United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2018
Protecting Immigrant Communities from Consumer Fraud Act of 2018 This bill directs the Department of Justice to make grants for immigration consumer fraud information websites and hotlines. It also establishes a grant program to carry out an outreach campaign to provide: (1) access to legal resources, including free or low-cost legal resources for low-income individuals; (2) workshops educating the public on immigration consumer fraud; and (3) translation services. Grant recipients may not disclose or use personally identifiable information provided by individuals participating in outreach campaigns. The bill requires the Federal Trade Commission to impose and enforce requirements on immigration consultants relating to advertising of immigration services, contracts for such services, and the retention and disposal of client documents. Immigration consultants must disclose in advertising materials and contracts that they are not immigration attorneys and may not represent aliens before an immigration court or the Board of Immigration Appeals.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2018
Condemns the Attorney General's decision in Matter of A-B- seeking to declare domestic violence and gang violence as invalid grounds for seeking asylum.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2018
Continue American Safety Act (CASA) This bill extends temporary protected status (TPS) for certain designated countries until January 21, 2021. It also grants TPS to nationals of Guatemala who meet certain requirements for 18 months after the enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 6 July 2018
Jeanette Acosta Invest in Women's Health Act of 2018 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide support to public or nonprofit entities to expand certain preventive health services, with an emphasis on increasing access to cancer screening, particularly for women of color. The bill reauthorizes through FY2022: (1) programs related to breast and gynecologic cancers under Medicaid and family planning programs, and (2) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. HHS must establish a demonstration grant program to train health care providers regarding breast and gynecologic cancer screening. HHS must study and report on access to women's preventive cancer screening, including cancer rates by state, cancer screening by state, and estimated federal savings achieved through early detection of breast and gynecologic cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 3 July 2018
Reunifying Separated Families Act of 2018 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reunite each alien child (i.e., under age 18 and no permanent immigration status) who was separated from a parent or legal guardian on or after April 6, 2018, unless a state court or child welfare agency determines that it is in the best interests of the child to remain separated from a parent or legal guardian or there are DHS findings of trafficking or abuse. DHS is subject to a fine of $1,000 per child for each day such child is not reunited with a parent. The bill prohibits an agent or officer of DHS, the Department of Justice, or the Department of Health and Human Services from removing a child from a parent or legal guardian at or near a port of entry or within 100 miles of the border, unless a state court, child welfare agency, or the Chief Patrol Agent or the Area Port Director make findings relating to the best interests of the child or the threat of trafficking or abuse. No such agent or officer may separate a child from a parent or legal guardian solely for the policy goals of deterring individuals from migrating to the United States or for promoting compliance with civil immigration laws.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2018
By the People Resolution Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should enact various reforms with respect to voter registration and protection, campaign-finance contribution limits and violations, and political advertisements.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2018
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights are human rights and protected by the U.S. Constitution; (2) LGBTQ Pride Month should be celebrated; and (3) all Americans should be treated equally regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2018
Electric Credit Access Ready at Sale Act of 2018 or the Electric CARS Act of 2018 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify and extend several tax credits related to electric cars. The bill extends the tax credit for new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles through 2028. In addition, the bill modifies the credit to: (1) remove the limitation on the number of vehicles per manufacturer that are eligible for the credit, and (2) allow a taxpayer to assign the credit to a financing entity. The bill also extends through 2028 the tax credits for: (1) alternative fuel vehicle refueling property, and (2) alternative motor vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2018
Coastal and Ocean Acidification Stressors and Threats Research Act of 2018 or the COAST Research Act This bill helps coastal communities address coastal acidification, including by reauthorizing the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2009 through FY2022.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2018
Restoring Oversight for Members of Congress Act This bill requires agencies or managers that control access to federal facilities to provide immediate access to Members of Congress, excluding the Vice President, unless access is denied for national security reasons with congressional approval.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2018
Recognizes the contributions of African Americans to the musical heritage of the United States. Recognizes that Black History Month and African-American Music Appreciation Month is an important time to celebrate this impact and to encourage greater access to music education.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2018
This bill adds various lionfish species to the list of injurious wildlife prohibited from being imported into the United States or transported between states.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2018
Congressional Access to Children's Detention Facilities Act This bill requires the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, or the Department of Health and Human Services to allow Members of Congress to tour any facility in which one or more foreign national minors (a noncitizen of the United States under age 18) are housed. The Departments must allow members of the press to accompany a visiting Member of Congress and may place limits on such tours based on the number of foreign national minors housed.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2018
