United States · United States Congress · 18 August 2017
Censures and condemns President Trump for his inadequate response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12, 2017, for his failure to condemn the White supremacist groups responsible for actions of domestic terrorism, for asserting that "both sides" were to blame and excusing the violent behavior of participants in the Unite the Right rally, and for employing people with ties to White supremacist movements in the White House. Urges President Trump to fire all White House advisors who have urged him to cater to the White supremacist movement.
United States · United States Congress · 15 August 2017
Special Counsel Independence Protection Act This bill sets forth requirements and limitations with respect to the removal from office of a special counsel appointed by the Attorney General, or of another official appointed by the Attorney General who exercises a similar degree of independence from the Department of Justice (DOJ) chain of command. Specifically, a special counsel or other appointed individual may be removed only if: (1) the Attorney General files an action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and files a contemporaneous notice of the action with Congress; and (2) the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issues an order finding misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or other good cause, including violation of DOJ policies.
United States · United States Congress · 15 August 2017
Condemns the role of white supremacist groups in inciting violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, and denounces the increase in fear-mongering, racism, anti-Semitism, bigotry, and violence by white supremacists, neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, and other hate groups. Offers condolences to the families of those who died in Charlottesville, and wishes quick recoveries for those injured. Urges President Trump to: (1) disavow any support he has received from hate groups, (2) terminate the employment of any White House staff and administration officials who have supported white supremacists, and (3) use the office of the President and resources of the Cabinet to address the growing prevalence of domestic hate groups.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2017
Science Laureates of the United States Act of 2017 This bill directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish the position of Science Laureate of the United States to honor the service of scientists. The NSF shall appoint a Science Laureate from three individuals to be nominated each year by the National Academy of Sciences on the basis of merit, particularly the ability to foster public awareness and interest in science and to provide ongoing significant scientific contributions. Each Science Laureate shall engage the public to increase public awareness about science and is encouraged to continue his or her scientific work.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2017
Homegrown Organic Act of 2017 This bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to modify several Department of Agriculture conservation programs to authorize additional assistance for farmers who are transitioning to organic farming. The bill modifies the Conservation Reserve Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program, and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback Act of 2017 This bill authorizes the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to make grants to states, local governments, or gun dealers to conduct gun buyback programs. The BJA may distribute smart prepaid cards for use by a state, local government, or gun dealer to compensate individuals who dispose of firearms. Additionally, the bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to use or accept a smart prepaid card in the acquisition or transfer of a firearm or ammunition. A violator is subject to a fine, up to two years in prison, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Rural Economic Vitalization Act This bill authorizes the voluntary waiver of permits or leases for grazing on federal lands managed by the Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior. If a permit or lease is waived by a permittee or lessee, the appropriate department must: accept and terminate the permit or lease, refrain from issuing any new grazing permit or lease within the grazing allotment covered by the permit or lease, and ensure a permanent end to livestock grazing on the allotment covered by the permit or lease. If an allotment covered by a waiver is also covered by another permit or lease that is not waived, the department must reduce the level of commercial livestock grazing on the allotment to reflect the waiver. The departments must not accept more than 100 grazing permits and leases per year, in the aggregate, under this authority.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Real Education for Healthy Youth Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in coordination with the Department of Education, to award grants for: (1) comprehensive sex education for adolescents, (2) comprehensive sex education provided by institutions of higher education, and (3) training faculty and staff to teach comprehensive sex education to adolescents. HHS must enter a contract with a nonprofit organization to evaluate and report on these grants. The bill makes appropriations to carry out the the bill. Grants may not be used for health education programs that: withhold health-promoting or lifesaving information about sexuality-related topics, including HIV; are medically inaccurate or have been scientifically shown to be ineffective; promote gender or racial stereotypes; are insensitive and unresponsive to the needs of certain youth, including survivors of sexual abuse or assault, sexually active youth, pregnant or parenting youth, or individuals with varying gender identities or sexual orientations; or are inconsistent with the ethical imperatives of medicine and public health. The bill amends the Public Health Service Act to revise requirements and eliminate prohibitions regarding the content of educational programs funded through the AIDS prevention program. The bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow funding to be used for: (1) materials or programs that promote or encourage sexual activity, and (2) contraceptive distribution in schools. The bill amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to repeal the program for abstinence education. Unobligated funds for abstinence education are transferred and made available to carry out this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Recognizing the Environmental Gains In Overcoming Negligence Act or the REGION Act This bill prohibits funds made available for any fiscal year from being used to close, consolidate, or eliminate an office of the Environmental Protection Agency, including a regional or program office.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
