United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2018
AG and Legal Workforce Act This bill establishes a new H-2C nonimmigrant visa for aliens coming temporarily to the United States to perform agricultural labor or services. In addition, the bill (1) directs the Department of Homeland Security to create an electronic employment-eligibility confirmation system modeled after the E-Verify system, and (2) mandates the use of such a system by employers.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2018
United States Ports of Entry Threat and Operational Review Act This bill directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to submit to the congressional homeland security and tax committees a threat and operational analysis of U.S. air, land, and sea ports of entry.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2018
Honoring Veterans' Families Act This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide inscriptions for deceased spouses and children on certain headstones furnished by the VA.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2018
Recognizes the significance of the parsonage allowance to the nation's religious and spiritual communities, and supports its continued retention in the Internal Revenue Code.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2018
Recognizes the U.S. Navy's need for congressional support to address readiness, training, and modernization challenges that threaten to weaken naval superiority. Finds that failing to provide the U.S. Navy with stable and predictable funding negatively affects its ability to project power, reassure critical allies, and defeat adversaries.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2018
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) failing to provide the U.S. military with full, stable, and on-time funding allows adversaries of the United States to close military capability gaps; and (2) providing full, stable, and on-time funding for the Department of Defense (DOD) is critically necessary to prevent these increased risks. Expresses the House's commitment to ending the funding uncertainty for DOD and to providing resources to U.S. servicemembers.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2018
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Marine Corps faces significant readiness challenges and that failing to provide the Marine Corps with stable, robust, and on-time funding impedes its ability to meet ongoing and unexpected security threats.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2018
Weigh Habitats Offsetting Locational Effects Act of 2018 or the WHOLE Act of 2018 This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to revise the process by which the Department of the Interior or the Department of Commerce, as appropriate, reviews an agency action to determine whether the action is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of an endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of the critical habitat of the species. Specifically, the bill requires the appropriate department, when making such a determination, to consider the offsetting effects of protection or conservation measures that are already in place or proposed to be implemented as part of the action.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2018
Taxpayer Identity Protection Act This bill requires the Internal Revenue Service to submit to Congress a report regarding the Taxpayer Identification Number Perfection Program, including an explanation of the extent to which the information could be used to identify individuals receiving wages without work authorization.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2018
Mitigating Attacks on Diplomats Act This bill directs the Department of State to study the means of countering hypersonic acoustic attacks on Foreign Service officers and their families, including methods to support the physical protection of U.S. embassies, consulates, and embassy residences.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2018
Puerto Rico Admission Act of 2018 This bill establishes a process to enable the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico to be admitted into the Union as a state.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2018
Georgia Support Act This bill directs the Department of State to report to Congress regarding: U.S. security assistance to, and cybersecurity cooperation with, Georgia; and a strategy to assist Georgia combat Russian disinformation and propaganda. The President shall impose U.S. entry and property-blocking sanctions against a foreign person responsible for or complicit in the commission of serious human rights abuses in Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia that are occupied by Russia.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2018
Protect European Energy Security Act This bill requires reports to Congress from: the Department of State on its efforts to work with European Union member states and institutions to promote energy security and decrease their dependence on Russian energy sources, and to oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany and the Turk Stream pipeline from Russia through the Black Sea to Turkey; the Department of the Treasury on each U.S. entity and subsidiary involved in construction of such pipelines; and the Director of National Intelligence on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline's impact on U.S. security, European energy security and defense, Russian influence in Europe, and Ukraine.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2018
Expresses support for the designation of a national day of remembrance for members of the U.S. Armed Forces who were killed or injured by the terrorist attack on the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 23, 1983.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2018
Democratic Republic of the Congo Democracy and Accountability Act of 2018 This bill (1) urges the President to support efforts at the United Nations with respect to the humanitarian and political crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, (2) provides statutory authority for specified sanctions related to the Congo, and (3) requires the Department of State to report on human rights abuses and corruption there.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2018
Rescuing Animals With Rewards Act of 2018 or the RAWR Act This bill amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize Department of State rewards for a person who assists in the arrest or conviction of wildlife traffickers. Wildlife trafficking is the poaching or other illegal taking of protected or managed species and the illegal trade in wildlife and their related parts and products.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2018
Expresses concern that Turkey's anticipated purchase of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries threatens North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) interoperability. Encourages Turkey to realign its defense procurement strategy to comply with NATO.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2018
This bill directs the Department of Energy to report to Congress on a potential pilot program for the construction and operation of at least one micronuclear reactor (i.e., a reactor that has the thermal-power production capacity of up to 50 megawatts) to provide energy resilience for critical security infrastructure.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2018
Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act This bill specifies that individuals with metastatic breast cancer are not subject to certain waiting periods for disability insurance benefits under the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program and related Medicare coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2018
Condemns all forms of physical, mental, and sexual violence against children and youth globally. Commends the End Violence Against Children Solution Summit 2018 in Stockholm, Sweden, for its leadership.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2018
Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2018 This bill requires the Department of Education when reviewing whether there has been a violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance) based on an individual's actual or perceived shared Jewish ancestry or Jewish ethnic characteristics to consider the definition of "anti-Semitism" as part of its assessment of whether a practice was motivated by anti-Semitic intent. For purposes of this bill, the definition of "anti-Semitism" is the definition set forth by the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism of the Department of State in the Fact Sheet issued on June 8, 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2018
UNRWA Accountability Act of 2018 This bill directs the Department of State to report to Congress on the long-term strategy for funding and policy towards the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. The report shall include the national security impact of any such funding changes.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2018
Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2018 or the BURMA Act of 2018 This bill provides humanitarian assistance for Burma (Myanmar) and Bangladesh and imposes sanctions on Burmese military or security officials responsible for serious human rights abuses. The bill provides humanitarian assistance for Burma, Bangladesh, and the surrounding region, including assistance for the Rohingya minority. The Department of State, the Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Agency for International Development shall jointly submit to Congress a strategy for promoting economic growth in Burma.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2018
Cambodia Democracy Act of 2018 This bill directs the President to apply property-blocking and visa restriction sanctions against each senior official of the Cambodian government, military, or security forces who has directly and substantially undermined democracy in Cambodia and committed or directed serious human rights violations. Sanctions may be suspended for up to one year if the President certifies to Congress that Cambodia is making progress toward ending government efforts to undermine democracy, ending human rights violations, and conducting elections that allow for the participation of credible opposition candidates.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2018
Expresses the need for a swift resolution of the Special Counsel's investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 presidential election and related matters.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2018
I ntercountry Adoption Information Act of 2018 This bill amends the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 to direct the Department of State to include in its annual intercountry adoptions report to Congress information on: (1) countries that have halted or reduced adoptions of children by American parents, and (2) State Department efforts to encourage the resumption of such halted or reduced adoption proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2018
VA Hiring Enhancement Act This bill negates enforcement of a noncompete agreement that an applicant for a physician's position in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has entered into with a non-Department of Veterans Affairs facility, entity, or individual. As a condition of terminating the noncompete agreement, the physician agrees to serve at the VHA for one year or until the expiration of the non-compete agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2018
Recognizes Estonia's, Latvia's, and Lithuania's 100th anniversary of independence, the 27th anniversary of their independence from the Soviet Union, and their political, economic, social, and military progress. Reiterates support for the European Deterrence Initiative as a means to enhance deterrence and increase military capabilities on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's eastern flank.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2018
Stephen Michael Gleason 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 Stephen Michael Gleason.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2018
Commends: (1) Israel for maintaining friendly and meaningful relations with the United States over the past 70 years, and (2) the Trump Administration for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocating the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2018
Ending the Fentanyl Crisis Act of 2018 This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to modify the drug quantity thresholds that trigger a mandatory minimum prison term for a defendant who manufactures, distributes, imports, exports, or possesses with intent to distribute fentanyl. Specifically, the bill reduces from 400 to 20 grams the fentanyl quantity and from 100 to 5 grams the fentanyl analogue quantity that trigger a 10-year or 20-year mandatory minimum prison term for high-level first-time or repeat offenders. It also reduces from 40 to 2 grams the fentanyl quantity and from 10 to 0.5 grams the fentanyl analogue quantity that trigger a 5-year or 10-year mandatory minimum prison term for low-level first-time or repeat offenders. Additionally, the bill directs the U.S. Postal Service to increase the availability of chemical screening devices and dedicate the appropriate number of personnel to interdict fentanyl and other substances that are unlawfully imported into the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2018
Recognizes: (1) the need for a strategy to promote the peaceful use of U.S. energy in Gulf Cooperation Council member countries, and (2) the national security threat of Russian or Chinese dominance of nuclear power in the Gulf region.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2018
Foreign Influence Transparency Act This bill amends the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 to limit the exemption from foreign agent registration with the Department of Justice for a person engaging in activities in furtherance of religious, scholastic, academic, or scientific pursuits or of the fine arts to only those activities that do not promote a foreign government's political agenda. The Higher Education Act of 1965 is amended to require institutions to report to the Department of Education a gift or contract from a foreign source whose annual value is $50,000 or more. The fair market value of in-kind-gifts is included in such limit. Currently, a report is due if the annual value is $250,000 or more, considered alone or in combination with all other gifts from or contracts with a foreign source.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2018
Condemns the attack in the United Kingdom on Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer, and his daughter Yulia on March 4, 2018. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States stands in firm partnership with the United Kingdom, and (2) Russian aggression across all domains should not be accepted.
