United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2016
Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2016 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should be a global leader in promoting the meaningful participation of women in conflict prevention, management, and resolution and post-conflict relief and recovery efforts. The President, not later than October 1 of 2017, 2022, and 2027, shall submit to Congress and make public a Women, Peace, and Security Strategy, which shall: be aligned with other nations' plans to improve the participation of women in peace and security processes, conflict prevention, peace building, and decision-making institutions in conflict-affected environments; and include goals and evaluation plans to ensure strategy effectiveness. The Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended to direct the Department of State to ensure that personnel responsible for, or deploying to, countries or regions considered to be at risk of undergoing, or emerging from, violent conflict obtain training in the following areas, each of which shall include a focus on ensuring participation by women: conflict prevention, mitigation, and resolution; protecting civilians from violence, exploitation, and trafficking in persons; and international human rights law. The Department of Defense shall ensure that personnel responsible for, or deploying to, countries or regions considered to be at risk of undergoing, or emerging from, violent conflict obtain training in: conflict prevention, peace processes, mitigation, resolution, and security initiatives that addresses the importance of participation by women; and gender considerations and meaningful participation by women, including training regarding international human rights law and protecting civilians from violence, exploitation, and trafficking in persons. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development shall establish guidelines for overseas U.S. personnel to consult with stakeholders regarding U.S. efforts to: prevent, mitigate, or resolve violent conflict; and enhance the success of mediation and negotiation processes by ensuring the meaningful participation of women.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2016
Expresses support for the designation of June 2016 as National Gun Violence Awareness Month and June 2, 2016, as National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Calls on the people of the United States to: promote greater awareness of gun violence and gun safety; wear orange on National Gun Violence Awareness Day; concentrate heightened attention on gun violence during the summer months, when gun violence typically increases; and bring citizens and community leaders together to discuss ways to make the communities safer.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2016
Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish a Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund; (2) modify the definition of subpart F income (i.e., income of a controlled foreign corporation earned outside the United States that is not tax-deferred) to include income of a controlled foreign corporation derived from a foreign country; and (3) transfer that income to the fund. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must allocate funds from the trust fund to specified clean water programs and drinking water programs, including the grant programs authorized or established by this bill. The bill amends Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) by authorizing the EPA to make grants for providing technical assistance concerning water and sanitation infrastructure and drinking water systems to rural and small municipalities and tribal governments. The EPA must establish a grant program for repairing, replacing, or upgrading septic tanks and drainage fields. The bill revises requirements concerning the clean water state revolving fund (SRF) and the drinking water SRF. The bill revises the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring the EPA to establish a program to make grants to local educational agencies for: (1) installing, repairing, or replacing the infrastructure necessary for drinking water coolers, drinking water fountains, or bottle filling station; and (2) testing the quality of drinking water at schools in such local education agency.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2016
Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016 This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in appointing air traffic controllers, to give preferential consideration to qualified individuals maintaining 52 consecutive weeks of experience involving the active separation of air traffic after receipt of an air traffic certification or facility rating within 5 years of application while serving at an FAA air traffic control facility, a civilian or military air traffic control facility of the Department of Defense, or a tower operating under contract with the FAA. The FAA shall consider additional applicants by referring an approximately equal number of employees for appointment among two applicant pools. The number referred from each group shall not differ by more than 10%. Pool one shall consist of applicants who: have successfully completed air traffic controller training and graduated from an institution participating in the Collegiate Training Initiative program and have received an appropriate recommendation or endorsement from such institution, are eligible for a veterans recruitment appointment and provide a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty within 120 days of the announcement closing, are veterans eligible for veterans' benefits who maintain aviation experience obtained in the course of the individual's military experience, or are preference eligible veterans. Pool two shall consist of applicants who apply under a vacancy announcement recruiting from all U.S. citizens. The FAA: (1) may not use a biographical assessment when hiring, (2) must provide an individual who applied in response to a specified 2014 vacancy announcement and was disqualified as the result of a biographical assessment an opportunity to reapply under the revised hiring practices, and (3) must waive any maximum age limit for such reapplying applicants who met such requirement when they applied under such announcement. Otherwise, the maximum age limit for an original appointment as an air traffic controller under this bill shall be 35 years of age. The FAA shall consider directly notifying secondary schools and institutes of higher learning of a vacancy announcement for pool one applicants.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2016
