United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2018
Veterans Affairs Medical-Surgical Purchasing Stabilization Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in procuring medical, surgical, dental, or laboratory items for VA medical facilities through the Medical Surgical Prime Vendor (MSPV) program, to: (1) award contracts to multiple regional prime vendors instead of a single nationwide prime vendor; and (2) prohibit a prime vendor from solely designing, or purchasing from, the formulary of items available for MSPV purchase. The VA shall: (1) ensure that each VA employee who conducts formulary analyses or makes decisions about including items on the formulary has relevant medical expertise, and (2) provide Congress with periodic lists of such individuals and their medical expertise listed by categories of formulary items.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2018
Responsible and Effective Standards for Truckers Act or the REST Act This bill directs the Department of Transportation to issue or revise regulations for commercial truck drivers subject to maximum driving time requirements for property-carrying vehicles.The regulations must allow such drivers to suspend an on-duty period (the 14-hour period during which a driver is permitted to drive after coming on duty following 10 consecutive hours off duty) for up to 3 hours if such suspension does not extend the total drive time limits in current regulations. No other requirements relating to rest breaks during an on-duty period shall apply to such drivers.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2018
I mproving Veterans Access to Congressional Services Act of 2018 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to permit a Member of Congress to use a VA facility to meet with constituents during normal business hours.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2018
Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy Act or the DRIVE-Safe Act This bill directs the Department of Transportation to issue regulations relating to an apprenticeship program for licensed commercial motor vehicle drivers under the age of 21.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2018
Supports: (1) U.S.-Israel cooperation to counter Iran's destabilizing activities, (2) enhancing Israel's deterrence capabilities, (3) including Israel in the first tier of countries receiving strategic trade authorization, and (4) the U.S. declaration recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2018
Veterans Affairs Purchase Card Misuse Mitigation Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to prohibit employees who have knowingly misused VA purchase cards from serving as purchase card holders or approving officials. Such prohibition shall be in addition to any other applicable penalty.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2018
Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow a hospice employee to handle controlled substances in the residence of a deceased hospice patient to assist with disposal of the controlled substances.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2018
Service-Disabled Veterans Small Business Continuation Act This bill provides that the surviving spouse of a veteran who died with less than a 100% disability rating maintains the same Department of Veterans Affairs contracting preference for a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business as the spouse of a 100% disabled veteran until: (1) three years after the veteran's death, (2) the surviving spouse remarries, or (3) the surviving spouse relinquishes ownership of the business.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2018
Revitalize Rural America Act of 2018 This bill requires the Department of Transportation to establish a Revitalize Rural America Grant Program to facilitate infrastructure projects in rural areas. Priority must be given to projects for which nonfederal contributions exceed 25% of the costs of the project and projects in an area with an unemployment rate that exceeds the national average. The bill requires that the set-aside of funds for states under the surface transportation block grant program be used for the Revitalize Rural America Grant Program.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2018
Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum Act or the AIRWAVES Act This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to complete auctions by December 31, 2020, that will grant priority access broadcast licenses for specified frequency spectrum bands. The FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration are directed to identify frequencies in specified spectrum bands that may be utilized for non-federal unlicensed use and commercial licensed use. The FCC must allocate 10% of proceeds from each of the spectrum band auctions specified in the bill to expand wireless infrastructure in rural areas that are underserved or unserved. The FCC shall conduct a study on how unlicensed frequency spectrum bands can be utilized for: (1) the provision of healthcare in rural areas, (2) distance learning, and (3) facilitating innovations in agriculture.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2018
Better Access to Technical Training, Learning, and Entrepreneurship for Servicemembers Act or the BATTLE for Servicemembers Act This bill directs the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to waive additional training under the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) under certain circumstances. The TAP provides information and training to service members and their spouses to assist them in the transition to civilian life by pursuing additional education, finding a job in the public or private sector, or starting their own business. Under the bill, service members must participate in TAP training programs unless they choose to opt out of such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2018
Stopping Lawless Actions of Politicians Act of 2018 or the SLAP Act of 2018 This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for a state or local official to knowingly release from custody an individual who is an alien subject to a detainer. It imposes criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both—on a violator. A state or political subdivision that complies with a detainer is deemed to be an agent of the Department of Homeland Security and is authorized to take actions to comply with the detainer. The bill limits the liability of a state or political subdivision, or an officer or employee of such state or political subdivision, for actions in compliance with the detainer.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act This bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) to revise procedures for initiating, investigating, and resolving claims by legislative branch employees alleging that their employing offices have violated CAA rights and protections, including protections against sexual harassment and discrimination.
