United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2023
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that (1) an all-of-the-above approach to energy is the most viable approach to energy independence, (2) energy security is an issue of national security, and (3) increased domestic energy production will result in lower energy prices.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2023
Teachers Empowered Against Classroom Harm Act of 2023 or the TEACH Act of 2023 This bill addresses school safety and security, including by expanding access to firearms for certain individuals and providing grants for defensive training programs. Current law prohibits the use of federal elementary and secondary education funds to provide any person with a dangerous weapon or training in the use of a dangerous weapon. The bill removes this prohibition. Next, the bill broadens the authority for certain individuals to carry firearms in a school zone. Specifically, the bill exempts individuals authorized by state law to carry firearms from the federal prohibition on possessing a firearm in a school zone. Further, the bill prohibits the Department of Education (ED) from disbursing or obligating funds for states, local governments, or eligible entities (e.g., local educational agencies or private schools) that restrict (in excess of federal law) the possession of firearms within school zones. Additionally, the bill directs ED to obligate certain reserved funds (i.e., funds reserved for technical assistance and capacity building) for a grant program. In particular, ED must award grants to enable eligible entities (e.g., local educational agencies or private schools) to participate in defensive training programs designed to protect schools from armed intruders. ED must fully obligate these funds for awarding grants and failure to do so shall result in a hiring freeze for ED.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2023
This resolution expresses U.S. support for Israel and its efforts to defend its right to existence. The resolution also declares that the United States and international community must prevent Iran from acquiring or building nuclear weapons.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2023
This resolution urges the House of Representatives to recognize Robert Aitken's Bible (the first known English-language Bible to be printed in North America) as a historical document of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2023
Federal Insurance Office Elimination Act This bill eliminates the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) within the Department of the Treasury. The bill also removes the FIO director as a nonvoting member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2023
Clean Slate Act of 2023 This bill establishes a framework for sealing records related to certain federal criminal offenses. Courts must automatically seal records related to (1) a conviction for simple possession of a controlled substance or for any nonviolent offense involving marijuana, or (2) an arrest for an offense that does not result in a conviction. Additionally, an individual who meets certain criteria may petition to seal records related to a conviction for other nonviolent offenses.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2023
Responsible Borrower Protection Act of 2023 This bill prohibits the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) from implementing their January 2023-announced changes to the single-family pricing framework for fees on purchase, rate-term refinance, and cash-out refinance loans. The changes revise the fee charts that provide percentage adjustments based on a borrower's credit score and other factors.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2023
Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2023 or the SAFE Banking Act of 2023 This bill provides protections for federally regulated financial institutions that serve state-sanctioned marijuana businesses. Currently, many financial institutions do not provide services to state-sanctioned marijuana businesses due to the federal classification of marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance. Under the bill, a federal banking regulator may not penalize a depository institution for providing banking services to a state-sanctioned marijuana business. For example, regulators may not terminate or limit the deposit or share insurance of a depository institution solely because the institution provides financial services to a state-sanctioned marijuana business. The bill also prohibits a federal banking regulator from requesting or ordering a depository institution to terminate a customer account unless (1) the regulator has determined that the depository institution is engaging in an unsafe or unsound practice or is violating a law or regulation, and (2) that determination is not based primarily on reputation risk. Additionally, proceeds from a transaction involving activities of a state-sanctioned marijuana business are no longer considered proceeds from unlawful activity. (Financial institutions that handle proceeds from unlawful activity are subject to anti-money laundering laws. Violators of these laws are subject to fines and imprisonment.) Furthermore, a financial institution, insurer, or federal agency may not be held liable or subject to asset forfeiture under federal law for providing a loan, mortgage, or other financial service to a state-sanctioned marijuana business.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2023
This joint resolution nullifies a Department of Labor final rule entitled Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in Non-Range Occupations in the United States and published on February 28, 2023. This rule makes changes to the methodology used to set adverse effect wage rates for H-2A workers (temporary agricultural workers), including by using Bureau of Labor Statistics wage surveys in certain instances. (Generally, the minimum wage for an H-2A worker is the highest of the adverse effect wage rate, the applicable minimum wage, the prevailing wage for that occupation in that area, or any agreed-upon collective bargaining wage.)
