United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2019
Senior Guardianship Social Security Protection Act of 2019 This bill requires the Social Security Administration to establish agreements with each state to share certain information on a monthly basis about the guardianship arrangements of individuals who are entitled to Social Security retirement benefits or Supplemental Security Income payments.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2019
Know Your Social Security Act This bill requires the Social Security Administration to provide Social Security account statements by mail to each individual who is 25 or older and who is eligible for, but not currently receiving, Social Security retirement benefits. Individuals may choose to receive their account statements electronically.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2019
Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act or the AIM HIGH Act This bill creates a commission to develop voluntary guidelines for postsecondary electronic instruction materials and related technologies. Specifically, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President pro tempore of the Senate, and the Secretary of Education must establish an independent commission to (1) develop and issue voluntary accessibility guidelines for postsecondary electronic instructional materials and related technologies, (2) develop a model framework for pilot testing such materials and technologies, and (3) produce an annotated list of information technology standards. The Department of Education must review and, as appropriate, update the voluntary guidelines, pilot testing framework, and information technology standards every five years.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2019
This resolution expresses disapproval for the President's notification to the United Nations of his intent to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement and commends the entities that have expressed their support for the Paris Agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 2019
International Violence Against Women Act of 2019 This bill provides for a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. The bill establishes in the Department of State an Office of Global Women's Issues, which shall be headed by an Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues. The Ambassador-at-Large shall (1) coordinate U.S. government efforts regarding gender equality and the advancement of women and girls in foreign policy, and (2) develop or update periodically a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. The bill establishes in the U.S. Agency for International Development the position of Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment who shall direct policies, programs, and funding regarding gender equality and women's empowerment. The bill requires that U.S. assistance made available for humanitarian relief, conflict mitigation, and post-conflict reconstruction prevents and responds to violence against women and girls. The Department of State shall also identify incidents that occur during armed conflict and implement emergency responses.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 2019
Preserving Family Farms Act of 2019 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase to $11.4 million (currently, $750,000) the limitation on the special use valuation for farmland or other trades or businesses for estate tax purposes. The increased amount is adjusted for inflation for estates of decedents dying after 2019.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2019
100% Clean Economy Act of 2019 This bill establishes requirements to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. Specifically, the bill sets a national goal of achieving a 100% clean economy (i.e., economy-wide, net-zero greenhouse gas emissions) by no later than 2050. Each federal agency must develop and implement a plan to rapidly achieve the national goal. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must monitor, evaluate, and report on the progress of the United States in achieving the national goal. In addition, the EPA must establish the Clean Economy Federal Advisory Committee to make recommendations to the EPA on one or more interim greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals for the United States to achieve before achieving the national goal. After obtaining the committee's recommendations, the EPA must recommend to Congress one or more interim goals.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2019
This concurrent resolution recognizes the disparity in wages paid to Latina women and its impact on women, families, the economy, and our entire country. The resolution reaffirms its support for ensuring equal pay and closing the gender wage gap.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2019
Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction In the Nation Act or the NOPAIN Act This bill temporarily establishes separate payments for certain non-opioid treatments under the Medicare prospective payment system for hospital outpatient department services and the payment system for ambulatory surgical center services. The bill applies to pain management treatments that are able to replace or reduce opioid consumption, as shown through clinical trials or data.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2019
Safe Skies Act of 2019 This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to modify a specified DOT final rule relating to flight crew member duty and rest requirements so that the requirements under that rule apply to all-cargo flight crew members to the same extent they apply to air passenger flight crew members.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2019
This bill prohibits the use of funds made available to the Department of Defense beginning in FY2020 for the deployment of any strategic assets of the United States in the Republic of Turkey.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2019
Humane Cosmetics Act of 2019 This bill generally prohibits animal testing in the evaluation of cosmetic products, and it prohibits the sale or transport of cosmetics developed using animal testing. These prohibitions begin one year after enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2019
Stop EITC and CTC Seizures Act This bill prohibits the Department of the Treasury from reducing a taxpayer's tax refund for student loan debt to the extent that such reduction would cause the refund to be less than the sum of the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2019
Help Obtaining Presumption of Exoneration for Victims of Human Trafficking Act or the HOPE for Victims of Human Trafficking Act This bill establishes a rebuttable presumption that certain offenses were induced by coercion if the defendant establishes that he or she was a victim of human trafficking at the time of the offense.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2019
Respect Graduate Student Workers Act This bill prohibits the National Labor Relations Board from finalizing a specified rule or making a similar rule that excludes student workers at private universities from the definition of employee under federal labor laws. (Under current law, students paid for services provided at universities in connection with such students' studies are considered employees.)
