United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2021
Same Day Registration Act of 2021 This bill requires states with a voter registration requirement to make same-day voter registration available at the polling place on any day voting is permitted.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2021
Guam Supplemental Security Income Equality Act This bill extends the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program to Guam. This is a federal program designed to help aged, blind, and disabled individuals with limited income and resources meet basic needs. When Congress created the SSI program in 1972, it excluded Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. The Social Security Administration may waive or modify statutory requirements relating to the provision of benefits as necessary to adapt the program to Guam.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2020
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 120 4th Street in Petaluma, California, as the "Lynn C. Woolsey Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2020
This resolution recognizes the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Agreement, an international agreement to keep global temperature from rising 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. It also recommends that the United States rejoins the global warming agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2020
This resolution recognizes the 72nd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, supports the designation of Human Rights Day, and encourages the observation of Human Rights Day and a continued commitment to upholding human rights around the globe.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2020
Conservation for Agricultural Leased Land Act or the CALL Act This bill directs the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the Department of Agriculture to carry out a study and make recommendations regarding conservation practices on leased agricultural land. The study must (1) address issues such as participation in conservation programs and barriers to adopting conservation practices; and (2) be carried out with particular consideration of farmers and ranchers who are people of color, including Black and indigenous farmers and ranchers, and beginning farmers and ranchers.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2020
Climate Agricultural Conservation Practices Act This bill requires the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture to review the national conservation practice standards, taking into consideration the climate benefits of such standards. Climate benefit is defined as a reduction in agricultural greenhouse gas emissions; an increase in carbon sequestration; or mitigation against, or adaptation to, increased weather volatility.
United States · United States Congress · 24 November 2020
Pandemic Accommodation to Support Students Act or the PASS Act This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to extend certain temporary relief related to federal student loans. Specifically, the bill extends to September 30, 2021, the suspension of payments and interest due on Federal Direct Loans and Federal Family Education Loans that are held by ED. Further, ED must carry out a program, beginning on August 1, 2021, to provide at least six notices to borrowers that normal payment obligations will resume.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2020
Air America Act of 2020 This bill establishes the service of Air America employees as qualifying service for purposes of the Civil Service Retirement System. (Air America was a government-owned airline that provided air transport for certain covert operations in Southeast Asia, including Laos and Vietnam, between 1950 and 1976.) The bill applies to U.S. citizens who were employees of Air America or another affiliated company, as specified, between January 1, 1950 and December 31, 1976. Benefit applications must be filed within two years of the date of enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2020
Marine Mammal Climate Change Protection Act This bill updates the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to address the effects of climate change, including by establishing a program to monitor the adverse impacts of climate change on marine animals and requiring the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to create a process to list and promote the conservation marine mammal species and population stocks in waters under U.S. jurisdiction for which climate change has more than a remote possibility of resulting in a decline in population, impeding population recovery, or reducing carrying capacity.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2020
Sustainable Aviation Fuel Act This bill establishes targets and standards for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from airplane flights and provides incentives for the production and use of sustainable aviation fuel. Specifically, this bill establishes a national goal to achieve a net 35% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from flights by 2035 and net zero emissions by 2050. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must establish a low carbon fuel standard for aviation fuels. Under the standard, the EPA must set annual targets in order to reduce certain greenhouse gas emissions associated with aviation fuel by at least (1) 20% by 2030, and (2) 50% by 2050. Beginning in FY2023, the Department of Defense must make a bulk purchase of an amount of sustainable aviation fuel that is not less than 10% of the total amount of aviation fuel procured for operational purposes. Additionally, the Department of Transportation must implement a program that offers grants and cost-sharing agreements for projects to produce, transport, blend, or store sustainable aviation fuel. The projects must be located in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2020
This resolution supports the naming of new or undedicated Department of Veterans Affairs facilities after women veterans and minority veterans to reflect the diversity of all who have served in the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2020
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 101 South Willowbrook Avenue in Compton, California, as the "PFC James Anderson, Jr., Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2020
Native American Language Resource Center Act This bill authorizes the Department of Education to make a grant to or enter into a contract with an eligible entity (e.g., an institution of higher education) to establish, operate, and staff a Native American language resource and training center. The center must serve as a resource to, among other things, improve the capacity to teach and learn Native American languages.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2020
Holding Providers Harmless From Medicare Cuts During COVID-19 Act of 2020 This bill temporarily increases payments to providers under Medicare medical services. Specifically, the bill provides an additional payment for certain services in 2021 and 2022 if the otherwise applicable payment is less than what it would have been in 2020. The bill applies to services that are payable under the physician fee schedule, excluding specified outpatient evaluation and management services.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2020
This resolution acknowledges that same-sex couples rely upon court cases that uphold protections for same-sex couples and recognizes that all Americans should be treated fairly regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2020
This resolution supports the designation of National Dyslexia Awareness Month and calls on Congress, schools, and educational agencies to recognize that dyslexia has significant educational implications that must be addressed.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2020
This resolution condemns the military offensive launched by Azerbaijani and Turkish-backed forces on Artsakh and calls on all involved parties to honor cease-fire negotiations. In addition, the resolution urges the United States to withhold assistance to Azerbaijan until it ceases military operations in Artsakh, enourages open communication between officials of Artsakh and the U.S. government, and calls for the full participation of Artsakh in intergovernmental negotiations regarding its future. (Artsakh is officially recognized as a part of Azerbaijan.)