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2023
Go Woke, Go Broke Act This bill abolishes the Advisory Committee on Racial Equity in the Department of the Treasury. The bill also prohibits Treasury from reestablishing this advisory committee or establishing any substantially similar advisory committee.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2023
Fair Access to Banking Act This bill places restrictions on certain banks, credit unions, and payment card networks if they refuse to do business with a person who complies with the law. Restrictions include prohibiting the use of electronic funds transfer systems and lending programs, termination of an institution's depository insurance, and specified civil penalties. Banks and other specified financial institutions are allowed to deny financial services to a person only if the denial is justified by a documented failure of that person to meet quantitative, impartial, risk-based standards established in advance by the institution. This justification may not be based upon reputational risks to the institution. Banks may also deny services to a person who engaged in rude or harassing conduct toward an employee of the bank. The bill establishes the right for a person to bring a civil action for a violation of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2023
Employee Rights Act This bill generally addresses employer obligations related to unionized workplaces. This bill provides that an employer may be considered a joint employer in relation to an employee under federal labor law only if such employer directly, actually, and immediately (and not in a limited and routine manner) exercises significant control over the essential terms and conditions of employment. Such control may by demonstrated by hiring and discharging employees, determining individual employee rates of pay and benefits, day-to-day supervision of employees, assigning individual work schedules, positions, and tasks, and administering employee discipline. The bill also requires a workplace election to approve or reject a union to be conducted by secret ballot. Further, the bill requires an employer to provide limited employee information to union representatives to facilitate a workplace election. An employer that mishandles or fails to provide such information according to the bill's requirements may be liable for an unfair labor practice (i.e., labor law violation). Additionally, the bill requires an employee to authorize in writing any use of the employee's labor organization dues or other contribution for a purpose other than collective bargaining or contract administration. Such authorization must be made upon 35 days' notice and expires after one year. Finally, the bill exempts Indian Tribes, including Indian Tribe enterprises and institutions, from the collective bargaining rights and related provisions of federal labor law.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2023
FEMA Loan Interest Payment Relief Act This bill directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide financial assistance to a local government or electric cooperative as reimbursement for interest paid on a loan used for emergency or disaster recovery activities later paid for by FEMA assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2023
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment repealing the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution (authorizing taxation of income).
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2023
National Human Trafficking Hotline Enhancement Act This bill requires an applicant for a grant to operate the National Human Trafficking Hotline to certify that the applicant will provide information received from the hotline to state and local law enforcement agencies, at their request.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2023
Federal Firearms Licensee Protection Act of 2023 This bill modifies criminal penalties for an offense involving the theft of a firearm from a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer, or from their business premises. Specifically, the bill does the following: increases from 10 to 20 years the maximum prison term, and creates a 3- or 5-year mandatory minimum prison term for an offense that occurs during the commission of a burglary or robbery. An attempt to commit an offense is subject to the same penalties as a substantive offense.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2023
No More Political Prosecutions Act This bill allows a current or former President or Vice President to remove to federal court a civil action or criminal prosecution brought against them in state court. Under current law, removal in this situation is limited to cases that involve official actions.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2023
Defund China's Allies Act This bill prohibits providing U.S. foreign assistance, including humanitarian assistance and security assistance, to certain countries that do not have full diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The countries barred from foreign assistance by the bill are Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Cuba, Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Bolivia, Uruguay, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, Solomon Islands, and Kiribati. The prohibition shall be lifted the earlier of (1) 30 days after the President certifies to Congress that the country has resumed or established full diplomatic relations with Taiwan, or (2) 10 years after the date of the bill's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2023
Protect American Energy From China Act This bill prohibits federal funds from being used for implementing or administering the memorandum of understanding reached in 2011 between the Department of Energy and the Chinese Academy of Sciences on facilitating cooperation in nuclear energy science and technology.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2023
