United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2017
Welfare of Our Friends Act of 2017 or the WOOF! Act This bill amends the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit the Department of Agriculture (USDA) from licensing a dealer of dogs whose previous licenses have been suspended or revoked in the last 10 years if the license is for operating a facility that the dealer previously used. Further, USDA may not issue or renew a license to: (1) the dog dealer's immediate family members, (2) a person who resides at the same address as the dog dealer, or (3) certain legal entities if such dealer holds an ownership interest in the entity.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2017
Supports community-oriented policing and encourages efforts to increase the hiring and retention of diverse law enforcement officers within law enforcement agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2017
This bill makes all veterans enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system eligible for VA-provided dental services by removing certain dental service restrictions. The bill phases in eligibility over four years based upon existing eligibility, degree of service-connected disability or other disability, prisoner of war status, award of a Purple Heart, financial need, or VA health care eligibility.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2017
Continuing Community Health and Medical Professional Programs to Improve Our Nation and Keep Insurance Delivery Stable Act of 2017 or the CHAMPION KIDS Act of 2017 This bill extends funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), community health centers, and other specified public health programs, and otherwise modifies provisions related to Medicaid, CHIP, and public health.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Sustainable Energy Development Reform Act This bill addresses sustainable energy development, including to (1) increase royalty rates and penalties for oil and gas leasing; (2) increase the amount of renewable energy on public land and waters; (3) prepare and manage for the impacts of climate change; (4) revise the onshore and offshore fossil fuel leasing, exploration, and development program; and (5) include the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System and reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Having Open Access to Relevant Data Act or the Hoard Act The bill requires the Department of the Interior to submit to Congress a report on the number and age of unused approved oil and gas drilling permits and the average cost to the Bureau of Land Management of approving such permits.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2017 This bill amends the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 to reauthorize for FY2019-FY2023 the national harmful algal bloom and hypoxia program and the action strategy of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia. (Hypoxia is a deficiency of oxygen.) The task force must include a representative from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Each required scientific assessment of harmful algal blooms in coastal waters must examine freshwater harmful algal blooms that originate in freshwater lakes or rivers and migrate to coastal waters. In administering the program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must provide: (1) grants for accelerating the utilization of effective methods of intervention and mitigation to reduce the frequency, severity, and impacts of harmful algal bloom and hypoxia events; and (2) technical assistance to regional state, tribal, and local governments with respect to harmful algal blooms and hypoxia events. NOAA must use cost effective methods in carrying out the Act and develop contingency plans for the long-term monitoring of hypoxia. Federal officials may determine whether a harmful algal bloom or hypoxia event is an event of national significance and give funding to the affected state or local government for assessing and mitigating the detrimental environmental, economic, subsistence use, and public health effects of an event of national significance.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2017
Veteran Treatment Court Coordination Act of 2017 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that veterans treatment courts are a successful program aimed at helping veterans charged with non-violent crimes receive the help and the benefits to which they are entitled. The Department of Justice (DOJ) shall establish a Veteran Treatment Court Program to provide assistance to state circuit court systems that have adopted or filed a notice of intent to establish such a program. The DOJ program shall include veterans treatment court grant programs carried out pursuant to laws establishing other incarceration alternatives programs.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2017
Protecting Benefits for Disabled Veterans Act of 2017 This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to determine a veteran with a service-connected disability has a total disability based on his or her ability to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment as a result of the disability.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2017
Admiral Lloyd R. "Joe" Vasey Pacific War Commemorative Display Establishment Act This bill authorizes the Pacific Historic Parks to establish and maintain a commemorative display to honor the members of the U.S. Armed Forces and Allies who served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Federal funds may not be used to design, procure, prepare, install, or maintain the commemorative display, but the National Park Service may accept and expend contributions of nonfederal funds and resources for such purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2017
National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2017 This bill amends the National Sea Grant College Program Act to reauthorize through FY2023 the National Sea Grant College Program. The bill requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to award Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowships. Currently, NOAA has discretion in awarding such fellowships. Those fellowships support the placement of graduate students in fields related to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources in positions with the executive and legislative branches. NOAA must establish priorities for the use of donations given for the National Sea Grant Program. An agency may appoint a recipient of a Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship to a federal position within five years after such recipient successfully completes a fellowship. The bill authorizes through FY2023 grants for university research on: (1) the biology, prevention, and control of aquatic nonnative species; (2) oyster diseases, oyster restoration, and oyster-related human health risks; (3) the biology, prevention, and forecasting of harmful algal blooms; and (4) sustainable aquaculture techniques and technologies. The bill also authorizes through FY2023 grants for: (1) fishery extension activities conducted by sea grant colleges or sea grant institutes to enhance existing core program funding; and (2) priority issues identified in the National Sea Grant Program's strategic plan.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2017
Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2017 This bill modifies various provisions of federal firearms laws. Among other things, it does the following: prohibits certain firearm transfers between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check; and requires states to implement plans to improve the submission of mental health and criminal history records to the national instant criminal background check system.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
Recognizes and encourages the observance of Small Business Saturday. Supports efforts to: (1) encourage consumers to shop locally, and (2) increase awareness of the value of locally owned small businesses and the impact of such businesses on the U.S. economy.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2017
LWCF Parity for Territories and DC Act This bill repeals the requirement that the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands be deemed as one state, receiving, of the amounts apportioned as financial assistance from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for state purposes, shares in proportion to their populations.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2017
Security and Financial Empowerment Act of 2017 This bill sets forth various provisions to promote the safety and security of survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, Among other things, the bill does the following: requires employers to provide up to 30 days of safe leave in a 12-month period; and prohibits states from imposing additional restrictions on eligibility for unemployment compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2017
Dialysis Patient Access to Integrated-care, Empowerment, Nephrologists, Treatment, and Services Demonstration Act of 2017 or the Dialysis PATIENTS Demonstration Act of 2017 This bill establishes a demonstration program for the provision of integrated care to Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Under the voluntary program, eligible participating providers may form organizations to offer ESRD integrated care models and serve as medical homes for program-eligible beneficiaries. Such a model: (1) shall cover medical and hospital services, other than hospice care, under Medicare; (2) must include benefits for transition into transplantation, palliative care, or hospice; and (3) may cover prescription drug benefits. An organization must offer at least one open network model but may also offer one or more preferred network models. An organization shall return savings achieved under the models to program-eligible beneficiaries. A beneficiary shall have the opportunity to: (1) opt out of the program, (2) make an assignment change into an open network model offered by a different organization, or (3) elect a preferred network model. The bill establishes requirements regarding: (1) benefits for program-eligible beneficiaries who are also eligible for Medicaid benefits, (2) program quality and reporting, (2) ESRD integrated care strategy, (3) program operation and scope, (4) beneficiary notification, and (5) payment. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission must, before 2025, submit to Congress an interim report on the program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2017
Recognizes that prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV is critical to stopping the spread of HIV worldwide, and that the fight to eliminate pediatric HIV worldwide has been a priority for more than 13 years. Supports providing women with HIV counseling and testing services and scaling up pediatric treatment of HIV.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2017
Congressional Sexual Harassment Training Act This bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to require each employing office under the Act to ensure that its covered employees enroll in the Office of Compliance's program of education that informs employees of the rights provided under the Act against sexual harassment: (1) within 60 days after first becoming an employee; (2) for existing employees, within 90 days after enactment of this bill; and (3) every two years.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2017
USS Indianapolis Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the House of Representatives and the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design to the crew of the USS Indianapolis, in recognition of their perseverance, bravery, and service. Following the award of the gold medal, it shall be given to the Indiana War Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, where it will be displayed and made available for research. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the Indiana War Memorial Museum should make the gold medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at other locations and events associated with the USS Indianapolis.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Digital Coast Act This bill requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a constituent-driven Digital Coast program. (This program currently exists under NOAA to provide data, tools, and training that communities use to manage their coastal resources.) The program must: (1) provide an online resource that integrates geospatial data, decision-support tools, training, and best practices to address coastal management issues and needs, and to enhance resilient communities, ecosystem values, and coastal economic growth and development; and (2) provide for the documentation, dissemination, and archiving of the data. NOAA must focus on filling data needs and gaps for critical coastal management issues and support continued improvement in existing efforts to coordinate the acquisition and integration of key data sets needed for coastal management, and other purposes. NOAA may enter into financial agreements to carry out the program. NOAA may enter into contracts with private sector entities as may be necessary to collect, process, and provide remote sensing and other geospatial data and products. Additionally, NOAA may establish public tools that are capable of tracking ocean and Great Lakes economy data for each coastal state.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Equal Access to Quality Education Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Education to award competitive matching grants to partnerships between high-need local educational agencies and institutions of higher education to establish or support: (1) teacher preparation programs, and (2) teacher induction and retention programs.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Recognizes the celebration of Filipino American History Month as: a study of the advancement of Filipino Americans; and a time to renew efforts toward the research and examination of history and culture so as to provide an opportunity for all people of the United States to learn more about Filipino Americans, and to appreciate the historic contributions of Filipino Americans to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
2020 American Census Investment Act This bill provides FY2018 appropriations to the Bureau of the Census, including: (1) $300 million for Current Surveys and Programs, and (2) $1.635 billion for Period Censuses and Programs.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2017