American Hope Act of 2017 This bill amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to allow a state to extend higher-education benefits to state residents regardless of whether they are lawfully present in the United States. In addition, the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to cancel the removal, and adjust the status, of certain residents who entered the United States as children prior to 2017. An individual whose status has been so adjusted shall be considered to have obtained conditional permanent-resident status, valid for a period of eight years and subject to termination on the basis of specified deportable conduct. In order for an individual's conditional status to become permanent, the individual must timely file with DHS a petition indicating, among other specified information, that the individual has maintained conditional permanent-resident status for at least three years. Any period of time in which the individual was granted deferred action pursuant to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy shall count toward this three-year period. Information furnished by an individual in such a petition may not be used by an officer or employee of the United States to initiate removal proceedings. The bill also: (1) allows DHS to establish a competitive grant program for the provision of nonprofit assistance to eligible applicants for conditional permanent-resident status; (2) establishes the Presidential Award for Business Leadership in Promoting American Citizenship; (3) allows the Department of Education to develop an open-source, electronic English-learning program; (4) specifies requirements related to federal higher-education assistance for individuals with conditional permanent-resident status; and (5) requires the Government Accountability Office to report on specified data related to the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Security Clearance Review Act This bill amends the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to authorize the Federal Bureau of Investigation to revoke, or prohibit the renewal of, a security clearance of a political appointee in the Executive Office of the President if necessary for national security purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
South Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to make grants to states for the purpose of promoting awareness of the increasing prevalence of heart disease, including its relationship to type 2 diabetes, in South Asian communities in the United States. For the purpose of conducting research and related activities with respect to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and other health-related ailments among South Asian communities in the United States, the National Institutes of Health, in coordination with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: (1) may conduct or support, through funding opportunity announcements, grants, or cooperative agreements, basic, clinical, and translational research; and (2) may award grants and cooperative agreements to public or nonprofit private entities. The bill amends the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to authorize the Department of Agriculture to award research and extension grants for developing and disseminating science-based tools and strategies to promote heart healthy nutrition among South Asian communities in the United States. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that medical schools in the United States that are accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education should include as part of their nutrition curriculum a focus on South Asian diet and ways to achieve optimal nutrition in South Asian communities.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Background Check Completion Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to prohibit a licensed gun dealer from transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person prior to completion of a background check. (Current law permits a licensed gun dealer to transfer a firearm to an unlicensed person if a submitted background check remains incomplete after three business days.)
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Customer Non-Discrimination Act This bill amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation in places of public accommodation. It defines: "sex" to include a sex stereotype, sexual orientation or gender identity, and pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition; "sexual orientation" as homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality; and "gender identity" as gender-related identity, appearance, mannerisms, or characteristics, regardless of the individual's designated sex at birth. The bill expands the categories of public accommodations to include places or establishments that provide: exhibitions, recreation, exercise, amusement, gatherings, or displays; goods, services, or programs, including a store, a shopping center, an online retailer or service provider, a salon, a bank, a gas station, a food bank, a service or care center, a shelter, a travel agency, a funeral parlor, or a health care, accounting, or legal service; or transportation services. "Establishment" shall not be construed to be limited to a physical facility or place. Protections against discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin must include protections against discrimination based on: (1) an association with another person who is a member of such a protected class; or (2) a perception or belief, even if inaccurate, that an individual is a member of such a protected class. The bill prohibits the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 from providing a claim, defense, or basis for challenging such protections. The bill prohibits denial of an individual's access to a shared facility (including a restroom, a locker room, and a dressing room) that is in accordance with the individual's gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Presidential Pardon Transparency Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Justice, not later than three days after the President grants any reprieve or pardon for an offense against the United States, to publish in the Federal Register and on the President's official website the name of the person pardoned, the full text of the reprieve or pardon, and the date it was issued.