This joint resolution nullifies the final rule issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau titled Small Business Lending under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B) and published on May 31, 2023. The rule requires financial institutions to collect and report to the bureau credit application data for small businesses. On July 31, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ordered the bureau not to implement or enforce the rule until a related pending case is resolved.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2023
Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program Enhancement Act This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to enter into a contract to evaluate the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program. (Under the program, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service works in coordination with the Texas Animal Health Commission to combat the spread of cattle fever ticks, which can spread a serious cattle disease called bovine babesiosis or cattle fever.) Specifically, USDA must enter into a contract to review and report on the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program with a (1) land-grant college or university, or (2) non-land-grant college of agriculture. The review must include an evaluation of the program's effectiveness with respect to preventing and reducing the spread of tick-borne illnesses in cattle; the program's benefits, and the burdens of compliance, to cattle producers; the treatment protocols developed and implemented under the program; and the federal and state funds allocated to support the program for the most recent fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2023
Farm Credit Administration Independent Authority Act This bill specifies that the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) is the sole regulator of the Farm Credit System (FCS) and establishes reporting requirements for FCS institutions. Specifically, the bill states that the FCA is the sole and independent regulator of the FCS and exempts entities that are supervised by the FCA from the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). (The bill addresses a proposed rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [CFPB] that would implement provisions of the ECOA by requiring covered financial institutions, including FCS lenders, to collect and report to the CFPB data on credit applications for small businesses, including the principal owner's race, sex, and ethnicity.) The bill also requires FCS institutions to (1) request that loan applicants and borrowers that are small farmers disclose information identifying their race, sex, and ethnicity; and (2) annually report the collected information to the FCA. If an FCS institution customer does not voluntarily report the requested information, the FCA may not require the institution to use other means to deduce the information.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2023
Covenant School Heroes Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of Congressional Gold Medals to Officer Michael Collazo and Officer Rex Englebert of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department in recognition of their exceptional bravery and valor in confronting an active shooter at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2023
Visa Overstays Penalties Act This bill increases the civil penalties for unlawful entry into the United States and establishes criminal penalties for overstaying a visa. A non-U.S. national ( alien under federal law) apprehended while unlawfully entering the United States shall be subject to a fine of at least $500 and up to $1,000 (currently at least $50 and up to $250). If an individual overstays a visa (or otherwise fails to comply with the conditions of a visa) for 10 days or more, on first offense the individual shall be subject to fines or imprisonment for up to six months, or both. For subsequent violations, the individual shall be subject to fines or imprisonment of up to two years, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2023
Preserving Lawful Utilization of Services for Veterans Act of 2023 or the PLUS for Veterans Act of 2023 This bill modifies provisions related to agents and attorneys who represent veterans in Department of Affairs (VA) benefit claims. The VA must determine whether to recognize an individual as an agent or attorney for purposes of VA benefit claims within 90 days of receiving an application from such an individual. If the VA cannot verify whether the agent or attorney meets its qualifications and standards before the end of the 90 days, the VA must recognize the agent or attorney. If the VA determines after the 90-day period that such an agent or attorney does not meet the VA's qualifications and standards, the VA may suspend the individual without regard to notice and hearing procedures. The VA may not refuse to recognize an agent or attorney solely because the agent or attorney charges a fee for services rendered in the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of a claim. Additionally, the bill addresses and establishes the circumstances under which fees may be charged for the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of a claim for VA benefits. Finally, the bill imposes criminal penalties on individuals for directly or indirectly soliciting, contracting for, charging, or receiving any unauthorized fee or compensation with respect to the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of any claim for VA benefits. The commission or attempted commission of such offenses is punishable by a fine, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2023
