Rep. Tom Cole

Maddy summaryThe Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025 would reform the Low-Income Housing Credit program, which provides tax credits to developers of affordable housing. It would increase state allocations based on population with annual cost-of-living adjustments, modify tenant eligibility rules to allow higher income limits for some residents, and add protections for domestic violence victims in housing. The bill would simplify rules for rural and Native American housing projects, clarify credit eligibility requirements, and require greater transparency in program administration. These changes would directly affect developers, property owners, and low-income tenants in housing projects that receive LIHC tax credits.

Maddy summaryThis bill, HR 2102 (Major Richard Star Act), allows veterans with combat-related disabilities to receive both full military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation simultaneously, without the previous offset that reduced retired pay. It directly affects veterans already eligible for both benefits due to combat-related injuries, removing the requirement that their retired pay be reduced by the disability compensation amount. The key provision amends Title 10 and Title 38 to eliminate the offset rule (sections 5304 and 5305 of Title 38) for these veterans. The change applies to payments starting after the bill’s enactment date, effective for all qualifying veterans. This is a policy change to increase financial support for affected veterans, not a new benefit.

Maddy summaryHRES 262 establishes a House Select Committee focused solely on investigating Mexican drug cartels and their international networks, including U.S. and Mexican government efforts to address them. The committee has no legislative authority but may hold public hearings, conduct investigations, and issue policy recommendations by December 2025, with final reports due by December 2026. This procedural resolution affects only House committee structure and processes, not direct policy changes for the public or government agencies.

Maddy summaryHR 2398, the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act, amends federal tax law to exempt certain student loan repayment or forgiveness assistance from income tax for veterinarians working in rural areas. It specifically expands existing tax exclusions to include programs under the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act (7 U.S.C. 3151a) and similar state-level programs designed to increase rural veterinary access. This change directly affects veterinarians participating in qualifying loan repayment or forgiveness programs in states prioritizing rural veterinary services. The policy change modifies IRS tax treatment to reduce the financial burden on veterinarians serving underserved rural communities.

Maddy summaryHR 2360 permanently exempts school bus drivers from the engine compartment inspection requirement during their commercial driver's license skills test, which was previously granted as a temporary measure in a 2024 federal notice. This affects school bus drivers in states that choose to participate in the exemption program. For six years after the bill's enactment, participating states must submit annual reports to the Transportation Secretary detailing how many drivers use this exemption. The exemption maintains the specific conditions established in the 2024 notice.

Maddy summaryThis bill (HR 2199) prevents private health insurance plans from discriminating against patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD) who require dialysis. It amends the Social Security Act to prohibit plans from treating dialysis coverage differently than other medical services or applying network restrictions that disproportionately harm ESRD patients. The law clarifies that plans cannot deny or limit benefits for dialysis based on a patient’s diagnosis, while preserving a plan’s right to choose which dialysis providers are in their network. It directly affects ESRD patients and their private health insurance coverage, ensuring dialysis is treated equally with other covered medical services. The bill does not require plans to include specific dialysis providers but stops them from unfairly restricting access to necessary care.

Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 This act provides continuing FY2025 appropriations for federal agencies and extends various expiring programs and authorities. DIVISION A--FULL-YEAR CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2025 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2025 This division provides continuing FY2025 appropriations to federal agencies for the remainder of FY2025 and extends various expiring programs and authorities. It is known as a continuing resolution (CR) and prevents a government shutdown that would otherwise occur if the FY2025 appropriations bills have not been enacted when the existing CR expires on March 14, 2025.  The CR funds most programs and activities at the FY2024 levels. It also includes several additional provisions that increase or decrease funding for various programs compared to FY2024 levels.  For more information, see CRS Report R48517, Section-by-Section Summary of the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2025 (Division A of P.L. 119-4)   DIVISION B--HEALTH This division extends several expiring programs and authorities related to public health, Medicare, and Medicaid.  TITLE I--PUBLIC HEALTH EXTENDERS (Sec. 2101) This section extends through FY2025 funding for the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program, the Community Health Center Fund, and the National Health Service Corps. The Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program supports education and training of medical students in primary care residency programs in community-based ambulatory patient care centers. The Community Health Center Fund supports (1) grants for outpatient health care facilities that serve medically underserved populations; and (2) the National Health Service Corps, which provides scholarships and student loan repayment awards to health care providers who agree to work in areas with health care provider shortages. (Sec. 2102) This section extends funding through FY2025 for the Special Diabetes Program for Type I Diabetes and the Special Diabetes Program for Indians. (The Special Diabetes Program for Type I Diabetes supports research on the prevention and cure of Type I diabetes, and the Special Diabetes Program for Indians supports diabetes treatment and prevention for tribal populations.) (Sec. 2103) This section extends through FY2025 the authority that allows states and tribes to request the temporary reassignment of state and local health department personnel who are funded through certain federal programs to immediately address a public health emergency. It also extends through FY2025 provisions that prohibit the disclosure of information about Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) programs that could compromise national security (e.g., information regarding biomedical threats). The section extends through FY2025 provisions that authorize HHS to engage with developers of medical countermeasures, and that provide for related antitrust exemptions, for the purpose of furthering product development. Additionally, the section extends through FY2025 the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters, the National Advisory Committee on Seniors and Disasters, and the National Advisory Committee on Individuals with Disabilities and Disasters. It also extends through FY2025 the authority of HHS to directly appoint candidates to positions within the National Disaster Medical System if HHS determines the number of personnel in the system is insufficient to address a public health emergency or potential public health emergency. (The National Disaster Medical System is a partnership between HHS, the Department of Defense, and other federal departments that responds to public health and other emergencies, including by deploying medical response teams.) TITLE II--MEDICARE (Sec. 2201) This section extends through FY2025 certain increased payment adjustments for low-volume hospitals under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system. (Sec. 2202) This section extends through FY2025 the Medicare-Dependent Hospital Program, which provides additional payments to certain small rural hospitals that have a high proportion of Medicare patients. (Sec. 2203) This section extends through FY2025 certain increased payment adjustments for ground ambulance services in rural and other areas under Medicare. (Sec. 2204) This section extends through FY2025 funding for certain Medicare quality-measurement activities. (Sec. 2205) This section extends through FY2025 funding for state health insurance programs, area agencies on aging, aging and disability resource centers, and technical assistance related to outreach and enrollment with respect to Medicare and other programs. (Sec. 2206) This section extends through FY2025 certain minimum adjustments to the work geographic index with respect to payments for physician services under Medicare. (Sec. 2207) This section extends through FY2025 certain telehealth flexibilities under Medicare. Specifically, the section (1) removes geographic restrictions on originating sites (i.e., the location of the beneficiary); (2) allows the home of the beneficiary to serve as the originating site for all services; (3) allows audiologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists to furnish telehealth services; (4) allows federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics to serve as the distant site (i.e., the location of the health care practitioner); (5) delays implementation of certain in-person evaluation requirements for mental health telehealth services; (6) expands coverage to include audio-only services for evaluation and management and behavioral health services; and (7) allows, for purposes of hospice care recertification under Medicare, physicians and nurse practitioners to fulfill the requirement of a face-to-face encounter with the hospice patient via telehealth. (Sec. 2208) This section extends through FY2025 the Acute Hospital Care at Home Program under Medicare. (The program allows hospitals to treat certain patients from emergency departments or inpatient hospital beds at home.) (Sec. 2209) This section extends through FY2025 coverage under the Medicare prescription drug benefit of prescription oral antiviral drugs that were authorized in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. (Sec. 2210) This section increases funding for the Medicare Improvement Fund beginning in FY2026. (Sec. 2211) This section extends by two months the sequestration that applies to Medicare payments in FY2032. TITLE III--HUMAN SERVICES (Sec. 2301) This section extends through FY2025 the Sexual Risk Avoidance Education Program. This program supports projects to implement sexual risk avoidance education that teaches participants to voluntarily refrain from nonmarital sexual activities. (Sec. 2302) This section extends through FY2025 the Personal Responsibility Education Program. This program provides grants to states to (1) educate young people about abstinence and contraception to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, and (2) support pregnant youth and mothers under the age of 21. (Sec. 2303) This section extends through FY2025 the Family-to-Family Health Information Centers Program, which is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration. The program awards grants to family-run organizations to support the provision of information and peer support to families of children with special health care needs.  TITLE IV--MEDICAID This section delays reductions to Medicaid disproportionate-share hospital (DSH) allotments until FY2026. (DSHs are hospitals that receive additional payments under Medicaid for treating a large share of low-income patients.) DIVISION C--OTHER MATTERS This division extends several expiring programs and authorities through FY2025. (Sec. 3101) This section extends authorities related to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s whistleblower program. (Sec. 3102) This section extends the authority of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice to take certain actions to mitigate a credible threat to certain facilities or assets from an unmanned aircraft system (UAS). These include certain facilities that are located in the United States and identified as high-risk and a potential target for unlawful UAS activity. (Sec. 3103)  This section extends the special assessment on nonindigent persons or entities convicted of certain offenses involving sexual abuse or human trafficking. The assessment funds programs for human trafficking survivors. (Sec. 3104) This section extends the authority for DHS’s National Cybersecurity Protection System and related reporting requirements. The system authorizes multiple activities by DHS to help defend federal agencies from cyberthreats. (Sec. 3105)  This section extends, the temporary scheduling order issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration to place fentanyl-related substances in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.  (Sec. 3106) This section exempts the budgetary effects of Divisions B and C of this act from (1) the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Act of 2010, (2) the Senate PAYGO rule, and (3) certain budget scorekeeping rules.

Maddy summaryHR 2098, the "Deliver for Democracy Act," requires the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to meet specific on-time delivery targets for periodicals (including newspapers) to receive annual rate increases. The bill mandates that the Postal Regulatory Commission must confirm USPS achieved either a 95% on-time delivery rate for periodicals or a 2-percentage-point improvement over the prior year before authorizing new rates. It also requires the Postmaster General to submit annual public reports tracking on-time delivery performance for newspaper mail in-county and out-of-county, using stakeholder feedback and alternative data methods if needed. Additionally, the bill directs the GAO to study alternative pricing options for periodicals and submit a report within two years.

Maddy summaryThe FOCA Act of 2025 prohibits federal agencies from requiring or banning contractors from using union agreements in construction project bids or contracts. It directly affects federal agencies, contractors, and subcontractors working on federally funded or assisted construction projects (like buildings or infrastructure). The law requires bid documents to not favor or penalize contractors based on whether they have union agreements, aiming to promote open competition and prevent discrimination. This changes how agencies structure bids but does not affect union agreements themselves. The bill applies to all new contracts and subcontracts after enactment, with limited exemptions only for public health/safety emergencies or national security.

Maddy summaryThe Credit for Caring Act of 2025 creates a federal tax credit for family caregivers of elderly or disabled relatives. It allows eligible caregivers (with over $7,500 in earned income) to claim a credit equal to 30% of qualified caregiving expenses exceeding $2,000, capped at $5,000 per year. Qualified expenses include human assistance, home modifications, respite care, counseling, lost wages for unpaid time off, and transportation, all requiring certification from a licensed healthcare provider that the care recipient has long-term needs. The credit phases out for higher earners (over $75,000 single/$150,000 joint) and requires documentation of expenses and care recipient certification.