Recognizes the importance of nonprofits to the communities they serve, the issues they support, and the economy of the United States. Supports the designation of Nonprofit Organization Recognition Month.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2016
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 · 17 May 2016
DUI Reporting Act of 2016 This bill requires a state or local government that receives funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program to enact a law or policy to ensure that law enforcement agencies report arrests involving driving under the influence to the National Crime Information Center. The Department of Justice (DOJ) must reduce by up to 20% the JAG allocation of a state or local government that fails to comply.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2016
Transparency in Taxpayer-Funded Discrimination Act This bill amends the Department of Education Organization Act to require the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights to publish, on its website, the names of institutions of higher education (IHEs) that request and IHEs that receive religious exemptions from title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972. (Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities.) Additionally, the bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require an IHE that requests or receives a religious exemption from title IX to publish, on its website, certain information with respect to such exemption.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2016
Supports designation of National Foster Care Month, and recognizes it as an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges that children face in the foster-care system.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2016
Opioid and Heroin Abuse Crisis Investment Act of 2016 This bill appropriates funding for the activities in the bill. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services to enter into cooperative agreements with states to expand opioid treatment capacity, make services more affordable to those who cannot afford them, and help individuals seek treatment, successfully complete treatment, and sustain recovery. (Opioids are drugs with effects similar to opium, such as heroin and certain pain medications.) Funding must be allocated to states based on the severity of the opioid epidemic in the state and the strength of the state's strategy to respond. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology must expand efforts to support prescription drug monitoring programs and health information technology interoperability. The Bureau of Prisons must support drug treatment programs. The bill amends the Second Chance Act to require the Department of Justice (DOJ) to help justice-involved individuals successfully reintegrate into the community. The bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to permit DOJ to support the development of residential and aftercare services for substance-involved inmates. DOJ must establish new heroin enforcement groups within the Drug Enforcement Administration to target, disrupt, and dismantle heroin trafficking organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2016
Freedom of Religion Act of 2016 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide that an alien may not be denied admission to the United States because of his or her religion or lack of religious beliefs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2016
Recognizes: (1) the 75th anniversary of the Afton, Minnesota, Flotilla Division 11-1, 8th Western Rivers Region Coast Guard Auxiliary District; and (2) the contributions it makes in supporting the local boating community in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2016
Supports: (1) the designation of National Small Business Week, (2) efforts to encourage consumers to shop locally, and (3) efforts to increase awareness of the value of locally owned small businesses and the impact of locally owned small business on the U.S. economy. Honors the vital role of small business and entrepreneurs in the United States during such week. Recognizes: (1) the important role of the Small Business Administration as a valuable resource for the U.S. entrepreneur, (2) the importance of creating policies that promote a business friendly environment for small business owners free of unnecessary regulations, and (3) the National Small Business Person of the Year and the National Lender of the Year. Encourages young entrepreneurs to pursue their passions and create more start-up businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
This bill bars the Department of Transportation (DOT) from issuing a foreign air carrier permit, or an exemption from certain economic regulations, to furnish foreign air transportation under the United States-European Union-Norway-Iceland Air Transport Agreement of June 21, 2011, unless DOT: finds that issuing the permit or exemption would be consistent with the intent of the parties, set forth in article 17 bis of the agreement, that opportunities created by the agreement do not undermine labor standards or the labor-related rights and principles contained in the parties' respective laws; and imposes conditions on the permit or exemption necessary to ensure that the foreign air transportation furnished complies with the intent of article 17 bis .