Student Loan Refinancing and Recalculation Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Department of Education to establish a program to refinance the outstanding principal, interest, and late charges on Federal Direct Loans (DLs) and Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) in order to give a borrower a fixed interest rate equal to the 10-year Treasury note rate plus one percentage point. In addition, the bill allows borrowers in medical or dental internship or residency programs to defer student loan payments until the completion of their programs.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Keep America's Refuges Operational Act This bill amends the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 to reauthorize through FY2022: (1) the volunteer services, community partnerships, and national wildlife refuge education programs of the National Wildlife Refuge System; and (2) provisions authorizing the Department of the Interior to accept and use gifts, devises, or bequests of real and personal property for the benefit of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the performance of its activities and services. The bill eliminates the prohibition on the use for the operation or administration of any nonfederal entity of any federal funds that are used for a project or program for a national wildlife refuge or a complex of geographically related refuges under a cooperative agreement between Interior and a partner organization, academic institution, state or local government agency, or other person under the community partnerships program.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Encourages the observance of National Wildlife Refuge Week. Acknowledges the importance of national wildlife refuges for their recreational opportunities and contribution to local economies. Reaffirms support for wildlife conservation and the National Wildlife Refuge System.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2017
Requests the President and directs the Department of the Interior to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of all documents and communications that refer or relate to Executive Order 13792, dated April 26, 2017, which requires Interior to review designations or expansions of certain national monuments under the Antiquities Act since 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2017
Housing for Survivors of Sex Trafficking Act This bill amends the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 to include sex trafficking victims as eligible participants in the transitional housing assistance grant program. The bill permits a grant recipient to condition the receipt of benefits or the provision of housing on a program participant's involvement in certain activities, including confidential counseling and evaluations, as necessary to ensure the accurate placement of the victim in the program.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2017
Gold Star Family Support and Installation Access Act of 2017 This bill directs the appropriate military department to issue a standardized Gold Star Installation Access Card to the widow and dependent children of a deceased member of the Armed Forces to allow them to gain unescorted access to military installations to attend memorial events, visit gravesites, and obtain on-installation services and benefits. The Department of Defense shall prescribe regulations to provide that a surviving spouse of a deceased member, regardless of martial status, who has guardianship of dependent children of the deceased member, is entitled to use commissary stores and MWR retail facilities to the same extent and on the same basis as the unremarried spouse of a member of the uniformed services.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
College Student Hunger Act of 2017 This bill amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to expand the eligibility of students to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) to include individuals enrolled in an institution of higher education who: (1) have an expected family contribution of zero, as determined by the procedures established the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA); or (2) are determined to be independent based on specified criteria included in the HEA.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
Housing for Survivors of Sex Trafficking Act This bill amends the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 to include sex trafficking victims as eligible participants in the transitional housing assistance grant program. The bill permits a grant recipient to condition the receipt of benefits or the provision of housing on a program participant's involvement in certain activities, including confidential counseling and evaluations, as necessary to ensure the accurate placement of the victim in the program.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
National Health Service Corps Strengthening Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to extend through FY2022 and make appropriations for enhanced funding for the National Health Service Corps.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
This bill amends the Federal Credit Union Act to exclude loans made to veterans from the definition of a "member business loan," thus excluding them from the limit on the total amount of member business loans a credit union may have outstanding.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
Filipino Veterans Fairness Act of 2017 This bill deems certain service performed before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Scouts to be active military service for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA shall, in determining eligibility under this bill, take into account any relevant service documentation, including documentation other than the Missouri List (the list of all discharged and deceased veterans from the 20th century). The VA shall report to Congress annually regarding the number of individuals applying for benefits, and the number approved, during the previous year.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
Amends Rule XIV (Order and Priority of Business) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require (on the first legislative day of each month) a reading of the names of members of the Armed Forces who died in the previous month as a result of combat. Prohibits the Speaker of the House from reading the name of any such member if any family member informs the Speaker that he or she does not wish to have the name of that individual read.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
Authorizes the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for the unveiling of the American Prisoners of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Chair of Honor.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2017
Transportation Infrastructure for Job Creation Act This bill provides $7.5 billion in supplemental FY2017 appropriations to the Department of Transportation to remain available through FY2022 for national infrastructure investments under a competitive grant program commonly known as the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. The funding provided by this bill is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. The emergency funding is exempt from discretionary spending limits and is only available if the President subsequently designates the amounts as an emergency and submits the designation to Congress. The bill also exempts the funding from sequestration. (Sequestration is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals.)