Family Unity Rights and Protection Act This bill requires the Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, State, and Defense to ensure that alien children (i.e., children under the age of 18 removed from their parents or legal guardians at or near a port of entry or within 100 miles of the U.S. border pursuant to a zero tolerance policy for criminal illegal reentry) are reunited at the earliest possible date with their parents and guardians from whom they were separated. It also requires notification of parents and guardians of procedures for reuniting with such children and for the location of such children. The bill requires the creation of an electronic registry for information used to locate such alien children and their parents and guardians. The information in such registry may only be used for locating such children and may not be used in any criminal prosecution or other immigration proceeding. The bill also sets forth conditions on the termination of parental rights in immigration proceedings and requires the consolidation of asylum and immigration proceedings involving alien children.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2018
Puerto Rico Admission Act of 2018 This bill establishes a process to enable the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico to be admitted into the Union as a state.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2018
Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2018 or the DISCLOSE Act of 2018 This bill expands the ban on election contributions by foreign nationals to include corporations subject to specified levels of ownership or control by foreign nationals. The bill also expands (1) reporting requirements related to campaign contributions, and (2) disclosure requirements related to the funding sources of political advertisements.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2018
Preventing Family Separation for Immigrants with Disabilities Act This bill prohibits an agent or officer of the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, or Health and Human Services from removing a protected individual (i.e., an individual with a developmental disability and no permanent immigration status) from a family member at or near the port of entry or within 100 miles of the U.S. border unless a state court or state or county welfare agency determines that removal is in the best interest of such individual. The Chief Patrol Agent or the Area Port Director may also authorize removal upon a finding that the protected individual is a victim of trafficking or is at significant risk of being a victim of trafficking, there is a strong likelihood that the adult is not a family member of the protected individual, or the protected individual is in danger of abuse or neglect. A protected individual may not be removed from a family member solely for the policy goal of deterring individuals from migrating to the United States or for promoting compliance with civil immigration laws. DHS must provide the family member of a protected individual who was separated with information about the activities of such individual and certain other information on a monthly basis.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2018
Child Advocate Program Reauthorization Act This bill amends the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to extend through FY2022 the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services to appoint independent child advocates for trafficking victims and other vulnerable unaccompanied alien children.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2018
Better Care for Kids Act This bill amends the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to provide that specialized training for federal, state, and local personnel who have substantive contact with unaccompanied alien children shall include best practices for infant and toddler care.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2018
Fairness for Farm Workers Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 with respect to agricultural workers. The bill requires employers, beginning in 2019, to compensate agricultural workers for hours worked in excess of their regular hours (i.e., 55 hours in 2019, 50 hours in 2020, 45 hours in 2021, and 40 hours in 2022) at not less than one and one-half times the employee's regular rate. For employers with 25 or fewer employees, the overtime pay requirements begin in 2022. These overtime pay requirements do not apply, as in current law, to employees who are the parent, spouse, child, or other member of the employer's immediate family. The bill also repeals the exemption from overtime pay requirements for employers in various agriculture-related industries, including certain small farms, irrigation projects, sugar processing, and cotton ginning and compressing.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2018
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1902) to protect our Social Security system and improve benefits for current and future generations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2018
Central America Family Protection and Reunification Act This bill states that it shall be: (1) U.S. policy to not separate immigrant families as a deterrent and to reunite families that were separated due to the criminal prosecution of parents for illegal entry, and (2) Department of State policy to prioritize supporting governments and citizens to facilitate reunification of such families. The State Department shall submit to Congress: reports concerning gender-based violence in the Northern Triangle (the region encompassing Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador); reports concerning gang and organized-crime related violence in the Northern Triangle; strategies to use portions of funds for the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America to combat gender-based violence in the Northern Triangle, as well as to address the damage to the health and well-being of children and caregivers caused by separating children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. The State Department shall establish an office to study serious crimes committed against aliens who were removed from the United States and against U.S. citizens who left the United States because of having an alien parent who was removed from the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2018
Mental Health Care for Children Inhumanely Separated from Parents by the Federal Government Act of 2018 This bill requires the federal government to ensure that children who are separated from their parents at the border by the Department of Homeland Security receive mental health services for free, including a mental health assessment within 24 hours of such separation and annually thereafter. Children who have already been separated (since April 6, 2018) must receive a mental health assessment within 24 hours after enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2018
