Sen. Tammy Baldwin

Maddy summaryS 2299 prohibits the federal government from imposing or carrying out the death penalty for any violation of federal law after the bill's enactment date. It also requires that any person already sentenced to death for a federal offense before enactment be resentenced. The bill directly affects all individuals currently facing or convicted of federal crimes that carry the death penalty under current law. This legislation would eliminate the federal death penalty as a sentencing option and mandate new sentencing hearings for existing death row cases.

Maddy summaryThe Organic Science and Research Investment Act of 2023 establishes a new federal initiative to coordinate and expand research on organic agriculture across USDA agencies. The initiative will conduct regular surveys of organic research, develop strategic plans, and submit recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture every five years on expanding research related to organic farming practices, climate change adaptation, and transitioning to organic production. The bill includes specific funding increases for organic research programs, requiring $60 million in fiscal year 2024 and growing to $100 million annually by 2028. It also mandates an economic impact analysis of organic farming and requires reports on maintaining organic research acreage proportional to market share. This legislation directly affects organic farmers, agricultural researchers, and USDA agencies conducting agricultural research.

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits defendants from using a victim's LGBTQ+ sexual orientation or gender identity as a legal defense to excuse or reduce punishment for violent crimes. It directly affects criminal trials in federal courts where defendants claim such characteristics provoked their violent actions against LGBTQ+ individuals. The law amends Title 18 of the U.S. Code to ban this specific "panic defense" while allowing courts to consider evidence of the defendant's past trauma under standard evidence rules. It also requires the Attorney General to annually report on federal prosecutions involving bias-motivated violence against LGBTQ+ people.

Maddy summaryS 2267, the Dairy Business Innovation Act of 2023, increases federal funding for dairy business innovation initiatives from $20 million to $36 million annually. This bill directly affects dairy businesses and cooperatives eligible to apply for grants under the existing program established by the 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act. The key provision simply raises the annual funding cap for these grants, providing more resources for projects aimed at improving dairy operations, such as processing, marketing, or sustainability efforts. The change is procedural, with no new requirements or eligibility shifts beyond the increased funding amount.

Maddy summaryThe Susan Muffley Act requires the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to recalculate monthly pension benefits for participants and beneficiaries of six specific Delphi pension plans (including the Delphi Hourly-Rate Employees Pension Plan) to the full vested amount, removing prior limits that previously reduced payments. It mandates lump-sum payments for past underpayments, including 6% interest, within 180 days of enactment, covering individuals currently receiving benefits or eligible for future payments under these plans. The law establishes a Treasury-funded trust to cover these increased payments and applies retroactively to past benefit calculations. This change directly affects Delphi plan participants who were underpaid due to previous benefit caps, without altering existing asset allocation rules.

Maddy summaryS 928, the "Not Just a Number Act," requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to publish an annual report on veteran suicide rates starting 18 months after enactment. The report must include detailed data broken down by age, gender, and race/ethnicity, plus comparisons between veterans who used VA health services (like Vet Centers or mental health care) versus those who did not, and veterans engaged with VA benefits programs (such as education assistance, disability compensation, or housing loans). The bill also mandates a toolkit for state/local coroners to better identify and report veteran suicides, and a study on creating a dedicated VA suicide prevention office. These requirements aim to improve data collection, analysis, and reporting on veteran suicide trends to inform prevention strategies.

Maddy summarySRES 284 is a Senate resolution expressing support for designating June 2023 as "National Dairy Month." It recognizes the dairy industry's role in providing essential nutrients like calcium and vitamin D for a healthy diet, its economic impact (supporting $793 billion in U.S. economic activity and 3.2 million jobs), and dairy producers' environmental stewardship. The resolution does not create new laws or policies but serves as a symbolic acknowledgment of the industry's contributions. It was introduced by multiple senators and refers to nutritional guidelines emphasizing dairy's health benefits.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates federal grant programs to expand education and training for health professionals in palliative care and hospice services. It establishes requirements for training programs to emphasize interprofessional team-based care, patient and family engagement, and addressing gaps in care for individuals with serious or life-threatening illnesses. The bill prioritizes programs serving rural areas, medically underserved populations, pediatric patients, and racial/ethnic minorities, and authorizes $15 million annually for 2024-2028 to support these initiatives. It also includes provisions for disseminating palliative care information to patients, families, and health professionals through federal agencies.

Maddy summaryS 2217, the IDEA Full Funding Act, mandates specific annual federal funding levels for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to support public education services for students with disabilities. It requires the federal government to appropriate increasing percentages of the total estimated cost - starting at 14.2% for FY 2024 and rising to 40% by FY 2033 - based on the number of eligible students and national average per-pupil spending. This directly affects public schools and state education agencies that receive IDEA funding, guaranteeing phased increases in federal support over a decade. The bill sets concrete, legally binding funding targets without altering eligibility or service requirements for students.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends over 30 sections of the Internal Revenue Code to replace gendered language like "husband and wife" with gender-neutral terms such as "married couple" or "spouses." It directly affects all married taxpayers by ensuring the tax code refers to married couples in inclusive language, regardless of gender. The key mechanism is updating specific tax code provisions to use neutral terminology throughout, including changing "his spouse" to "the individual's spouse" in numerous sections. This is a technical correction to modernize the language of the tax code, not a change to tax rates, deductions, or policy. The bill does not alter tax obligations or benefits for married couples.