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 · 25 October 2017
State Public Option Act This bill allows residents not already eligible for Medicaid who are not concurrently enrolled in other health insurance coverage to buy into a state Medicaid plan beginning January 1, 2018. The bill makes such buy-in coverage eligible for premium subsidies and reduced cost sharing under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shall develop standardized, state-level metrics of access to, and satisfaction with, providers for individuals enrolled in state Medicaid plans. Primary care services furnished under Medicaid by certain providers must be paid at a rate that is not less than the rate under Medicare part B. Beginning in FY2019, the Department of Health and Human Services may award grants to states for the purpose of improving access to services for individuals enrolled in state Medicaid plans. The bill provides the enhanced federal medical assistance percentage to every state that expands Medicaid coverage for individuals who are newly eligible under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, regardless of when such expansion takes place.
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 · 24 October 2017
This bill provides that the Department of Veterans Affairs per diem payment calculation for an entity receiving homeless veterans shelter grants for a homeless veteran who has care of a minor dependent while receiving services from such entity shall be the sum of the daily cost of care for the veteran plus, for each minor dependent, an amount that equals 50% of the veteran's daily cost of care.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2017
Protect Access to Birth Control Act This bill nullifies interim final rules issued by the Department of Labor, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Health and Human Services that allow employers with religious or moral objections to be exempt from the requirement in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to cover contraceptive services without cost-sharing.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Keep Americans Safe Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly transfer, possess, import, or bring into the United States a large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). It permits the continued possession of a grandfathered LCAFD. Additionally, the bill does not prohibit, with respect to an LCAFD: manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; transfer or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both. Newly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification that clearly shows the device was manufactured after this bill's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2017 This bill prohibits a person from transporting a horse in interstate commerce in a motor vehicle (except a vehicle operated exclusively on rail or rails) containing two or more levels stacked on top of one another. The bill prescribes civil penalties for knowing violations of such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Competitive Need Limitations Modernization Act of 2017 This bill amends the Trade Act of 1974 to revise the competitive need limitation review process by: (1) modifying the deadline for the review process, and (2) establishing the relevant domestic production time frame for such review as within the preceding three years (currently on January 1, 1995). (The competitive need limitation terminates duty-free treatment with respect to articles from a beneficiary developing country if certain import limits are exceeded.)
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
75th Anniversary of the End of World War II Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 coins, 500,000 $1 coins, and 750,000 half-dollar coins in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. The coins shall be emblematic of the sacrifices made by millions of people of the United States 75 years ago in bringing an end to World War II. The design on each coin shall represent the World War II Victory Medal, which was awarded to all 16 million U.S. military personnel who served from December 7, 1941, to December 31, 1946. The bill requires all sales of such coins include specified surcharges, which shall be paid by Treasury to the congressionally designated National WWII Museum to fund its educational mission of telling the story of the U.S. experience in World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
Multiple Firearm Sales Reporting Modernization Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to broaden existing reporting requirements with respect to multiple sales or dispositions of certain firearms to an unlicensed person within five business days. Under current law, the reporting requirement applies to multiple sales or dispositions of pistols, revolvers, or any combination of pistols and revolvers. This bill makes the reporting requirement applicable to multiple sales or dispositions of any firearms.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2017 This bill directs the President to establish a five-year strategy to accelerate progress toward ending preventable child and maternal deaths within a generation and ensure healthy and productive lives for women and children. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) shall: (1) identify target countries with the greatest need and the highest burden of preventable child and maternal deaths, and (2) designate a current USAID employee serving in the Senior Executive Service or at the level of a Deputy Assistant Administrator or higher to serve concurrently as the Senior Coordinator for Child and Maternal Survival.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
NIE on Iranian Proxy Forces Act This bill requires the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to produce a National Intelligence Estimate on Iranian support of proxy forces in Syria and Lebanon and the threat such support poses to Israel, other U.S. regional allies, and specified U.S. interests. Not later than 60 days after the National Intelligence Estimate is completed, the President shall provide to Congress a strategy to prevent Iran from expanding its power in Syria and Lebanon.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
This bill amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to revise the quorum requirement for the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States to require the lesser of three members or the number of members holding office on the board (currently, at least three members) for there to be a quorum.
