The world's political record
Person
![Official portrait of Rep. Meeks, Gregory W. [D-NY-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m001137_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
6,110 records where Rep. Meeks, Gregory W. [D-NY-5] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2015
Youth Exchange Support Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from $50 to $400 per month the amount of the charitable contribution tax deduction for taxpayers who provide housing and support to a student enrolled in an educational program. This increased amount is adjusted for inflation for taxable years beginning after 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 2015
Expresses condolences for the victims of anti-Muslim hate crimes. Declares that the House of Representatives: confirms its dedication to the rights and dignity of all citizens; denounces the increase of hate speech and hate crimes targeted against mosques, Muslims, or those perceived to be Muslim; and recognizes the positive contributions made by the U.S. Muslim community to U.S. society. Declares that the civil rights and liberties of all U.S. citizens, including Muslims in the United States, should be protected. Urges law enforcement authorities to work to prevent hate crimes and to prosecute the perpetrators of such crimes. Reaffirms the inalienable rights of every citizen to live without fear and intimidation and to practice freedom of faith.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2015
Assault Weapons Ban of 2015 This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). The prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is: (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model. Additionally, the bill does not prohibit, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD: importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties. The bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD. Newly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture. The legislation amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to require law enforcement agencies to be notified when a prohibited person attempts to purchase a grandfathered SAW. It also amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to allow a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2015
Cuban Immigrant Work Opportunity Act of 2015 This bill makes Cuban nationals who enter the United States on or after the date of enactment of this Act ineligible for refugee/parolee assistance under the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980. Conforming amendments are made to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Inspector General of the Social Security Administration shall report to Congress describing methods for enforcing the loss of Supplemental Security Income eligibility by persons who are absent from the United States for at least one month.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2015
Police Agency Investigation Improvement Act of 2015 This bill amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to create within the Special Litigation Section of the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Civil Rights Division an Office of Police Agency Investigations to investigate alleged patterns or practices of police conduct that violate constitutional rights. Additionally, it amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to expand the allowable use of grant funds under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program to include complying with a judgment or consent decree pursuant to a pattern-or-practice investigation. DOJ may award additional grants to COPS grant recipients to comply with such judgments or consent decrees.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2015
FSOC Designation Review Act This bill amends the Financial Stability Act of 2010 to revise requirements for reevaluation and reaffirmation of determinations by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System supervise and regulate U.S. or foreign nonbank financial companies. The FSOC shall reevaluate such a determination not only annually (as under current law) but also upon the request of a nonbank financial company based on its representation that there has been a material change in its operations or activities or a material change in regulatory or market conditions. FSOC must give the company as part of a reevaluation: a confidential written analysis of the specific elements of the company's exposures or activities that would be relevant to the FSOC's reevaluation; and opportunity to submit written materials in response, including a plan to obtain rescission of the determination or other materials relevant to the assessment. The FSOC's written analysis must assess with particularity the company's vulnerability to financial distress, including consideration of its leverage, liquidity risk, and maturity mismatch, and existing regulatory scrutiny of the company. Following a reevaluation the FSOC shall vote whether to reaffirm the determination; but if two-thirds of the voting members do not vote in favor of reaffirmation, the determination in question shall be rescinded immediately, subject at company option to judicial review. (Currently a determination is automatically reaffirmed upon reevaluation unless by a two-thirds vote the FSOC rescinds it.)
