United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2017
Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act or the PACT Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to revise and expand provisions with respect to animal crushing. It retains existing criminal offenses that prohibit knowingly creating or distributing an animal crush video using interstate commerce. The bill also adds a new provision to criminalize an intentional act of animal crushing. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to seven years, or both. It provides additional exceptions for conduct, or a video of conduct, including conduct that is: (1) medical or scientific research, (2) necessary to protect the life or property of a person, (3) performed as part of euthanizing an animal, or (4) unintentional.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2017
Making Online Banking Initiation Legal and Easy Act of 2017 or the MOBILE Act of 2017 This bill authorizes a financial institution, with an individual's consent, to record personal information from a swipe or copy of an individual's driver's license or personal identification card and store the information electronically for the purpose of verifying the authenticity of the driver's license or identification card, verifying the identity of the individual, or complying with legal requirements. Financial institutions must not sell, rent, transfer, or make such information available to another person, other than an affiliate.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2017
Condemns the government of Iran for the 1988 massacre of political prisoners and for denying the evidence of crimes against humanity. Urges: (1) the Administration and U.S. allies to condemn the massacre and pressure the Iranian government to provide detailed information to the victims' families about their loved ones and their final resting places; and (2) the United Nations (U.N.) Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran and the U.N. Human Rights Council to create a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the massacre, gather evidence, identify the perpetrators, and bring them to justice.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2017
Financial Stability Oversight Council Reform Act This bill amends the Financial Stability Act of 2010 to make the budgets of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and the Office of Financial Research (OFR) subject to the annual appropriations process and to establish requirements for reports and a public notice and comment period. The budgets of the FSOC and the OFR are funded by assessments on financial institutions which are deposited into the Financial Research Fund and, under current law, are immediately available to be spent. This bill requires the funding from the Financial Research Fund to be made available by appropriations Acts. The OFR must submit quarterly reports to Congress regarding its: finances; workforce; and actions taken to achieve the goals, objectives, and performance measures of the office. The OFR must provide a public notice and comment period of at least 90 days before issuing any proposed report, rule, or regulation. The bill expands the duties of the OFR to include: publishing an annual work plan; consulting with other federal departments and agencies with relevant expertise prior to preparing any public report with respect to a specified entity, class of entities, or financial product or service; and developing and implementing a cybersecurity plan. The Government Accountability Office must annually audit the cybersecurity plan and its implementation.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2017
Future Logging Careers Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to make the restrictions on oppressive child labor inapplicable to employment of an employee age 16 or 17 by a parent, or a person standing in place of a parent, in a logging or mechanized operation owned or operated by that parent or person.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2017
Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act This bill amends the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 to revise requirements for federal and private flood insurance. This bill revises the financial requirements that apply to flood insurance for home loans or loan guarantees by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Private flood insurance must meet any financial strength requirements set forth by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Private flood insurance may include nonadmitted insurers (including surplus lines insurance) as long as the insurer is eligible to provide insurance in the home state of the insured and complies with the laws and regulations of that state. The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 is amended to direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to consider any period during which a property was continuously covered by private flood insurance to be a period of continuous insurance coverage, including for the purposes of National Flood Insurance Program subsidies.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2017
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Land Adjustment Act This bill authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to sell or exchange any or all interest of the United States in 30 tracts of National Forest System land in Georgia totaling approximately 3,841 acres. USDA may reserve any rights-of-way or other rights or interests in land sold or exchanged under this bill that is considered necessary for management purposes or to protect the public interest. USDA may not sell or exchange land under this bill for less than market value, as determined by an appraisal or through a competitive bid. The bill requires proceeds to be used for the acquisition of land for national forest purposes in Georgia.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2017
Cancer Drug Coverage Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require group and individual health plans that cover anticancer medications administered by a health care provider to provide no less favorable cost sharing for patient-administered anticancer medications. This requirement applies to medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration that is prescribed based on a finding by the treating physician that the medication is medically necessary for cancer treatment and is clinically appropriate in terms of type, frequency, extent site, and duration. To comply with this requirement, health plans may not, for anticancer medications: (1) change or replace benefits to increase out-of-pocket costs; (2) reclassify benefits to increase costs; or (3) apply more restrictive limitations to orally administered medications than to intravenously administered or injected medications.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2017