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Native American Suicide Prevention Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require a state or state-designated entity receiving support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for development and implementation of a statewide youth suicide early intervention and prevention strategy to agree to collaborate with each of the state's federally recognized Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations regarding the strategy.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Food Recovery Act of 2017 This bill provides funding and establishes requirements to reduce food waste and standardize date labeling on food. The bill authorizes grants or loans for activities related to: raising awareness about wasted food and food recovery efforts to reduce the quantity of wasted food, reducing food waste at schools and farms, and installing facilities that include composting or anaerobic digesters that use food or crop waste to produce energy. The bill provides funds for: (1) state storage and distribution costs under the Emergency Food Assistance Program, and (2) national media campaigns to decrease food waste. The bill also: establishes a Food Recovery Liaison within the Department of Agriculture (USDA), specifies that composting is eligible for support under USDA's conservation programs, expands the tax deduction for charitable contributions to include contributions of food inventory for nonprofit retail sales, expands the liability protections for the donation of food, and requires companies that receive federal food service contracts to donate surplus food to nonprofit organizations that assist food-insecure people. The bill requires date labels on food packaging to include the phrases "best if used by" to indicate food quality and "use by" to warn of food that may be unsafe to eat after a specified date. Labelers may include a quality date on packaging, but must include a safety date on ready-to-eat products. No one may prohibit the sale, donation, or use of a product based on passage of the quality date of the product.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Birth Control Privacy Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit wellness programs from sharing with employers personally identifiable information related to employees' use of contraceptives.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to require employers to make initial disclosures to employees of the terms of their employment, provide such employees with regular paystubs, and make final payment to a terminating employee for uncompensated hours within 14 days of the employee's termination. An employer shall compensate an employee at the rate specified in an employment contract or other employment agreement, including a collective bargaining agreement, that specifies a rate of pay higher than the minimum wage rate. The bill establishes new and increased civil and criminal penalties for violations of FLSA overtime or minimum wage requirements, including referral to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution of employers who engage in wage theft, falsification of wage records, or retaliation against employees. The bill: (1) increases damages for employees who are victims of wage theft from two to three times the wages owed or who are fired for filing a complaint concerning wage theft or for cooperating in an investigation by the Department of Labor, (2) revises requirements for wage recordkeeping by employers and establishes penalties for violations of those requirements, (3) grants employees the right to inspect employer wage records, and (4) increases the statute of limitation for bringing a claim for owed wages from two to four years (three to five years for willful violations). Labor must award grants to assist certain entities in the enforcement of FLSA wage and hour requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2017
Dream Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to cancel removal and grant lawful permanent resident status on a conditional basis to an alien who is inadmissible or deportable or is in temporary protected status who: (1) has been continuously physically present in the United States for four years preceding this bill's enactment; (2) was younger than 18 years of age on the initial date of U.S. entry; (3) is not inadmissible on criminal, security, terrorism, or other grounds; (4) has not participated in persecution; (5) has not been convicted of specified federal or state offenses; and (6) has fulfilled specified educational requirements. DHS shall cancel the removal of, and adjust to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence on a conditional basis, an alien who was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status unless the alien has engaged in conduct that would make the alien ineligible for DACA. DHS may not: (1) grant conditional permanent resident status without the submission of biometric and background data, and completion of background and medical checks; and (2) disclose or use information provided in applications filed under this bill or in DACA requests for immigration enforcement purposes. The bill prescribes the conditions under which DHS: (1) may terminate a person's conditional permanent resident status, and (2) shall adjust a person's conditional status to permanent resident status. The bill: (1) sets forth documentation requirements for establishing DACA eligibility, and (2) repeals the denial of an unlawful alien's eligibility for higher education benefits based on state residence.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2017
Medicare Hearing Aid Coverage Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow Medicare coverage of hearing aids and related examinations. The Government Accountability Office must study programs that provide assistance for hearing aids and related examinations for individuals with hearing loss.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2017
Pesticide Protection Act of 2017 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to cancel the registration of the pesticide chlorpyrifos under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. The bill prohibits the sale and use of existing stock of chlorpyrifos. The bill requires the EPA to ban chlorpyrifos residue on food under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution prohibits construction of the Constitution as forbidding Congress or the states from: (1) imposing reasonable content-neutral limitations on private campaign contributions or independent election expenditures; or (2) enacting systems of public campaign financing, including those designed to restrict the influence of private wealth by offsetting campaign spending or independent expenditures with increased public funding.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