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2015
This bill amends: (1) the Department of Energy Organization Act to revise the definition of "minority" to mean any U.S. citizen who is an Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, African American, Hispanic, Puerto Rican, Native American, or Alaska Native; and (2) the Local Public Works Capital Development and Investment Act of 1976 to revise the definition of "minority group members" (who own minority group enterprises) to mean U.S. citizens who are Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islanders, African American, Hispanic, Native American, or Alaska Natives.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015
Credit Score Competition Act of 2015 This bill amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act to authorize the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (government sponsored enterprises, or GSEs) to use credit scores in purchasing residential mortgages only under certain conditions, including that the GSE has established and made publicly available a description of the process it will use to validate and approve credit scoring models. The Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency may, by regulation, establish standards and criteria for any process used by a GSE to validate and approve credit scoring models pursuant to the Acts.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States and the Republic of Belarus should increase the number of diplomatic staff in both the embassies in Minsk and Washington, DC, for the necessary conduct of diplomatic relations, including the exchanging of ambassadors and full diplomatic relations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015
CLEANER Act of 2015 or the Closing Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of Regulations Act of 2015 This bill amends the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to eliminate the exemption for waste derived from the exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy from regulations governing the disposal of hazardous waste. Within a year of this bill's enactment, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must: determine whether waste associated with oil, gas, or geothermal energy activities meet the criteria promulgated for the identification or listing of hazardous waste; identify or list as hazardous waste any of those wastes if they meet the identification or listing criteria; and promulgate regulations regarding standards applicable to generators, transporters, and owners and operators of facilities for the treatment, storage, or disposal of those wastes. The EPA may modify the regulation of those standards to consider the special characteristics of those wastes so long as the modified regulations protect human health and the environment. Within a year of this bill's enactment, the EPA must promulgate revisions of certain criteria concerning landfills and waste management practices of open dumping for facilities that may receive wastes that are: (1) associated with those activities, and (2) not identified or listed as hazardous waste. Those revisions must: protect human health and the environment, while allowing consideration of the practicable capability of such facilities; and require groundwater monitoring as necessary to detect contamination; establish criteria for the acceptable location of new or existing facilities; and provide for corrective action and financial assurance as appropriate.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015
Minority Diabetes Initiative Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to public and nonprofit private health care providers to provide treatment for diabetes in minority communities. HHS must ensure that these grants cover a variety of diabetes-related health care services, including routine care for diabetic patients, public education on diabetes prevention and control, eye care, foot care, and treatment for kidney disease and other complications of diabetes.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015
This bill authorizes the President to extend nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade relations treatment) to the products of Kazakhstan.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2015
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of Computer Science Education Week. Encourages opportunities for: (1) teachers to receive professional development to provide learning experiences in computer science, and (2) women and underrepresented minorities to pursue computer science education and careers.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2015
Credit Access and Inclusion Act of 2015 This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to authorize a person or the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to furnish to a consumer reporting agency information relating to the performance of a consumer in making payments: (1) under a lease agreement for a dwelling, including a lease in which HUD provides subsidized payments; or (2) pursuant to a contract for a utility or telecommunications service. Information about a consumer's usage of any utility or telecommunications services may be furnished to a consumer reporting agency only to the extent that such information relates to payment by the consumer for such services or other terms of the provision of such services, including any deposit, discount, or conditions for interruption or termination of service. An energy utility firm may not report payment information to a consumer reporting agency with respect to an outstanding balance of a consumer as late if the firm and the consumer have entered into a payment plan and the consumer is meeting the obligations of such plan. The bill amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to make provisions regarding civil liability to consumers of persons for willful or negligent noncompliance with requirements imposed by such Act on credit reporting agencies inapplicable to any violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2015
Recognizes the achievements of Berry Gordy, Jr., who established the Motown record label, in creating the lasting musical sound of Motown. Recommits the House of Representatives to ensuring that musical artists such as Berry Gordy, Jr., receive fair protection under the copyright laws of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2015
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. 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 · 3 December 2015