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2016
Supports immigration legislation that: acknowledges that immigrants and their families have inherent dignity and are deserving of human rights; restores immigration system fairness by updating the definition of "aggravated felony"; restores discretion to immigration judges to waive grounds of inadmissibility and deportability based on family and community equities, humanitarian considerations, other individualized circumstances, or because it is in the public interest; restores judicial review of case decisions to protect due process; eliminates mandatory detention and prolonged detention for immigrants and preserves the Department of Homeland Security's authority to exercise detention discretion; repeals programs that permit local law authorities to enforce federal immigration laws; and repeals the 3-year, 10-year, and permanent bars and other unnecessary barriers to legal immigration.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2016
Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016 This bill permanently reauthorizes the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007 (Emmett Till Act) and expands the responsibilities of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to include the investigation and prosecution of criminal civil rights statutes violations that resulted in a death, regardless of when the violations occurred. (Currently, the Emmett Till Act is scheduled to expire at the end of FY2017 and such investigations are limited to violations that occurred before 1970.) The bill expresses the sense of Congress that all authorities with jurisdiction should: (1) coordinate information sharing; (2) hold accountable individuals who were perpetrators of, or accomplices in, unsolved civil rights murders; and (3) comply with Freedom of Information Act requests. In investigating a complaint, DOJ may coordinate activities with entities that DOJ determines to be appropriate. DOJ shall reopen and review cases closed without an in-person investigation conducted by DOJ or the FBI. DOJ must establish a task force to conduct a thorough investigation of Emmett Till Act cases. In an annual report to Congress, DOJ must indicate: (1) the number of cases referred by a civil rights organization, an institution of higher education, or a state or local law enforcement agency; (2) the number of such cases that resulted in federal charges; (3) the date any such charges were filed; (4) whether DOJ has declined to prosecute or participate in an investigation of a referred case; and (5) any activity on reopened cases. DOJ may award grants to civil rights organizations, institutions of higher education, and other eligible entities for expenses associated with investigating offenses under the Emmett Till Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2016
This bill provides FY2016 emergency supplemental appropriations to the Departments of State and Health and Human Services (HHS) to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the Zika virus and other infectious diseases. The bill specifies permissible uses for the funds and designates the funds as an emergency requirement, which exempts the funds from discretionary spending limits. The bill provides appropriations to HHS for: the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund. The bill amends the Public Health Service Act to permit Project BioShield to be used to support the advanced development and procurement of medical countermeasures to diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or treat harm from any infectious disease that may pose a threat to the public health. (Under current law, Project BioShield supports only countermeasures against specific chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorist threats.) The bill temporarily increases from 55% to 65% the Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage in the territories (Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands). The bill provides appropriations to the Department of State for: the Administration of Foreign Affairs, the U.S. Agency for International Development, Bilateral Economic Assistance, International Security Assistance, and Multilateral Assistance. Unobligated balances of specified funds provided for the Ebola virus may be used to respond to the Zika virus and other infectious diseases.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2016
Protecting Families with Disabilities Act of 2016 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with respect to how a state that had an approved home- and community-based Medicaid waiver as of January 1, 2014, may treat spousal income and assets for purposes of determining an individual's financial eligibility for services under the waiver. With respect to such a state that disregarded an individual's spousal income and assets for those purposes, specified provisions of current law shall not prohibit the state from continuing to do so.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2016
Clarify Workers Misclassification in the Construction Industry Act This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to initiate an enforcement initiative to increase tax compliance in the construction industry. The initiative must include: consultations with industry experts and leaders on its scope and priorities, targeted tax audits of major construction contractors that may not be in compliance with federal tax laws, civil and criminal tax enforcement actions under existing authorities, and educational efforts aimed at increasing voluntary tax compliance in the construction industry. Treasury must promulgate rules and issue guidance to reclassify individuals who are not currently being treated as employees consistent with the proper classification of employees under common law standards within the construction industry. In implementing this bill, Treasury must: (1) reassign personnel and resources from other activities to carry out this bill, and (2) report to Congress on the implementation and recommendations for further congressional action. The Government Accountability Office must study the various forms of tax fraud (including employee misclassification) in the construction industry, efforts to combat fraud, and recommendations for further action.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2016
Declares that, whenever a moment of silence related to a tragedy involving gun violence occurs on the floor of the House, the Speaker shall announce on the next legislative day the standing committee (or subcommittee) designated to hold a hearing on the event.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2016
Expresses support for the designation of National Specialized Instructional Support Personnel Awareness Week. Recognizes that such personnel implement evidence-based practices to improve student outcomes. Commends the National Alliance of Specialized Instructional Support Personnel for its efforts to promote and improve the availability of specialized instructional support services. Urges government agencies and policymakers to work together to incorporate such personnel and services in education reform efforts. Encourages experts to share best practices. Urges the Department of Education to provide states and local educational agencies with guidance on effectively using such personnel to improve schools.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2016
Sewall-Belmont House Act of 2016 This bill establishes the Sewall-Belmont House National Historic Site (the former headquarters of the National Woman's Party of the women's suffrage movement) as a unit of the National Park System (NPS). The Site shall not be established as an NPS unit, however, until the Department of the Interior determines that: (1) the National Woman's Party has transferred to Interior the land and any improvements within the boundaries of the Site, and (2) Interior and the National Woman's Party have entered into a management agreement. The national historic site shall consist of the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum, located at 144 Constitution Avenue, NE, Washington, DC.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2016
Cranial Prosthetic Medicaid Coverage Enhancement Act This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to alter coverage requirements under a state plan for medical assistance. Specifically, a state plan that provides medical assistance for an individual's inpatient hospital services shall also provide biennial medical assistance to the individual for one cranial prosthesis, as specified by the bill. (A cranial prosthesis is a custom-made wig designed for a patient who has suffered hair loss as a result of a medical condition or treatment.)