Aviation Workforce Development Act This bill expands the qualified tuition program (commonly referred to as 529 plans) to allow distributions to pay education-related expenses required for participation in certain aviation maintenance and commercial pilot courses.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2023
This resolution observes the 29 th anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, remembering the victims and survivors. It also recognizes the ongoing efforts of Rwanda to promote peace, reconciliation, and development, as well as reaffirms a commitment to prevent genocide and other mass atrocities.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2023
Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order Act or the EL CHAPO Act This bill requires the forfeited profits of Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera (El Chapo) from his illicit drug trafficking enterprise to be reserved for border security measures between the United States and Mexico, including the completion of a wall. Additionally, it requires the forfeited funds from the felony conviction of a member of a drug cartel to be reserved for border security measures between the United States and Mexico, including the completion of a wall.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2023
Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act This bill expands Medicare coverage to permanently include services provided by a pharmacist, including incidental services and supplies, related to testing, vaccines, and treatment for COVID-19, influenza, and certain other illnesses. Specifically, the bill provides for continued coverage of pharmacist services relating to evaluation and management of patients for testing and treatment for COVID-19, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), or streptococcal pharyngitis (strep throat), as well as vaccines for pneumococcal disease, COVID-19, influenza, or hepatitis B. It also generally provides for coverage of pharmacist services during a public health emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2023
Let Experienced Pilots Fly Act of 2023 This bill raises the mandatory retirement age for pilots engaged in commercial aviation operations from 65 to 67 years of age, unless the operation takes place in (1) the territorial airspace of a foreign county where such operations are prohibited by the foreign country, or (2) international airspace where such operations are not in compliance with the Annexes to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The Federal Aviation Administration must also submit a report to Congress on further increasing the age limitation for pilots engaged in commercial aviation operations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2023
Global Aircraft Maintenance Safety Improvement Act This bill addresses safety standards related to foreign aircraft repair stations. Specifically, the bill requires that all foreign aircraft repair stations be subject to at least one unannounced safety inspection each year. Further, mechanics and others working on U.S. registered aircraft at foreign repair stations are required to meet certain minimum certification or licensing standards. The bill also prohibits certain agreements, contracts, and application approvals related to maintenance in a country that the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) International Aviation Safety Assessment program has classified as Category 2 (i.e., the country does not provide safety oversight in accordance with certain international standards). Air carriers must submit annual reports to the FAA with respect to heavy maintenance work on aircraft (including on-wing aircraft engines) performed outside the United States. The bill also prohibits FAA officials from traveling internationally if a previously mandated final rule on drug and alcohol testing of employees at repair stations has not been published, with specified exceptions. In addition, the bill requires the FAA to initiate rulemaking to require certain employees of foreign repair stations to undergo security threat assessments. Finally, the bill directs the FAA to convene a foreign repair station working group with other civil aviation authorities to conduct a review of the certification and oversight of the stations and to identify any future enhancements to strengthen oversight of such stations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2023
Strengthening Enforcement and Criminalizing Unlawful Records Enabling Flights Act or the SECURE Flights Act This bill prohibits the use of certain warrants and other documents issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as proof of identification at airport security checkpoints. If an individual uses a prohibited document as proof of identification, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) must inform ICE, CBP, and local law enforcement to determine whether the individual is in violation of any term of release from custody of the agency. An individual who is in violation may not be permitted to enter a sterile area (e.g., the boarding area) unless the individual (1) is being removed or deported from the United States, or (2) presents a covered valid and unexpired identification document. Examples of covered identification documents include a U.S. passport, a biometrically secure card issued by a DHS trusted or registered traveler program, a state-issued enhanced driver's license, and an employment authorization document issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Further, prior to authorizing entry into a sterile area, the TSA must collect biometric information from an individual who (1) does not present a covered identification document, and (2) the TSA cannot verify is a U.S. national. The TSA must submit the information to the national Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT).