Silent Skies Act of 2015 This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration to enter into a competitive cooperative agreement with an institution, entity, or consortium to carry out a program for the development of aircraft technology that will assist in-service and in-production civil turbojets not meeting stage 4 noise standards to comply with those or more stringent standards. The Department of Transportation (DOT) must: (1) issue regulations to establish minimum standards to ensure that graduated percentages of civil turbojets weighing over 75,000 pounds comply with the stage 4 noise levels by specified dates, and (2) report annually on the progress made by air carriers in complying with such standards. 100% of such turbojets operating after December 31, 2037, must comply with stage 4 levels. DOT shall request the International Civil Aviation Organization to add to its Work Programme the consideration of international standards for the phase-out of aircraft that do not comply with stage 4 noise levels. The requirements of this Act shall not apply to civil turbojet aircraft that operate outside of the 48 contiguous states. DOT may not issue a type certificate for: (1) a civil turbojet with a maximum weight of more than 75,000 pounds on and after December 31, 2017, unless the applicant demonstrates that such turbojet complies with stage 5 noise levels; and (2) any civil turbojet on and after December 31, 2020, unless the applicant demonstrates that such turbojet complies with stage 5 noise levels.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2015
Visa Waiver Program Firearms Clarification Act of 2015 The bill amends the federal criminal code to modify the eligibility of certain foreign nationals to purchase and possess firearms in the United States. Current law prohibits firearm sale or transfer to or possession by a foreign national (i.e., alien) who is: (1) unlawfully present in the United States, or (2) lawfully present under a nonimmigrant visa (e.g., tourist visa). The prohibitions do not apply in certain circumstances. This bill expands the prohibition to bar firearm sale or transfer to or possession by a foreign national who was lawfully admitted to the United States without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program. The prohibitions do not apply to a foreign national lawfully admitted under the Visa Waiver Program if that foreign national is a government official or law enforcement officer, or possesses a hunting license. Additionally, such foreign national may apply for a Department of Justice waiver to allow firearm possession.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2015
Expresses support for the designation of June 2016 as National Gun Violence Awareness Month. Calls on the people of the United States to: promote greater awareness about gun violence and gun safety; concentrate annual heightened attention to gun violence during the summer months, when gun violence typically increases; and bring citizens and community leaders together to discuss ways to make the communities safer.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2015
This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to Simeon Saunders Booker, Jr., in recognition of his achievements in the field of journalism, including his reporting during the civil rights movement and his social and political commentary.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2015
Anti-hunger Empowerment Act of 2015 This bill reduces administrative requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program), authorizes funding to increase access to SNAP offices, and authorizes grants for community-based nonprofits to expand anti-hunger activities. The bill amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to repeal existing provisions regarding administrative costs and authorize the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to pay 75% of the administrative costs for state agencies to increase the operating hours of SNAP offices, reduce wait times, accept online applications, upgrade technology, and provide a checklist of required documents. If a state agency believes that information provided by a SNAP applicant is incorrect or incomplete, the agency must notify the applicant in writing and include instructions for providing the required information. Unless the information is not provided in response to the request or it cannot be verified, a state must not require an applicant to appear in person. State agencies must not require fingerprints for any member of a household to participate in SNAP or receive benefits. USDA must report annually to Congress on the comparative progress of states in improving access to SNAP. Beyond the Soup Kitchen Grants Program Act of 2015 The Beyond the Soup Kitchen Pilot Program is established to provide grants to community-based nonprofit feeding and anti-hunger groups for programs to reduce hunger, increase the use of nutrition assistance and anti-poverty programs, bolster food security, assist individuals and families to develop assets, promote economic independence, improve nutrition, and reduce obesity.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2015
Tracking Reputations Upgrades Societal Trust Act of 2015 or the TRUST Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to include in the annual National Crime Victimization Survey statistics on the level of trust between law enforcement agencies and the residents they serve. Additionally, DOJ must submit an annual report to Congress that includes recommendations to improve levels of trust that it determines to be problematically low.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2015
Security Verification for Refugees Act This bill requires that, in addition to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) screening, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) shall take all actions necessary to ensure that each covered alien receives a background investigation before U.S. refugee admission. A "covered alien" is any alien applying for U.S. refugee admission who: is a national or resident of Iraq, Syria, or a country designated as a high-risk country; has no nationality and whose last habitual residence was in Iraq, Syria, or a country designated as a high-risk country; or has been present in Iraq or Syria at any time on or after March 1, 2011. A covered alien: may not be admitted as a refugee until the FBI certifies to DHS and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) that he or she has received a background investigation sufficient to determine whether the alien is a U.S. security threat; and may only be admitted to the United States after DHS, with the unanimous concurrence of the FBI and the DNI, certifies to Congress that he or she is not such a threat. The Inspector General of DHS shall conduct annual risk-based reviews of all certifications. DHS shall report monthly to Congress on the total number of admission applications for which a certification was made and the number of covered aliens for whom such a certification was not made for the preceding month. The report shall include for each covered alien for whom a certification was not made the concurrence or nonconcurrence of each person whose concurrence was required by the certification. The Department of State shall submit annually to Congress: a list of each country, a national or resident of which submitted an application for U.S. refugee admission; an evaluation of the threat posed by aliens who are nationals or residents of each listed country; and a description of any presence of terrorism, human rights violations, human trafficking, drug trafficking, religious persecution, or other violations of international law, any presence of al Qaeda, Islamic State, or other terrorist groups, or any presence of transnational criminal organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2015