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 · 14 March 2018
Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act of 2018 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to modify requirements for tax-favored retirement savings accounts, employer-provided retirement plans, and retirement benefits for federal judges. With respect to employer-provided plans, the bill modifies requirements regarding: multiple employer plans, automatic enrollment and nonelective contributions, loans, terminating or transferring plans, reporting and disclosure rules, nondiscrimination rules, selecting lifetime income providers, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation premiums. The bill also increases the tax credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and allows a tax credit for small employers that establish retirement plans that include automatic enrollment. With respect to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), the bill: treats taxable non-tuition fellowship and stipend payments as compensation, repeals the maximum age for traditional IRA contributions, and permits any IRA to be a shareholder of any S corporation that is a bank. The bill makes several modifications to retirement benefits for magistrate judges of the U.S. Tax Court and other federal judges. The bill also modifies various tax provisions to: reinstate and increase the tax exclusion for benefits provided to volunteer firefighters and emergency medical responders, revise the required distribution rules for pension plans, increase penalties for failing to file tax or retirement plan returns, and require the Internal Revenue Service to share returns and return information with U.S. Customs Border Protection to administer the heavy vehicle use tax.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2018
Calls for the international community to demand that North Korea dismantle its labor camp system and for North Korea to cease human rights abuses and release political prisoners.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2018
United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018 This bill extends Military Financing Program grants for Israel through FY2023. The Department of Defense shall conduct a joint assessment with Israel regarding: (1) precision guided munitions needed by Israel in a sustained armed confrontation with Hezbollah and other armed groups and terrorist organizations, and (2) related U.S. assistance and resupply planning. The President may utilize the Special Defense Acquisition Fund to transfer precision guided munitions and related defense articles and services to reserve stocks for Israel. Authorities for loan guarantees and the war reserves stockpile for Israel are extended through FY2023. The Department of Homeland Security shall establish a seven-year grant program with Israel to support: (1) cybersecurity research and development, and (2) commercialization of cybersecurity technology. The U.S. Agency for International Development may enter into memoranda of understanding with Israel to advance common goals on energy, agriculture and food security, democracy, economic growth, education, and health. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shall continue to work with the Israel Space Agency to pursue peaceful space exploration and science initiatives. The President may enter into a cooperative project agreement with Israel to carry out research and joint production of defense articles and services to detect and destroy unmanned aerial vehicles (i.e., drones) that threaten the United States or Israel. The bill states that it is U.S. policy to ensure that Israel maintains its qualitative military edge.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2018
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Economic Exclusion Act This bill expands sanctions against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The President shall report to Congress regarding: foreign and domestic supply chains that significantly aid the IRGC; Iranian state-owned entities that provide support to terrorist entities, including Mahan Air; and foreign persons owned or controlled by the IRGC, including companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange or companies with a value in excess of $100 million. The bill states that it is U.S. policy to prevent Iran's membership in the World Trade Organization and similar international bodies as long as Iran remains a state sponsor of terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act of 2018 or the BUILD Act of 2018 This bill establishes the United States International Development Finance Corporation to facilitate the participation of private sector capital and skills in the economic development of countries with low- or lower-middle-income economies and countries transitioning from nonmarket to market economies in order to complement U.S. assistance and foreign policy objectives. The corporation may: (1) make loans or loan guarantees, (2) as a minority investor acquire equity or financial interests in entities, (3) provide insurance or reinsurance to private sector entities and qualifying sovereign entities, (4) provide technical assistance, (5) administer special projects, (6) establish enterprise funds, (7) issue obligations, and (8) charge service fees. The corporation shall terminate after seven years. The corporation shall not provide assistance to: (1) a country whose government has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism, or (2) a private sector entity that is engaged in monopolistic practices. The bill prescribes transitional provisions, including transferring to the corporation the functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (which is subsequently terminated) and specified elements of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