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2019
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 9930 Conroy Windermere Road in Windermere, Florida, as the "Officer Robert German Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2019
Women Who Worked on the Home Front World War II Memorial Act This bill authorizes the Women Who Worked on the Home Front Foundation to establish a commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia in commemoration of the commitment and service represented by women who worked on the home front during World War II. The foundation shall be solely responsible for the acceptance of contributions for, and payment of the expenses of, establishing the memorial. The bill prohibits federal funds from being used to pay any expense for the establishment of the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2019
United States-Israel Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems Cooperation Enhancement Act or the U.S.-Israel Anti-Killer Drone Act This bill expands the Department of Defense's authority to carry out activities in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense of Israel to research, develop, test, and evaluate capabilities for countering unmanned aerial systems (i.e., drones).
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2019
Put Patients First Act This bill prohibits the application of the rule issued by the Department of Health and Human Services on May 21, 2019, that strengthens the enforcement of conscience and anti-discrimination laws related to the rights of covered health care providers to refuse to participate in certain procedures, such as abortions, sterilization, or assisted suicide.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2019
Veteran Employment and Child Care Access Act of 2019 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide child care assistance to an eligible veteran for any period that the veteran (1) receives VA training or vocational rehabilitation, and (2) is required to travel to and from a facility for the receipt of such training or rehabilitation. Child care assistance may only be provided once for a child and for a period shorter than six months, but the VA is authorized to waive such limitations. The term eligible veteran is defined as a veteran who is the primary caretaker of a child and (1) who is receiving VA training or vocational rehabilitation on a full-time basis, or needs and would receive such training or rehabilitation from the VA but for the lack of child care; and (2) whose family's adjusted gross income meets certain criteria. The bill provides for various types of child care assistance, as the VA considers appropriate.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2019
Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act of 2019 This bill modifies, expands, and reauthorizes through FY2024 the Family Violence and Prevention Services program, which funds emergency shelters and supports related assistance for victims of domestic violence. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants and enter cooperative agreements with state and tribal domestic violence coalitions, and community-based organizations, to support prevention services. Depending on the type of organization, grant recipients must use funding to (1) provide technical assistance; (2) promote evidence-informed prevention strategies; (3) implement coordinated, community responses to reduce risk factors for family violence; and (4) develop prevention partnership strategies, among other uses. Further, HHS must award specified grants to organizations that provide population-specific services in underserved communities and to community-based organizations that provide culturally competent domestic violence services to racial and ethnic minority groups. The bill also establishes a grants program for tribal domestic violence coalitions to support the provision of local, tribal, family domestic or dating violence services and requires HHS to award a grant for the administration of a hotline dedicated to serving Indians affected by domestic violence. In addition, the bill modifies certain program-wide definitions; changes the requirements for specified grant applications, eligibility criteria, and use of funds; and makes other technical revisions.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2019
This resolution supports the designation of National School Psychology Week and recognizes the contributions of school psychologists to the success of students in schools across the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2019
This joint resolution eliminates the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on sex. The amendment was proposed to the states in House Joint Resolution 208 of the 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972. The amendment shall be part of the Constitution whenever ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2019
Protecting Benefits for Disabled Veterans Act of 2019 This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to assign, for purposes of the disability compensation program, a disability rating of total to a veteran who meets certain parameters and is unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment due to a service-connected disability. Specifically, the VA may make such a disability determination if a veteran has a service-connected disability rated at least 60%, or has two or more service-connected disabilities with one being at least 40% and a combined total of at least 70%. The VA may also make a determination on the disability rating in circumstances where a veteran meeting the specified parameters maintains marginal employment (income is less than the poverty threshold), or if the veteran maintains substantially gainful employment (exceeds the poverty threshold) and the VA determines that the rating is appropriate. The bill prescribes what disabilities may be considered as one disability (e.g., disabilities incurred or aggravated as a prisoner of war). The VA may not consider the age of a veteran or eligibility for retirement benefits when making any determination related to disability rating.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2019