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to revise the priorities the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) uses in assigning National Health Service Corps (NHSC) members to health professional shortage areas and awarding contracts under the NHSC Loan Repayment Program. Specifically, HHS must prioritize: (1) assignment of members to areas with a high number of veterans with ailments resulting from traumatic brain injuries, and (2) awarding contracts to health professionals receiving training or trained in addressing post-traumatic stress disorder.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2015
Authorizes the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center on December 9, 2015, for a ceremony to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2015
Condemns the terrorist attacks in Paris, France, on November 13, 2015, that resulted in the loss of at least 129 lives. Expresses condolences to the families and friends of those individuals who were killed, and sympathy to those individuals who were injured. Supports the government of France's efforts to bring to justice all those involved with the planning and execution of these terrorist attacks. Expresses concern about the flow of foreign fighters to and from the Middle East and West and North Africa and the threat these individuals pose upon their return to their local communities. Expresses the House's readiness to assist the government and people of France to respond to the growing terrorist threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and its terrorist affiliates.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2015
Veterans' STEM Education Program This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay an additional appropriate amount, beyond other educational assistance, to each individual entitled to post-9/11 educational assistance who is pursuing a program of education with a STEM focus (science, technology, engineering, and math). Information on such additional payments must be included in a currently required annual VA educational assistance report.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2015
FAA Community Accountability Act of 2015 This bill requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in considering flight paths or procedures as part of the implementation of the Next Generation Air Transportation System, to limit negative impacts on the human environment near airports. The FAA may give preference to overlays of existing flight paths or procedures to ensure compatibility with land use. The FAA shall appoint an FAA Community Ombudsman for each of its regions to: act as a liaison with communities regarding problems related to the impact of commercial aviation on the human environment; monitor the impact of System implementation on communities near affected airports; make recommendations to address community concerns and improve the use of community comments in FAA decisionmaking; and report periodically on the impact of commercial aviation on the human environment and on FAA responsiveness to community concerns. The FAA, in implementing the System, may not treat the establishment or revision of a flight path or procedure as covered by a categorical exclusion if an Ombudsman or airport operator submits notification that: (1) extraordinary circumstances exist, or (2) the establishment or revision will have a significant adverse impact on the human environment near such airport. The FAA, before treating such establishment or revision as covered by a categorical exclusion, shall provide notice and an opportunity for comment to persons affected. The bill requires the FAA to: (1) reconsider a flight path or procedure established or revised after February 14, 2012, as part of the implementation of the System if an Ombudsman or airport operator submits written notification that the establishment or revision is resulting in a significant adverse impact on the human environment near the airport, (2) provide notice of such reconsideration and an opportunity for public comment, (3) assess the impacts on the human environment, and (4) report on comments received, assessment results, and changes to be made.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2015
Gun Violence Research Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to specifically include injuries from gun violence as a research subject for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nothing in the CDC's research authorization may be construed to authorize support for advocacy or promotion of gun control. The CDC must improve the National Violent Death Reporting System, particularly through the voluntary participation of additional states. Nothing in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act may be construed to prohibit a health care provider from discussing guns or gun safety with a patient or reporting a patient's threat of violence.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2015
Office of Strategic Services Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to the members of the Office of Strategic Services in recognition of their service and contributions during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2015
Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2015 This bill amends the federal criminal code to prohibit a person from possessing a firearm without a valid license. It prohibits transferring or receiving a handgun or a semiautomatic firearm that can accept a detachable ammunition feeding device unless the recipient presents a valid, verified firearms license and the dealer records a tracking authorization number. It prescribes firearms transfer reporting and record keeping requirements. DOJ must establish and maintain a federal record of sale system. Additionally, it prohibits: (1) transferring a firearm to any person other than a licensee, unless the transfer is processed through a licensed dealer in accordance with national instant criminal background check system requirements, with exceptions; (2) a licensed manufacturer or dealer from failing to comply with reporting and record keeping requirements of this Act; (3) failing to report the loss or theft of the firearm to DOJ within 72 hours; (4) failing to report to DOJ an address change within 60 days; or (5) keeping a loaded firearm, or an unloaded firearm and ammunition for the firearm, knowingly or recklessly disregarding the risk that a child is capable of gaining access, if a child uses the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury. It prescribes criminal penalties for violations of firearms provisions. DOJ must: (1) establish and maintain a firearm injury information clearinghouse, (2) conduct continuing studies and investigations of firearm-related deaths and injuries, (3) collect and maintain current production and sales figures of each licensed manufacturer, and (4) study the efficacy of smart gun technology (i.e., technology that prevents an unauthorized person from using a firearm) in the prevention of unintended deaths.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2015
Safe Streets and Representative Police Forces Act of 2015 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to expand the allowable use of grant funds under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program to include grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) to support criminal justice-related majors. It prioritizes grants to predominantly black institutions, historically black colleges and universities, IHEs where at least 40% of students are Latino, and IHEs where at least 40% of students are Native American.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2015
Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act This bill includes veterans who participated in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands during the period January 1, 1977-December 31, 1980, as radiation exposed veterans for purposes of the Department of Veterans Affairs presumption of service-connection for specified cancers.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2015
Community College to Career Fund Act This bill amends the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to direct the Department of Labor to award competitive grants to eligible community colleges, four-year public institutions of higher education, tribal colleges or universities, private or nonprofit two-year institutions of higher education in specified U.S. territories, or a consortium of any of them, in partnership with employers or an employer or industry partnership representing multiple employers, in order to develop, offer, improve, and provide educational or career training programs for workers. The governor of the state in which at least one of these entities is located shall establish criteria for an educational or career training program leading to a recognized postsecondary credential for which an eligible entity submits a grant proposal.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that a working families agenda is established to: raise the minimum wage, strengthen workers' right to organize, and protect workers from misclassification; provide workers with paid sick days, paid family leave, flexible and stable schedules, access to high-quality early learning opportunities, and affordable child care; and strengthen the law guaranteeing equal pay for equal work, ensure specified rights for pregnant workers, and ensure workers have explicit protections from discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. Declares the sense of the House furthermore that hearings and votes should be held on specified House bills, including H.R. 2150, the Raise the Wage Act, and H.R. 1439, the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (FAMILY Act).
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2015
Disaster Assistance Equity Act of 2015 This bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to modify the definition of "private nonprofit facility" to include any facilities (including roads, bridges, sewer systems, and other critical community infrastructure) owned or operated by a common interest community that provide essential services of a governmental nature. The bill also defines additional terms under such Act, including "condominium" and "housing cooperative." "Common interest community" is defined as: (1) any nonprofit mandatory membership organization comprised of owners of real estate (other than a condominium or housing cooperative) described in a declaration or created pursuant to a covenant or other applicable law with respect to which a person, by virtue of the person's ownership of a unit, is obligated to pay for a share of real estate taxes, insurance premiums, maintenance or improvement of, or services or other expenses related to, common elements, other units, or any other real estate other than the unit described in the declaration; and (2) a condominium project that is comprised entirely of detached single family units or that is comprised of four or more multi-unit housing structures and that owns or operates facilities that provide essential services of a governmental nature. The bill amends such Act to provide that for purposes of the provision of federal disaster assistance with respect to residential elements that are the legal responsibility of an association for a condominium or housing cooperative, the terms "individual" or "household" include the association. The President must determine the maximum amount of assistance that any such association may receive under such Act for a single disaster.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2015
Security and Financial Empowerment Act of 2015 This bill amends the Violence Against Women Act to require the National Resource Center on Workplace Response provide information and assistance through domestic violence or sexual assault coalitions and survivor service organizations. These organizations and coalitions shall provide resource materials and assistance to employees, employers, and labor organizations to aid in efforts to develop adequate workplace responses to domestic and sexual violence. In addition, the bill requires employers to provide employees 30 days of leave per year, including 56 hours of earned paid leave, which can be used as a result of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking of an employee or an employee's family member. States may provide nonrecurring short-term emergency benefits to employees using such leave. Survivors' Employment Sustainability Act The Survivors' Employment Sustainability Act prohibits employers, public benefit agencies, and insurers from discriminating against survivors of: domestic violence, dating or sexual violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Under the Internal Revenue Code, employers must give unemployment compensation to survivors who are separated from work due to conditions related to the individuals being survivors. The bill amends title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of the Social Security Act to require state agency personnel that administer TANF programs to be adequately trained to assist survivors seeking assistance. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must study the barriers survivors encounter to maintain economic security. HHS may arrange financial literacy support for survivors. The Department of Labor must establish a public outreach campaign.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2015
