United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2017
Chuck Osier Burial Benefits Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs, upon request and at U.S. expense, to furnish to a deceased individual in lieu a headstone or marker: (1) an urn to signify the individual's veteran status, in which such individual's remains may be placed at private expense; or (2) a commemorative plaque signifying the individual's veteran status. A "deceased individual" is an individual: (1) who served in the Armed Forces on or after April 6, 1917; (2) who is eligible for a headstone or marker or would be so eligible but for the date of the individual's death; and (3) whose remains were cremated and placed in a site of interment or inurnment other than a national cemetery, a state veterans' cemetery, a tribal cemetery, or a private cemetery.
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 · 7 November 2017
Higher Education Reform and Opportunity Act of 2017 This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make postsecondary education courses and programs, such as apprenticeship programs, that provide credits toward a postsecondary certification, credential, or degree eligible for federal student aid funding if the programs and courses are accredited by a state that has an alternative accreditation agreement with the Department of Education. The bill terminates loan forgiveness for borrowers under the income contingent repayment options for new loans made under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. An institution that receives federal student aid funding must pay a default rate fine that is based on the default rate of loans made to its students.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2017
Building Our Largest Dementia Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act or the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to award cooperative agreements to state and local health departments to expand activities related to Alzheimer's disease, including activities involving early detection, support for caregivers, and public awareness.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2017
Strengthening the Economy with Critical Untapped Resources to Expand American Energy Act or the SECURE American Energy Act Accessing Strategic Resources Offshore Act or the ASTRO Act This bill addresses offshore and onshore oil and gas resources on the outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and other federal lands. The bill amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to establish a revenue sharing framework to distribute revenues collected from oil and gas leasing on the OCS to certain states (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alaska). The bill also increases, for FY2029-FY2059, the amount of qualified OCS revenues available for distribution to Gulf producing states (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas). The bill limits the President's authority to prohibit oil and gas leasing on the OCS. Under the bill, the Department of the Interior must conduct wind lease sales on the OCS off the coast of California and Hawaii. Opportunities for the Nation and States to Harness Onshore Resources for Energy Act or the ONSHORE Act The bill allows states with an established permitting and regulatory programs to manage certain federal permitting and regulatory responsibilities for oil and gas development on federal lands within their borders. The bill amends the Mineral Leasing Act to provide a mechanism for states to receive their entitled percentage of sales, bonuses, royalties, and rentals for all public land or deposits located in the state. Interior must defer to state regulations, guidance, and permit requirements for all activities regarding hydraulic fracturing relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on federal land.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
Protecting Home Oxygen & Medical Equipment Access Act of 2017 or the Protecting HOME Access Act of 2017 This bill: (1) requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to delay by one year the full implementation of new Medicare payment rates for durable medical equipment, and (2) revises a Medicare budget-neutrality requirement related to oxygen. Under current law, the CMS may establish separate payment classes under Medicare for items of oxygen and related equipment only if doing so does not result in increased program expenditures. The bill provides an exception to this budget-neutrality requirement with respect to such items that are included in a competitive acquisition program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2017
Renewable Electricity Tax Credit Equalization Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credits for investments in energy property and for electricity produced from certain renewable resources, to extend both credits for the following facilities placed in service after 2008 with construction that begins before January 1, 2022: closed-loop biomass, open-loop biomass, geothermal, landfill gas, trash facilities, qualified hydropower facilities, and marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy facilities. The bill also includes a phase-out schedule that reduces the amounts of the credits by specified amounts that increase for facilities that are constructed or placed in service later.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2017
No Abortion Bonds Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose taxes on state, local, and tax credit bonds that are used to provide a facility owned or used (for any purpose) by an abortion provider for more than 30 days during a year in which interest is paid on the bond. An entity is not considered an abortion provider solely as a result of performing abortions if: (1) the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest; or (2) a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself. The Department of the Treasury may exempt certain hospitals from being considered an abortion provider by making the name of the hospital available on Treasury's public website.