Investing in American Workers Act This bill allows a business-related tax credit for employers who increase worker training expenditures. The credit is equal to 20% of the excess of (1) the qualified training expenditures for the taxable year, over (2) the average of the adjusted qualified training expenditures for the three previous taxable years. If the employer had no qualified training expenditures in any one of the three previous years, the credit is equal to 10% of the adjusted qualified training expenditures for the year. The credit applies to expenditures for the training of non-highly compensated employees (annual compensation does not exceed $82,000). The training must result in the attainment of a recognized postsecondary credential and be provided through an apprenticeship program; a program of training services that is included on a list of eligible training providers that states are required to maintain under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; a program that is conducted by an area career and technical education school, a community college, or a labor organization; or a program that is sponsored and administered by an employer, industry trade association, industry or sector partnership, or labor organization. Certain small businesses and tax-exempt organizations may apply the credit against payroll taxes, subject to specified limits and requirements. Eligible small businesses may also apply the credit against the alternative minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2019
Schedules That Work Act This bill provides employees with the right to request changes to their work schedules related to the number of hours they are required to work or be on call, the location of the work, the amount of notification about work schedule assignments, and fluctuations in work hours. Employers must negotiate in good faith with employees who make such requests and comply with certain work schedule notice and split shift pay requirements for retail, food service, cleaning, hospitality, or warehouse employees.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2019
United States Army Rangers Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to arrange for the award of a single gold medal to the U.S. Army Ranger veterans of World War II in recognition of their dedicated wartime service. Following its award, the gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution where it shall be available for display and research.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2019
Access to AEDs Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to award a grant to a health care organization to promote student access to defibrillation in elementary and secondary schools. Specifically, such access shall be achieved in such schools by developing and providing comprehensive materials to establish defibrillation programs, providing support for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) training programs, fostering new and existing community partnerships to promote the importance of defibrillation, establishing a clearinghouse database to gather information in a central location regarding sudden cardiac arrest in the pediatric population, and providing assistance to secondary school athletic departments for screening student athletes for risk of sudden cardiac arrest.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2019
Native American Child Protection Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2026 and otherwise revises certain programs related to the prevention, investigation, treatment, and prosecution of family violence, child abuse, and child neglect involving Indian children and families. Specifically, the bill revises the Indian Child Abuse Treatment Grant Program to encourage the use of grants for culturally appropriate treatment services and programs. The bill renames the Indian Child Resource and Family Services Centers as the National Indian Child Resource and Family Services Center. It also requires such center to (1) provide advice, technical assistance, and training to urban Indian organizations; (2) develop certain technical assistance materials for Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations; and (3) develop model intergovernmental agreements between tribes and states to prevent, investigate, treat, and prosecute incidents of family violence, child abuse, and child neglect involving Indian children and families. Additionally, the bill revises the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Program to allow Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and intertribal consortia to use program funds for additional activities, such as operational costs for child protective services. It also revises the definition of child abuse to include psychological or verbal abuse that causes serious emotional or mental injury to a child.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2019
Stop the Importation and Manufacturing of Synthetic Analogues Act of 2019 or SIMSA This bill establishes a process and requirements for regulating substances that have a similar chemical structure and actual or predicted effect as a controlled substance that is currently subject to such regulation because of its potential for abuse or dependence.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2019
This concurrent resolution calls for an end to the consumption and trade of dog and cat meat and urges nations to adopt and enforce laws banning that trade.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2019
Safeguarding Medicare Access to Respiratory Therapy Act of 2019 This bill establishes certain requirements relating to Medicare coverage of ventilators. Specifically, the bill (1) excludes ventilators and other covered respiratory items, as specified, from Medicare's competitive acquisition program (in which rates are set through a competitive bidding program rather than by an established fee schedule); and (2) requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to establish a technical expert panel to review, and make recommendations regarding, national coverage determinations with respect to Medicare coverage of ventilators and other specified respiratory devices.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2019
