Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits U.S. courts from recognizing or enforcing judgments from China’s courts when those judgments were issued under Chinese Communist Party control and used to retaliate against protected U.S. speech, government actions, or constitutional rights. It establishes a legal standard for courts to determine if a Chinese judgment qualifies (e.g., lack of judicial independence, CCP involvement, or retaliation for First Amendment activities) and requires U.S. courts to reject such judgments. The bill also allows parties opposing enforcement to recover legal fees and creates new lawsuits for U.S. individuals or entities harmed by politically motivated Chinese court actions. It explicitly states U.S. courts are not required to enforce any foreign judgment, making this a minimum standard for refusal, not a broad ban.
Sponsored bills
Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the Fort Ontario Holocaust Refugee Shelter National Historical Park in New York to preserve the site where 982 WWII refugees were housed (1944-1946), requiring the Secretary of the Interior to first acquire sufficient land and publish a Federal Register notice. It also designates the America’s National Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri, as a National Historic Landmark, while mandating a 3-year federal study to evaluate its potential inclusion in the National Park System. The park will be managed under standard National Park System rules, with a requirement for a management plan within 3 years. The landmark designation does not alter local ownership or administration of the museum property.
FDA Modernization Act 3.0 This bill requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to publish an interim final rule implementing a provision of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 that authorized the use of certain alternatives to animal testing to support investigational use of a new drug. The rule must replace references to animal tests, data, studies, models, and research with references to nonclinical tests, data, studies, models, and research throughout the FDA’s regulations governing investigational new drug applications, and may make other changes to the regulations as appropriate. The rule must be published within one year of the bill’s enactment, and must take immediate effect as an interim final rule.
Essential Caregivers Act of 2025 This bill prohibits certain health care facilities from limiting the access of essential caregivers to residents of those facilities, including during designated emergency periods. Specifically, the bill generally prohibits Medicare skilled nursing facilities, Medicaid nursing facilities, Medicaid intermediate care facilities, and associated inpatient rehabilitation facilities from restricting the access of essential caregivers to residents of the facilities, including during emergency periods in which visitation rights are otherwise restricted. During emergency periods, facilities may restrict access for an initial period of up to seven days and for one additional maximum seven-day period (if the additional period is approved by the state health department). Facilities may restrict access for a total of 7 days (or 14 days with the approval of the state health department) during an emergency period. Essential caregivers must agree to comply with any safety protocols set by the facility, which may be no more stringent for caregivers compared to those for staff. Caregivers who fail to comply with these requirements may be denied access, subject to an appeals process.
Maddy summaryThe PATRIOT Parks Act (S 2308) would allow national parks to charge international tourists an additional surcharge on entrance fees and recreation passes, in addition to standard fees. Park managers would set the entrance fee surcharge amount to maximize revenue without deterring visitors, with those funds staying at the specific park for local maintenance and services. For recreation passes, the surcharge would be sent to a central restoration fund, not the park itself. This policy applies only to international visitors (nonimmigrant tourists), leaving U.S. citizen fees unchanged.
Maddy summaryS 3302, the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act of 2025, requires drug manufacturers developing cancer treatments to conduct pediatric-focused research for certain drugs targeting pediatric cancer mechanisms. It amends FDA drug approval processes to mandate molecularly targeted pediatric cancer investigations for drugs with new active ingredients or specific approved combinations, ensuring studies address dosing, safety, and efficacy for children. The bill also extends priority review vouchers (which expedite FDA reviews) for rare pediatric disease treatments until 2030 and mandates GAO studies to evaluate how effectively these incentives spur new pediatric cancer drug development. These changes apply to new drug applications submitted three years after the law's enactment, with reports due to Congress at 6, 8, and 10 years.
Maddy summaryThis bill (S 3179, the "Halo Act") makes it a federal crime to approach within 25 feet of a Federal immigration enforcement officer after being verbally warned not to, if the person intends to impede the officer's work, threaten them with physical harm, or harass them. The law defines "harass" as causing substantial emotional distress with no legitimate purpose and specifies that the warning must be given by the officer. Violators face fines, up to 5 years in prison, or both. It directly affects individuals who interfere with immigration enforcement activities, not the officers themselves.
Maddy summaryThis bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require federal agencies to detect and identify nitazenes - synthetic opioids - alongside fentanyl and xylazine in drug detection protocols. It directly affects law enforcement agencies and laboratories using federal detection equipment, updating their technical standards to include nitazenes. The key change is adding "nitazenes" to the list of substances covered under existing detection requirements. This is a procedural update to existing law, not a new regulatory mandate.
Maddy summaryThe Nitazene Sanctions Act (S 3080) targets synthetic opioids called nitazenes, which are significantly more potent than fentanyl and can be produced using widely available chemicals, often linked to Chinese chemical manufacturers. It requires the U.S. State Department and Justice Department to submit a report within 120 days detailing China’s role in producing nitazene precursors and a strategy to address this, including working with Chinese authorities and European allies. The bill amends the Fentanyl Sanctions Act to explicitly include nitazenes in controlled substance definitions and authorizes sanctions against Chinese entities or officials that fail to prevent opioid trafficking or support precursor production. It also extends the Fentanyl Sanctions Act’s enforcement period from 5 to 10 years. The law directly affects Chinese chemical companies, government agencies, and officials involved in precursor production or trafficking, with sanctions potentially targeting financial institutions and government entities.
Maddy summaryS 3076, the Nitazene Control Act, permanently classifies nitazenes and related 2-benzylbenzimidazole opioids as Schedule I controlled substances under the federal Controlled Substances Act. This affects anyone possessing, distributing, or researching these substances, as it bans them without specific exemptions. The bill broadly defines the prohibited substances to cover all structural analogs (including modifications to the molecular structure) and those that activate the mu-opioid receptor. It also removes temporary scheduling for these compounds, making their Schedule I status permanent upon enactment. This policy change aims to prevent new illicit analogs from entering the drug supply and reduce overdose risks linked to these potent synthetic opioids.