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 2017
Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to require any health care practitioner who is present when a child is born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion to: (1) exercise the same degree of care as reasonably provided to any other child born alive at the same gestational age, and (2) ensure that such child is immediately admitted to a hospital. The term "born alive" means the complete expulsion or extraction from his or her mother, at any stage of development, who after such expulsion or extraction breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut. Also, a health care practitioner or other employee who has knowledge of a failure to comply with these requirements must immediately report such failure to an appropriate law enforcement agency. An individual who violates the provisions of this bill is subject to a criminal fine, up to five years in prison, or both. An individual who commits an overt act that kills a child born alive is subject to criminal prosecution for murder. The bill bars the criminal prosecution of a mother of a child born alive for conspiracy to violate these provisions, for being an accessory after the fact, or for concealment of felony. A woman who undergoes an abortion or attempted abortion may file a civil action for damages against an individual who violates this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2017
Recovering America's Wildlife Act This bill amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to direct the Department of the Treasury to transfer, beginning in FY2018, revenues from energy and mineral development on federal lands totaling $1.3 billion to the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Subaccount of the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Fund, to be available without further appropriation. The bill revises the requirements governing how the funds from the subaccount may be used, including by requiring funds to be used to develop, revise, and implement state wildlife conservation strategies. The bill expands the allowable uses of the subaccount, including by allowing funds to be used for managing invasive and nuisance species and for law enforcement activities that are directly related to the conservation of species of the greatest conservation need. Funds apportioned from the subaccount may not be conditioned upon the provision of public access to private lands, waters, or holdings. The bill specifies what types of funds and donations states may use to meet matching fund requirements. The bill revises the formula used to determine how funds are distributed to states.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2017
Securing Urgent Resources Vital to Indian Victim Empowerment Act or the SURVIVE Act This bill amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to require the Department of Justice's Office for Victims of Crime to make grants to Indian tribes for programs and services for crime victims, such as domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, child abuse programs, child advocacy centers, elder abuse programs, medical care, legal services, relocation, and transitional housing. In addition, the bill makes 5% of the Crime Victims Fund available for these grants.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2017
Congressional Accountability and Hush Fund Elimination Act This bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) to (1) prohibit the use of public funds for payments of awards and settlements resulting from violation of certain CAA rights and protections if the violation consists of sexual harassment or sexual assault, (2) prohibit an imposition of a nondisclosure agreement as a prerequisite for CAA procedures to consider the violation, and (3) permit an individual to publicize any information relating to such a prior award or settlement if it was conditioned on a nondisclosure agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 2017
Directs the Committee on House Administration to issue regulations requiring Members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives to complete a training program on workplace rights and responsibilities, including anti-discrimination and anti-harassment training, during each congressional session. Requires Members, officers, or employees to certify completion of such training within 90 days after a congressional session begins or within 90 days after beginning service during a session. (Sets forth a special rule requiring such training to be completed within 180 days after the beginning of the second session of the 115th Congress.) Directs the committee to issue regulations requiring that each House employing office post in a prominent location in its office and in each Member's congressional district office a statement of rights and protections provided to House employees under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, including procedures for responding to and adjudicating allegations of violations of such rights and protections.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2017
Chronic Wasting Disease Management Act This bill requires the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-Wildlife Services to support state and tribal efforts to address chronic wasting disease. The transmissible disease afflicts deer, elk, and moose populations. The agency must make grants to research centers to support efforts to expand and accelerate applied research on the disease. Land management agencies of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior must work cooperatively with states in researching the disease and implementing state response plans to reduce the spread and prevalence of the disease.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Cormorant Control Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to reissue the final rule that was published on May 28, 2014, relating to the extension and revision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of certain depredation orders allowing for the taking of double-crested cormorants (a species of migratory birds) to protect stock at aquaculture facilities and to protect public resources, without regard to any other provision of a statute or regulation that applies to the issuance of such rule. The bill prohibits such reissuance (including this bill) from being subject to judicial review and from abrogating or otherwise having any effect on the order and judgment issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Case Number 14-CV-01807-JDB on May 25, 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2017