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 · 12 October 2017
Securing All Livestock Equitably Act of 2017 or the SALE Act of 2017 This bill amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to require all livestock purchased by a dealer in cash sales and all inventories of, or receivables or proceeds from, such livestock to be held by the dealer in a trust until all unpaid cash sellers of the livestock have been paid. The bill exempts from the requirement any dealer whose average annual purchases of livestock do not exceed $500,000.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
VA Fairness in Hiring Act This bill provides that a covenant not to compete entered into by an individual with a non-Department of Veterans Affairs facility or employer shall have no force or effect with respect to the appointment of such individual to certain health care positions in the Veterans Health Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
United States Postal Service Shipping Equity Act This bill authorizes the mailing of alcoholic beverages by a covered entity in accordance with the delivery requirements otherwise applicable to a privately carried shipment. "Covered entity" is defined as an entity (including a winery, brewery, or beverage distilled spirits plant, or other wholesale, distributer, or retailer of alcoholic beverages) that has registered with, obtained a permit from, or obtained approval of an application from the Department of the Treasury pursuant to the Federal Alcohol Administration Act or the Internal Revenue Code provisions regarding alcohol, tobacco, and certain other excise taxes. The bill directs the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to prescribe regulations: (1) requiring such mailing to be through a means that ensures direct delivery to a duly authorized agent at a postal facility or to the addressee, who must be at least 21 years of age and present a valid, government-issued photo identification at the time of delivery; (2) prohibiting such alcoholic beverages from being for resale or any other commercial purpose; and (3) requiring such covered entity to certify that the mailing is not in violation of applicable laws or regulations and to provide other information as directed by the USPS, including with respect to the prepayment of state alcohol beverage taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2017
National Monument Creation and Protection Act This bill amends the Antiquities Act of 1906 to allow the President to declare by public proclamation an object or objects of antiquity (currently, historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest) that are situated on lands owned or controlled by the federal government to be national monuments. "Objects of antiquity" means relics, artifacts, human or animal skeletal remains, fossils, and certain buildings constructed before enactment of this bill. The bill prescribes limits on land that may be declared to be a national monument based on acreage, proximity to other national monuments, whether it has been reviewed by the Department of the Interior or Agriculture (USDA) under the National Environmental Policy Act, and whether it has been approved by each county and state within whose boundaries it will be located. Such limitation shall not apply to a designation made to prevent imminent and irreparable harm to the object or objects of antiquity to be protected. Such exception shall end after one year and may be used only once. The President may reduce the size of any declared national monument: (1) by 85,000 acres or less; or (2) by more than 85,000 acres only if the reduction has been approved by each county and state within whose boundaries the monument will be located and reviewed by Interior or USDA under the National Environmental Policy Act. The bill prohibits any land from being declared as a national monument in a configuration that would place nonfederally owned property within the monument without first obtaining the owners' written consent.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Access to Marketplace Insurance Act This bill requires health insurers to accept, on behalf of individuals enrolled in qualified health plans, cost-sharing payments made by certain third parties (e.g., state and federal government programs) and count such payments toward annual cost-sharing limitations. (Qualified health plans are eligible for subsidies and fulfill an individual's requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage.)
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 · 4 October 2017
Simplifying Technical Aspects Regarding Seasonality Act of 2017 or the STARS Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude seasonal employees from the definition of "full-time employee" for purposes of the employer mandate to provide employees with minimum essential health care coverage. The bill defines a "seasonal employee" as an employee who is employed in a position for which the customary annual employment is not more than six months and which requires performing labor or services that are ordinarily performed at certain seasons or periods of the year.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
Federally Integrated Species Health Act or the FISH Act This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to transfer the responsibility for administering the Act from the Commerce Department's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to the Department of the Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) with respect to anadromous species (species of fish that spawn in fresh or estuarine waters and that migrate to ocean waters) and catadromous species (species of fish that spawn in ocean waters and migrate to fresh waters). Under current law, the Act is administered by both the NMFS and the USFWS.
