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
Requests the President and directs the U.S. Attorney General to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of any document or communication in their possession that refers or relates to: the firing of James B. Comey as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the participation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions in Comey's removal, the scope or application of Sessions's recusal from investigations of matters related to the presidential campaign and the application of such recusal to Comey's removal, the scope or application of executive privilege as applied to Sessions's testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on June 13, 2017, President Trump's Twitter statement on May 12, 2017, that "James Comey better hope that there are no tapes of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!", any system used by the White House to secretly record conversations between the President and Comey, and any contemporaneous account of meetings between such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2017
Supporting Working Moms Act of 2017 This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to extend the requirement that certain employers provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child to bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity employees or outside salesmen who are exempt from federal labor laws that limit the number of hours in a workweek.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2017 This bill amends various provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, including by: (1) expanding the types of actions that would justify a court retaining jurisdiction to prevent a state or political subdivision from using new devices to limit the right to vote; and (2) imposing notice requirements on a state or political subdivision that makes changes to voting procedures, polling-place resources, or district boundaries. The bill also changes the calculation for determining whether a state or political subdivision is subject to preclearance requirements (i.e., requirements for certain jurisdictions to receive preapproval from the Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before making legal changes that would affect voting rights).
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 · 13 July 2017
Refund Equality Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt certain same-sex couples who were legally married under state law from the three-year time limitation for filing: (1) a claim for a credit or refund of an overpayment of any tax, or (2) an election to file jointly after having filed separate returns. Certain legally married same-sex couples who were first treated as married for federal tax purposes by the application of the holdings of Revenue Ruling 2013-17 may file amended returns for previous years until the due date for the return for the year in which this bill is enacted. The bill applies only to amended returns and claims for a credit or refund that relate to a change in the marital status of the spouses. (In Revenue Ruling 2013-17, the Internal Revenue Service adopted a general rule recognizing, for federal tax purposes, the validity of a same-sex marriage that was valid in the state where it was entered into, regardless of the married couple's place of domicile.)
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2017
Zero Tolerance for Domestic Abusers Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to: state that the term "intimate partner" includes a dating partner and any other person subject to a protection order under state domestic or family violence law; and expand the term "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" to include the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, by a current or former intimate partner. The bill makes it a crime to knowingly sell or dispose of a firearm to a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of stalking. It also makes it a crime for such convicted stalker to receive or possess a firearm.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2017
CHampioning Apprenticeships for New Careers and Employees in TECHnology Act or the CHANCE in TECH Act This bill requires the Department of Labor to enter into competitive contracts with industry intermediaries to promote the development of and access to apprenticeships in the technology sector. The Department of Education may issue CHANCE in TECH Awards for 21st Century Schools to secondary schools or junior or community colleges that demonstrate high achievement in providing students necessary skills to compete in the 21st century workforce.
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
First Rhode Island Regiment Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to award a congressional gold medal to the First Rhode Island Regiment, collectively, in recognition of their service during the Revolutionary War. The Department of the Treasury is authorized to strike and sell bronze duplicates of such medal at a price sufficient to cover the costs of such medals.