President John F. Kennedy Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 silver coins in commemoration of President John F. Kennedy. The bill requires all sales of such coins to include a surcharge of $10 per coin, which shall be paid by Treasury to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation to support the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
LGBT Data Inclusion Act This bill requires federal agencies that collect information through a survey that includes demographic data (where subjects self-report information or a proxy provides information about the subject or responds for all persons in a household) to establish data standards that require: a determination of which existing data sets exclude information about sexual orientation and gender identity; an identification, and a use, of appropriate methods to include questions on sexual orientation and gender identity in surveys that facilitate categorization and voluntary participation and that preserve privacy and confidentiality; and a routine assessment of needed changes in survey methods related to asking such questions. Agencies that publish reports relying on survey demographic data must include information on sexual orientation and gender identity. Individuals shall not be: (1) required by this bill to disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity to an agency; or (2) subjected to fines or penalties for refusing to answer, or providing a false answer to, any survey question regarding gender identity or sexual orientation. Nothing in this bill shall be construed to permit the use of such collected information in a manner that would adversely affect an individual.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
Veteran Education Empowerment Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to make grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) or consortia of IHEs for the establishment, maintenance, improvement, and operation of veteran student centers. A veteran student center is a dedicated space on a campus that provides students who are veterans or members of the Armed Forces with: (1) a lounge or meeting space for themselves, their spouses or partners, and veterans in the community; (2) a centralized office for veteran services that serves as a single point of contact to coordinate veterans support services; and (3) comprehensive academic and tutoring services to veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Do No Harm Act This bill makes the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) inapplicable to federal laws (or implementations of laws) that: protect against discrimination or the promotion of equal opportunity, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, Executive Order 11246 (concerning equal employment opportunity), the Violence Against Women Act, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) rules entitled "Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity"; require employers to provide wages, other compensation, or benefits, including leave; protect collective activity in the workplace; protect against child labor, abuse, or exploitation; or provide for access to, information about, referrals for, provision of, or coverage for, any health care item or service. Under current law, RFRA prohibits the government from substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest when using the least restrictive means. The bill makes RFRA inapplicable to: (1) terms requiring goods, services, functions, or activities to be performed or provided to beneficiaries of government contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or awards; or (2) denials of a person's full and equal enjoyment of a government-provided good, service, benefit, facility, privilege, advantage, or accommodation. To assert a RFRA claim or defense in a judicial proceeding, the government must be a party to the proceeding.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2017
Zero Tolerance for Domestic Abusers Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to: state that the term "intimate partner" includes a dating partner and any other person subject to a protection order under state domestic or family violence law; and expand the term "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" to include the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, by a current or former intimate partner. The bill makes it a crime to knowingly sell or dispose of a firearm to a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of stalking. It also makes it a crime for such convicted stalker to receive or possess a firearm.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2017
Every Kid Outdoors Act This bill directs the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and the Army to establish the Every Kids Outdoors program to provide fourth graders free access to federal lands and waters to which the public has access. Such Departments shall issue such students annual passes, upon request, which shall allow free access to: a per-vehicle fee area for the student and any passengers accompanying the student in a private, noncommercial vehicle or for up to three adults accompanying the student on bicycles; or a per-person fee area for the student and up to three adults accompanying the student. In carrying out such program, such departments: may collaborate with state park systems that opt to implement a complementary Every Kid Outdoors State park pass, shall maintain a publicly available website that provides information about the program, may provide visitor services, and may support approved partners of the federal lands and waters by furnishing them with opportunities for participation in the program.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Preventing Diabetes in Medicare Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend Medicare coverage for medical nutrition therapy services to beneficiaries with pre-diabetes or risk factors for developing type-2 diabetes.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Medicare Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act of 2017 This bill provides for Medicare coverage of dental, vision, and hearing care. With respect to such care, the bill establishes special payment rules, limitations, and coinsurance requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Railroad Yardmaster Protection Act of 2017 This bill applies to yardmaster employees the limitations on duty hours and the restrictions on communications to employees during their off-duty hours that are currently applicable to train employees. A "yardmaster employee" means an individual responsible for supervising and coordinating the control of trains and engines operating within a rail yard.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
