Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a commemorative postage stamp should be issued in honor of the Buffalo Soldiers.

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Bill ID: 119/hres/862
Last Updated: November 8, 2025

Sponsored by

Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3]

ID: B001281

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Bill Summary

Another meaningless exercise in legislative grandstanding, courtesy of the esteemed members of the House of Representatives. HRES 862 is a resolution that's about as substantial as a participation trophy, calling for a commemorative postage stamp to honor the Buffalo Soldiers.

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The main purpose of this bill is to give its sponsors a warm, fuzzy feeling and a chance to pat themselves on the back for "honoring" African-American military history. In reality, it's just a shallow attempt to appear virtuous without actually doing anything meaningful.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** There are no actual provisions or changes to existing law in this resolution. It's simply a non-binding expression of sentiment, which is about as effective as a strongly worded letter to the editor. The bill doesn't even propose any concrete actions beyond recommending that the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee suggest issuing a stamp.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The only parties affected by this bill are the politicians who get to pretend they care about African-American history and the postal service, which might have to waste some resources on designing and printing a new stamp. Oh, and let's not forget the Buffalo Soldiers themselves – or rather, their legacy, since most of them are long deceased.

**Potential Impact & Implications:** The impact of this bill is precisely zero. It won't change anything, improve anyone's life, or address any real issues. It's just a feel-good exercise in empty symbolism, designed to distract from the fact that our politicians are too cowardly or incompetent to tackle actual problems.

In short, HRES 862 is a legislative placebo – a sugar pill meant to make us feel better without actually doing anything. It's a symptom of a deeper disease: the chronic inability of our politicians to address real issues and their preference for shallow grandstanding over meaningful action. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than waste my time on this meaningless drivel.

Related Topics

Civil Rights & Liberties State & Local Government Affairs Transportation & Infrastructure Small Business & Entrepreneurship Government Operations & Accountability National Security & Intelligence Criminal Justice & Law Enforcement Federal Budget & Appropriations Congressional Rules & Procedures
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đź’° Campaign Finance Network

Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$74,250
23 donors
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$0
Organizations
$0
Committees
$0
Individuals
$74,250

No PAC contributions found

No organization contributions found

No committee contributions found

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WALKER, KIRT A
2 transactions
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RADOW, LINDA
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RADOW, NORMAN
2 transactions
$6,600
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EDWARDS, JEFFREY W.
1 transaction
$5,000
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BANFIELD, WILLIAM
1 transaction
$3,300
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COHEN, PHILIP
1 transaction
$3,300
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LAVINE, JEANNIE
1 transaction
$3,300
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LAVINE, JONTHAN
1 transaction
$3,300
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STOKES, RAVEN R
1 transaction
$3,300
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WILLIAMS, CLIFTON
1 transaction
$3,300
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HUGHES, CARL F
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$3,300
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GILBERT, DAN
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SANDBERG, SHERYL
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BREITFELDER, MATTHEW
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JURVETSON, KARLA
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LOVIER, HEATHER
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SCANTLAND, MATT
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SPEARS, BROOKS
2 transactions
$2,000
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STANLEY, PAUL
2 transactions
$2,000
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NAILL, ROGER
2 transactions
$1,000
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BREED, CONNOR
2 transactions
$800
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RIORDAN, ANGELA
1 transaction
$500
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TOOKEY, BARBARA
1 transaction
$250

Donor Network - Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3]

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Total contributions: $74,250

Top Donors - Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3]

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Project 2025 Policy Matches

This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document. Higher similarity scores indicate stronger thematic connections.

Introduction

Low 41.6%
Pages: 332-334

— 300 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise the more than 40 million food stamp beneficiaries, the Trump rule would have applied only to 688,000 individuals in fiscal year 2021.63 The Trump reform was scheduled to go into effect, but a D.C. district court federal judge enjoined the rule.64 The USDA filed an appeal in late December 2020,65 but the Biden Administration withdrew from defending the challenge, and the rule was never implemented.66 Beyond the able-bodied work requirement, FNS should implement better regulation to clarify options for states to implement the general work requirement. This requirement is an option states can apply to work- capable beneficiaries aged 16 to 59. If beneficiaries’ work hours are below 30 hours a week, states can implement the general work requirements to oblige beneficiaries to register for work or participate in SNAP Employment and Training or workfare assigned by the state SNAP agency.67 Increased clarity for states would include items like states being required to offer employment and training spots for those that request them—not simply budgeting for every currently enrolled able-bodied adult. l Reform broad-based categorical eligibility. Federal law permits states to enroll individuals in food stamps if they receive a benefit from another program, such as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. However, under an administrative option in TANF called broad- based categorical eligibility (BBCE), ”benefit” is defined so broadly that it includes simply receiving distributed pamphlets and 1–800 numbers.68 This definition, with its low threshold to trigger a “benefit,” allows individuals to bypass eligibility limits—particularly the asset requirement (how much the applicant has in resources, such as bank accounts or property).69 Adopting the BBCE option has even allowed millionaires to enroll in the food stamp program.70 The Trump Administration proposed to close the loophole with a rule to “increase program integrity and reduce fraud, waste, and abuse.”71 The regulation was not finalized before the end of the Trump Administration. l Re-evaluate the Thrifty Food Plan. In a dramatic overreach, the Biden Administration unilaterally increased food stamp benefits by at least 23 percent in October 2021.72 Through an update to the Thrifty Food Plan, in which the USDA analyzes a basket of foods intended to provide a nutritious diet, the USDA increased food stamp outlays by between $250 billion and $300 billion over 10 years.73 — 301 — Department of Agriculture Although the 2018 farm bill instructed FNS to update the Thrifty Food Plan by 2023 and every five years thereafter, every previous Thrifty Food Plan has been always cost-neutral (just an inflation update)—exactly what CBO estimated as cost of the 2018 farm bill.74 The Biden Administration may have skirted regulations and congressional authority to increase the overall cost of the program. In fact, Senate and House Republicans requested that the Government Accountability Office investigate the legal authorities and process that the USDA undertook to arrive at such an unprecedented increase.75 l Eliminate the heat-and-eat loophole. States can artificially boost a household’s food stamp benefit by using the heat-and-eat loophole. The amount of food stamps a household receives is based on its “countable” income (income minus certain deductions). Households that receive benefits from the Low-Income Heat and Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) are eligible for a larger utility deduction. In order to make households eligible for the higher deduction, and thus for greater food stamp benefits, states have distributed LIHEAP checks for amounts as small as $1 to food stamp recipients. The 2014 farm bill tightened this loophole by requiring that a household must receive more than $20 annually in LIHEAP payments to be eligible for the larger utility deduction and subsequently higher food stamp benefits.76 Nonetheless, states continue to inflate their standard utility allowances. Under the Trump Administration, the USDA proposed a rule, which was not finalized, that would have standardized the utility allowance.77 Reform WIC. Turning to WIC, this program distributes money through EBT cards to help low-income women, infants, and children under six purchase nutri- tion-rich foods and nutrition education (including breastfeeding support). As of August 2022, approximately 6.3 million people participated in WIC each month to purchase food.78 In 2021, WIC federal outlays were $5 billion.79 The next Administration should: l Reform the state voucher system. State agencies control WIC costs by approving only one brand of infant formula through competitive bidding for infant formula rebate contracts. Because 50 percent of baby formula is purchased through the federal WIC program, it is vital that regulation for these competitive bidding contracts does not unintentionally create monopolies.

About These Correlations

Policy matches are calculated using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text. A score of 60% or higher indicates meaningful thematic overlap. This does not imply direct causation or intent, but highlights areas where legislation aligns with Project 2025 policy objectives.