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 Congress that the final rule issued on May 23, 2016, by the Department of Labor titled "Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees": (1) would provide more than 13 million workers with greater economic security, (2) was created through the legally valid exercises of the congressionally delegated authority of the Department of Labor under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, and (3) should be defended and enforced with due haste.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2017
Supports the designation of American Grown Flower Month. Recognizes that flowers grown in the United States support farmers, small businesses, jobs, and the economy; are a vital part of the U.S. agricultural industry; and enhance the ability of the people of the United States to celebrate holidays and special occasions. Urges all people of the United States to proactively showcase flowers and greens grown in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2017
Mental Health Awareness Semipostal Stamp Act This bill directs the United States Postal Service to issue and sell, at a premium, a Mental Health Awareness Semipostal Stamp. Use of this stamp must be voluntary for postal patrons. Proceeds from the sale of this stamp must be transferred to the National Institute of Mental Health to help fund mental illness research and suicide prevention programs. The stamp must be available to the public for at least six years.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2017
Widening Internet Readiness for Employment Development Act or the WIRED Act This bill amends the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to expand one-stop delivery system requirements to include online access. (One-stop delivery systems provide comprehensive career and employment training services.) The Department of Labor must establish certain standards and best practices for the provision of employment and training services through electronic means by one-stop delivery systems. The services provided online must include addresses, hours, and services of physical one-stop centers in a local area; incorporate social media and networking capabilities; be accessible to mobile devices; and provide other employment-seeking assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2017
Audit the Pentagon Act of 2017 This bill requires a .5% reduction in Department of Defense (DOD) discretionary budget authority if DOD has not submitted a financial statement by March 2 of a fiscal year for the previous fiscal year or such financial statement has not received an unqualified or qualified audit opinion by an independent auditor. This reduction does not apply to military, reserve, and National Guard personnel accounts or the Defense Health Program account. The bill permits the President to waive any reduction in DOD budget authority if the reduction would harm national security or military personnel deployed in combat zones.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2017
Expresses support for: (1) equal rights and protections for all people, regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity; and (2) the designation of LGBT Equality Day on June 26 to commemorate Supreme Court decisions handed down on that day in 2003, 2013, and 2015. Acknowledges the need for further legislation to ensure that people in the United States are free from all forms of discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Student Loan Interest Deduction Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the maximum tax deduction for interest paid on any qualified education loan to $5,000 ($10,000 for married couples filing a joint tax return), and (2) repeal the limitation on such deduction based upon modified adjusted gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Voter Empowerment Act of 2017 Voter Registration Modernization Act of 2017 This bill amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require states to make available online voter registration. The federal criminal code is amended to prohibit hindering, interfering with, or preventing voter registration. The Help America Vote Act of 2002 is amended to require states to promote access to voter registration and voting for individuals with disabilities. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must support pilot programs enabling individuals with disabilities to register and vote at their residences. The bill reauthorizes support for state and local governments to ensure voting access for individuals with disabilities. States must notify individuals convicted of a criminal offense under state law, upon release or upon sentence to probation, of their right to vote in federal elections. Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2017 This bill revises auditing requirements for voting systems. Voting systems must use individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots. The National Science Foundation must support the study and development of accessible ballot voting and best practices to enhance the accessibility of voting for certain individuals. With exceptions, states must audit federal election results. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is amended to extend the guarantee of voting residency to family members of absent military personnel. The EAC must support poll-worker recruitment and training and develop materials for a model program. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is amended to prohibit a chief state election administration official, unless the official or a family member is a candidate, from taking part in political management or in a political campaign for federal office over which the official has supervisory authority. The EAC is reauthorized and its exemption from certain contracting requirements is repealed.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
Strengthening Loan Forgiveness for Public Servants Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Department of Education (ED) to cancel 15%, 15%, 20%, 20%, and 30% of the amount a borrower owes after 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 years of public service employment, respectively, on a William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan made after this bill's enactment. (Currently, the balance of a borrower's Direct Loan is canceled if the borrower is not in default and has made 120 monthly payments on such loan while employed as a public service employee.) The bill: (1) requires borrowers availing themselves of such loan cancellation to submit an employment certification form that includes self-certification of employment and employer certification of employment dates, and (2) places the borrower's loan in deferment during the period in which the borrower is employed in an eligible public service job if the borrower submits such form to ED. If a portion of a loan is canceled for any year, the interest on such loan for such year must be canceled.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