Freedom from Government Competition Act of 2017 This bill requires each executive or military department or independent establishment to obtain all goods and services necessary for or beneficial to the accomplishment of its authorized functions by procurement from private sources, except if: (1) such goods or services are required by law to be produced or performed by such agency; or (2) the agency determines and certifies that federal production, manufacture, or provision of a good or service is necessary for the national defense or homeland security, that a good or service is so critical to the agency's mission or so inherently governmental in nature that it is in the public interest to require production or performance by government employees, or that there is no private source capable of providing the good or service. This bill requires such private sector provision of goods and services to be performed through: (1) the divestiture of federal involvement, (2) the award of a contract using competitive procedures, or (3) conducting a public-private competitive sourcing analysis in accordance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures and determining that using the private sector is in the best interest of the United States and provides the best value to the taxpayer. The bill authorizes an agency to utilize federal employees to provide goods or services previously provided by a private sector entity upon completion of a public-private competitive sourcing analysis and after determining that provision by federal employees provides the best value. The OMB must carry out a study to evaluate the activities carried out in each agency.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2017
Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop and conduct an exercise related to the terrorist and foreign fighter threat in order to enhance domestic preparedness for and the collective response to terrorism, promote the dissemination of homeland security information, and test the U.S. security posture. Such exercise shall include: (1) a scenario involving persons traveling from the United States to join or provide material support or resources to a terrorist organization abroad and terrorist infiltration into the United States, including by U.S. citizens and foreign nationals; and (2) coordination with relevant federal agencies, foreign governments, and state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector stakeholders. DHS shall submit an after-action report, including any identified or potential vulnerabilities in U.S. defenses and requested legislative changes. The bill amends the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 to require the national exercise program (a program to test and evaluate the national preparedness goal, National Incident Management System, National Response Plan, and other related plans and strategies) to be designed to include exercises addressing emerging terrorist threats, such as such a scenario.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2017
Amplifying Local Efforts to Root out Terror Act of 2017 or the ALERT Act of 2017 This bill authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide training at state and major urban area fusion centers for the purpose of administering community awareness briefings and related activities in furtherance of its efforts to counter radicalization, identify and report suspicious activities, and increase awareness of and more quickly identify terrorism threats, including the travel or attempted travel of individuals from the United States to support a foreign terrorist organization abroad. (A "fusion center" serves as a focal point within the state and local environment for the receipt, analysis, gathering, and sharing of threat-related information between the federal government and state, local, tribal, territorial and private sector partners.) The bill directs DHS to assess its efforts to support countering radicalization at the state, local, tribal, and territorial levels. Such assessment shall include: a cataloging of DHS efforts to assist state, local, tribal, and territorial governments in countering radicalization; a review of cooperative agreements between DHS and such governments relating to countering radicalization; and an evaluation of DHS plans and any potential opportunities to better support such governments that are in furtherance of DHS's countering radicalization objectives and consistent with all relevant constitutional, legal, and privacy protections. DHS shall notify Congress of the number of employees of state, local, tribal, and territorial governments with security clearances sponsored by DHS, including a detailed list of the agencies that employ such employees, the levels of clearance held, and whether such employees are assigned as representatives to state and major urban area fusion centers.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2017
Assuring Law Enforcement Requests Are Timely Evaluated by the Department of Homeland Security Act of 2017 or the ALERTED Act of 2017 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, upon request by a federal, state, or local law enforcement official, to determine whether to issue a detainer to detain an alien arrested by such official for a violation of any law, not just one relating to controlled substances.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2017
RFS Reform Act of 2017 This bill amends the Clean Air Act to revise the renewable fuel standard program. Beginning in 2017, the renewable fuel that is required to be blended into gasoline must be advanced biofuel, which cannot be ethanol derived from corn starch. This bill revises the renewable fuel standards by decreasing the total volume of renewable fuel that must be contained in gasoline sold or introduced into commerce for years 2017 through 2022. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must determine the target amount of cellulosic biofuel to be blended into transportation fuel based on the actual volume of cellulosic biofuel produced in the current year. The EPA must reduce the required volume of renewable fuel in transportation fuel by the same volume of cellulosic biofuel in the fuel. The EPA may not allow gasoline containing greater than 10% ethanol by volume to be introduced into commerce. Waivers that allow gasoline containing a greater percentage of ethanol are nullified.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2017
Stop Foreign Donations Affecting Our Elections Act This bill amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit political committees from accepting any Internet credit card contribution unless: the individual or entity making the contribution is required, at the time of the contribution, to disclose the credit card's verification value; and the billing address associated with the card is located in the United States or, if the contribution comes from an individual U.S. citizen living outside of the United States, the individual gives the committee the U.S. mailing address he or she uses for voter registration. The person receiving an Internet credit card contribution shall forward it to the treasurer of the political committee within 10 days, together with the name and address of the contributor and the date of receipt. The treasurer shall keep an account of the contributor's name and address, together with the date and amount of the contribution.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2017
CT Colonography Screening for Colorectal Cancer Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) provide Medicare coverage for screening computed tomography colonography (CTC) as a colorectal cancer screening test, and (2) exclude screening CTC from a special Medicare payment rule applicable to certain imaging services.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2017
