Rep. Derrick Van Orden

Maddy summaryThis bill, known as the Ratepayer Protection Act, modifies federal energy laws to ensure that large industrial customers pay for the specific infrastructure upgrades needed to serve their high electricity demands. It directly affects non-residential facilities with a peak power usage of 100 megawatts or more, requiring utilities to charge these customers the full incremental cost of any necessary generation, transmission, or distribution improvements. Under the new rules, large customers must also provide financial guarantees or contributions before such upgrades are made, ensuring utilities can recover costs even if the customer leaves the contract early. State regulators have two years to implement these standards, though the bill exempts utilities in states that have already enacted similar measures or are actively considering them.

Maddy summaryThis House resolution designates September 17, 2026, as National Teach Ag Day to highlight the contributions of agricultural educators and the National FFA Organization. It formally recognizes the role these groups play in preparing students for leadership and career success in the agriculture sector. The bill also acknowledges the work of over 11,000 educators across the United States and its territories who teach about food and natural resources.

Maddy summaryThe Aid and Attendance Assistance for Veterans Act directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to launch a pilot program that contracts with qualified organizations to help veterans and surviving spouses prepare applications for non-service-connected pension benefits, including aid and attendance allowances. These partner organizations would provide services such as eligibility screening, documentation collection, and application packaging to ensure claims are complete before submission to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill sets strict qualification standards for participating groups, requiring at least five years of continuous operation, a track record of over 10,000 approved claims, and prohibitions on charging claimants fees or engaging in certain financial planning activities. The pilot is subject to performance evaluations that compare processing times, approval rates, and Medicaid usage against standard claims, with the authority to operate expiring on December 31, 2031.

Maddy summaryThe American Procurement Improvement Act of 2026 modernizes the AbilityOne Program by renaming it the Commission for the Employment of Individuals Who Are Blind or Have Significant Disabilities and updating its statutory framework to better support employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The bill expands the definition of eligible workers to include those with significant disabilities beyond blindness, while requiring qualified nonprofit agencies to maintain a workforce where at least 51 percent of direct labor hours are performed by these participating employees. Key provisions mandate that agencies provide professional development and pay participating employees rates consistent with their nondisabled peers, and they establish new rules for adding or removing products from the federal procurement list, including time-limited additions for pilot projects. Additionally, the legislation introduces mechanisms to monitor involuntary terminations of workers, allows for governmentwide contract vehicles to improve procurement efficiency, and ensures that intergovernmental support agreements cannot be used to bypass these federal hiring requirements.

Maddy summaryThis bill would require Medicare to cover early detection screening tests for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias starting January 1, 2028. It defines eligible tests as FDA-cleared genomic blood tests, blood product analyses, or equivalent medical imaging methods (like protein expression or whole genome sequencing) that detect pre-symptomatic or early-stage conditions. Medicare beneficiaries would receive this coverage without cost-sharing for these specific screenings. The bill amends Medicare coverage rules to explicitly include these tests under Section 1861(nnn) of the Social Security Act.

Maddy summaryHR 1266, the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, adds xylazine - a veterinary sedative increasingly found in illicit drug mixtures - to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, regulating its use and trafficking. It directly affects veterinarians, animal owners, and manufacturers by allowing xylazine to be legally dispensed for animal use under specific veterinary prescriptions, while prohibiting non-veterinary human use. The bill includes transition periods (60 days for practitioners, 1 year for labeling) to ease compliance for manufacturers and practitioners, and requires the DEA and FDA to expedite necessary applications. It also mandates two congressional reports on xylazine's illicit use and trafficking patterns, and directs the Sentencing Commission to review penalties for offenses involving xylazine.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires all new passenger vehicles manufactured for sale in the U.S. to include AM radio as standard equipment (not an optional add-on) by 2027-2028, depending on manufacturer size. It mandates that AM radio receivers must be easily accessible to drivers and allows compliance through digital AM broadcast technology. During a transition period, manufacturers must clearly label vehicles without AM radio but cannot charge extra for this feature. The bill also mandates a GAO study on AM radio's role in emergency alerts and includes a 10-year sunset provision for the rule. It preempts state laws regarding AM radio access in vehicles.

National Law Enforcement Officers Remembrance, Support and Community Outreach Act. [ sic ] This bill temporarily directs the Department of the Interior to award a grant to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund for the expenses associated with operating and enhancing the community outreach, public education, and officer safety and wellness programs of the National Law Enforcement Museum.

Maddy summaryHR 5831 designates the U.S. Postal Service facility at 306 South Main Street in Waupaca, Wisconsin, as the "Master Sergeant Melvin O. Handrich Post Office Building." The bill updates all official federal references - such as laws, maps, and documents - to use this new name for the building. It does not create new policies or affect services, but formally changes the facility's official designation. The bill directly impacts how the building is identified in all federal communications and records.