Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the AI Research and Oversight in Courts Task Force to study how artificial intelligence speech-to-text and automatic speech recognition technologies are used in federal and state courts across the United States. The 15-member task force, composed of government officials and independent experts, will assess issues related to accuracy, privacy, civil liberties, and costs associated with these technologies in the judicial system. Within 18 months of enactment, the group must submit a final report to Congress with findings and recommendations on whether these technologies affect court record integrity, alter speech from individuals with accents or speech impediments, and pose cybersecurity risks. The task force will also examine whether court records should include watermarks or metadata to indicate AI involvement and provide guidance on vendor selection for these technologies.
Sponsored bills
Maddy summaryThis bill, titled the Fair Prices for Local Businesses Act, amends the Clayton Act to broaden the federal prohibition against price discrimination. It expands the law's scope to cover products and services rather than just physical goods, and extends its reach to include activities that affect commerce beyond direct commercial transactions. The bill also clarifies definitions of purchasing and adds liability for entities that induce or benefit from price discrimination, while providing a higher sales threshold for smaller businesses. Additionally, it strengthens legal remedies for victims of price discrimination by establishing a presumption of injury and allowing for additional damages beyond the amount of the discrimination itself.
Maddy summaryS 2903, the Safe Step Act, requires health insurance plans and employers offering health coverage to establish a clear, timely process for patients or doctors to request exceptions when step therapy protocols (where insurers require trying cheaper drugs first) would harm a patient. It mandates approval for exceptions if prior drugs failed, delay would cause severe harm, a drug is unsafe, or a patient is stable on their current medication. Plans must respond to requests within 72 hours (or 24 hours in emergencies) and cover the requested drug without extra cost-sharing. The bill also requires annual reports to the government on exception requests, approvals, denials, and trends by medical condition or specialty. This directly affects patients on health plans with step therapy, their doctors, and the insurers managing those plans.
Maddy summaryS 2287, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act, establishes federal funding to expand training for health professionals in palliative and hospice care. The bill creates multiple programs including grants for education programs, fellowships for faculty to gain specialized training, and career incentive awards for students pursuing palliative care specialties. It prioritizes training in rural and underserved areas, for pediatric populations, and for racial and ethnic minorities. The bill authorizes $15 million annually through 2030 to build a more skilled palliative care workforce for patients with serious or life-threatening illnesses.
Maddy summaryThis bill (S 1677, Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act) requires health insurance plans to cover medically necessary treatments for congenital anomalies or birth defects affecting the eyes, ears, teeth, mouth, or jaw. It mandates coverage for reconstructive services, dental/orthodontic care, and related treatments during the course of medical treatment, while excluding purely cosmetic procedures not medically necessary. Plans may apply cost-sharing requirements similar to those for other medical services but must provide notice about these coverage requirements to participants by January 1, 2026. The bill also directs a study on provider network adequacy and cost impacts related to these coverage requirements, to be completed by December 2027.
Maddy summaryThe SPARC Act creates a federal loan repayment program to address specialty healthcare shortages in rural areas. It provides up to $250,000 in repayment for specialty physicians (non-primary care doctors) and non-physician providers (like nurse practitioners) who commit to six years of full-time work in underserved rural communities. Eligible loans include federal education debts like Stafford and Perkins loans, with participants required to serve in designated shortage areas to receive benefits. The program prevents double-benefits with other federal loan forgiveness programs and requires annual reporting on program impact through 2033.
Maddy summaryThis bill requires the U.S. Secretary of State to work with the Secretary of Defense and submit a report to Congress within 180 days on emerging threats facing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The report will examine military, cyber, and political dangers from countries like Russia, Belarus, China, and Iran, while also assessing current U.S. and NATO security presence in the region. It includes recommendations for improving defense cooperation, cybersecurity, and democratic resilience in the Baltic states, and highlights opportunities to strengthen bilateral and multilateral partnerships. The legislation reflects Congress's view that supporting these NATO allies aligns with U.S. national security interests.
Maddy summaryThis bill, known as the Stop Presidential Embezzlement Act, imposes a 100 percent federal tax on civil damages received by high-ranking government officials, including the President, Vice President, members of Congress, and top executive branch leaders. The tax applies specifically to money these officials receive from lawsuits filed against the United States government, covering settlements, verdicts, or judgments obtained during their tenure in office. The legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat these damages as taxable income while simultaneously excluding them from gross income calculations, effectively creating a special tax category for this specific type of compensation. The changes take effect for any damages received after the bill is enacted, targeting financial recovery from civil actions rather than criminal penalties or other forms of compensation.
Maddy summaryS 2333, the Health Records Enhancement Act, allows designated individuals or immediate family members to add health information to the records of deceased veterans enrolled in VA care or TRICARE. The bill requires the Defense and VA Secretaries to create a process within one year for designating who can update records, with "immediate family" defined as spouses, parents, siblings, adult children, or those acting as parents. Updates can only add new observations or health details to existing records - they cannot alter or remove any existing information. This directly affects the families and designated representatives of veterans who died while enrolled in VA or TRICARE programs.
Maddy summaryThe Love Lives On Act of 2025 modifies veterans' and military survivors' benefit rules to prevent remarriage from automatically ending eligibility. It directly affects surviving spouses of veterans or military members who remarried, ensuring they retain access to key benefits. Key provisions include: (1) preventing termination of veterans' dependency compensation (under 38 U.S.C. §1311/1562) due to remarriage; (2) stopping termination of military Survivor Benefit Plan annuities solely for remarriage, with specific rules for those who remarried before age 55; and (3) expanding TRICARE coverage to include remarried widows/widowers whose subsequent marriage ended (via death, divorce, or annulment). These changes restore or maintain benefits that were previously lost upon remarriage.