VA Asset and Infrastructure Review Act of 2017 This bill establishes the Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission, which shall make recommendations to the President regarding the closure, modernization, and/or realignment of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities based upon its own and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recommendations. The President shall transmit to the commission and to Congress a report containing the President's approval or disapproval of such recommendations by February 15, 2023. Within three years after transmittal of such report, the commission shall begin to implement the recommendations approved by the President and not disapproved by Congress. The commission shall: (1) carry out appropriate environmental restoration and historic preservation in connection with facility closures or realignments, and (2) consult with state and local governments with respect to the treatment of roads or the disposal of surplus real property or infrastructure. The VA may transfer the title of a VHA facility to the facility's redevelopment authority for lease to the VA or another federal agency. The bill establishes in the Treasury the Department of Veterans Affairs Asset and Infrastructure Review Account. The bill revises the definitions of: (1) "major medical facility project," and (2) "major medical facility lease." The VA may enter into agreements with other federal agencies for the planning, designing, constructing, or leasing of shared medical facilities. The Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 is amended to exclude recruitment, relocation, or retention incentives from the limitation on awards and bonuses. The bill provides funds for: (1) the Veterans Choice Program, and (2) medical facility minor construction and nonrecurring maintenance.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2017
Veterans' Electronic Health Record Modernization Oversight Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to submit to Congress: (1) certain documents concerning the Electronic Health Record Modernization Program; (2) quarterly updates of certain documents until the program is completed; (3) a copy of any contract, order, or agreement under the program within 5 days after it is awarded; and (4) a notice within 10 days after the occurrence of specified events regarding the program, including milestone delays, change requests, protest submissions, data losses, or breaches of patient privacy. The Electronic Health Record Modernization Program means VA activities, contracts, or agreements to procure or implement an electronic health or medical record system to replace any or all of the Veterans Information Systems and Technology Architecture, the Computerized Patient Record System, the Joint Legacy Viewer, or the Enterprise Health Management Platform.
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 · 1 November 2017
Small and Seasonal Business Relief Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt returning workers from the nonimmigrant H-2B visa (temporary nonagricultural services) annual numerical limitations: (1) through FY2018 for those individuals already counted toward such limitation in FY2016 or FY2017, and (2) during the next fiscal year for those individuals already counted toward such limitation in FY2018 or FY2019. Such amendment shall take effect as if enacted on October 1, 2017.
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 · 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 · 26 September 2017
Veterans Opioid Abuse Prevention Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to enter into a memorandum of understanding with a national network of state-based prescription drug monitoring programs under which VA health care providers shall query such network to support the safe and effective prescribing of controlled substances to patients who: (1) receive a prescription for a controlled substance for a period of 90 days or longer, and (2) are not receiving palliative care or enrolled in hospice care. Under such memorandum of understanding, VA health care providers practicing in: (1) a participating state shall query such network in accordance with the agreement between that state's prescription drug monitoring program and such network, and (2) a nonparticipating state shall query the network through the drug monitoring program of the closest participating state.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2017
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the J-1 visa programs, specifically the Summer Work Travel, Au Pair, Camp Counselor, and Intern and Trainee programs, are vital to the U.S. economy and national interest; and (2) Congress should continue to monitor the administration of such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Save American Workers Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to change the definition of "full-time employee" for purposes of the employer mandate to provide minimum essential health care coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act from an employee who is employed on average at least 30 hours of service a week to an employee who is employed on average at least 40 hours of service a week.