Reunite Children With Their Parents Act This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to reunite an alien who entered the United States with the alien's minor child (under the age of 18) who was separated from the child pending prosecution for improper entry or the adjudication of an asylum application.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2018
Disaster Housing Assistance Act This bill directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to enter into an agreement or agreements with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to establish a temporary program that provides long-term rental housing assistance to eligible families affected by a major disaster during 2017, including with respect to Hurricane Maria. The Government Accountability Office shall report to Congress by January 20, 2020, on results of the program.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2018
Guarantee Access to Arts and Music Education Act of 2018 or the GAAME Act of 2018 This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to specify that Title I funds (which support the instructional needs of students from low-income families) may be used for arts and music programs.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2018
Keep Families Together Act This bill prohibits an agent or contractor of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, or the Department of Health and Human Services from removing a child who is under the age of 18 and has no permanent immigration status from his or her parent or legal guardian at or near the port of entry or within 100 miles of the U.S. border unless: an authorized state court determines that it is in the child's best interests to be removed; a state or county child welfare official with expertise in child trauma and development determines that it is in the child's best interests to be removed because of abuse or neglect; or the Chief Patrol Agent or the Area Port Director authorizes separation based on a documented finding that the child is a trafficking victim or is at significant risk of becoming a victim, a strong likelihood exists that the adult is not the parent or legal guardian, or the child is in danger of abuse or neglect. A child may not be removed from a parent or guardian unless an independent licensed child welfare expert authorizes the separation within 48 hours of such removal. An agency may not remove a child from a parent or legal guardian solely for the policy goals of deterring migration to the United States or of promoting immigration law compliance. The bill sets forth presumptions: (1) in favor of family and sibling unity and parental rights, and (2) that detention is not in the best interests of families and children. The bill limits the prosecution of asylum seekers.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2018
Recognizes the historical significance and supports the continued celebration of Juneteenth Independence Day, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2018
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Research and Development Modernization Act This bill modifies the requirement for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to establish programs and perform research related to financial technologies, including to allow the commission to accept gifts and donations for such purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2018
National Commission of the Federal Response to Natural Disasters in Puerto Rico Act of 2018 This bill establishes a National Commission of the Federal Response to Natural Disasters in Puerto Rico to examine the federal preparedness, response, and recovery to the 2017 natural disasters in Puerto Rico. The commission shall take into consideration the federal preparedness, response, and recovery efforts in Puerto Rico as compared to other jurisdictions impacted by the 2017 hurricane season, and consider other issues, including the impact and destruction of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the vulnerability of Puerto Rico's economic situation on preparedness, the implications of Puerto Rico's reliance on imported oil for power generation, and the adequacy of the telecommunications network in Puerto Rico.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2018
Workers' Freedom to Negotiate Act of 2018 This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act (NRLA) and related labor laws to extend protections to union workers. Specifically, it: revises the definition of "employee" and "supervisor" to prevent employers from removing employees from the protections of the labor laws, prohibits employers from interfering with certain rights granted to employees under the NLRA, expands unfair labor practices to include prohibitions against replacement of worker who strike or discrimination against them, imposes new penalties against employers who violate labor law requirements, allows workers to bring civil actions against employers for labor law violations and unfair labor practices, requires certain disclosures with respect to worker wages, and requires contractors seeking federal contracts over $500,000 to disclose labor law violations when applying for such contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2018
This bill specifies that an offense involving lynching is a hate crime act. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a prison term, a fine, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2018
Transporting Livestock Across America Safely Act This bill requires the Department of Transportation to amend regulations on hours of service for commercial drivers who transport live covered animals (i.e., livestock, honey bees, insects, fish, and crawfish) within a 300 air-mile radius from where the on-duty time of the driver begins. The regulations must: (1) exclude from the driver's on-duty time certain activities, such as loading or unloading a commercial motor vehicle; (2) change the driving time requirement to a maximum of not less than 15, and not more than 18, hours within a 24-hour period; (3) permit the driver to take one or more rest periods during the trip, which shall not be included in the calculation of the driving time; (4) require the driver, after completion of the trip, to take a rest break for a period that is five hours less than the maximum driving time; (5) exclude from the calculation of the driving time up to two additional hours, if the driver is within 150 air-miles of the point of delivery; and (6) make inapplicable the requirement that the driver take a 10-hour rest period before driving.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2018
Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States Act or the STATES Act This bill eliminates regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act for marijuana-related conduct and activities that are authorized by state or tribal law, subject to specified exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2018