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
Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a trigger crank, a bump-fire device, or any part, combination of parts, component, device, attachment, or accessory that is designed or functions to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle but not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a machine gun. The bill does not prohibit, with respect to such firearm accessories, the importation or manufacture for, sale or transfer to, or possession by a federal, state, or local government. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish detention standards for each facility at which aliens in DHS custody are detained. Such standards shall provide for at least the level of detainee protections described in the American Bar Association's Civil Immigration Detention Standards. A detained individual who is injured as a result of a violation of such standards may file a claim in U.S. district court. The bill: (1) provides for facility oversight and transparency, (2) phases out the use of private detention facilities and jails for such aliens, and (3) revises procedures for detaining aliens.
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 · 14 September 2017
Animal Emergency Planning Act of 2017 This bill amends the Animal Welfare Act to require research facilities, dealers, exhibitors, intermediate handlers, and carriers (covered persons) to develop, document, and follow a contingency plan to provide for the humane handling, treatment, transportation, housing, and care of their animals in the event of an emergency or disaster. The plan must: identify situations that the covered person might experience that would trigger the need to implement the measures identified in the plan; outline tasks to be carried out in response to emergencies or disasters; establish a chain of command and identify the individuals responsible for fulfilling the tasks; and address how response and recovery will be handled in terms of materials, resources, and training needed. Covered persons must review their plan at least annually, train personnel in their roles and responsibilities as outlined in the plan, and provide training when the plan changes.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Recognizes: (1) the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month; and (2) the integral role of Latinos and their manifold heritage in the economy, culture, and identity of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2017
Community Health Investment, Modernization, and Excellence 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 community health centers program.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2017
Comprehensive Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 2017 This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to revise requirements for disputes regarding consumer credit information reported by a consumer reporting agency (CRA). The bill prescribes requirements for: record maintenance by furnishers of credit information, CRA action when notified of inaccurate or incomplete information from furnishers, and injunctive relief for consumers in the event of noncompliance. The bill limits the circumstances in which a CRA may furnish a consumer report for employment purposes. No CRA may furnish a consumer report containing any adverse item of information relating to a delinquent or defaulted private education loan of a borrower who has a specified demonstrated history of loan repayment. The bill revises requirements relating to information contained in credit reports, requires removal of adverse information that resulted from specified fraudulent lending activity, and shortens the time period adverse information stays on reports. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) must issue final regulations for development of credit scoring models. CRAs must disclose free credit scores to consumers with their free annual consumer reports. Specified lenders must give consumers free copies of any consumer reports and credit scores they used for underwriting before consumers sign the respective loan agreements. The bill establishes requirements related to credit report sales, required disclosures, and credit freezes. The CFPB is directed to create a nationwide CRA registry.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2017
Supports the designation of National Family Service Learning Week to raise awareness about the importance of family service learning, family literacy, community service, and two-generational learning experiences.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2017
Medicare Buy-In and Health Care Stabilization Act of 2017 This bill makes a series of changes relating to health insurance options and costs. Among other things, the bill establishes a Medicare buy-in option for individuals aged 50 to 64, requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to negotiate drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries, and establishes an individual market reinsurance fund.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2017
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the application of Medicare competitive acquisition rates to complex, rehabilitative, manual wheelchairs and accessories. (A competitive bidding program has replaced the use of established fee schedule amounts to determine payments under Medicare for certain durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs.)