Leveraging Effective Apprenticeships to Rebuild National Skills Act or the LEARNS Act This bill establishes, in the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor, an Office of Apprenticeship to determine whether an apprenticeship program meets requirements for registration and maintains the standards necessary to remain registered, manage the national apprenticeship system (the collective group of registered apprenticeship programs and pre-apprenticeship programs in the nation), and make grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities to carry out projects that support development of pre-apprenticeship programs. The bill also establishes in Labor a National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships. Labor and the Department of Education shall establish a voluntary Registered Apprenticeship-College Collaborative consisting of the sponsors carrying out registered apprenticeship programs, two- or four-year postsecondary educational institutions, and organizations that represent such programs or institutions, that agree to meet certain criteria in order to promote stronger connections between the registered apprenticeship programs involved and participating two- and four-year postsecondary educational institutions. Labor shall make assistance payments to eligible sponsors of new registered apprenticeship programs or of existing programs that add employers as new partners.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2019
Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies for Health Act of 2019 or the CONNECT for Health Act of 2019 This bill expands coverage of telehealth services under Medicare. Among other things, the bill allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to waive certain restrictions, such as geographic restrictions, for services provided in high-need health professional shortage areas; excludes mental health and emergency medical services, as well as services provided at rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers, and Indian Health Service facilities, from such geographic restrictions; and allows the CMS to generally waive coverage restrictions during national emergencies. Additionally, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission must report on information relating to the access of Medicare beneficiaries to telehealth services at home. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation may also test alternative payment models relating to expanded telehealth services.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2019
Advancing Youth Enrollment Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the premium assistance tax credit for taxpayers with household members between the ages of 18-34. (The credit is available to eligible individuals and families to subsidize the purchase of health insurance on an exchange established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.) The bill allows an increased tax credit for the purchase of health insurance by reducing the maximum percentage of income that taxpayers under age 31 must pay for coverage by 2.5%, with reductions of .5% for each year for ages 31-34.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2019
This bill establishes additional requirements for prescription drug plan (PDP) sponsors that use formularies under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Specifically, the bill requires PDP formularies to include covered generic drugs and biosimilars for which the wholesale acquisition cost is less than that of the reference (i.e., brand-name) product. PDP sponsors must also establish specific cost-sharing tiers that apply lower cost-sharing requirements for such covered generic drugs and biosimilars as compared to those for brand-name products. The bill also prohibits PDP sponsors from instituting certain requirements relating to access to such covered generic drugs and biosimilars that are more restrictive than those for brand-name products (e.g., prior authorization requirements).
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2019
Insulin Price Reduction Act This bill prohibits health insurance plan issuers and pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) from receiving rebates or discounts for insulin from manufacturers who certify that its current insulin list price has been reduced to an amount no greater than what the list price was for the same insulin on July 1, 2006. This restriction does not apply to discounts provided to insurance plan holders at retail sale or to flat-rate fees for service paid to PBMs. Further, insurance plans are prohibited from applying a deductible to insulin that has received such price certification. A manufacturer may certify insulin prices by submitting to the Department of Health and Human Services data about the list price of any insulin the manufacturer has produced since January 1, 2000, and by setting the current list price for an insulin product at the 2006 rate. To remain certified, a manufacturer may not increase the list price of insulin by more than the annual increase in the medical care consumer price index. A manufacturer may certify the price of an insulin product for which it did not have a list price in 2006 by reducing the list price of such insulin to the weighted average list price in 2006 of specified insulin categories. This bill also applies to Medicare prescription drug benefits. The bill sets the rebate for insulin under Medicaid based on the average manufacturer price of insulin during the last fiscal quarter of 2019, increasing by the medical care consumer price index thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2019
Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act This bill (1) declares that Congress commits to deeming Puerto Rico to be a state of the United States if it chooses statehood; and (2) requires Puerto Rico to conduct a plebiscite, a vote of the people, on statehood in conjunction with the November 2020 election.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2019
Veteran Deportation Prevention and Reform Act This bill modifies immigration and naturalization procedures for noncitizens who are members or veterans of the Armed Forces. Specifically, the bill requires interagency coordination to (1) identify such individuals who are the subject of immigration removal proceedings or who have already been removed; and (2) naturalize them as citizens or otherwise change their status, as appropriate.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2019