Global Food Security Reauthorization Act of 2018 This bill amends the Global Food Security Act of 2016 to revise policy objectives and to: (1) extend through FY2021 the program to carry out those portions of the global food security strategy that relate to the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development, and (2) expand requirements for reporting by the President regarding strategy implementation. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended to extend through FY2021 the assistance program for international disaster relief and rehabilitation, including the set-aside for the emergency food security program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
Recognizes the strategic importance of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the importance of the renegotiation of the Compact of Free Association with the United States and encourages a continued commitment to improve census data to better serve citizens of the republic living in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2018
Export Control Reform Act of 2018 Export Controls Act of 2018 This bill grants the President authority to control: (1) the export, reexport, and transfer of items (commodities, software, or technology), whether by U.S. persons (including corporations) or by foreign persons, wherever located to protect national security; and (2) the activities of U.S. persons, wherever located, relating to specific nuclear explosive devices, missiles, chemical or biological weapons, whole plants for chemical weapons precursors, foreign maritime nuclear projects, and foreign intelligence services. A license shall be required for the export, reexport, or transfer of items to a country if the Department of State has made specified determinations with respect to support for international terrorism. The President shall establish and lead a regular ongoing interagency process to identify emerging critical technologies not identified in any list of items controlled for export. Anti-Boycott Act of 2018 The President shall issue regulations prohibiting specified actions with respect to foreign boycotts against a country that is friendly to the United States and may impose civil penalties for violations of boycott prohibitions.. The President shall impose specified sanctions: (1) upon determining that a U.S. person knowingly exports, reexports, or transfers of any item on the Guidelines and Equipment and Technology Annex of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR); and (2) on a foreign person who engages in specified activity involving MTCR equipment or technology transfers, where such person has knowingly and materially contributed through the export from the United States of any item subject to U.S. jurisdiction involving the efforts by a foreign country, project, or entity to acquire chemical or biological weapons.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2018
Improving Embassy Design and Security Act of 2018 This bill sets forth diplomatic post design and construction requirements. The Department of State shall: use the design-build project delivery system in which one entity works under a single contract to provide design and construction services at diplomatic posts that have not yet received design or construction contracts, develop a vertical standard design for diplomatic posts that are to be situated on smaller plots of land, adapt the design that utilizes a standardized design template with design-build project delivery at diplomatic posts that require a more customized design, and consult with Congress regarding any diplomatic post project that utilizes a non-standard design.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2018
Reaffirms U.S. support for Israel. Condemns actions of the United Nations Human Rights Council as wasteful and abusive. Supports remarks from Ambassador Nikki Haley in 2017 stating that the United States "does not seek to leave the council, but to reestablish its legitimacy." Calls on the council to: (1) reform and become competitive and transparent in membership selection, and (2) stop singling out Israel as a permanent item on its agenda. Urges Congress to support specified legislation that expands anti-boycott laws to extend to international organizations such as the United Nations and European Union.
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 · 29 January 2018
Reaffirms the U.S. commitment to the Republic of Korea to support, participate in, and help ensure the security of the Winter Olympic Games PyeongChang 2018. Recognizes the importance of such games as a leading international sporting event that can contribute to peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, in Northeast Asia, and beyond. Wishes the Republic of Korea success in hosting such games.
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