Sen. John Cornyn

Maddy summaryThis resolution designates the week of April 19-27, 2025, as "National Park Week" in the U.S. Senate. It encourages the public to responsibly visit, experience, and support national parks across the United States. The resolution highlights the National Park System’s role in preserving natural and cultural resources while acknowledging its economic impact and recreational value. It does not create new laws or alter funding, focusing solely on recognition and public engagement.

Maddy summaryThe Combating Organized Retail Crime Act amends federal law to strengthen legal tools for addressing organized retail crime, including theft from stores, online, and supply chains. It establishes a new Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement efforts. The Center will share information, assist with investigations, track crime trends, and provide training to combat these crimes. The bill expands legal definitions to include organized retail crime as a specific category and requires annual reports on the Center's activities. The Center will operate for 7 years before sunset.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires the CDC to collect and publicly share information about concussions and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) affecting public safety officers, including research on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. The CDC must update its website and develop outreach to medical professionals, public safety employers, mental health providers, patients, and educational institutions to improve care and awareness. It directly affects law enforcement, firefighters, and other public safety officers by creating a centralized resource for evidence-based practices to address TBIs in their work. The bill focuses on information dissemination, not new funding or mandates, to support better health outcomes for this workforce.

Maddy summaryThe FIGHT Act of 2025 amends the Animal Welfare Act to ban gambling on animal fighting events (including broadcasts), prohibit transporting roosters (defined as male chickens over 6 months old) for fighting, and make it illegal to sponsor, exhibit, or allow minors under 16 to attend such events. It allows citizens to file civil lawsuits to stop violations after 60 days' notice to authorities, with fines up to $5,000 per violation. The law also permits seizure of property used to facilitate violations, such as land or buildings. It does not override state or local laws on animal fighting unless there is a direct conflict.

Maddy summaryThis bill directs the transfer of the Discovery space shuttle from the Smithsonian's Udvar Hazy Center near Washington, DC, to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, within 18 months of enactment. It requires NASA and the Smithsonian to jointly develop and submit a transfer plan to Congress within 90 days, including cost estimates and timelines. After transfer, the shuttle must be placed on public exhibition within 5 miles of Johnson Space Center to support STEM education, with title transferring to NASA one year later and eventually to a designated nonprofit entity for ongoing public display. The bill authorizes funding for these activities, with no changes to existing appropriations.

Maddy summaryThe Drug Competition Enhancement Act (S.1040) prohibits drug manufacturers from engaging in "product hopping" - a practice where companies withdraw or disadvantage their original drug to push a newer "follow-on" version when generic or biosimilar competitors are about to enter the market. Specifically, it bans "hard switches" (officially withdrawing the original drug or destroying inventory to block generics) and "soft switches" (unfairly disadvantaging the original drug to favor the follow-on product) during a 3-year window before generic competition begins. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can enforce this by taking legal action against violators, seeking injunctions, or requiring disgorgement of profits gained from anti-competitive conduct. This law directly affects drug manufacturers holding approved "reference products" when generic or biosimilar applications are pending, aiming to prevent artificial barriers to lower-cost alternatives.

Maddy summaryThe SAFE Supply Chains Act requires the U.S. Department of Defense to only purchase or use certain IT hardware and software (called "covered products") from the original manufacturer or an authorized reseller, prohibiting purchases from other sources. It allows limited waivers for scientific research or to protect critical military operations, but mandates annual reports to Congress detailing waiver reasons, security measures, and efforts to reduce future waivers. The law does not create new funding and will take effect one year after enactment. This aims to strengthen supply chain security by limiting reliance on unvetted vendors for defense-related technology.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires states that use federal Medicaid funds to pay abortion providers to submit detailed annual reports to the federal government. The reports must include specific payment amounts, purposes, comparisons to prior years, the number of abortions performed, gestational age, and abortion method for each provider. States must also publish these reports online, and the federal government must compile and publish a summary for Congress. The law directly affects states administering Medicaid who fund abortions, mandating transparency about these payments using plain language definitions of "abortion" and "abortion provider."

Maddy summaryThe Small Business Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act of 2025 primarily affects small businesses with average annual gross receipts under $50 million (adjusted for inflation), providing enhanced protections in their interactions with the IRS. Key provisions include increasing civil damages for IRS violations from $1 million to $5 million, banning ex parte communications between IRS employees, establishing a right to an independent conference with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals, and limiting enforcement of liens against principal residences. The bill also creates new dispute resolution options, increases penalties for unauthorized disclosures of tax information, and requires the Treasury Inspector General to review IRS criteria for selecting returns for audit to prevent discrimination. Additional provisions include allowing a deduction for expenses related to certain audits, establishing a 10-year term limit for the National Taxpayer Advocate, and repealing the partial payment requirement for offers-in-compromise.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends federal rules governing physician self-referral to improve access for rural hospitals. It creates a new exemption for "covered rural hospitals" (defined as rural facilities meeting specific criteria) from certain referral restrictions, while clarifying they aren't required to meet additional criteria. It also removes a prohibition on expanding existing physician-owned hospitals, allowing such expansions to begin immediately upon enactment. The changes directly affect rural hospitals qualifying under the new definition and physician-owned hospitals seeking to expand. The bill modifies existing Social Security Act provisions without creating new programs or funding.