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 · 2 October 2017
Wildland Firefighter Recognition Act This bill requires the Office of Personnel Management to develop a distinct wildland firefighter occupational series. The series must apply to the following positions: forestry technician; range technician; other positions related to significant prevention, preparedness, control, suppression, or management activities for wildland firefighters; and other positions conducting activities necessary to meet any other emergency incident. The Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture must use the series in the advertising and hiring of a wildland firefighter. The bill requires an employee in a wildland firefighter occupational series to receive a pay differential based on the unusual physical hardship or hazardous nature of the position. An individual employed as a wildland firefighter on the date on which the occupational series takes effect may: (1) remain in the occupational series in which the individual is working, or (2) be included in the wildland firefighter occupational series.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
Help Ensure Lives are Protected Act of 2017 or the HELP Act of 2017 This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to impose a criminal penalty of life imprisonment or death on a person who commits a drug offense involving a specified quantity of heroin that contains a detectable amount of fentanyl or fentanyl that is represented to be or sold as heroin, if death or serious bodily injury results from the use of such substance.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
Organic Farmer and Consumer Protection Act of 2017 This bill amends the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 to reauthorize through FY2023 and modify the Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP). USDA must modernize the international trade tracking and data collection systems of the NOP, which must include ensuring that trade and transaction certificates are fully traceable without unduly hindering trade. The bill authorizes mandatory funding to be used for this purpose and for maintaining previous database and technology upgrades. The bill modifies requirements for recordkeeping, investigations, and enforcement with respect to the organic certification process to: allow parties to an active investigation to share confidential business information with government officers or employees and certifying agents involved in the investigation, require federal agencies that administer cross-border documentation systems to provide USDA with access to the data from the systems, allow the NOP to grant an accredited certifying agent the authority to require additional documentation or verification before granting certification, and require USDA to issue regulations limiting the type of operations that are excluded from certification. With respect to the accreditation process for certifying agents, the bill: (1) authorizes USDA to oversee and approve certifying agents operating in a foreign country, and (2) requires certifying agents that intend to operate in a foreign country to be annually authorized.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2017
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that persons present during a rendition of the national anthem, who are not in uniform or are not members of the Armed Forces or veterans, should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over their heart.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
This bill directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop guidelines regarding the use by the military departments and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of unofficial sources of information, including eyewitness statements, to determine the eligibility of a member or former member of the Armed Forces for benefits and decorations when the member's service records are incomplete because of damage from the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, or any subsequent incident while the records were in DOD's possession. DOD shall prepare the guidelines in consultation with the VA with respect to veterans benefits whose eligibility determinations depend on the use of service records maintained by DOD.
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 · 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
VHA REcruitment, HIring, and REtention Act of 2017 or VHA REHIRE Act of 2017 This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a VA Student Loan Repayment Program to assist the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) meet staffing needs for health professional occupations for which recruitment or retention of qualified personnel is difficult. A program participant must agree to serve as a full-time VHA employee for one year for every $10,000 of received benefits, with a minimum three-year commitment. Program assistance may be in addition to assistance available under the VA Educational Assistance Program. A participant in the VA Education Debt Reduction Program must agree to serve as a full-time VHA employee for at least three years. A physician, dentist, podiatrist, chiropractor, optometrist, registered nurse, physician assistant, or dental auxiliary must agree to serve at least two years as a full-time VA employee in order to receive certain bonuses or allowances. The VA shall offer employment to a qualified VHA applicant within 75 days after the last day applications are accepted for a position.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2017
Protecting Against Tyranny and Responsible Imports Act (PATRIA) of 2017 This bill prohibits the import of specified petroleum products from Venezuela until the President certifies to Congress that Venezuela has dissolved that country's Constituent Assembly and restored the National Assembly.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Endangered Species Transparency and Reasonableness Act This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) to require the Department of the Interior or the Department of Commerce, as appropriate, to make publicly available on the Internet, subject to privacy or administrative limitations, the best scientific and commercial data available that are the bases for the determination of whether a species is an endangered species or a threatened species, including each proposed regulation for the listing of a species.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Census Accuracy Act of 2017 This bill requires any questionnaire used in the decennial census to determine the total population by states to include: (1) a checkbox or other similar option for a respondent to indicate whether he or she is a U.S. citizen or U.S. national, is lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States, is an alien who otherwise has lawful status under the immigration laws, or is none of these; and (2) a question regarding which federal program or legal provision accorded the respondent such status.