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2016
China Market Economy Status Congressional Review Act This bill amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to bar revocation of a determination by the administering authority (the Secretary of Commerce or any other U.S. officer) that the People's Republic of China is a nonmarket economy country unless: the administering authority determines and reports to Congress that China no longer meets the requirements of a nonmarket economy country; and Congress, within 45 days after the receipt of such a report, enacts a joint resolution of approval.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2016
Recognizes the University of Minnesota Women's Ice Hockey Team on winning the 2016 National Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Ice Hockey Championship.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2016
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. Calls for recognition of: (1) national and community organizations and private sector supporters for their work in promoting awareness about sexual assault, providing information and treatment to survivors of sexual assault, and increasing the number of successful prosecutions of perpetrators of sexual assault; and (2) public safety, law enforcement, and health professionals for their hard work and innovative strategies to increase the percentage of sexual assault cases that result in the prosecution and incarceration of its perpetrators. Urges national and community-based organizations, private businesses, colleges and universities, and the media to promote, through such Month, awareness of sexual violence, resources for its survivors and their friends and family members, and strategies to decrease the incidence of sexual assault.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2016
Risk Management and Homeowner Stability Act of 2016 This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to prohibit the chairs of the congressional budget committees from counting increases to guarantee fees as offsets for budget enforcement purposes. The bill includes an exception for legislation that increases guarantee fees to finance reforms to the secondary mortgage market. (Guarantee fees are charged by enterprises, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association [Fannie Mae] and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation [Freddie Mac], to guarantee the payment of principal and interest on loans. This bill prevents the fees from being used to offset provisions that increase the deficit in determining whether a budget point of order applies to legislation.)
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2016
Declares that the House of Reprresentatives: honors the life and accomplishments of the Honorable Martin Olav Sabo, former Representative from Minnesota; and remembers the work he accomplished to balance the federal budget and improve the quality of life of all Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
Women and Minorities in STEM Booster Act of 2016 This bill requires the National Science Foundation to award competitive grants to enable eligible entities to carry out the activities specified below in order to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). An eligible entity that receives a grant shall use grant funds to carry out one or more of the following activities designed to increase the participation of women or minorities underrepresented in science and engineering, or both: online workshops, mentoring programs that partner STEM professionals with students, internships for undergraduate and graduate students in STEM fields, outreach programs providing elementary and secondary school students with opportunities to increase their exposure to STEM fields, and programs to increase the recruitment and retention of underrepresented faculty.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
National Landslide Loss Reduction Act This bill requires the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to establish a national program to identify landslide hazards and reduce losses from landslides. The USGS shall: develop a national strategy for research on landslides and landslide hazards; develop and maintain a landslide hazard assessment system and a national landslide hazard inventory database; in coordination with state geological surveys, conduct federal-state working groups to establish regional priorities for identifying, mapping, and assessing hazards and develop and implement guidelines for geologists and geological and geotechnical engineers; compile, maintain, and evaluate data on landslide hazard stabilization and reduction of losses and on the nationwide impact of landslides on health and safety, the economy, and the environment; and in coordination with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Weather Service (NWS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and state geological surveys, develop and disseminate guidelines and training materials (in coordination with specified entities) for planners and decision makers on the use of the system and reducing losses from landslides. NOAA and the NWS shall develop and disseminate landslide-related curricula and training modules for state and local officials and emergency managers. The bill establishes an Interagency Coordinating Committee on Landslides and an Advisory Committee on Landslides. The Department of the Interior shall make grants to support: (1) state and local government efforts to map and assess landslide hazards; and (2) efforts by institutions of higher education, state and local governments, and nongovernmental entities to research landslides.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