Real Marketing Edible Artificials Truthfully Act of 2019 or the Real MEAT Act of 2019 This bill prohibits the sale of any imitation meat food product unless its label includes (1) the word imitation , and (2) a statement that clearly indicates the product is not derived from or does not contain meat.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2019
Healthy Start Reauthorization Act of 2019 This bill modifies and reauthorizes through FY2024 the Healthy Start program, which provides grants that support interventions to improve women’s health before, during, and after pregnancy. Further, the bill requires the Health Resources and Services Administration to consider communities with high rates of infant mortality when awarding grants and requires the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the program’s health outcomes.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2019
Low-Income Water Customer Assistance Programs Act of 2019 This bill addresses the access of low-income households to drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services. Specifically, the bill establishes new pilot programs that award grants to help low-income households pay their drinking water, wastewater, or stormwater bills. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency must study the prevalence of low-income households that do not have access to affordable, functional wastewater services that protect the health of individuals in the households; affordable municipal stormwater services; or affordable public drinking water services.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2019
FEMA Climate Change Preparedness Act This bill requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to (1) revise its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan to ensure that the plan explicitly mentions climate change and addresses the implications of climate change on homeland security and near- and long-term national disaster risk; and (2) ensure that future strategic plans do likewise. The Department of Homeland Security must establish, as a subcommittee of the National Advisory Council, the Climate Change Subcommittee, which shall advise FEMA on how to best incorporate climate change, including risk assessments and strategies for adaptation and mitigation, into and throughout FEMA's policies, plans, programs, and operations. FEMA must publish as a report, submit to specified congressional committees, and make available to Congress and the public, a comprehensive assessment of climate change risks and preparedness.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2019
White House Accountability for Language Diversity Act This bill requires the White House and each federal agency to establish official websites in the five most commonly used languages in the United States other than English to increase accessibility. The websites must be of a similar scope and content as the English version. The President and each agency shall maintain and update the websites on a regular basis.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 2019
This bill generally permits a federal law enforcement officer to purchase a retired handgun from the agency that issued a handgun to the officer. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that amounts received from the sale of handguns should be used for federal gun safety programs.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2019
Combating Implicit Bias in Education Act This bill directs the Department of Education to award grants to local educational agencies to provide training to staff of elementary and secondary schools on implicit bias.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2019
This resolution rejects the Supreme Court's decisions in the Insular Cases (a series of cases regarding the application of constitutional rights in U.S. territories) and recognizes the importance of supporting equal rights of Americans living in the U.S. territories.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2019
Fairness in Orphan Drug Exclusivity Act This bill limits which orphan drugs may be granted a market exclusivity period by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (Generally, an orphan drug is one that is not economically viable because of the rarity of the disease that it treats; the sponsor of an FDA-designated orphan drug may be granted various incentives, such as a seven-year period in which the FDA may not grant market approval to a different sponsor for the same drug to treat the same disease.) Specifically, when determining whether to grant an exclusivity period to a drug that has orphan status due to low expected sales, the FDA shall consider the sales of all drugs from the sponsor that have the same core molecule or ion that is responsible for the drug's physiological or pharmacological action.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2019
Advancing Gun Safety Technology Act of 2019 This bill authorizes the National Institute of Justice to establish a pilot program to make grants to small business concerns for the development of gun safety technology.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2019
Polling Access Safety Act of 2019 This bill limits immigration enforcement in relation to polling places and establishes various requirements related to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Absent exigent circumstances, the following are prohibited on a voting day: (1) immigration enforcement actions within one mile of a polling place; (2) identification checks at a polling place by a federal officer or employee; and (3) DHS-conducted temporary vehicle checkpoints, public transportation searches, and public training exercises. State election administrations shall post notice of such prohibitions at each polling place on a voting day. Information acquired in violation of such prohibitions may not be used to initiate deportation proceedings. DHS shall establish a training program for certain officers and employees on compliance with federal laws limiting certain political activities of federal employees and officers (e.g., the Hatch Act). The bill establishes three positions to monitor and ensure compliance with the bill. These positions shall be within the DHS Office of Inspector General, the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and the Office of Special Counsel.
![Official portrait of Rep. Soto, Darren [D-FL-9]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/115_rp_fl_9_soto_darren_200.jpg)