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2023
End Zuckerbucks Act This bill prohibits tax-exempt charitable organizations from providing direct or indirect funding (e.g., below-cost services, scholarships, subsidies) to official election organizations, including any state or local government entity or any government election organization.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2023
This resolution supports the preservation of the stepped-up basis tax rule that allows recipients of inherited assets such as land, equipment, or buildings to adjust the cost basis of the assets to reflect their fair market value. The resolution opposes any efforts to impose new taxes on family farms or small businesses and recognizes the importance of generational transfers of farm and family-owned businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2023
Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes Act or the Pro Codes Act This bill addresses copyright protections for privately-developed technical standards that are incorporated into a law or regulation (e.g., a state law that requires buildings to comply with the electrical standards developed by a private standards development organization). Currently, there is not a consensus as to whether a technical standard that has been incorporated by reference into a law retains copyright protection. (A technical standard created by a private organization is typically eligible for copyright protection, but some courts have ruled that standards incorporated into law lose their copyright protections for various reasons. For example, some courts have held that incorporated standards effectively became law and therefore entered the public domain.) Under this bill, a technical standard shall retain its copyright protection even if it has been incorporated by reference into a law or regulation, if the applicable standards development organization makes the standard available on a free publicly accessible online source. If a party asserts that an incorporated technical standard has lost its copyright protection because it has not been made available for free online, the party making that assertion shall bear the burden of proof.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2023
This joint resolution nullifies the rule issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives titled Factoring Criteria for Firearms With Attached "Stabilizing Braces" and published on January 31, 2023. The rule establishes criteria for determining whether a firearm equipped with an attached stabilizing brace that facilitates shoulder fire is a rifle subject to regulation (e.g., registration) under the National Firearms Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2023
Sergeant Steve Owen Defending Our Defenders Act This bill establishes federal criminal offenses involving the murder of federal, state, or local law enforcement officers. Violators are subject to life in prison or death. The bill sets forth aggravating factors (e.g., intent to ambush or prior history of promoting violence against a law enforcement officer) to be considered in determining whether to impose the death penalty.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2023
Forest Protection and Wildland Firefighter Safety Act of 2023 This bill authorizes the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture to discharge a fire retardant, a chemical, or water for fire suppression, control, or prevention activities. No National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit shall be required for such activities or for similar activities conducted by the Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a state or political subdivision thereof, or a tribal government.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2023
America Works Act of 2023 This bill expands applicability of the work requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients who are able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs). (SNAP recipients who are ABAWDs have work-related requirements in addition to the general SNAP work registration and employment and training requirements.) Specifically, this bill applies the work requirements for ABAWDs to adults who are not over 65 years old, whereas these requirements currently apply to adults who are not over 50 years old. Further, the ABAWD exemption for a parent or household member with responsibility for a dependent child is restricted to a dependent child under the age of seven. Currently, the child must be under the age of 18. The bill also amends an ABAWD waiver program that allows state exemptions based on an area having an unemployment rate of over 10% or an insufficient number of jobs. Specifically, the bill repeals the second basis for a state exemption, which applies to areas that have an insufficient number of jobs. Under current law, a state agency may exempt up to 12% of SNAP recipients from the ABAWD work requirements for each fiscal year; unused exemptions may be carried over and used in a subsequent fiscal year. Under the bill, unused exemptions may not be carried over.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2023
William and James Wonacott Act of 2023 This bill establishes specific criminal penalties for the sale or distribution of illicit fentanyl or a fentanyl-related substance to another person without that person's knowledge. Specifically, the bill prohibits the sale or distribution of any substance that has two milligrams or more of illicit fentanyl or a fentanyl-related substance to another person without that person's knowledge. Violators are subject to a minimum of 20 years of imprisonment (25 years if the violation results in death) and a maximum of life imprisonment.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2023
More Energy More Jobs Act of 2023 This bill revises requirements concerning oil and gas lease sales under the Outer Continental Shelf leasing program. Specifically, the bill directs the Department of the Interior to allow coastal states to nominate areas off their coasts for oil and gas development. In addition, Interior must hold at least two region-wide oil and gas lease sales per year in the Gulf of Mexico. Each lease sale must include areas in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area and the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. The bill also establishes deadlines for completing environmental reviews of the lease sales.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2023