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Ruffey Rancheria Restoration Act of 2017 This bill restores federal recognition of the Ruffey Rancheria Tribe of California and federal rights and privileges of the Indian tribe and its members. It also makes the tribe and its members residing in the tribe's service area eligible for the federal services and benefits that are furnished to federally recognized Indian tribes and their members residing on a reservation. The Department of the Interior may place up to 441 acres of property located in Siskiyou County, California, into a trust for the benefit of the tribe. The land may be used for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act if certain requirements are met. Within a year of the bill's enactment, Interior must compile a membership roll of the tribe. The bill establishes criteria for enrolling members prior to the adoption of a tribal constitution. The bill sets forth a process for establishing an interim governing body until a new tribal constitution and bylaws are adopted, ratifying the constitution, and electing tribal officials.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Border Security for America Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) construct and operate infrastructure and technology to deter and detect illegal border activity in high traffic areas, (2) deploy the most practical and effective technology to achieve situational awareness and operational control of the border, (3) deploy additional capabilities to specified border sectors or regions, (4) submit a plan for evaluating and using independent verification and validation resources for border security technology, (5) establish a National Border Security Advisory Committee, (6) submit a southern border threat analysis, (7) implement the Border Security Deployment Program, (8) establish a biometric exit data system, and (9) begin eradicating the carrizo cane plant and any salt cedar along the Rio Grande River. The bill provides for: (1) U.S. Border Patrol personnel increases and infrastructure improvements, including forward base upgrades along the southern border; and (2) National Guard and Department of Defense border assistance. The bill: (1) prohibits federal agency restrictions on U.S. Customs and Border Protection activities on federal land within 100 miles of the border, (2) requires increases in immigration and law enforcement personnel and agricultural specialists, (3) authorizes appropriations for specified immigration purposes, and (4) requires electronic passport screening and biometric matching at airports of entry. The Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 is amended to provide for hiring flexibility. Operation Stonegarden is established as a DHS program to provide border security grants. This bill authorizes DHS to construct new ports of entry along the northern and southern borders.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Second Amendment Guarantee Act or the SAGA Act This bill prohibits a state or local government from establishing a regulation, prohibition, or registration or licensing requirement with respect to a rifle or shotgun that is more restrictive (or that imposes a greater penalty) than federal law.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
End Taxpayer Funded Cell Phones Act of 2017 This bill prohibits a provider of commercial mobile service or commercial mobile data service from receiving universal service support through the Lifeline program, which provides subsidies for discounts on monthly telephone or broadband service to qualifying low-income consumers. For 2018, telecommunications carriers must contribute to the universal service fund based on mobile service support provided in 2017. The amounts collected for mobile services must be used for deficit reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Sage-Grouse and Mule Deer Habitat Conservation and Restoration Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Interior to categorically exclude vegetative management activities that establish or improve habitat for greater sage-grouse and mule deer from environmental review requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Examples of vegetative management activities include restoring native vegetation following a natural disturbance or preventing the expansion of nonnative or invasive vegetation into such habitat. A categorical exclusion under NEPA is a category of actions which do not have a significant effect on the human environment and for which neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement is required. The bill prohibits the categorical exclusion from including: (1) activity conducted in a wilderness area or wilderness study area, or (2) activity for the construction of a permanent road or trail. Before commencing a vegetative management activity that is covered by a categorical exclusion, Interior must develop a long-term monitoring and maintenance plan, covering at least 20 years, to ensure that management of the treated area does not degrade the habitat gains secured by the vegetative management activity. Vegetative material resulting from vegetative management activity may be: (1) used for fuel wood or other products; or (2) piled or burned, or both. Native vegetative cover must be reestablished on a temporary road constructed in connection with a categorically excluded vegetative management activity in order to minimize soil erosion from areas disturbed by the temporary road.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Modernization of Medical Records Access for Veterans Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out in at least one Veterans Integrated Services Network a pilot program for at least a 12-month period during which veterans enrolled in the VA's patient enrollment system will use a portable medical records storage system to store and share with VA health care providers and community health care providers records of their individual medical histories. The VA shall seek to enter into a contract, using competitive procedures, with an appropriate entity to furnish such storage system. The bill specifies system requirements, including: (1) the capability to store at least four gigabytes of electronic health records on a physical device no larger than a credit card, and (2) the capability to be used by substantially all electronic health records systems certified by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT on or before January 1, 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2017
Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education Extension Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to extend and expand funding through FY2020 for graduate medical education programs at teaching centers (which train medical residents in primary care specialties). The bill allows funds to be used for maintaining, expanding, and establishing graduate medical residency programs.