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
Carbon Capture Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend and modify the tax credit for carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration. The bill modifies the credit to: allow certain new industrial or direct air capture facilities to qualify for the credit if construction begins before 2024; allow qualified projects to claim the credit for 15 years, beginning on the date the equipment was originally placed in service; increase the credit amounts for certain projects placed in service upon or after the enactment of this bill; expand the purposes for which captured CO2 may be used; modify the requirements for the amount of CO2 that must be captured; specify that the 75 million metric ton cap on the CO2 that may qualify for the credit applies only to projects placed in service before the enactment of this bill; allow the credit to be transferred from the entity that owns and uses the capture equipment to the entity that disposes of or uses the CO2; and allow certain facilities that were placed in service after 2015 and have not previously claimed the credit to be treated as placed in service on the date of the enactment of this bill.
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
Addiction Recovery for Rural Communities Act This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide financial assistance for the construction of facilities and systems in rural areas for substance-use disorder services. In selecting recipients of loans and grants to establish community facilities, USDA must give priority to developers of facilities that: (1) provide substance use disorder prevention, treatment, or recovery services; and (2) employ staff with expertise and training in identifying and treating individuals with substance-use disorders. In providing grants to establish individual and family health education programs, USDA must give priority to entities intending to use the funds for substance-use disorder education, treatment, and prevention.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Rightsizing Pension Premiums Act of 2017 This bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to: (1) modify the formula that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) uses to calculate the funded percentage of single-employer pension plans, and (2) reduce single-employer PBGC premiums for pension plans that are sponsored by certain small employers or have specified PBGC funded percentages. The bill also prohibits the budget effects of provisions that change PBGC premiums from being counted for the purposes of determining budget points of order for legislation in the House or the Senate. (The PBGC is a federal agency that insures the benefits of private sector, defined benefit pension plans. The PBGC is financed by insurance premiums paid by sponsors of the plans, investment income, assets from pension plans taken over by the PBGC, and recoveries from the companies formerly responsible for the plans.)
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Canadian Snowbird Visa Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize the Department of Homeland Security to admit into the United States as a nonimmigrant visitor for a period not to exceed 240 days during any single 365-day period a Canadian citizen who: (1) is at least 50 years old, (2) maintains a Canadian residence and owns a U.S. residence or has rented a U.S. accommodation for the duration of such stay, (3) is not inadmissible or deportable, (4) will not engage in employment or labor for hire in the United States other than for a non U.S.-based person or entity by whom the Canadian citizen was employed in Canada or for whom the Canadian citizen performed services in Canada, and (5) will not seek any form of assistance or benefit under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. The spouse of such person may be admitted under the same terms except that he or she is not required to separately satisfy the residence/housing requirements. The bill grants a person so admitted nonresident alien tax status.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Native American Suicide Prevention Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require a state or state-designated entity receiving support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for development and implementation of a statewide youth suicide early intervention and prevention strategy to agree to collaborate with each of the state's federally recognized Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations regarding the strategy.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2017
Anti-Pyramid Scheme Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to make it unlawful for any person to establish, operate, or promote a pyramid promotional scheme. "Pyramid promotional scheme" means any plan or operation in which individuals pay consideration for the right to receive compensation that is based upon recruiting other individuals into the plan or operation rather than primarily related to the sale of products or services to ultimate users. Furthermore, any person who establishes, operates, or promotes any plan or operation which sells or solicits the sale of consumer products or services in the home or otherwise outside of a permanent retail establishment, and which sells products or services to independent salespeople, shall have a bona fide inventory repurchase agreement. A violation of the bill shall be treated under the Act as an unfair or deceptive act or practice in, or affecting, commerce.