Reuniting Families Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to establish the fiscal year worldwide level of employment-based immigrants at 140,000 plus: (1) the previous year's unused visas, and (2) the number of unused visas from FY1992-FY2015. The bill establishes the fiscal year worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants at 480,000 plus: (1) the previous year's unused visas, and (2) the number of unused visas from FY1992-FY2015. The bill redefines "immediate relative" to: mean a child, spouse, permanent partner, or parent of a U.S. citizen or the child or spouse of a lawful permanent resident, except that in the case of parents such citizens shall be at least 21 years old; permit a widow or widower of a U.S. citizen or resident to seek permanent resident status if married at least two years at the time of the citizen's or resident's death or, if married less than two years, by showing through a preponderance of the evidence that the marriage was entered into in good faith and not solely to obtain an immigration benefit; and include an alien who was the child or parent of a U.S. citizen or resident at the time of the citizen's or resident's death if the alien files a petition within two years after such date or prior to reaching 21 years old. The bill increases immigration visas for: (1) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and (2) brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. The bill also: establishes an 80,640 visa allocation for the unmarried sons and daughters of permanent resident aliens, increases annual per country (10% of annual total) and dependent area (5% of annual total) limits for employment-based and family-sponsored immigrant visas, and expands specified family-unity exceptions to unlawful presence-based inadmissibility. An alien shall be inadmissible for willful misrepresentation of citizenship. (Under current law inadmissibility is based on false representation of citizenship.) The bill specifies relief for orphans and spouses regarding: (1) petitions for immediate relative status, (2) parole eligibility, (3) permanent resident status adjustment, and (4) processing of immigrant visas. Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act Children of naturalized Filipino World War II veterans shall be exempt from worldwide or numerical immigrant limitations. The bill makes a minor child of an alien fiancee/fiance or of an alien spouse of a U.S. citizen eligible for derivative K-visa status, provided certain requirements are met. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the Department of Justice may adjust the status of a finacee/fiance or alien spouse and any minor children (K-visa) to conditional permanent resident status if the alien marries the petitioner within three months after U.S. admission. The definition of "child" for purposes of titles I and II of the Act shall include a stepchild under 21 years old. The INA is amended to include a "permanent partner" within its scope. The bill revises requirements regarding: (1) priority date retention; and (2) waiver eligibility for widows, widowers, and orphans. "Permanent partner" shall mean any individual 18 or older who is: in a committed, intimate relationship with another individual age 18 or older in which both individuals intend the commitment to be lifelong; financially interdependent with the other individual, unless DHS or the Department of State has determined, on a case-by-case basis, that this requirement is unreasonable; not married to, or in a permanent partnership with, anyone other than the individual; unable to contract with the other individual a marriage cognizable under this Act; and not a first, second, or third degree blood relation of the other individual. "Alien permanent partner" is defined as the individual in a permanent partnership who is being sponsored for a visa.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2016
Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require employers engaged in commerce, or in the production of goods for commerce, to make certain disclosures to employees about their employment, including a paystub corresponding to work the employee performed during the applicable pay period, and make final payments to a terminating employee for uncompensated hours the employee has worked. 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 revises penalty requirements to: increase to double the amount of unpaid wages or unpaid overtime compensation the damages an employer must pay for violating minimum wage or maximum hour rules, plus interest; increase to treble damages the penalty for retaliatory discrimination against or discharge of a whistleblowing employee; repeal the requirement that an employee consent in writing to become a party plaintiff in an action to recover damages from an employer for all such violations; prohibit waiver of the right to bring an action, including a collective action, by an employee as a condition of employment or in a pre-dispute arbitration agreement; and direct the Department of Labor to refer any case involving a covered offender to the Department of Justice for prosecution. In the event that an employee requests an inspection of his or her records for accuracy of wage payments, the employer shall give the employee a copy of the records covering a period of up to five years prior to the request. The Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 is amended to: increase the statute of limitations for causes of action under that Act, the Walsh-Healy Act, or the Bacon-Davis Act with respect to unpaid wages, unpaid overtime compensation, or damages; and deem the statute of limitations tolled for such an action between notification of an employer that an investigation or enforcement action has begun to notification to the employer that the matter has been officially resolved. Acting through the Wage and Hour Division, Labor shall award grants to assist eligible entities in enhancing the enforcement of wage and hour laws. The Government Accountability Office shall identify successful programs carried out by such grants, especially elements, policies, or procedures that can be replicated by other grant-receiving programs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2016