America's Call To Improve Opportunities Now for National Service Act or the ACTION for National Service Act This bill amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to reestablish the Corporation for National and Community Service as an independent executive agency called the National and Community Service Administration. An individual who successfully completes a term of full-time national service shall be entitled to a national service educational award equal to twice the amount of tuition for the institution of higher education where the individual is enrolled, not to exceed twice the average in-state tuition. Current law limits the award's value to the maximum amount of a Federal Pell Grant that an individual is eligible to receive in the aggregate. Within the administration, the bill establishes an interagency working group to evaluate specified issues related to: (1) eligibility for tuition and student loan repayment assistance with regard to participation in certain national or volunteer service programs, (2) the advisability of granting federal hiring preference to certain volunteer program participants, and (3) methods for increasing the participation of seniors in national service programs. The National Service Foundation, a nonprofit corporation established by the bill, shall accept and administer gifts made in connection with the administration. The bill expresses support for the authorization of appropriations sufficient to provide, within 10 years, volunteer service opportunities for at least 1 million volunteers in full-time national service annually. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude AmeriCorps educational awards from gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Aiding Development of Vital Assets in Native Communities and Environments Act of 2017 or the ADVANCE Act This bill amends the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 to require the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund to provide outreach and training with respect to the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) in low-income communities with a disproportionately low amount of low-income community investments by community development entities. (The NMTC is a non-refundable tax credit intended to encourage private capital investment in low-income communities. NMTCs are allocated by the CDFI Fund, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, using a competitive application process.) The CFDI Fund must also: (1) include in the application for the NMTC questions to determine and consider, as an innovative use or a comparable incentive in evaluating applications, the extent to which the applicant intends to make low-income community investments within Indian country; and (2) to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that at least one community development entity whose primary mission is to fund projects within or that directly benefit Indian country receives an allocation for each allocation round.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of Defense should review exceptions to citizenship, residency, and disqualification standards for enlistment in the Armed Forces to make a determination regarding the enlistment of aliens who possess an employment authorization document issued under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program established by the Department of Homeland Security on June 15, 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2017
This bill requires the Departments of Defense (DOD) and of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct a joint study on aliens who are or were veterans who were removed from the United States between January 1990 and January 2017. DOD and DHS shall then report to Congress on: the number of aliens removed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement during such period who served on active duty or in a reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces for more than 180 days, the country of origin for each such alien, the number of such aliens who were discharged or released from service under honorable conditions, the grounds for removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act for each such alien, whether each such alien appealed the removal order, the length of time each such alien served in the Armed Forces, the number of such aliens who were deployed overseas as members of the Armed Forces, the number who served on active duty in a combat theater of operations, and the number who were awarded service medals.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2017
This bill directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish an Office of Service Member Naturalization to: (1) identify members of the uniformed services who are not citizens and inform them of the availability of naturalization assistance; (2) help such members complete the naturalization process before their separation from the uniformed services; and (3) coordinate points-of-contact at military installations to ensure that personnel who are responsible for assisting members through the naturalization process successfully complete their assignments. DOD shall ensure that each Military Entrance Processing Station provides the Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, and Form N-426, Request for Certification of Military or Naval Service, to new recruits for the uniformed services who are processed at a military entrance processing command center and are not U.S. citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2017
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) recognizes the importance of the Islamic faith; (2) offers its best wishes to all Muslims celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the conclusion of Ramadan; and (3) expresses its deepest respect to Muslims in the United States and worldwide.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2017
Expresses support for: (1) equal rights and protections for all people, regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity; and (2) the designation of LGBT Equality Day on June 26 to commemorate Supreme Court decisions handed down on that day in 2003, 2013, and 2015. Acknowledges the need for further legislation to ensure that people in the United States are free from all forms of discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2017