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2020
This resolution supports the designation and celebration of National Amateur Radio Operators Day, and it recognizes the continuing importance of amateur radio operators and their role in bringing communities together.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2020
Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act This bill establishes grant programs to address neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), and contains other related provisions. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall award grants to eligible entities to support research on and facilitate access to investigational drugs that diagnose or treat ALS. The Food and Drug Administration shall award grants to public and private entities to cover the costs of research and development of drugs that diagnose or treat ALS and other severely debilitating neurodegenerative diseases. HHS shall also establish the Collaborative for Neurodegenerative Diseases, which shall support the development and regulatory approval of drugs that address ALS and other rare neurodegenerative diseases.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2020
Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act of 2020 This bill implements various ocean-based policies, programs, and goals to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including by establishing the Blue Carbon Program to further conservation objectives for fish and wildlife habitat conservation and restoration and coastal resilience.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2020
Humane Research and Testing Act of 2020 This bill establishes the National Center for Alternatives to Animal Research and Testing within the National Institutes of Health to promote alternatives to animal research and testing and to reduce the number of animals used in such research and testing. It also requires federal departments or agencies and federally funded research entities that use animals for research and testing to develop plans to reduce the use of animals in their activities and annually report the number of animals that they use to the center. The center must make this information publicly available.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2020
Zero-Emission Vehicles Act of 2020 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a zero-emission passenger vehicle standard. Specifically, the bill sets a schedule for increasing the percentage of zero-emission vehicles a vehicle manufacturer delivers for sale, culminating in a requirement to sell only zero-emission vehicles from 2035 on. The bill also requires the EPA to establish a zero-emission vehicle credit program that approves one zero-emission vehicle credit for each zero-emission vehicle delivered for sale in the United States and partial credits for qualified electric vehicles based on the estimated proportion of the mileage driven on the battery. Manufacturers that fail to meet the minimum required percentage of zero-emission vehicle sales must submit to the EPA a quantity of zero-emission vehicle credits sufficient to offset the excess. Credits may also be sold, transferred, exchanged, or retired in certain circumstances. The bill imposes civil penalties for the failure to comply with zero-emission vehicle credit standards, with collected penalties being deposited into the Highway Trust Fund. After 2035, the EPA may issue injunctions on the manufacture of passenger vehicles other than zero-emission vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2020
Emergency Social Security COLA for 2021 Act This bill applies a 3% cost-of-living increase to Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income payable in calendar year 2021. The bill also disregards this increase for purposes of determining an individual's eligibility for federally funded, means-tested programs.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2020
This resolution condemns Azerbaijan's military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed region also known as Artsakh, and denounces Turkey's participation in the conflict. The resolution reaffirms U.S. support of efforts to secure an agreement from Azerbaijan to cease military operations against Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2020
Pandemic Assistance for Student Veterans Act of 2020 This bill addresses the administration of educational assistance programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in relation to the COVID-19 emergency, Specifically, the VA must provide educational assistance, including housing stipends and allowances, to individuals who are negatively affected by the COVID-19 emergency. The bill ensures that entitlement to educational assistance will not be charged or counted against the aggregate period in situations where an individual was unable to complete a course or program due to the COVID-19 emergency. The VA must treat an individual's withdrawal from a program of education due to COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and December 21, 2021, as a mitigating circumstance and not charge the individual's educational assistance entitlement. The bill modifies the time limitation for use of Montgomery Bill benefits or vocational rehabilitation benefits during the pandemic so the window of eligibility does not expire during the COVID-19 emergency. Additionally, the bill adjusts the administration of certain benefits for veterans participating in an apprenticeship or other on-job training during the period between March 1, 2020, and December 21, 2021, including by proportionately reducing the 120-hour monthly training requirement to reflect an individual's period of unemployment without a reduction in training assistance. The bill expands educational assistance to include programs or courses of education at training establishments (e.g., establishment providing apprentice or other on-job training) during the COVID-19 emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2020