Imported Assault Weapons Ban of 2016 This bill amends the federal criminal code to prohibit the importation or assembly of certain semiautomatic firearms (or specified parts of such firearms). The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives must publish a list of firearms banned from importation by the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2016
Cybercrime Enforcement Training Assistance Act of 2016 This bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to award grants to state and local governments to prevent, enforce, and prosecute cybercrimes against individuals. A cybercrime against an individual is a criminal offense that involves use of a computer, including a computer network or interactive electronic device, to harm an individual. DOJ must also award a grant to a nonprofit private cybercrime organization to establish and maintain the National Resource Center on Cybercrimes Against Individuals. It must provide technical assistance and training resources, maintain a resource library, and conduct research to improve the capacity of governments, communities, and individuals to prevent, enforce, and prosecute cybercrimes against individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2016
Help Americans Never Get Unwanted Phone Calls Act of 2016 or the HANGUP Act This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 to repeal provisions that authorize the use of automated telephone equipment to call cellular telephones for the purpose of collecting debts owed to the U.S. government.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2016
Urges the United States to: (1) establish a national goal of 50% clean and carbon-free electricity by 2030, and (2) enact legislation to accelerate the transition to clean energy.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2016
Interest for Others Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals, trusts, or estates to exclude from gross income up to $50 of interest and money market fund dividend income that is contributed to charity using a program adopted by a financial institution or a money market fund. Details regarding the payments to charities must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service by any person that: (1) pays certain interest or dividends and has a charitable contribution program, or (2) is an aggregator that receives contributions and makes payments to charities under a program.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2016
Protection of the Right of Tribes to stop the Export of Cultural and Traditional Patrimony Resolution or the PROTECT Patrimony Resolution Condemns the theft, illegal possession or sale, transfer, and export of tribal cultural items. Calls upon: (1) the Departments of the Interior, State, Commerce, Homeland Security, and Justice to consult with tribes and traditional Native American religious leaders in addressing this issue, to take affirmative action to stop these practices, and to secure repatriation of tribal cultural items; and (2) the Government Accountability Office to determine the scope of illegal trafficking in tribal cultural items and identify steps required to end such trafficking. Expresses support for restrictions on the export of tribal cultural items.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2016
Promoting Travel, Commerce, and National Security Act of 2016 This bill amends the federal criminal code to allow the United States to prosecute certain U.S. employees who engage in conduct in Canada that would constitute a federal criminal offense if the conduct had occurred in the United States. This bill applies to employees, contractors, and grantees of a U.S. department or agency other than the Department of Defense who are stationed in Canada pursuant to a border security initiative.
United States · United States Congress · 29 February 2016
Digital Security Commission Act of 2016 This bill establishes in the legislative branch the National Commission on Security and Technology Challenges to assess, and make recommendations for policy and practice concerning, the issue of multiple security interests in the digital world, including public safety, privacy, national security, and communications and data protection, both now and throughout the next 10 years. Members of the Commission shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House and Senate majority leader (eight members), the minority leaders in the House and the Senate (eight members), and the President (one member) from among U.S. citizens with significant knowledge and primary experience in: cryptography, global commerce and economics, federal law enforcement, state and local law enforcement, the consumer-facing technology sector, the enterprise technology sector, the intelligence community, and the privacy and civil liberties community.