Community Health Center and Primary Care Workforce Expansion Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to make appropriations for and extend indefinitely: (1) enhanced funding for the community health centers program and the National Health Service Corps, and (2) grants for federally qualified health centers and nurse-managed health centers to train family nurse practitioners to become primary care providers. The bill makes appropriations for capital projects under the community health centers program. The bill amends the Public Health Service Act to make appropriations for and extend indefinitely a program that pays teaching health centers to establish or expand graduate medical residency training programs.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Saving America's Pollinators Act of 2017 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to suspend the registration of members of the nitro group of neonicotinoid insecticides that are registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) for use in seed treatment, soil application, or foliar treatment on bee-attractive plants, trees, and cereals until the EPA determines that the insecticides will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on pollinators. The determination must be based on: an evaluation of the published and peer-reviewed scientific evidence on whether the use or uses of those neonicotinoids cause unreasonable adverse effects on pollinators, including native bees, honeybees, birds, bats, and other species of beneficial insects; and a completed field study that meets the criteria required by the EPA and evaluates residues, chronic low-dose exposure, and cumulative effects of multiple chemical exposures. The EPA may not issue new registrations of the neonicotinoid pesticides for any seed treatment, soil application, and foliar treatment on bee-attractive plants, trees, and cereals under FIFRA until it has made the determination with respect to the insecticide. For purposes of protecting and ensuring the long-term viability of native bees and other pollinators, the Department of the Interior must: (1) regularly monitor the health and population status of native bees, (2) identify the scope and likely causes of unusual native bee mortality, and (3) submit to Congress and make public an annual report on the health and population status of native bees.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Justin Smith Morrill Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Justin Smith Morrill, a United States Senator from Vermont, for his lasting contributions to higher education opportunity for all Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Voter Empowerment Act of 2017 Voter Registration Modernization Act of 2017 This bill amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require states to make available online voter registration. The federal criminal code is amended to prohibit hindering, interfering with, or preventing voter registration. The Help America Vote Act of 2002 is amended to require states to promote access to voter registration and voting for individuals with disabilities. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must support pilot programs enabling individuals with disabilities to register and vote at their residences. The bill reauthorizes support for state and local governments to ensure voting access for individuals with disabilities. States must notify individuals convicted of a criminal offense under state law, upon release or upon sentence to probation, of their right to vote in federal elections. Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2017 This bill revises auditing requirements for voting systems. Voting systems must use individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots. The National Science Foundation must support the study and development of accessible ballot voting and best practices to enhance the accessibility of voting for certain individuals. With exceptions, states must audit federal election results. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is amended to extend the guarantee of voting residency to family members of absent military personnel. The EAC must support poll-worker recruitment and training and develop materials for a model program. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is amended to prohibit a chief state election administration official, unless the official or a family member is a candidate, from taking part in political management or in a political campaign for federal office over which the official has supervisory authority. The EAC is reauthorized and its exemption from certain contracting requirements is repealed.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2017 This bill states that it is U.S. policy to regard the prevention of genocide and other atrocity crimes as a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility. The President shall instruct the Department of State to establish a Mass Atrocities Task Force to strengthen State Department efforts and assist other agency efforts at atrocity prevention and response. The Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended to provide for the training of Foreign Service Officers in conflict and atrocity crimes prevention. The Director of National Intelligence is encouraged to include in his or her annual testimony to Congress on threats to U.S. national security: (1) a review of countries and regions at risk of atrocity crimes; and (2) specific countries and regions at immediate risk of atrocity crimes, including most likely pathways to violence, specific risk factors, potential perpetrators, and at-risk target groups. The bill establishes the Complex Crises Fund to enable the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development to support programs and activities to prevent or respond to emerging or unforeseen foreign challenges and complex crises overseas, including potential atrocity crimes. Fund amounts may not be expended for lethal assistance or to respond to natural disasters.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