Reducing Gun Violence in our Neighborhoods Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an additional tax of $100 on the sale of a firearm by a manufacturer, producer, or importer. Firearm purchases by federal, state, and local governments for law enforcement purposes are exempt from the additional tax. The bill establishes the Gun Violence Reduction and Mental Health Counseling Trust Fund at the Department of the Treasury. It transfers revenues from the additional tax into the trust fund to support the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant program and the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program. The Department of Justice (DOJ) must establish and newly manufactured firearms must meet a national standard for incorporating passive identification capability into all firearms sold in the United States. Passive identification capability means technology that: (1) enables identification by a mobile or fixed reading device, and (2) does not transmit an electronic monitoring or tracking signal. DOJ's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives must establish the National Database of Lost and Stolen Firearms. This bill amends the federal criminal code to require a gun owner to report a lost or stolen firearm to local law enforcement authorities within 48 hours of discovery. Local law enforcement authorities must transmit the report to the national database within seven days.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2015
Land-Grant Opportunity Act This bill amends the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to modify the formula that the Department of Agriculture uses to distribute funds for land-grant colleges and universities to provide additional funding for certain historically black colleges and universities.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 2015
Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to require states to evaluate the need for broadband conduit (fiber optic cables that support broadband or wireless facilities for broadband service) as part of any covered highway construction project (a project to construct a new highway or an additional lane or paved shoulder for an existing highway that receives funding under federal-aid highway provisions), in consultation with telecommunications providers. If the evaluation reveals a need in the next 15 years for broadband conduit beneath hard surfaces to be constructed by the project, the conduit shall be installed. DOT shall establish standards to carry out installation requirements that consider: the ability to accommodate broadband installation without impacting the safety, operations, and maintenance of the highway facility, its users, or others; population density in the area; the type of highway involved; and existing broadband access in the area. DOT shall ensure that: an appropriate number of broadband conduits are installed along such highway to accommodate multiple broadband providers, the size of conduit is consistent with industry best practices and sufficient to accommodate potential demand, hand holes and manholes for fiber access and pulling such conduit are placed at intervals consistent with industry best practices, installed conduit includes a pull tape and is capable of supporting fiber optic cable placement techniques consistent with industry best practices, installed conduit is placed at a depth consistent with industry best practices and cable separation requirements of electrical codes, and any requesting broadband provider has access to each broadband conduit installed on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis for a charge not to exceed a cost-based rate. DOT may waive the requirements of this Act upon determining that the waiver is appropriate based upon: a showing of undue burden, a determination that the installation of conduit beneath hard surfaces is not necessary based on the availability of existing broadband infrastructure, or a cost-benefit analysis.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2015
Correcting Hurtful and Alienating Names in Government Expression (CHANGE) Act This bill prohibits an executive agency from using the following terms in any rule, regulation, interpretation, publication, other document, display, or sign issued by the agency except to the extent that the term is used in quoting or reproducing text written by a source other than an officer or employee of the agency: "alien" when used to refer to an individual who is not a U.S. citizen or national, and "illegal alien" when used to refer to an individual who is unlawfully present in the United States or who lacks a lawful U.S. immigration status. In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of various U.S. administrative bureaus and agencies, the term "foreign national" in federal law means any individual other than an individual who: (1) is a U.S. citizen; or (2) though not a U.S. citizen, owes permanent allegiance to the United States. Any reference in any federal statute, rule, regulation, executive order, publication, or other U.S. document to the term: "alien" when used to refer to an individual who is not a U.S. citizen or national is deemed to refer to the term "foreign national," and "illegal alien" when used to refer to an individual who is unlawfully present in the United States or who lacks a lawful U.S. immigration status is deemed to refer to the term "undocumented foreign national." Conforming amendments are made to specified Acts.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2015
Integrated Transportation and Economic Development Act This bill: (1) adds as a new goal of the federal-aid highway program to improve road conditions in economically distressed urban communities and increase access to jobs, markets, and economic opportunities for people who live in such communities; (2) requires the Department of Transportation to establish measures for states to use to assess the conditions, accessibility, and reliability of roads in such communities; and (3) requires each state to set performance targets that reflect such measures.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2015