United States · United States Congress · 29 February 2016
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Women's History Month. Recognizes and honors the women and organizations in the United States that have fought for and continue to promote the teaching of women's history.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2016
Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2016 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) authorize the Department of Justice (DOJ) to appoint or provide counsel at government expense to aliens in removal proceedings. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall provide an alien in removal proceedings with all relevant documents in its possession, unless the alien has knowingly waived the right to such documents. In the absence of a waiver a removal proceeding may not proceed until the alien has received, and had time to review, the documents. DOJ may appoint or provide counsel to aliens in any INA proceeding. DHS shall ensure that aliens have access to counsel inside all immigration detention and border facilities. DOJ shall appoint counsel, at government expense if necessary, for an unaccompanied alien child or a particularly vulnerable individual. If DOJ has consolidated any such alien's case with that of any other alien, and that other alien does not have counsel, then the appointed counsel shall be appointed to represent the other alien as well. DHS shall: (1) facilitate access to counsel for all aliens detained in facilities under the supervision of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); and (2) establish procedures to ensure that legal orientation programs are available for all detained aliens, including aliens held in CBP facilities. DOJ shall develop and administer a two-year pilot program at not fewer than two immigration courts to grant access to legal information to non-detained aliens with pending asylum claims. DHS shall establish a pilot program to increase the court appearance rates of unaccompanied alien children and particularly vulnerable individuals by contracting with nongovernmental, community-based organizations to provide such aliens with case management services. The pilot program shall not be used to monitor individuals designated as unaccompanied alien children under the Homeland Security Act. If DOJ fails to appoint counsel for an unaccompanied alien child or vulnerable person: (1) no limitation pertaining to the filing of any motion to reopen the removal proceeding shall apply, and (2) the filing of such a motion shall stay the removal of the alien.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2016
CT Colonography Screening for Colorectal Cancer Act of 2016 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 · 25 February 2016
Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2016 This bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop and maintain a voluntary patient registry to monitor, collect, and make available epidemiological information related to cancer incidence and trends among firefighters. The CDC should seek to include specified information in the registry, including the number and type of fire incidents attended by an individual. To collect information for the registry, the CDC may incorporate questions into existing public health surveys, questionnaires, and other databases. The CDC must: (1) encourage the inclusion in the registry of data on minority, female, and volunteer firefighters; and (2) seek feedback on the registry from nonfederal experts. The CDC must develop an approval process for making registry data available for research without a fee if findings or publications derived from the research are made public or available to stakeholders.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2016
Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy Act or the BRACE Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax credit for railroad track maintenance.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2016
Status of the Sixth Amendment Act of 2016 This bill requires a state that receives a Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs grant to report annually certain information with respect to the following categories: (1) criminal offenses punishable by a prison term of more than one year; (2) criminal offenses punishable by a prison term of one year or less, including misdemeanors, traffic, and municipal violations; and (3) acts of juvenile delinquency punishable by a term of detention. A state must report, for each offense category, the number of charges for which: (1) an individual was prosecuted, (2) a defendant waived the right to counsel, (3) a defendant was represented by publicly appointed counsel, and (4) a defendant was represented by counsel who was not publicly appointed. DOJ must publish such reports on its website.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2016
Hate Crimes Prevention Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to prohibit firearm sale or transfer to and receipt or possession by an individual who has: (1) been convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime, or (2) received an enhanced hate crime misdemeanor sentence. It defines "misdemeanor hate crime" as a misdemeanor offense that has, as an element, that the conduct was motivated by hate or bias because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person. An "enhanced hate crime misdemeanor sentence" is an enhanced sentence imposed for a misdemeanor that is based, in whole or in part, on conduct motivated by hate or bias because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 2016
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: the trial and conviction of 50 African-American sailors for mutiny in connection with their service at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Concord, California, during World War II were wrongfully pursued because of racial prejudice; and Congress should publicly exonerate the 50 sailors to further aid in healing the racial divide that continues to exist in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 2016
POLICE Act of 2016 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to expand the allowable use of grant funds under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program to include participation in active shooter training programs.
![Official portrait of Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_mn_4_mccollum_betty_200.jpg)