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt charitable or educational organizations to make collegiate housing and infrastructure grants to certain tax-exempt social clubs (e.g., college fraternities and sororities) which apply such grants to their collegiate housing property. A "collegiate housing and infrastructure grant" is a grant to provide, improve, operate, or maintain collegiate housing property that may involve more than incidental social, recreational, or private purposes. The grant must be for purposes that would be permissible for a dormitory or other residential facility of the college or university with which the collegiate housing property is associated. The grant may not be used to provide physical fitness facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Taking Account of Institutions with Low Operation Risk Act of 2017 or the TAILOR Act of 2017 This bill requires federal financial regulatory agencies to: (1) tailor any regulatory actions so as to limit burdens on the institutions involved, with consideration of the risk profiles and business models of those institutions; and (2) report to Congress on specific actions taken to do so, as well as on other related issues. The bill's tailoring requirement applies not only to future regulatory actions but also to regulations adopted within the last seven years.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Taylor Force Act This bill prohibits certain assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 from being made available for the West Bank and Gaza unless the Department of State certifies that the Palestinian Authority: is taking steps to end acts of violence against U.S. and Israeli citizens perpetrated by individuals under its jurisdictional control, such as the March 2016 attack that killed former Army officer Taylor Force; is publicly condemning such acts of violence and is investigating, or cooperating in investigations of, such acts; and has terminated payments for acts of terrorism against U.S. and Israeli citizens to any individual who has been convicted and imprisoned for such acts, to any individual who died committing such acts, and to family members of such an individual.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine Act of 2017 or the FAST Act of 2017 This bill specifies that, under Medicare, telehealth services include telehealth-eligible stroke services provided to an individual soon after the onset of acute-stroke symptoms. Certain originating-site requirements applicable to telehealth services under Medicare shall not apply with respect to such stroke services.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Dismemberment Abortion Ban Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to prohibit a physician from knowingly performing a dismemberment abortion. It provides a definition of the term "dismemberment abortion." A physician who performs a dismemberment abortion is subject to a criminal fine, up to two years in prison, or both, unless the dismemberment abortion was necessary to save the mother's life. A woman or a parent of a minor who undergoes a dismemberment abortion may file a civil action for damages against an individual who violates this bill. The legislation bars the criminal prosecution of a woman who undergoes a dismemberment abortion for conspiracy to violate the provisions of this bill, for being a principal or an accessory after the fact, or for concealing a dismemberment abortion.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Security and Fairness Enhancement for America Act of 2017 or the SAFE for America Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the diversity immigrant program.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Shauna Hill Post 9/11 Education Benefits Transferability Act This bill authorizes the reassignment a veteran's or Armed Forces member's Post-9/11 education benefits to another eligible dependent in cases where the original designated beneficiary dies without having used all of such benefits. Such provision shall apply to deaths occurring on or after August 1, 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 to repeal specified limitations, for purposes of Medicare participation, on self-referrals by newly constructed or expanded physician-owned hospitals.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Discouraging Frivolous Lawsuits Act This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise requirements concerning citizen suits. Litigation costs (including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees) must be awarded to the prevailing party, thus the bill removes a court's discretion to award the fees. A prevailing party is defined as the party that prevails on more than half of the claims at issue. The bill repeals the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deny or restrict the use of any area as a disposal site for dredged or fill material when the discharge of those materials would have an unacceptable adverse effect on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas, wildlife, or recreational areas. Current law requires compensatory mitigation to replace the loss of aquatic resource functions in a watershed when a permit to discharge dredged or fill materials into navigable waters has unavoidable impacts on aquatic resources. This bill prohibits government entities from carrying out compensatory mitigation in excess of existing regulatory requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Establishes an ad hoc Joint Committee on the Organization of the Congress to study the organization, operations, functions, and relevant interactions of the Members of Congress and to make recommendations to: make such operations and organization more effective and efficient; make Congress and its Members more accountable; and improve the orderly, timely, and effective consideration and disposal of legislation; and improve the relationships between the Houses of Congress, with and among other branches of government, among elected Members and their staffs, and between Members and the citizens. The committee shall also study the role and effectiveness of the standing, select, and special committees in addressing legislative responsibilities, particularly the authorization of federal programs and agencies and the future fiscal impact of entitlement programs. Requires the committee to include in its report to both chambers at the end of a congressional session recommendations for its continuation or for designation of a similar entity to continue the pursuit of improvements in the congressional process.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2017
Calls upon: (1) the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, other elements of the Department of Defense and the federal government, and all foreign governments to intensify efforts to investigate, recover, identify and account for all missing and unaccounted-for U.S. personnel; and (2) all foreign governments with information on missing U.S. personnel, or with missing U.S. personnel within their territories, to cooperate fully with the U.S. government to provide the fullest possible accounting for all missing U.S. personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2017
Improving Transparency and Accuracy in Medicare Part D Spending Act This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit Medicare Prescription Drug Plan sponsors from retroactively reducing payment on clean claims submitted by pharmacies. (A "clean claim" is a Medicare claim that is free of defects such as incomplete documentation.)