Calls for an end to the dog and cat meat industry. Urges the governments of China, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, India, and all other nations to: (1) adopt and enforce laws banning the dog and cat meat trade, (2) increase efforts to prevent any leather or fur byproducts of such trade from entering international markets, and (3) use their food safety laws to crack down on the sale of dog and cat meat. Affirms the U.S. commitment to the protection of animals and to advancing the progress of animal protection around the world. Urges executive branch officials to include the dog and cat meat trade on the agenda for discussion with the officials of countries that have a dog or cat meat industry.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 390 West 5th Street in San Bernardino, California, as the "Jack H. Brown Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to allow a representative official of an Indian tribe, with authorization from the governing body of the tribe, to request one or more polling places to be located on tribal lands. The state or political subdivision shall provide each requested polling place at no expense to the Indian tribe if certain criteria are met. A federal court shall retain jurisdiction to enforce constitutional voting guarantees, but also certain violations of the Act as well as of any federal prohibition against discrimination on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group, for an appropriate period to prevent commencement of new devices to deny or abridge the right to vote. Any state (and all of its political subdivisions) shall be subject to certain requirements for a 10-year period if: 15 or more voting rights violations occurred there during the previous 25 years; or 10 or more violations occurred during the previous 25 years, at least one of which was committed by the state itself (as opposed to a political subdivision within it). A state or political subdivision that obtains a declaratory judgment that it has not used a device to deny or abridge the right to vote shall be exempt from such requirements unlessas specified. This bill prescribes transparency requirements regarding any changes to specified matters. Department of Justice authority to assign observers receives new extensions. Courts shall grant preliminary injunctive relief if a complainant raises a serious question whether the challenged covered practice violates the Act or the Constitution and, on balance, the hardship imposed upon the defendant by the relief will be less than the hardship on the plaintiff if the relief were not granted.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
This bill directs the United States Postal Service to issue and sell an Alzheimer's Disease Research Semipostal Stamp. Proceeds from the sale of the stamp must be transferred to the National Institutes of Health. The stamp must be made available to the public for six years.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Alzheimer's Caregiver Support Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to make grants to public and nonprofit private health care providers to expand training and support services for families and caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Fairness in Forgiveness Act of 2017 This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include as a public service job for purposes of the public service loan forgiveness program a full-time job as an employee of a management and operating contractor of a national laboratory owned by the Department of Energy. This bill and its amendments take effect as if enacted on October 1, 2007.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Deferment for Active Cancer Treatment Act of 2017 This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow borrowers to defer student loans while they are receiving cancer treatment and during the six months after treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Know Your Repayment Options Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education (ED) to annually give federal student loan borrowers who have graduated or departed from school detailed information, including monthly amount and lifetime payment amount, for each repayment option available to the borrower. To provide this individualized information to borrowers, ED must establish a process for annual verification of the borrower's annual income and the outstanding balance of principal and interest due on federal loans. Borrowers may opt out of being provided this information.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Remedial Education Improvement Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education to award grants for improving remedial education in higher education.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Community College Student Success Act This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to carry out a community college student success grant program that awards grants to public, two-year institutions of higher educations (IHEs) for planning and implementing programs designed to increase the rate at which their students graduate or transfer to a four-year IHE.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
This bill amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office, upon receiving a request from Congress, to determine if legislation would reduce spending outside of the 10-year budget window through the use of preventive health and preventive health services.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Schedules That Work Act This bill grants an employee the right to request that the employee's employer change the terms and conditions of employment relating to: the number of hours or times the employee is required to work or be on call; the location; the amount of notification the employee receives of work schedule assignments; and minimizing fluctuations in the number of hours the employee is scheduled to work on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The employer, if the request is made, shall engage in a timely, good faith interactive process with the employee that includes a discussion of potential schedule changes that would meet the employee's needs. The bill outlines the process for either granting or denying a change. The employer shall grant a request, unless there is a bona fide business reason for denying it, if the request is made because of the employee's serious health condition, the employee's responsibilities as a caregiver, or enrollment in a career-related educational or training program, or if a part-time employee requests such a change for a reason related to a second job. An employer, if an employee requests a change for any other reason, may deny it for any reason that is not unlawful. The employer shall give the employee the reason for the denial, including whether it was a bona fide business reason. The bill outlines employer requirements for paying reporting time and split shift pay and for giving advance notice of work schedules to retail, food service, or cleaning employees, or the Department of Labor's designated employees, except for those in bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacities. The bill makes it unlawful for any employer or other person to: (1) interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise or the attempt to exercise any right of an employee specified in this bill; (2) retaliate against an employee for exercising the rights granted employees by this bill; or (3) interfere with proceedings or inquiries with respect to violation of an individual's rights under this bill. The bill sets forth administrative enforcement procedures and civil remedies for violation of these prohibitions. Labor must give information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning compliance with this bill. The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of the Census shall: (1) include in the Current Population Survey questions on, among other things, the amount of fluctuation in the number of hours the employee is scheduled to work on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis; and (2) conduct at regular intervals the Contingent Worker Supplement, the Work Schedules and Work at Home Supplement, and other relevant supplements to the Current Population Survey. This bill is inapplicable to any employee covered by a bona fide collective bargaining agreement if its terms govern work scheduling practices.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2017