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2017
Protect DREAMer Confidentiality Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to protect individual application information submitted to DHS after June 15, 2012, as part of a request for consideration or reconsideration for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program from disclosure to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for any purpose other than implementing such program. Such information may be shared with national security and law enforcement agencies: (1) to identify or prevent fraudulent claims, (2) for national security purposes relating to an individual application, or (3) for the investigation or prosecution of a felony not related to immigration status. DHS may not refer an individual whose case has been deferred pursuant to the DACA program to ICE, CBP, the Department of Justice, or any other law enforcement agency.
United States · United States Congress · 15 August 2017
Special Counsel Independence Protection Act This bill sets forth requirements and limitations with respect to the removal from office of a special counsel appointed by the Attorney General, or of another official appointed by the Attorney General who exercises a similar degree of independence from the Department of Justice (DOJ) chain of command. Specifically, a special counsel or other appointed individual may be removed only if: (1) the Attorney General files an action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and files a contemporaneous notice of the action with Congress; and (2) the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issues an order finding misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or other good cause, including violation of DOJ policies.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Real Education for Healthy Youth Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in coordination with the Department of Education, to award grants for: (1) comprehensive sex education for adolescents, (2) comprehensive sex education provided by institutions of higher education, and (3) training faculty and staff to teach comprehensive sex education to adolescents. HHS must enter a contract with a nonprofit organization to evaluate and report on these grants. The bill makes appropriations to carry out the the bill. Grants may not be used for health education programs that: withhold health-promoting or lifesaving information about sexuality-related topics, including HIV; are medically inaccurate or have been scientifically shown to be ineffective; promote gender or racial stereotypes; are insensitive and unresponsive to the needs of certain youth, including survivors of sexual abuse or assault, sexually active youth, pregnant or parenting youth, or individuals with varying gender identities or sexual orientations; or are inconsistent with the ethical imperatives of medicine and public health. The bill amends the Public Health Service Act to revise requirements and eliminate prohibitions regarding the content of educational programs funded through the AIDS prevention program. The bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow funding to be used for: (1) materials or programs that promote or encourage sexual activity, and (2) contraceptive distribution in schools. The bill amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to repeal the program for abstinence education. Unobligated funds for abstinence education are transferred and made available to carry out this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Every Prescription Conveyed Securely Act This bill generally requires, with specified exceptions, electronic prescribing under the Medicare prescription drug benefit with respect to covered drugs that are controlled substances.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
American Hope Act of 2017 This bill amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to allow a state to extend higher-education benefits to state residents regardless of whether they are lawfully present in the United States. In addition, the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to cancel the removal, and adjust the status, of certain residents who entered the United States as children prior to 2017. An individual whose status has been so adjusted shall be considered to have obtained conditional permanent-resident status, valid for a period of eight years and subject to termination on the basis of specified deportable conduct. In order for an individual's conditional status to become permanent, the individual must timely file with DHS a petition indicating, among other specified information, that the individual has maintained conditional permanent-resident status for at least three years. Any period of time in which the individual was granted deferred action pursuant to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy shall count toward this three-year period. Information furnished by an individual in such a petition may not be used by an officer or employee of the United States to initiate removal proceedings. The bill also: (1) allows DHS to establish a competitive grant program for the provision of nonprofit assistance to eligible applicants for conditional permanent-resident status; (2) establishes the Presidential Award for Business Leadership in Promoting American Citizenship; (3) allows the Department of Education to develop an open-source, electronic English-learning program; (4) specifies requirements related to federal higher-education assistance for individuals with conditional permanent-resident status; and (5) requires the Government Accountability Office to report on specified data related to the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Expresses the sense of Congress that the federal income tax deductions for interest paid on debt secured by a first or second home and for property taxes should not be further restricted.
