scope.

Maddy summaryThis bill reauthorizes federal programs to prevent and address traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) through 2029, updating funding periods from 2020-2024 to 2025-2029. It requires the CDC to collect and publicly share aggregated TBI data - including information on high-risk groups like domestic violence survivors, first responders, and populations disproportionately affected - along with targeted prevention strategies. State grant programs must now consider high-risk populations in outreach and include tribal entities, while also using revised definitions of TBI that exclude congenital or degenerative causes. The bill mandates a detailed report to Congress within one year on data gaps, outreach efforts, and challenges in serving high-risk groups.

Maddy summaryThis bill directs the CDC to establish a sepsis program team focused on improving hospital practices for early sepsis detection and treatment, with specific emphasis on pediatric cases and racial disparities. Key mechanisms include updating health data standards, requiring hospitals to adopt evidence-based protocols (like the Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements), and mandating annual congressional reports on hospital adoption rates and pediatric sepsis outcomes. Hospitals may voluntarily join a "honor roll" program recognizing effective sepsis programs, while the CDC coordinates with Medicare/Medicaid to develop quality measures. The bill authorizes $20 million annually (2025-2029) to fund these initiatives, targeting hospitals and federal health agencies to reduce sepsis-related deaths.

Maddy summaryThe Combat Chinese Economic Aggression Act of 2024 would expand the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' (CFIUS) review authority to scrutinize investments by Chinese entities and other "countries of concern" in U.S. businesses that could affect U.S. economic or technological competitiveness. It would require enhanced disclosures for private fund advisers regarding investments in countries of concern and create new notification requirements for U.S. persons engaging in certain activities involving "covered sectors" like semiconductors, AI, and quantum technology with entities from countries of concern. The bill establishes a framework for identifying technologies in covered sectors that pose national security threats, and would prohibit certain transactions involving those technologies unless exempt, with civil penalties for violations up to $5 million or twice the value of the transaction.

Maddy summaryS 4973, the "No Kings Act," removes presidential and vice presidential immunity from federal criminal prosecution, requiring such cases to be handled in federal district courts with appeals limited to the D.C. Circuit. The bill specifically bars the Supreme Court from reviewing cases involving claims of presidential immunity for official acts, including dismissals of indictments or overturning convictions. It directly affects current and former presidents and vice presidents by subjecting them to the same federal criminal accountability as all other citizens. Key provisions prevent courts from considering whether alleged crimes were part of official duties unless Congress specifies otherwise, and clarify that state criminal laws remain applicable.

Maddy summaryThis bill proposes a constitutional amendment to affirm that no person, including the President and other federal officials, is above the law. It would require all officials holding authority under the U.S. government to be subject to ordinary criminal prosecution for both official and unofficial actions. The amendment mandates that general laws apply to the President unless specified otherwise and grants Congress power to enforce this by, for example, extending the statute of limitations for prosecuting a sitting President during their term. If ratified by three-fourths of states, this change would become part of the Constitution, altering how federal law applies to high-level government officials.

Maddy summarySRES 800 is a symbolic Senate resolution introduced on August 1, 2024, by a bipartisan group of senators. It condemns the July 13, 2024, attempted assassination of Donald J. Trump at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally and honors three individuals affected: Corey D. Comperatore (who died shielding his family), David Dutch (critically injured), and James Copenhaver (critically injured). The resolution calls for national unity and civility following the violent incident. As a non-binding resolution, it does not create new laws or policies but expresses the Senate's stance on the event.