VA Community Care Wait Time Transparency Act of 2020 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a goal for the maximum number of days between the date on which a veteran requests an appointment for medical care and the date on which the appointment occurs. Such a goal shall apply to medical care furnished by the VA via non-VA and VA providers for both new and returning patients. The VA must publish on a public website the average wait times for new and returning patients seeking care under the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP) and the percentage of appointments for care under the VCCP that occur within the number of days specified for the wait time access standard.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2020
Preventing Future Pandemics Act of 2020 This bill establishes measures to address global public health risks posed by wildlife markets, which are commercial markets that sell or slaughter wildlife for human consumption as food or medicine in communities where alternative nutritional or protein sources are available. Specifically, the bill prohibits importing, exporting, purchasing, or selling live wild animals in the United States for human consumption as food or medicine. The Department of the Interior must hire, train, and deploy at least 50 new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement attachés around the world, and the U.S. Agency for International Development must increase specified activities to address the threats and causes of zoonotic (animal-to-human transmission) disease outbreaks. Additionally, the United States must work with other United Nations member states to urge a global ban on commercial wildlife markets and enforcement of laws to end wildlife trafficking. Further, the President may impose sanctions against a foreign country or foreign nationals that the Department of State has determined are taking certain actions that enable or facilitate commercial wildlife markets. Among other reports required by the bill, the State Department must conduct a study and submit a report that includes an evaluation of (1) the impact that consumption of terrestrial wildlife as food or medicine has on the transmission of novel viral and other pathogens, (2) the role of consuming terrestrial wildlife as food or medicine in the transmission of microbes from animals to humans, and (3) the conditions at live wildlife markets that lead to this transmission.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2020
This resolution condemns the performance of unwanted, unnecessary medical procedures on individuals without their informed consent and recognizes the need for additional accountability, oversight, and transparency to protect individuals from such medical procedures while they are in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It also calls on the Department of Homeland Security to fully cooperate with investigations about, and take other actions related to, medical procedures in one of its detention centers.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2020
This resolution supports the designation of Disabled American Veterans Day and acknowledges that Disabled American Veterans chapters demonstrate their unending commitment to ill and injured veterans of all generations and conflicts.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020
Battleship Iowa National Museum of the Surface Navy Act of 2020 This bill designates the Battleship USS Iowa Museum located in Los Angeles, California, as the National Museum of the Surface Navy.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020
Protecting Our Democracy Act This bill addresses issues involving (1) abuses of presidential power; (2) checks and balances, accountability, and transparency; and (3) foreign interference in elections. Specifically, regarding abuses of presidential power, the bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the President to submit to Congress specified materials relating to certain pardons; prohibits self-pardons by the President; suspends the statute of limitations for any federal offense committed by a sitting President or Vice President; prohibits the acceptance of foreign or domestic emoluments, authorizes civil actions by Congress concerning foreign emoluments, and requires the President to make certain disclosures; and sets forth provisions regarding enforcement authority of the Office of Government Ethics and Office of Special Counsel jurisdiction. To address checks and balances, accountability, and transparency, the bill, among other things authorizes specified actions to enforce congressional subpoenas, requires appropriations to be made available for obligation in a timely manner, imposes limits on presidential declarations of emergencies, requires DOJ to maintain a log of communications between it and the White House regarding certain investigations, requires cause for removal of inspectors general, increases whistleblower protections, reauthorizes the Merit Systems Protection Board, and establishes penalties for political appointees who engage in prohibited political activities. To protect against foreign interference in elections, the bill requires federal campaign reporting of foreign contacts, requires federal campaigns to establish a foreign contacts compliance policy, and specifies that foreign donations to political campaigns and candidates of nonpublic information relating to a candidate are prohibited.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020