Expresses strong disapproval of the President's announcement to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change. Commends the group of states, cities, colleges and universities, businesses, investors, and individuals who have publicly expressed their support for such agreement. Urges the President to reverse his decision and maintain U.S. participation in such agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
Restore Honor to Service Members Act This bill requires appropriate military record correction boards or discharge review boards to review the discharge characterization of any former members of the Armed Forces requesting a review who were discharged because of their sexual orientation. Such boards to change a characterization to honorable if such characterization is any characterization except honorable. The Department of Defense (DOD) shall ensure that any such changes are carried out consistently and uniformly across the military departments using specified criteria, including that: (1) the original discharge was based on the policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell (as in effect before it was repealed pursuant to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010) or a similar earlier policy; and (2) the discharge characterization will be changed if, with respect to the original discharge, there were no aggravating circumstances that would have independently led to any discharge characterization except honorable. The bill prohibits "aggravating circumstances" from including: (1) an offense of sodomy committed by the member against a consenting person of the same sex; or (2) statements, consensual sexual conduct, or consensual acts relating to sexual orientation or identity, or the disclosure of such statements, conduct, or acts, that were prohibited at the time of discharge but that became permitted after such discharge. Each military department shall ensure that oral historians of the department: (1) review discharges between World War II and September 2011 based on sexual orientation, and (2) receive oral testimony of individuals who personally experienced discrimination and discharge because of actual or perceived sexual orientation so that such testimony may serve as an official record of such discriminatory policies and their impact on American lives. Specified military personnel records and discharge forms must be reissued in a manner that shall not reflect the sexual orientation of the member.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
Preserving Teacher Loan Forgiveness for Military Spouses Act of 2017 This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify the qualifying service requirement of the teacher loan forgiveness program for certain military spouses who are borrowers under the Federal Family Education Loan program or the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program. Under current law, an otherwise qualified full-time teacher must complete five consecutive years of service to be eligible for the teacher loan forgiveness program. This bill permits a teacher who completes five full-time years of non-consecutive service to be eligible for loan forgiveness if the teacher was a qualified military spouse during a break in teaching service. A qualified military spouse is an individual who: (1) is a highly-qualified teacher at a high-need school, (2) is the spouse of a servicemember, (3) experienced a break in teaching service to relocate with servicemember spouse pursuant to military orders, and (4) resumed teaching the following year.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
IDEA Full Funding Act This bill amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to reauthorize and make appropriations for the grant program to assist states and outlying areas in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities. The bill sets the amount to be appropriated for each fiscal year from FY2018-FY2026 as the greater of: (1) a specified amount, or (2) a specified percentage of an amount determined pursuant to a formula that multiplies the number of children receiving special education services by the average per-pupil expenditure in public elementary and secondary schools. The bill appropriates funds for FY2027 and each subsequent fiscal year equal to the greater of a specified amount or 40% of the amount determined using such formula. Amounts appropriated shall be expended consistent with pay-as-you-go requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2017
LGBT Pride Act This bill directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to take measures to increase the frequency of collection of information on the sexual orientation and gender identity of deceased individuals through the National Violent Death Reporting System.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2017
Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2017 This bill directs the chief election official of each state to establish and operate an automatic voter registration system for federal elections. The system shall obtain information about eligible voters from contributing state agencies, including all agencies required by federal law to provide voter registration services. The Election Assistance Commission shall make grants to assist states in implementing the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Disarm Hate Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to prohibit firearm sale or transfer to and receipt or possession by an individual who has: (1) been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor hate crime, or (2) received from any court an enhanced hate crime misdemeanor sentence. The term "convicted in any court of a misdemeanor hate crime" means a conviction for a misdemeanor offense that has, as an element, that the conduct was motivated by hate or bias because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person. The term "received from any court an enhanced hate crime misdemeanor sentence" means the imposition of an enhanced sentence for a misdemeanor that involves violence and is based, in whole or in part, on conduct motivated by hate or bias because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Advancing Competency-Based Education Act of 2017 This amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish competency-based education demonstration projects, which measure academic progress and attainment by the assessment of student learning in lieu of, or in addition to, credit or clock hours.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