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2017
Professional Pell Education Learning or the PROPEL Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow federal Pell Grants to be utilized at educational programs that consist of vocational or technical training, flight training, apprenticeship, or other on-job training. In addition, the bill modifies the eligibility requirements under the Federal Pell Grant program for the vocational and training programs, including allowing such programs to be unaccredited.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Common Sense Opportunities Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education (ED) to inform each entity operating programs under the federal TRIO programs (programs designed to identify and provide services for students from disadvantaged backgrounds) of the status of their application for continued funding at least four months (currently eight) prior to the expiration of the funding. The bill establishes a process for applicants to resubmit an application for a grant or contract for higher education resources or student assistance when the application contains a technical error. The bill prohibits ED from rejecting an application solely because it contains a technical error, unless ED notifies the applicant of the error and the applicant does not correct it by the resubmission deadline. ED must submit an annual report that: (1) identifies each entity that received a grant or contract for higher education resources or student assistance and indicates the amount of the grant or contract; and (2) identifies each entity that applied for, but did not receive, such grant or contract and indicates the reason for the rejection of the application. ED must set forth the information separately for each state and local educational agency in the report.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2017
Major General Tim Lowenberg National Guard Cyber Defenders Act This bill allows certain military reserve components, including a reserve assigned or attached to a reserve component cyber civil support team, to perform duties to prepare for or respond to any emergency involving an attack or natural disaster impacting a computer, electronic, or cyber network. By September 30, 2022, each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands shall have an operational reserve component cyber civil support team composed of reserve component members of the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2017
Commemorates the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Air Force as an independent military service. Honors and commends the achievements of the Air Force in serving and defending the United States through global vigilance, global reach, and global power.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2017
Condemns North Korea's threats against Guam. Reaffirms the U.S. commitment to Guam's security and its U.S. territorial waters. Supports evaluating needed investments in defensive capabilities to further safeguard Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Alaska, and Hawaii. Reaffirms U.S. support for forward deployment of missile defense systems to protect the territorial integrity of the United States and its Asia-Pacific allies. Urges enhanced strategic diplomatic engagement and military cooperation by the United States to address the growing North Korean threat. Demands that the international community fully enforce sanctions against the North Korean regime. Condemns any further escalation that endangers Guam and our citizenry or that could lead to a military conflict with North Korea.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Home Visiting Works Act of 2017 This bill reauthorizes through FY2022 the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration. In addition, the bill increases, from 3% to 6%, the percentage of program funds set aside for Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Finally, the bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to exempt the program from sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Presidential Pardon Transparency Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Justice, not later than three days after the President grants any reprieve or pardon for an offense against the United States, to publish in the Federal Register and on the President's official website the name of the person pardoned, the full text of the reprieve or pardon, and the date it was issued.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Birth Control Privacy Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit wellness programs from sharing with employers personally identifiable information related to employees' use of contraceptives.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
VA Staffing and Vacancies Transparency Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to publish and update monthly on a publicly available VA website, for each VA component and Veterans Health Administration medical facility, the number of: personnel encumbering positions; accessions and de-accessions of personnel during the preceding month; vacancies, by occupation; and active job postings that have been filled during the preceding 30 days, including the length of time for which each position was posted prior to being filled. The Inspector General of VA must review and make recommendations for improving the administration of the website semiannually. The VA shall report to Congress annually on the steps it is taking to achieve full staffing capacity.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2017
Dream Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to cancel removal and grant lawful permanent resident status on a conditional basis to an alien who is inadmissible or deportable or is in temporary protected status who: (1) has been continuously physically present in the United States for four years preceding this bill's enactment; (2) was younger than 18 years of age on the initial date of U.S. entry; (3) is not inadmissible on criminal, security, terrorism, or other grounds; (4) has not participated in persecution; (5) has not been convicted of specified federal or state offenses; and (6) has fulfilled specified educational requirements. DHS shall cancel the removal of, and adjust to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence on a conditional basis, an alien who was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status unless the alien has engaged in conduct that would make the alien ineligible for DACA. DHS may not: (1) grant conditional permanent resident status without the submission of biometric and background data, and completion of background and medical checks; and (2) disclose or use information provided in applications filed under this bill or in DACA requests for immigration enforcement purposes. The bill prescribes the conditions under which DHS: (1) may terminate a person's conditional permanent resident status, and (2) shall adjust a person's conditional status to permanent resident status. The bill: (1) sets forth documentation requirements for establishing DACA eligibility, and (2) repeals the denial of an unlawful alien's eligibility for higher education benefits based on state residence.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2017
Recognizes the role of Latinos in protecting and preserving U.S. land, water, and wildlife. Supports the engagement of Latinos in environmental protection and conservation efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2017
REAL ID Act Modification for Freely Associated States Act This bill amends the Real ID Act of 2005 to make a citizen of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau who has been admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant pursuant to a Compact of Free Association between the United States and the Republic or Federated States eligible for a driver's license or personal identification card. Under current law, a citizen of those countries is eligible for a temporary driver's license or personal identification card.
![Official portrait of Del. Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [D-GU-At Large]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b001245_200.jpg)