Commission to Verify Iranian Nuclear Compliance Act This bill establishes in the legislative branch the Commission to Verify Iranian Nuclear Compliance, which shall continually: verify the Islamic Republic of Iran's compliance with its obligations under the agreement, assess the adequacy of the safeguards and other control mechanisms contained in the agreement with respect to Iran's nuclear program, and assess the capacity of the International Atomic Energy Agency to implement the verification regime required by or related to the agreement. "Agreement" means an agreement related to Iran's nuclear program that includes the United States, commits the United States to take action, or pursuant to which the United States commits or otherwise agrees to take action, whether a political commitment or otherwise, and regardless of whether it is legally binding or not.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015
Establishes the House Select Committee on Gun Violence Prevention to investigate and report on: the causes of mass shootings, methods to improve the federal firearms purchaser background check system, connections between access to firearms and dangerously mentally ill individuals, strengthening federal penalties for trafficking and straw purchasing of firearms, closing loopholes that allow some domestic abusers continued access to firearms, linkages between firearms and suicide, gun violence's effect on public health, the correlation between state gun violence prevention laws and the incidence of gun violence, the importance of having reliable and accurate information on gun violence and its toll on our nation, the implementation of effective gun violence prevention laws in accordance with the Second Amendment to the Constitution, and rates of gun violence in large metropolitan areas.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2015
Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2015 This bill directs the President to: establish a five-year strategy to achieve, with target countries and donors, the goal of ending preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths globally and ensure healthy and productive lives within a generation; and provide assistance to implement the strategy. The President shall designate a current U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employee serving in the Senior Executive Service or at the level of a Deputy Assistant Administrator or higher to serve concurrently as the Maternal and Child Survival Coordinator, who shall be responsible for: overseeing such strategy, and all U.S. government funds appropriated or used for international maternal and child health and nutrition programs. The U.S. government, through USAID and other relevant executive branch agencies, should identify and remove financial barriers to strengthen access to delivery systems for vulnerable and marginalized populations by leveraging public and private capital to expand delivery of interventions for maternal, newborn, and child health.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2015
African American Civil Rights Network Act of 2015 This bill requires the Department of the Interior to establish within the National Park Service (NPS) a U.S. Civil Rights Network that encompasses: (1) all NPS units and programs that relate to the African American civil rights movement during the period from 1939 through 1968; (2) other federal, state, local, and privately owned properties that relate to the African American civil rights movement and that are included in, or eligible for, the National Register of Historic Places; and (3) other governmental and nongovernmental facilities and programs of an educational, research, or interpretive nature that are directly related to such movement. In carrying out the Network, Interior must: (1) review civil rights movement studies and reports that may already be underway or completed, such as the Civil Rights Framework Study; (2) produce and disseminate educational materials, such as handbooks, maps, interpretive guides, or electronic information; (3) provide technical assistance; and (4) adopt an official, uniform symbol or device for the Network and issue regulations for the symbol's use.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2015
This bill authorizes FY2016-FY2021 appropriations from the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for the University Transportation Centers Program and requires the Federal Highway Administration to administer the program. The program provides grants to nonprofit institutions of higher education to establish and operate university transportation centers to advance transportation expertise and technology, provide a transportation knowledge base outside of the Department of Transportation, address critical workforce needs, and educate the next generation of transportation leaders.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2015
Labor Statistics Improvement Act Establishes an independent Commission to Improve Labor Statistics. Directs the Commission to: examine and assess the process by which the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates statistical data relating to unemployment rates, including the methods used for determining that an individual is considered to be looking for work; recommend any improvement to the process and methods, including proposals for any alternative measures of labor force participation, taking into account evidence that the official unemployment rate doesn't always accurately reflect labor market strength; and develop a new method for determining and reporting underemployment that takes into consideration workers who are not in jobs that match their skill sets or education and who are earning less than other workers in similar occupations or with similar skill sets and education.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2015
Safety for Airports and Firefighters by Ensuring Drones Refrain from Obstructing Necessary Equipment Act of 2015 or the SAFE DRONE Act of 2015 This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly operate a drone in a restricted area. A "restricted area" is an area that is: within a two-mile radius of a hub airport or an ongoing firefighting operation, or subject to a temporary flight restriction issued by the Federal Aviation Administration. The prohibition does not apply to government operations in response to a fire or emergency. Violators are subject to fines, up to one year in prison, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2015
Recognizes former federal judge Frank Minis Johnson, Jr., for his role in the civil rights movement.