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2017
This joint resolution nullifies the rule finalized by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on November 22, 2016, relating to prepaid accounts under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and the Truth in Lending Act. The rule establishes various consumer protections with respect to prepaid accounts.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2017
Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2017 This bill waives Medicare coinsurance requirements with respect to colorectal cancer screening tests, regardless of the code billed for a resulting diagnosis or procedure.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2017
English Language Unity Act of 2017 This bill establishes English as the official language of the United States. Naturalization ceremonies and official functions of the U.S. government, subject to exceptions, must be conducted in English. The bill declares that all citizens should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of U.S. laws. A person injured by a violation of this bill may obtain relief, including a declaratory judgment, in a civil action. English language requirements and workplace policies, whether in the public or private sector, shall be presumptively consistent with U.S. laws. Any ambiguity in U.S. laws shall be resolved in accordance with the rights retained by the people and the powers reserved to states under the Bill of Rights. The Department of Homeland Security shall issue a proposed rule for uniform testing of the English language ability of candidates for naturalization based upon the principles that: (1) all citizens should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United States; and (2) any exceptions to this standard should be limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asylum.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2017
Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency or a state from requiring a permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System for a discharge of a pesticide from a point source into navigable waters if the discharge is approved under FIFRA. Point source pollution is waste discharged from a distinct place, such as a pipe, channel, or tunnel. The bill establishes exemptions from this prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2017
Lymphedema Treatment Act This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover certain lymphedema compression treatment items as durable medical equipment under Medicare. (Lymphedema is a condition of localized fluid retention and tissue swelling that is caused when the lymphatic system is damaged or blocked.)
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2017
Global War on Terrorism War Memorial Act This bill allows the Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation to establish the National Global War on Terrorism Memorial as a commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia to commemorate and honor the members of the Armed Forces who served on active duty in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2017
Vietnam Helicopter Crew Monument Act This bill directs the Department of the Army to place in Arlington National Cemetery a monument honoring helicopter pilots and crew members who were killed while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era, subject to an agreement with the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association under which the association shall pay all site preparation, construction, installation, and maintenance costs for the memorial. The Army shall remove the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association Memorial Tree and place the monument where the tree stood.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the excise tax on transportation of persons and property by air amounts paid by an aircraft owner or lessee for aircraft management services related to maintenance and support of the aircraft or flights on such aircraft. Aircraft management services include assisting an aircraft owner with administrative and support services; obtaining insurance; maintenance, storage and fueling of aircraft; hiring, training, and provision of pilots and crew; establishing and complying with safety standards; or other services necessary to support flights operated by an aircraft owner. In the case of an aircraft owner that is wholly-owned by another person, amounts paid by the other person on behalf of the aircraft owner must be treated as having been paid directly by the aircraft owner.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2017
Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to terminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). Under PPACA, the IPAB is tasked with developing proposals to reduce the per capita rate of growth in Medicare spending.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2017
Agency Accountability Act of 2017 This bill requires any agency that receives a fee, fine, penalty, or proceeds from a settlement to deposit the amount in the general fund of the Treasury. The funds may not be used unless the funding is provided in advance in an appropriations bill. Any amounts deposited during the fiscal year in which this bill is enacted may not be obligated during the fiscal year and must be used for deficit reduction. The bill includes an exception for funds to be paid to an individual entitled to receive the funds as a whistle-blower, including funds received as a percentage of amounts received by the government pursuant to a judgment or settlement agreement. The bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require offsetting receipts and collections to be treated as revenue. (Offsetting receipts and collections are funds collected by agencies from other government accounts or from the public in businesslike or market-oriented transactions. Under current law, the collections are treated as negative budget authority and outlays rather than revenue and may be used to offset spending for budget enforcement purposes.) The requirements of the bill do not apply to the U.S. Postal Service or the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the USPTO must submit annually to Congress a report describing any fee, fine, penalty, or proceeds from a settlement collected by the USPTO during the previous year.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2017
This joint resolution nullifies the rule finalized by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on November 22, 2016, relating to prepaid accounts under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and the Truth in Lending Act. The rule establishes various consumer protections with respect to prepaid accounts.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
This joint resolution nullifies the Environmental Protection Agency's rule entitled, "Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Programs under the Clean Air Act." The rule addresses safety at facilities that use and distribute hazardous chemicals. It was published on January 13, 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
National Right-to-Work Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to repeal those provisions that permit employers or labor organizations, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement that is a union security agreement, to require employees to join a union as a condition of employment (including provisions permitting railroad carriers to require, pursuant to such an agreement, payroll deduction of union dues or fees as a condition of employment).
