Rep. John H. Rutherford

Maddy summaryThe FAIC Act requires Medicare to pay separately for certain high-cost cancer treatments starting in 2026, rather than bundling them into general outpatient service payments. This change applies to FDA-approved cancer drugs and biologics that do not receive special transitional payments and cost at least $350 per day. The separate payment amount will be based on the drug's average sales price or, if unavailable, its wholesale acquisition cost or mean unit cost. The law includes a budget neutrality provision to ensure total Medicare spending remains unchanged by adjusting other payments as needed.

Maddy summaryHR 7464, the TEMP Act, requires the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to research and develop index-based insurance for specific crops (like tomatoes, citrus, and strawberries) against frost or cold weather damage. This research must evaluate risk management tools and aim to create policies covering either production or revenue loss from such events. The Corporation must report its findings and recommendations to Congress within one year of the bill's enactment. The bill directly affects farmers growing these frost-vulnerable crops by initiating a process to potentially expand their insurance options.

Maddy summaryHR 556, the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act, prevents federal agencies from banning lead ammunition or tackle on public lands and waters managed for hunting or fishing. It directly affects hunters and anglers using federal lands (like national wildlife refuges, public forests, and BLM lands) by blocking nationwide restrictions on lead products. The bill allows limited exceptions only for specific locations where wildlife decline is directly linked to lead use, and the restriction must align with state law or get approval from the state wildlife agency. This changes how federal land managers can regulate lead, requiring state coordination for any local restrictions.

Save Our Sequoias Act This bill provides for the conservation of giant sequoia trees ( Sequoiadendron giganteum ) in California. Specifically, it provides statutory authority for the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition and outlines the coalition's duties. The coalition must submit a Giant Sequoia Health and Resiliency Assessment and annually update it. The information from the assessment must be made available so the information can be integrated into certain other plans. The coalition must also create and maintain a website that contains the assessment, educational materials, searchable information about individual giant sequoia groves, and a searchable database to track the status and costs of reforestation and rehabilitation activities. In addition, the bill declares an emergency on certain public lands and allows officials to carry out protection plans during the emergency to respond to the threat of wildfires, insects, and drought. The emergency expires after seven years. The Department of the Interior must develop and implement a Giant Sequoia Reforestation and Rehabilitation Strategy. Finally, the bill establishes a variety of programs and funds to support the conservation of giant sequoias.

Maddy summaryHR 2294 reauthorizes the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009, extending funding and updating governance for the nation's ocean and coastal observation network. It changes references from "Council" to "Committee" throughout the law and adds requirements for federal agencies to collaborate with regional coastal observing systems on data sharing. The bill specifically directs agencies to conduct operational oceanography measurements and establishes $56 million annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to support this system. This bill directly affects federal agencies managing ocean observation programs and regional coastal data networks.

Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025 This bill imposes sanctions on certain foreign persons (individuals and entities) that are involved in Iran's petroleum sector as well as certain associated persons. The bill also requires or authorizes actions to facilitate the enforcement of sanctions on Iran. Specifically, the bill requires the President to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on any foreign person that, after the bill's enactment, knowingly engages in any transaction related to the processing, export, or sale of oil, condensates, gas, liquefied natural gas, or other petrochemical products in whole or in part from Iran. The President must also impose sanctions on certain foreign persons associated with a sanctioned individual or entity. For example, the President must sanction the subsidiaries and corporate officers of a sanctioned business. The bill provides certain exceptions to these sanctions, including specifying that sanctions do not apply to the importation of goods or to conducting or facilitating transactions for humanitarian assistance. The Department of State must establish an interagency working group that shall seek to establish a multilateral contact group to coordinate international efforts to enforce sanctions on Iran. The bill expands the State Department rewards program to authorize a reward payment to any individual who furnishes information leading to the identification of a person (1) subject to sanctions under this bill, or (2) that has attempted or is attempting to evade sanctions under this bill.

Maddy summaryHR 7472 repeals a restriction that previously prevented veterans from receiving both Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) program support and VA educational benefits simultaneously. This change directly affects veterans who seek job training or employment assistance through VR&E while also pursuing education under VA programs. The bill amends Section 3695 of Title 38 by removing the existing limitation (formerly subsection (b)) and renumbering the remaining provisions. As a result, eligible veterans will no longer face an automatic disqualification from one program when receiving the other.

Respect State Housing Laws Act This bill eliminates a provision that requires a 30-day notice period before a landlord may begin eviction proceedings against a tenant in federally assisted or federally backed housing.

Law-Enforcement Innovate to De-Escalate Act This bill removes less-than-lethal projectile devices (e.g., certain TASERs) from regulation under the Gun Control Act. The term less-than-lethal projectile device means a device that (1) is not designed or intended to expel (and may not be readily converted to discharge) commonly used ammunition or projectiles exceeding a velocity of 500 feet per second; (2) is designed and intended to be used in a manner not likely to cause death or serious bodily injury; and (3) does not accept (and cannot be readily modified to accept) an ammunition feeding device. The bill also requires the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine whether a device satisfies the definition of a less-than-lethal projectile device within 90 days of a request.

Maddy summaryHR 3340, the Modernizing Access to Our Public Oceans Act, requires the U.S. Commerce Department to create a public online map system showing fishing restrictions and recreational access rules in federal ocean waters. The system will display areas open or closed to fishing, vessel restrictions (like motorized propulsion limits), and rules for marine protected areas, updated at least twice yearly. It prohibits sharing sensitive information, such as tribal cultural sites or private commercial fishing data, and explicitly excludes Tribal fishing areas from its requirements. This bill directly affects recreational boaters, divers, and the public by making ocean access information clearer and more accessible through a single online resource. The data will be developed with input from states, tribes, and the public to ensure usability and compliance with existing laws.