Counting Our Unexpected Natural Tragedies' Victims Act of 2018 or the COUNT Victims Act This bill directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to contract with the National Academy of Medicine to conduct a study of matters concerning best practices in mortality counts as a result of a major disaster. A report on the study must be completed and transmitted to FEMA within two years after the contract date of September 30, 2018. The study shall address approaches to quantifying mortality and significant morbidity among populations affected by major disasters and shall include best practices and policy recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2018
International Human Rights Defense Act of 2018 This bill establishes in the Department of State a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex) Peoples who shall serve as the principal State Department advisor regarding human rights for LGBTI people and represent the United States in diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights of LGBTI people. The special envoy shall periodically provide Congress with a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTI people. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development may provide assistance to prevent and respond to such activities against LGBTI people. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended to require that annual country reports on human rights practices include information on criminalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2018
Bus Operator and Pedestrian Protection Act This bill requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to require public transportation safety grant recipients that operate fixed route bus service to: (1) develop a risk reduction program for bus operations to improve safety by reducing the number and rates of accidents, injuries, assaults on bus operators, and fatalities; (2) submit the program, including the implementation plan required by this bill, to DOT for review and approval; and (3) implement the program and plans approved by DOT. The recipient of a public transportation safety grant shall report to DOT, for inclusion in the National Transit Database, any information on each assault on an public transportation vehicle operator.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2018
Coral Reef Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2018 This bill addresses the conservation and sustainability of coral reef ecosystems, including by reauthorizing and expanding the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000; authorizing the Department of the Interior to conduct activities to conserve coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems within national parks, national wildlife refuges, national monuments, and other federal land under its jurisdiction; authorizing Interior to offer financial assistance grants for coral reef conservation projects; establishing the Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies Program; directing the Department of Commerce to develop national guidelines for man-made structures that are suitable as artificial reef habitat for coral and other associated marine species; and ensuring that Commerce places an emphasis on stock assessments for fisheries associated with coral reefs.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2018
Minorities in Aviation Education Act of 2018 This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration to establish the Bessie Coleman Aviation Education Program to improve the preparation and representation of students, particularly women and minorities, in aviation-related fields.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2018
Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections for Separated Children Act or the HELP Separated Children Act This bill sets forth Department of Homeland Security apprehension procedures with respect to children involved in immigration enforcement actions, including detention center access to courts, welfare agencies, and consular officials.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2018
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Best Practice Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the National Institutes of Health to: (1) expand research regarding prenatal opioid exposure and neonatal abstinence syndrome, and (2) establish best practices for screening and treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2018
Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act This bill prohibits the Bureau of Land Management from administering an oil and gas leasing, development, production, and transportation program in and from the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2018
Providing Officers With Electronic Resources Act or the POWER Act This bill authorizes the Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services to make grants to law enforcement agencies to purchase a chemical screening device and to train personnel to use, and intercept data collected by, such device.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2018
Reaffirms the House of Representatives' commitment to ensuring that American educational systems prepare all students for college and careers regardless of their race, color, or national origin.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2018
Food Security Improvement Act of 2018 This bill amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to require Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) benefits to be calculated using a low-cost food plan. The Department of Agriculture must determine the requirements for the low-cost food plan using the diet described in the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion's publication entitled "The Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans, 2007" and adjustments specified in this bill. The bill revises the amounts of nutrition assistance block grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa and requires the amounts to be modified based on adjustments to the low-cost food plan.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2018
Recognizes the fourth anniversary of the Chibok girls kidnapping and calls for the release of all Boko Haram captives, especially the remaining Chibok girls and Leah Sharibu. Acknowledges U.S. and Nigerian efforts to defeat Boko Haram. Requests that the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development create a plan to address the needs of women and girls adversely impacted by extremism and conflict. Commends the swift enactment of the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017.
![Official portrait of Rep. Soto, Darren [D-FL-9]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/115_rp_fl_9_soto_darren_200.jpg)