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Free Speech Fairness Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a tax-exempt organization to make certain statements related to a political campaign without losing its tax-exempt status. An organization may not lose its tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) or be deemed to have participated in, or intervened in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office, solely because of the content of any statement that: (1) is made in the ordinary course of the organization's regular and customary activities in carrying out its exempt purpose, and (2) results in the organization incurring not more than de minimis incremental expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
This joint resolution initiates the process to terminate the Independent Medicare Advisory Board, which issues annual recommendations for reducing growth in Medicare expenditures. Under current law, the enactment of a such a joint resolution is required in order to terminate the board.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
This joint resolution nullifies a Department of Health and Human Services rule regarding subrecipients of family planning grants. (Under the rule, grant recipients may prohibit an entity from receiving a subaward only for reasons related to the entity's ability to provide family planning services.)
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
This joint resolution nullifies the “Implementation of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 ” rule finalized by the Social Security Administration on December 19, 2016. The rule implements a plan to provide to the National Instant Criminal History Background Check System the name of an individual who meets certain criteria, including that benefit payments are made through a representative payee because the individual is determined to be mentally incapable of managing them. (Current law prohibits firearm sale or transfer to and purchase or possession by a person who has been adjudicated as a mental defective.)
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
This joint resolution nullifies the "Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers" rule finalized by the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 27, 2016. (The rule, mandated under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, requires resource extraction issuers to disclose payments made to governments for the commercial development of oil, natural gas, or minerals.)
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
This joint resolution nullifies a Department of Health and Human Services rule regarding subrecipients of family planning grants. (Under the rule, grant recipients may prohibit an entity from receiving a subaward only for reasons related to the entity's ability to provide family planning services.)
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax treatment of certain alcoholic beverages, to: exclude the aging period from the production period for beer, wine, or distilled spirits for purposes of determining whether a taxpayer can expense, rather than capitalize, interest costs paid or incurred during the production period; reduce excise tax rates on beer and distilled spirits; modify the small wine producer tax credit to increase the amount of the credit, expand the producers that are covered, and specify an adjustment for hard cider; modify the alcohol content limitations that apply to certain wines for tax purposes; specify definitions for "mead" and "low alcohol by volume wine;" modify requirements for records, statements, and returns for certain breweries; and permit the transfer of beer between bonded facilities without payment of tax. The Department of the Treasury must amend applicable regulations with respect to the use of wholesome products suitable for human consumption in the production of fermented beverages.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2017
Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act or the A PLUS Act This bill allows each state to receive federal elementary and secondary education funds on a consolidated basis and manage the funds to advance the educational policy of the state. A declaration of intent must be formulated by a combination of specified state officials or by referendum and must list the programs for which consolidated funding is requested. States may use such funds for any educational purpose permitted by state law, but must make certain assurances that they will use fiscal control and fund accounting procedures, abide by federal civil rights laws, advance educational opportunities for the disadvantaged, and use federal funds to supplement rather than supplant state funding. Each declaration state shall: (1) inform the public about its student achievement assessment system, (2) report annually on student progress toward the state's proficiency standards by specified student groups, and (3) provide for the equitable participation of private school children and teachers in the same manner as provided for under current law.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Conscience Protection Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to codify the prohibition against the federal government and state and local governments that receive federal financial assistance for health-related activities penalizing or discriminating against a health care provider based on the provider's refusal to be involved in, or provide coverage for, abortion. Health care providers include health care professionals, health care facilities, social services providers, health care professional training programs, and health insurers. The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services, in coordination with the Department of Justice (DOJ), must investigate complaints alleging discrimination based on an individual's religious belief, moral conviction, or refusal to be involved in an abortion. DOJ or any entity adversely affected by such discrimination may obtain equitable or legal relief in a civil action. Administrative remedies do not need to be sought or exhausted prior to commencing an action or granting relief. Such an action may be brought against a governmental entity.
![Official portrait of Rep. Loudermilk, Barry [R-GA-11]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/115_rp_ga_11_loudermilk_barry_200.jpg)