This resolution calls for renewed U.S. leadership in addressing the climate crisis that is disproportionately affecting the health, economic opportunity, and fundamental rights of children. It also recognizes the need for the executive branch to prepare a climate recovery plan that puts the United States on a trajectory consistent with reducing global atmospheric carbon dioxide to below 350 parts per million by the year 2100.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020
Air Carrier Worker Support Extension Act of 2020 This bill extends authority for the Department of the Treasury to provide financial assistance to passenger air carriers, cargo air carriers, and contractors of passenger air carriers for the continuation of payment of employee wages, salaries, and benefits. The maximum amounts of financial assistance that may be provided by Treasury for this purpose are $25.5 billion for passenger air carriers, $300 million for cargo air carriers, and $3 billion for contractors . The bill provides specific deadlines and procedures under which Treasury must provide financial assistance to air carriers and contractors. To be eligible for financial assistance, an air carrier or contractor must (1) agree not to reduce pay and benefits or conduct involuntary furloughs until March 31, 2021; and (2) agree, through March 31, 2022, not to repurchase stock, pay dividends, or make other capital distributions. Additionally, Treasury may require carriers that receive assistance to maintain service to points served before March 1, 2020. Such authority terminates on April 1, 2022. The bill limits the maximum allowable compensation of an officer or employee of an air carrier or contractor that receives assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020
This resolution recognizes (1) the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month; and (2) the integral role of Latinos and their manifold heritage in the economy, culture, and identity of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2020
This resolution calls for free and fair 2020 elections in Burma (Myanmar) and expresses support for the people of Burma. The resolution also urges the United States and the international community to ensure a safe, participatory, and transparent electoral process in Burma through various measures.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2020
FEMA Assistance Relief Act of 2020 This bill modifies the federal cost share of certain emergency assistance relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Specifically, the bill provides for (1) a 100% federal cost share of assistance provided under the emergency declaration issued by the President on March 13, 2020, relating to COVID-19 and any subsequent major disaster declaration that supersedes it; and (2) at least a 90% federal cost share of assistance provided for any emergency or major disaster declared by the President from January 1-December 31, 2020. With respect to the emergency declaration issued on March 13, 2020, the President may provide assistance for activities, costs, and purchases of states or local governments or the owners or operators of eligible private nonprofits, including, among other things backfill costs for first responders and other essential employees who are ill or quarantined; increased operating costs for essential government services due to such emergency; costs associated with maintaining alternate care facilities or related facilities currently inactive but related to future needs tied to the ongoing pandemic event; personal protective equipment and other critical supplies and services for first responders and other essential employees; and costs of procuring and distributing food to individuals affected by the pandemic through networks established by state, local, or tribal governments or other organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2020
I Am Vanessa Guillen Act of 2020 This bill addresses the response of the Department of Defense to sex-related offenses committed against members of the Armed Forces, including allowing a member to confidentially allege a complaint of sexual harassment to an individual outside the immediate chain of command of that member.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2020
This resolution supports the announcements of (1) the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain, and (2) the suspension of Israeli actions to apply sovereignty in parts of the West Bank. Further, it calls on each of these countries to encourage greater people-to-people normalization, and it calls on other Arab and Muslim countries to establish full relations with Israel. It also reaffirms the House of Representatives' support for a negotiated, two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2020
National Women's Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act of 2020 This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, half-dollar clad coins, and proof silver $1 coins in recognition and celebration of the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York. All minted coins shall include a specified surcharge, which shall be paid to the National Women's Hall of Fame Foundation to establish an endowment fund to provide for the long-term financing of the hall's operations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 August 2020
Increase Federal Disaster Cost Share Act of 2020 This bill increases the federal cost share from 75% to 90% for any federal disaster declaration beginning on January 20, 2020, and ending on December 31, 2020.