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 · 25 July 2017
Ensuring Access to Air Ambulance Services Act of 2017 This bill makes a series of changes relating to payment of air ambulance services under Medicare, including by establishing certain cost-reporting requirements for providers.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2017
Expresses the sense of Congress that: child safety is the first priority of custody and parenting adjudications, and courts should resolve safety risks and claims of family violence before assessing other best interest factors; quasi-scientific evidence should be admitted by courts only when it meets admissibility standards for scientific evidence; evidence from court-affiliated or appointed fee-paid professionals regarding adult or child abuse allegations in custody cases should be considered only when the professional possesses documented expertise and experience in the relevant types of abuse, trauma, and the behaviors of victims and perpetrators; states should define required standards of expertise and experience for appointed fee-paid professionals who provide evidence to the court on behaviors of abuse victims and perpetrators, specify requirements for the contents of such professional reports, and require courts to find that any appointed professionals meet those standards; states should consider models under which court-appointed professionals are paid directly by the courts, with potential reimbursement by the parties after due consideration of the parties' financial circumstances; and Congress should schedule hearings on family courts' practices with regard to children's safety and civil rights.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Student Opportunity Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of 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 .5 percentage point.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Affirms U.S. leadership and commitment to improving access to quality education for the poorest and most marginalized children and youth worldwide. Supports the mission and goals of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) to mobilize global and national efforts to contribute to the achievement of equitable, quality education and learning. Recognizes that U.S. investments in bilateral basic education are complemented by GPE's education systems approach and convening authority. Encourages continued commitment and investments by the U.S. government, international donors, private foundations, and private sector donors through the GPE to the global effort to promote children and youth attending school.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
President John F. Kennedy Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 silver coins in commemoration of President John F. Kennedy. The bill requires all sales of such coins to include a surcharge of $10 per coin, which shall be paid by Treasury to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation to support the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
LGBT Data Inclusion Act This bill requires federal agencies that collect information through a survey that includes demographic data (where subjects self-report information or a proxy provides information about the subject or responds for all persons in a household) to establish data standards that require: a determination of which existing data sets exclude information about sexual orientation and gender identity; an identification, and a use, of appropriate methods to include questions on sexual orientation and gender identity in surveys that facilitate categorization and voluntary participation and that preserve privacy and confidentiality; and a routine assessment of needed changes in survey methods related to asking such questions. Agencies that publish reports relying on survey demographic data must include information on sexual orientation and gender identity. Individuals shall not be: (1) required by this bill to disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity to an agency; or (2) subjected to fines or penalties for refusing to answer, or providing a false answer to, any survey question regarding gender identity or sexual orientation. Nothing in this bill shall be construed to permit the use of such collected information in a manner that would adversely affect an individual.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
Veteran Education Empowerment Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to make grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) or consortia of IHEs for the establishment, maintenance, improvement, and operation of veteran student centers. A veteran student center is a dedicated space on a campus that provides students who are veterans or members of the Armed Forces with: (1) a lounge or meeting space for themselves, their spouses or partners, and veterans in the community; (2) a centralized office for veteran services that serves as a single point of contact to coordinate veterans support services; and (3) comprehensive academic and tutoring services to veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2017
Marketplace Certainty Act This bill expands eligibility for additional cost-sharing reductions that apply to certain enrollees of qualified health plans.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 This bill revises education and related benefits provided to veterans, service members, dependents, and survivors. The bill amends the Post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance program to: remove certain time restrictions on program use; increase assistance for reservists, guardsmen, dependents, and surviving spouses and dependents; provide full eligibility for Post-9/11 Purple Heart recipients and certain reservists and guardsmen; provide an extra academic years' worth of benefits for STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) degree candidates; establish a five-year pilot program for high technology courses; restore eligibility for service members whose school closes in the middle of a semester; authorize funding to improve claims processing; permit assistance to be used at certain institutions that are not institutions of higher education; and pro-rate the housing stipend for reservists called to active duty. The bill authorizes the Edith Nurse Rogers STEM Scholarship to help veterans complete STEM degrees. The Yellow Ribbon program is extended to Fry Scholarship recipients (surviving dependents of service members who died on active duty) and certain Purple Heart recipients. (The Yellow Ribbon program helps veterans pay for higher education tuition and fee costs not covered by the Post-9/11 program.) The bill: (1) extends the Advisory Committee on Education, (2) increases survivors' and dependents' educational assistance, and (3) extends funding for state educational program approving agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Justice is Not For Sale Act of 2017 This bill requires federal, state, and local governments to directly operate and perform core services at adult prisons and detention centers. It reestablishes parole for eligible federal prisoners sentenced on or after January 1, 2017. (The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 eliminated parole for offenders convicted of federal crimes committed after November 1, 1987.) It requires financial service providers at prisons and detention centers to impose reasonable and proportional fees and charges for money transfer services. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must assess such fees or charges. The Federal Communications Commission must cap prison phone call rates and connection charges, require telecommunications providers to offer collect and debit account call services, restrict commission payments and ancillary charges, and require correctional facility administrators to allow more than one telecommunications provider. The bill eliminates the requirement for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to maintain at least 34,000 detention beds. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must establish alternatives to detention programs and determine detention bed capacity based solely on detention needs. DHS must conduct annual inspections and routine oversight of detention facilities. The bill prohibits family detention; requires alternatives to detention programs for detained family units; and prohibits separating a family to detain a family member, except to detain an alien parent who is dangerous and inadmissible on terrorism grounds. Finally, the bill establishes a private right of action for a person aggrieved by a violation of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Do No Harm Act This bill makes the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) inapplicable to federal laws (or implementations of laws) that: protect against discrimination or the promotion of equal opportunity, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, Executive Order 11246 (concerning equal employment opportunity), the Violence Against Women Act, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) rules entitled "Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity"; require employers to provide wages, other compensation, or benefits, including leave; protect collective activity in the workplace; protect against child labor, abuse, or exploitation; or provide for access to, information about, referrals for, provision of, or coverage for, any health care item or service. Under current law, RFRA prohibits the government from substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest when using the least restrictive means. The bill makes RFRA inapplicable to: (1) terms requiring goods, services, functions, or activities to be performed or provided to beneficiaries of government contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or awards; or (2) denials of a person's full and equal enjoyment of a government-provided good, service, benefit, facility, privilege, advantage, or accommodation. To assert a RFRA claim or defense in a judicial proceeding, the government must be a party to the proceeding.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
America's Call To Improve Opportunities Now for National Service Act or the ACTION for National Service Act This bill amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to reestablish the Corporation for National and Community Service as an independent executive agency called the National and Community Service Administration. An individual who successfully completes a term of full-time national service shall be entitled to a national service educational award equal to twice the amount of tuition for the institution of higher education where the individual is enrolled, not to exceed twice the average in-state tuition. Current law limits the award's value to the maximum amount of a Federal Pell Grant that an individual is eligible to receive in the aggregate. Within the administration, the bill establishes an interagency working group to evaluate specified issues related to: (1) eligibility for tuition and student loan repayment assistance with regard to participation in certain national or volunteer service programs, (2) the advisability of granting federal hiring preference to certain volunteer program participants, and (3) methods for increasing the participation of seniors in national service programs. The National Service Foundation, a nonprofit corporation established by the bill, shall accept and administer gifts made in connection with the administration. The bill expresses support for the authorization of appropriations sufficient to provide, within 10 years, volunteer service opportunities for at least 1 million volunteers in full-time national service annually. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude AmeriCorps educational awards from gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
21st Century STEM for Girls and Underrepresented Minorities Act This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Department of Education to provide grants to local educational agencies to encourage the ongoing development of programs and curricula for girls and underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and prepare those students to pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees and careers in such fields.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Citizenship Empowerment Act This bill requires state chief election officials to distribute mail voter registration forms to each person who becomes a U.S. citizen at a naturalization ceremony at the ceremony's conclusion.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of Defense should review exceptions to citizenship, residency, and disqualification standards for enlistment in the Armed Forces to make a determination regarding the enlistment of aliens who possess an employment authorization document issued under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program established by the Department of Homeland Security on June 15, 2012.
![Official portrait of Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/6809296b6c2e6631263de728_200.jpg)