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 · 24 July 2017
Modoc County Land Transfer and Economic Development Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture to convey, without consideration, to Modoc County, California, specified National Forest System land in Modoc National Forest which contains an obsolete Over-the-Horizon Backscatter Radar System receiving station. The purpose of such conveyance is to: (1) preserve and utilize the improvements constructed on such land, and (2) permit the county to use the conveyed property for economic development purposes. To expedite the conveyance, environmental remediation of such land by the Air Force shall be limited to the removal of the perimeter fence, which was treated with an arsenic-based weatherproof coating, and the treatment of the soil affected by the leaching of such chemical.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act or the ACE Kids Act This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to establish a state Medicaid option to provide for medical assistance with respect to coordinated care provided through a health home (i.e., a designated provider or team of health-care professionals) for children with medically complex conditions. A state shall make payments for such health-home services regardless of whether they are provided through a fee-for-service or managed-care system. For an initial period of eight fiscal-year quarters, the federal matching rate applicable to such payments shall be increased by 20 percentage points, not to exceed 90%. A state that exercises this option shall specify its methodology for determining payment and evaluating quality of care, in accordance with requirements established by the bill. In addition, the state must meet specified requirements regarding hospital referrals, out-of-state providers, education and outreach, data collection, and reporting. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must issue guidance on best practices for using out-of-state providers to provide care to children with medically complex conditions. The Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Payment and Access Commission must report to Congress and to the Department of Health and Human Services on specified matters related to children with medically complex conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Bob Dole Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Bob Dole in recognition for his service to the nation as a soldier, legislator, and statesman.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Honors the patriotism of, and contributions to the United States by, generations of veterans service organizations. Commends members of such organizations for their dedicated service to, and support of, members of the Armed Forces. Calls on the people of the United States to follow the example of such organizations by volunteering support and services to those who have served this country.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Honors the patriotism of, and contributions to the United States by, generations of veterans service organizations. Commends members of such organizations for their dedicated service to, and support of, members of the Armed Forces. Calls on the people of the United States to follow the example of such organizations by volunteering support and services to those who have served this country.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2017
Wounded Officers Recovery Act of 2017 This bill authorizes the Capitol Police Board to make payments from the United States Capitol Police Memorial Fund to employees of the U.S. Capitol Police who have sustained serious line-of-duty injuries. The board is required to issue specific regulations governing the fund's use for making such payments. These regulations shall ensure that the payments are in addition to, and do not otherwise affect, other forms of compensation payable to the employee, including worker's compensation benefits. The bill requires amounts received by the board in response to the shooting incident at the practice for the Congressional Baseball Game for Charity on June 14, 2017, to be deposited into the fund.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2017
ELD Extension Act of 2017 This bill delays for an additional two years the effective date of regulations implementing the requirement that a commercial motor vehicle involved in interstate commerce and operated by a driver subject to federal hours of service (HOS) and record of duty status regulations be equipped with an electronic logging device to improve vehicle operator compliance with HOS regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Refund Rights for Taxpayers Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend the statute of limitations for making a claim for a credit or refund for the overpayment of any tax, and (2) shorten the statute of limitations for a collection after the assessment of any tax. (Under current law, the statute of limitations for making a claim for a credit or refund is three years from the time the return was filed or two years from the time the tax was paid, whichever period expires later. If no return was filed by the taxpayer, the limit is two years from the time the tax was paid.) The bill extends this limit to seven years from the later of the time the return was filed or the tax was paid or, if no return was filed, seven years from the time the tax was paid. With respect to the statute of limitations for a collection after the assessment of any tax, the bill decreases the limit from 10 years to 7 years after the assessment of the tax.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Endangered Species Litigation Reasonableness Act This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to replace the current standard for awarding court costs, including attorney fees, in citizen suits with the federal judicial code standard for awarding costs to a prevailing party.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Hearing Protection Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code: (1) to remove silencers from the list of firearms subject to regulation under the National Firearms Act (NFA), and (2) to specify that a person who lawfully acquires or possesses a silencer under provisions of the federal criminal code meets the registration and licensing requirements of the NFA. Additionally, the bill amends the federal criminal code: to preempt state or local laws that tax or regulate firearm silencers, to exclude a muffler or silencer from the list of firearms subject to regulation, to eliminate mandatory minimum prison terms for a crime of violence or drug trafficking offense in which a defendant uses or carries a firearm equipped with a silencer, and to permit active and retired law enforcement officers to carry a concealed silencer.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Tribal Tax and Investment Reform Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to include Indian tribal governments in an annual allocation of a national tax-exempt bond volume cap. The bill repeals provisions that limit an Indian tribal government's eligibility to issue tax-exempt bonds or to be exempt from specified excise taxes to transactions involving the exercise of an essential government function customarily performed by state and local governments. The bill amends the IRC and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to treat employee benefit or pension plans maintained by Indian tribes and domestic relations orders issued pursuant to tribal law in the same manner as plans maintained by states and domestic relations orders issued pursuant to state law. The bill treats tribal charities and foundations in the same manner as charities and foundations funded and controlled by other governmental entities for purposes of the tax-exempt status of, and deduction for contributions to, such organizations. The bill amends the Social Security Act to give Indian tribes or tribal organizations access to the Federal Parent Locator Service if they are eligible for a grant to operate a child support enforcement program. It makes those tribes and tribal organizations eligible to participate in the program that collects past-due support from individual tax refunds. An Indian tribal government may determine whether a child has special needs for the purpose of the tax credit for the adoption of a child with special needs.
![Official portrait of Rep. LaMalfa, Doug [R-CA-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000578_200.jpg)