Advisory Committees Free of ESG Act of 2023 This bill prohibits the establishment of federal advisory committees on the basis of environmental, social, and governance aspects and provides for the termination of any existing advisory committees authorized or implemented on such basis. Additionally, the bill authorizes civil actions seeking a determination that an advisory committee was authorized, permitted, or implemented in violation of such provision. The court must order any such advisory committee to be terminated immediately upon such determination.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2023
Violet's Law This bill requires federal research facilities to facilitate the adoption or nonlaboratory placement of dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, guinea pigs, hamsters, and rabbits with animal rescue organizations, animal sanctuaries, animal shelters, or individuals. In order to be adopted or placed, the animals must no longer be needed for research and be suitable for release. To be suitable for release, the animal must be free of any infectious disease or physical abnormality that would endanger the animal, other animals, or public health.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2023
Safe Responsible Ethical Scientific Endeavors Assuring Research for Compassionate Healthcare Act or the Safe RESEARCH Act This bill prohibits the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from conducting or supporting research on human fetal tissue obtained from an abortion procedure. It also imposes other restrictions on human fetal tissue research. Under the bill, the NIH may conduct or support research on human fetal tissue only if it was obtained from a stillbirth. Current law allows research on tissue from stillbirths or from spontaneous or induced abortions. The bill also applies informed consent and other requirements applicable to research on the transplantation of human fetal tissue for therapeutic purposes to all research with human fetal tissue. This includes research on stem cells and other human fetal tissue alternatives. Additionally, human fetal tissue used for this research must be obtained in accordance with state anatomical gift laws. These laws govern organ and tissue donation for therapeutic, research, and other purposes. Some states already apply anatomical gift laws to human fetal tissue donation. Currently, executive branch officials may not prohibit the NIH from conducting or supporting research on the transplantation of human fetal tissue for therapeutic purposes. The bill repeals this limitation on executive branch officials. It also repeals a requirement that the NIH fund certain proposals for this research.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2023
Freedom To Invest in Tomorrow's Workforce Act This bill allows the use of funds in a qualified tuition program (commonly known as a 529 account) to pay for expenses associated with obtaining or maintaining recognized postsecondary credentials.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2023
Protect Children's Innocence Act This bill places restrictions on the provision of gender affirming care. Gender affirming care includes performing surgery, administering medication, or performing other procedures for the purpose of changing the body of an individual to correspond to a sex that differs from the individual's biological sex. Specifically, the bill makes it a felony to perform any gender affirming care on a minor and it permits a minor on whom such care is performed to bring a civil action against each individual who provided the care. Additionally, the bill prohibits the use of federal funds for gender affirming care or for health insurance that covers such care. Such care may not be provided in a federal health care facility or by a federal employee. The bill also prohibits qualified health plans from including coverage for gender affirming care. Further, plans that include coverage for such care are not eligible for federal subsidies. Finally, the bill prohibits institutions of higher education from offering instruction in gender affirming care. It also makes any non-U.S. national ( alien under federal law) who performs gender affirming care on a minor deportable and inadmissible to the United States. The restrictions under this bill do not apply to the provision of care under certain circumstances such as when an individual does not have normal sex chromosome structure, sex steroid hormone production, or sex steroid hormone action.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2023
No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act This bill establishes that any convention or agreement on pandemic-related issues reached by the World Health Assembly (WHA) pursuant to a specified negotiating body shall be deemed to be a treaty requiring the advice and consent of the Senate. Specifically, this bill applies to any international instrument negotiated by the intergovernmental negotiating body established by the WHA in December 2021 to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2023
SNAP Second Chance Act of 2023 This bill limits the use of certain factors related to business integrity and reputation when determining the eligibility of retailers under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). (The Food and Nutrition Service [FNS] must consider business integrity and reputation of the applicant under current law, and FNS regulations specify the factors that may be considered.) The bill limits the use of criminal violations to assess an applicant's business integrity and reputation so that (1) FNS may not deny a retail food store or wholesale food concern authorization to redeem SNAP benefits solely based on a criminal conviction, (2) FNS may only consider a criminal offense that has occurred within the past five years for the purpose of approving an application for authorization to redeem SNAP benefits, and (3) an applicant that is convicted of a criminal offense must not be denied authorization to redeem SNAP benefits on the basis of business integrity and reputation if the applicant establishes sufficient mitigation or rehabilitation. Sufficient mitigation or rehabilitation includes for financial fraud or deception, evidence that five years has elapsed since the felony conviction and compliance with all terms and conditions of probation or parole; for any other felony conviction, evidence that three years has elapsed since the conviction without a subsequent conviction of a crime and compliance with all terms and conditions of probation or parole; and other evidence of mitigation or rehabilitation and present fitness (e.g., the circumstances or social conditions surrounding the offense).
![Official portrait of Rep. Moore, Barry [R-AL-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m001212_200.jpg)