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 · 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 · 17 July 2017
Grow Our Own Directive: Physician Assistant Employment and Education Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out the Grow Our Own Directive or G.O.O.D. pilot program to provide educational assistance to certain former members of the Armed Forces for education and training as VA physician assistants. An individual is eligible to participate in the program if the individual: has medical or military health experience gained while serving in the Armed Forces; has received a certificate, associate degree, baccalaureate degree, master's degree, or postbaccalaureate training in a science relating to health care; has participated in the delivery of health care services or related medical services; and does not have a degree of doctor of medicine, doctor of osteopathy, or doctor of dentistry. The VA shall: provide educational assistance to program participants for the costs of obtaining a master's degree in physician assistant studies or a similar master's degree, ensure that mentors are available for program participants at each VA facility at which a participant is employed, and seek to partner with specified government programs and with appropriate educational institutions that offer degrees in physician assistant studies. The VA shall: establish specified standards to improve the education and hiring of VA physician assistants, and implement a national plan for the retention and recruitment of VA physician assistants that includes the adoption of competitive pay standards. VA physician assistant pay grades are established.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
President John F. Kennedy Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 silver coins in commemoration of President John F. Kennedy. The bill requires all sales of such coins to include a surcharge of $10 per coin, which shall be paid by Treasury to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation to support the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 This bill revises education and related benefits provided to veterans, service members, dependents, and survivors. The bill amends the Post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance program to: remove certain time restrictions on program use; increase assistance for reservists, guardsmen, dependents, and surviving spouses and dependents; provide full eligibility for Post-9/11 Purple Heart recipients and certain reservists and guardsmen; provide an extra academic years' worth of benefits for STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) degree candidates; establish a five-year pilot program for high technology courses; restore eligibility for service members whose school closes in the middle of a semester; authorize funding to improve claims processing; permit assistance to be used at certain institutions that are not institutions of higher education; and pro-rate the housing stipend for reservists called to active duty. The bill authorizes the Edith Nurse Rogers STEM Scholarship to help veterans complete STEM degrees. The Yellow Ribbon program is extended to Fry Scholarship recipients (surviving dependents of service members who died on active duty) and certain Purple Heart recipients. (The Yellow Ribbon program helps veterans pay for higher education tuition and fee costs not covered by the Post-9/11 program.) The bill: (1) extends the Advisory Committee on Education, (2) increases survivors' and dependents' educational assistance, and (3) extends funding for state educational program approving agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2017
VA Acquisition Workforce Improvement and Streamlining Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement certain training curricula and certification programs for specified logistics, construction, or facilities management employees of VA or the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The VA may develop: (1) curricula in a manner that provides such training in person, over a website, or by another federal agency; and (2) certification programs in a manner that uses either one level of certification or more than one level as appropriate for different grades of the General Schedule. The VA shall prioritize the use of acquisition internship programs to hire employees in entry-level, acquisition positions. The VA shall develop a plan to reduce duplication and increase efficiencies of the VA's acquisition functions in a manner that achieves cost savings necessary to carry out such training, certification, and acquisition internship programs. The VA shall determine whether to: (1) consolidate or abolish certain service area and program contacting activity offices and transfer their functions to certain other VA or VHA facilities; and (2) consolidate specified functions of the VA's Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction and the VHA's Procurement and Logistics Office into one such office.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
DD-214 Modernization Act This bill directs the Department of Defense to modify the Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214) to include a specific block explicitly identified as the location in which a member of the Armed Forces may provide an email address by which the member may be contacted after discharge or release from active duty.
![Official portrait of Rep. Bergman, Jack [R-MI-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b001301_200.jpg)