Calls for an end to the dog and cat meat industry. Urges the governments of China, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, India, and all other nations to: (1) adopt and enforce laws banning the dog and cat meat trade, (2) increase efforts to prevent any leather or fur byproducts of such trade from entering international markets, and (3) use their food safety laws to crack down on the sale of dog and cat meat. Affirms the U.S. commitment to the protection of animals and to advancing the progress of animal protection around the world. Urges executive branch officials to include the dog and cat meat trade on the agenda for discussion with the officials of countries that have a dog or cat meat industry.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to allow a representative official of an Indian tribe, with authorization from the governing body of the tribe, to request one or more polling places to be located on tribal lands. The state or political subdivision shall provide each requested polling place at no expense to the Indian tribe if certain criteria are met. A federal court shall retain jurisdiction to enforce constitutional voting guarantees, but also certain violations of the Act as well as of any federal prohibition against discrimination on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group, for an appropriate period to prevent commencement of new devices to deny or abridge the right to vote. Any state (and all of its political subdivisions) shall be subject to certain requirements for a 10-year period if: 15 or more voting rights violations occurred there during the previous 25 years; or 10 or more violations occurred during the previous 25 years, at least one of which was committed by the state itself (as opposed to a political subdivision within it). A state or political subdivision that obtains a declaratory judgment that it has not used a device to deny or abridge the right to vote shall be exempt from such requirements unlessas specified. This bill prescribes transparency requirements regarding any changes to specified matters. Department of Justice authority to assign observers receives new extensions. Courts shall grant preliminary injunctive relief if a complainant raises a serious question whether the challenged covered practice violates the Act or the Constitution and, on balance, the hardship imposed upon the defendant by the relief will be less than the hardship on the plaintiff if the relief were not granted.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Deferment for Active Cancer Treatment Act of 2017 This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow borrowers to defer student loans while they are receiving cancer treatment and during the six months after treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Grant Program Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to establish an outdoor recreation legacy partnership grant program under which Interior may award grants to eligible entities (the states, their political subdivisions, special purpose districts, and Indian Tribes) for projects to: (1) acquire land and water for parks and other outdoor recreation purposes, and (2) develop new or renovate existing outdoor recreation facilities. As a condition for receiving a grant, an eligible entity shall provide matching funds in cash or in kind equal to 100% of the amounts available under the grant. A grant recipient may use the grant to acquire land or water providing outdoor recreation opportunities to the public. A grant may also be used to develop or renovate outdoor recreational facilities, with priority given to projects that: create or significantly enhance access to park and recreational opportunities in an urban neighborhood or community; engage and empower underserved communities and youth; provide opportunities for youth employment or job training; establish or expand public-private partnerships; take advantage of coordination among various levels of government. Grant funds may not be used for specified costs, facilities, and activities, including the acquisition of lands or interests that restrict access to particular persons.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
To Offer Refugees College Help (TORCH) Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require states to charge in-state tuition rates to refugees, asylees, and special immigrant visa holders if they are lawfully in the United States. This requirement only applies to the first state where the individual lives after being admitted into the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Schedules That Work Act This bill grants an employee the right to request that the employee's employer change the terms and conditions of employment relating to: the number of hours or times the employee is required to work or be on call; the location; the amount of notification the employee receives of work schedule assignments; and minimizing fluctuations in the number of hours the employee is scheduled to work on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The employer, if the request is made, shall engage in a timely, good faith interactive process with the employee that includes a discussion of potential schedule changes that would meet the employee's needs. The bill outlines the process for either granting or denying a change. The employer shall grant a request, unless there is a bona fide business reason for denying it, if the request is made because of the employee's serious health condition, the employee's responsibilities as a caregiver, or enrollment in a career-related educational or training program, or if a part-time employee requests such a change for a reason related to a second job. An employer, if an employee requests a change for any other reason, may deny it for any reason that is not unlawful. The employer shall give the employee the reason for the denial, including whether it was a bona fide business reason. The bill outlines employer requirements for paying reporting time and split shift pay and for giving advance notice of work schedules to retail, food service, or cleaning employees, or the Department of Labor's designated employees, except for those in bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacities. The bill makes it unlawful for any employer or other person to: (1) interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise or the attempt to exercise any right of an employee specified in this bill; (2) retaliate against an employee for exercising the rights granted employees by this bill; or (3) interfere with proceedings or inquiries with respect to violation of an individual's rights under this bill. The bill sets forth administrative enforcement procedures and civil remedies for violation of these prohibitions. Labor must give information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning compliance with this bill. The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of the Census shall: (1) include in the Current Population Survey questions on, among other things, the amount of fluctuation in the number of hours the employee is scheduled to work on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis; and (2) conduct at regular intervals the Contingent Worker Supplement, the Work Schedules and Work at Home Supplement, and other relevant supplements to the Current Population Survey. This bill is inapplicable to any employee covered by a bona fide collective bargaining agreement if its terms govern work scheduling practices.
![Official portrait of Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_mn_4_mccollum_betty_200.jpg)