America Votes Act of 2017 This bill amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to permit an individual required to present identification as a condition of voting in a federal election to meet the requirement by presenting a sworn written statement attesting to the individual's identification and that he or she is registered to vote in the election. An individual desiring to vote by mail may submit such a statement with the ballot. States with an identification requirement shall: (1) prepare a pre-printed version of the statement which includes a blank space for an individual to provide a name and signature, (2) make copies of the pre-printed version available at polling places, (3) include a copy of the pre-printed version with each ballot transmitted to an individual who desires to vote by mail, and (4) include the use of a sworn written statement in voting information posted at polling places. A state is prohibited from requiring an individual who presents or submits such a sworn written statement to cast a provisional ballot in the election. This bill does not apply to first-time voters registering by mail.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Relief and Investment for Student Entrepreneurs Act or the RISE Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow a qualified entrepreneur with a loan under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program to defer loan payments for up to 3 years. A "qualified entrepreneur" is a borrower who: (1) has received a degree during the 10-year period before the date of the deferment, (2) has at least one registered business entity, (3) has raised capital of not less than $30,000 for such business entity, and (4) has an outstanding loan balance of not less than $5,000. The Department of Education may cancel up to $17,500 of federal direct and unsubsidized Stafford loans for a borrower who: (1) has operated a small business located in a historically underutilized business zone for at least three years, and (2) is not currently in default on the loan.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Jumpstart on College Act This bill allows the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to improve low-income and underrepresented students' post-secondary graduation rates. ED shall award competitive six-year matching grants to partnerships between an institution of higher learning and a local education agency to assist in establishing or supporting an early college high school or dual or concurrent enrollment program. ED shall also award competitive six-year matching grants to states for supporting or establishing such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Automatic Voter Registration Act This bill amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require state motor vehicle authorities, upon receiving certain identifying information with respect to an individual requesting motor vehicle authority services, to transmit the information to the state election official. The state election official shall then notify the individual that unless the individual declines to be registered to vote in federal elections in the state, the individual shall be automatically registered unless the individual does not meet voter registration eligibility requirements or is already registered to vote. A state may not use any identifying information regarding an individual's citizenship status for any purpose other than determining whether the individual is eligible to vote in federal elections.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Jane's Law This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly travel in interstate or foreign commerce with the intent to evade compliance with a court ordered property distribution as part of a separation or divorce settlement. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to two years, or both—and mandatory restitution in the amount of total unpaid property distribution.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Voices for Veterans Act This bill: (1) expands the membership of the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans to include veterans who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, and (2) extend the Commission through December 31, 2019.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2017
Western Water Recycling and Drought Relief Act This bill amends the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Department of the Interior to participate in the design, planning, and construction of recycled water system facilities in California in cooperation with: the cities of Benicia, Brentwood, Redwood City, Pleasanton, Hayward, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, and Turlock; the Dublin San Ramon Services District and the Dublin San Ramon Services District/East Bay Municipal Utility District Recycled Water Authority; the Santa Clara Valley Water District; the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District; the Delta Diablo; the Ironhouse Sanitary District; the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency; the San Jose Water Company; and the West Bay Sanitary District. The bill also authorizes Interior to participate in the design, planning, and construction of recycled water system facilities in Hawaii in cooperation with Hawaii Water Service Company, Waikoloa. The federal share of each project is limited to 25%. Interior must: (1) enter into individual agreements with the Western Recycled Water Coalition participating agencies to fund such projects (as well as existing projects done in cooperation with the California cities of Palo Alto, Mountain View, Pittsburg, Antioch, Redwood City, and San Jose and the Delta Diablo Sanitation District, the North Coast County Water District, the South County Regional Wastewater Authority, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District); and (2) include in such agreements a provision for the reimbursement of design, planning, and construction costs. The bill increases the authorization of appropriations for the recycled water system facilities of: (1) Antioch and the Delta Diablo Sanitation District, and (2) the South County Regional Wastewater Authority and the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2017
Give Veterans Home Loan Choices A ct of 2017 This bill amends the National Housing Act to require that a Federal Housing Administration mortgage notice for a prospective borrower who is a veteran include, in addition to comparative rate and fee information about conventional loans, similar comparative information about Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) home loans. The Federal Housing Finance Agency shall direct the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) to revise the uniform residential loan application by December 31, 2018, to include: (1) a check box to indicate that the applicant is a veteran; (2) the statement "If you are a veteran, you may be eligible for a VA mortgage"; and (3) a blank line for the borrower to initial and a statement that all applicants must initial the line to confirm that they have read the VA mortgage eligibility statement. The bill requires pre-separation counseling for a member of the Armed Forces who is separating from active duty to include: information on the availability of VA home loan services and housing assistance benefits, including the authority of a member to use an honorable discharge certificate as a certificate of eligibility for a VA guaranteed housing loan or to request a specific certificate of eligibility for such loan; and counseling on responsible borrowing practices.
![Official portrait of Rep. Swalwell, Eric [D-CA-15]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s001193_200.jpg)