United States · United States Congress · 21 August 2020
Lethal Means Safety Training Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to update its Lethal Means Safety and Suicide Prevention training course at least once a year to ensure it is culturally appropriate and uses best practices identified by subject matter experts (e.g., veterans service organizations). The bill requires certain VA employees and care providers to take the most recently updated version of the training course within 90 days after the person is hired, agrees to furnish care, or receives support and at least annually thereafter. Specifically, the bill requires the following categories of VA employees or care providers to take the training course: employees of the Veterans Health Administration or Veterans Benefits Administration who regularly interact with veterans, compensation and pension examiners, employees of Veterans Centers or vocational rehabilitation facilities, employees of Veterans Community Care Providers who provide care to veterans, and family caregivers receiving support under the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers. The VA must publish the training course on a publicly available VA website. Additionally, the VA must publish a report on its website that includes the percentage of individuals in each category who have completed such training.
United States · United States Congress · 18 August 2020
American Indian and Alaska Native Veterans Mental Health Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide mental health and suicide prevention outreach to American Indian and Alaska Native veterans. Specifically, the bill requires that each VA medical center have a full-time minority veteran coordinator. The coordinator must receive training in the delivery of culturally appropriate mental health and suicide prevention services to American Indian and Alaska Native veterans. Further, the suicide prevention coordinator and minority veteran coordinator of each VA medical center must develop and disseminate a written plan for conducting mental health and suicide prevention outreach to all tribes and urban Indian health organizations within the area of the medical center.
United States · United States Congress · 14 August 2020
Veterans Infertility Treatment Act of 2020 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish infertility treatments, standard fertility preservation services, or both to a covered veteran, spouse, partner, or gestational surrogate if the individuals jointly apply for such treatments or services. A covered veteran is a veteran who has infertility and is enrolled in the VA health care system. Under the bill, in vitro fertilization treatment may only be furnished for up to three completed cycles resulting in live birth or six attempted cycles, whichever occurs first. The bill authorizes the VA to pay the adoption expenses (for up to three adoptions) for covered veterans. During the interim period before infertility treatment and adoption assistance regulations are in effect, the VA must ensure that fertility counseling and treatment for veterans may also be furnished to the partner of a veteran regardless of whether the veteran and the partner are married. Additionally, the VA may furnish such counseling and treatment using donated gametes or embryos. The VA must facilitate research conducted collaboratively by the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services to improve the ability of the VA to meet the long-term reproductive health care needs of veterans who have infertility conditions. Finally, the VA must ensure that useful information produced by such research is disseminated throughout the Veterans Health Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 2020
Delivering for America Act This bill prohibits the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from making changes to operations or levels of service from those that were in effect on January 1, 2020. Specifically, the USPS may not, during the period beginning on enactment of this bill and ending on the last day of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency or January 1, 2021, whichever is later, implement or approve any change to the operations or the level of service that would impede prompt, reliable, and efficient services, including changes in the nature of services that will generally affect service on a nationwide basis; revisions of service standards; closures or consolidations of post offices or reduction of facility hours; prohibitions on payment of overtime pay to USPS officers or employees; changes that would prevent the USPS from meeting its service standards or that would reduce measurements of performance concerning those standards; changes that would have the effect of delaying mail, allowing non-delivery to a delivery route, or increasing the volume of undelivered mail.
United States · United States Congress · 7 August 2020
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 183 San Geronimo Valley Drive in Woodacre, California, as the "Marylu Giddings Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 7 August 2020
Disaster Savings and Resilient Construction Act of 2020 This bill allows a tax credit through 2022 for certain residential or commercial buildings owned by a taxpayer in a disaster area that are designed and constructed to meet resilient construction requirements. The bill defines resilient construction requirements as requirements with respect to buildings in a disaster area that make such buildings resistant to hazards brought on by a major disaster, reduce the duration of a disruptive event, and have the capacity to withstand a potentially disruptive event.
United States · United States Congress · 7 August 2020
This resolution supports the designation of National Health Center Week and encourages Americans to participate in this week by visiting their local health center.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2020
This resolution confirms that the 2020 presidential election shall be held on November 3, 2020. It recognizes that the United States shall hold elections as constitutionally mandated and legally authorized.