United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2018
International Violence Against Women Act of 2018 This bill provides for a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. The bill establishes in the Department of State an Office of Global Women's Issues which shall be headed by an Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues. The Ambassador-at-Large shall: (1) coordinate U.S. government efforts regarding gender equality and the advancement of women and girls in foreign policy, and (2) develop or update periodically a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. The bill establishes in the U.S. Agency for International Development the position of Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment who shall direct policies, programs, and funding regarding gender equality and women's empowerment. The bill requires that U.S. assistance made available for humanitarian relief, conflict mitigation, and post-conflict reconstruction prevents and responds to violence against women and girls. The Department of State shall also identify incidents that occur during armed conflict and implement emergency responses.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2018
Election Security Act This bill directs the Election Assistance Commission to establish grant programs to support (1) states' compliance with certain voting system security requirements, including the use of voting systems that require individual paper ballots marked by hand; (2) states' audits of federal election results (i.e., manual counts of paper ballots); and (3) research and development directed at improving the security and reliability of election infrastructure. The bill also (1) requires the President to develop a national strategy to protect against attacks on U.S. democratic institutions, and (2) establishes the National Commission to Protect U.S. Democratic Institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2018
Commonsense Legislation Ensuring Accountability by Reporting Access of Non-Cleared Employees to Secrets Act or the CLEARANCES Act This bill requires the President to submit quarterly reports to Congress on security clearance information with respect to individuals working in the White House or in the Executive Office of the President.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2018
Protecting Independent Contractors from Discrimination Act of 2018 This bill requires that independent contractors be treated as employees under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2018
Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act This bill requires federal employees furloughed due to a lapse in appropriations that begins on or about February 8, 2018, to be compensated at their standard rate of compensation for the period of such lapse as soon as practicable after such lapse ends.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2018
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1075 North Tustin Street in Orange, California, as the "Specialist Trevor A. Win'E Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2018
Rosie the Riveter Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to make appropriate arrangements for the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to Rosie the Riveters (i.e., any female individual who held employment or volunteered in support of the war efforts during World War II), in recognition of their contributions to the nation and the inspiration they have provided to ensuing generations. The medal shall be displayed at the National Museum of American History, which is urged to make the medal available for display at other locations associated with the Rosie the Riveters.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2018
Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018 or the STOP School Violence Act of 2018 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to revise and reauthorize through FY2028 the Secure Our Schools grant program. This grant program provides grants to states, local governments, and Indian tribes to improve security, including the placement and use of metal detectors and other deterrent measures, at schools and on school grounds.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2018
Ensuring Full Participation in the Census Act of 2018 This bill prohibits questions regarding citizenship, nationality, or immigration status from being used in the decennial census. The bill does not apply to the American Community Survey.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2018
Recognizes the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers strike. Honors the perseverance of the members of Union Local 1733 and the contribution of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in resolving the labor dispute.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2018
Healthy Climate and Family Security Act of 2018 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require the Department of the Treasury to establish a carbon trading program that caps the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from crude oil, coal, and natural gas. Beginning in 2019, crude oil refineries, petroleum importers, coal mines, coal importers, and natural gas suppliers or processors must purchase carbon permits equivalent to the amount of CO2 that would be emitted by covered fuels. Treasury will auction these permits to those entities. This bill establishes a declining cap on the quantity of permits issued to reduce CO2 emissions until 2050 when the permits issued represent an amount 80% below 2005 CO2 emission levels. Treasury must issue permits for carbon capture and sequestration of CO2 from covered fuels. This bill provides for the trading or sale of permits between entities, the banking by entities of permits for future years, and the borrowing by Treasury of permits from future years to stabilize permit prices. Auction proceeds and penalties are returned to U.S. citizens lawfully present in the United States using the Healthy Climate Trust Fund established by this bill. Treasury must impose fees on the import and pay fees for the export of carbon-intensive goods when the export country does not have equivalent measures to regulate greenhouse gases. Carbon-intensive goods are goods with an increased cost due to the regulation of greenhouse gases. The Environmental Protection Agency must regulate within 10 years all sources of greenhouse gases that are anthropogenically emitted. This excludes gases attributable to the production of animals for food.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2018
Safe Coasts, Oceans, And Seaside Towns Act or the Safe COAST Act This bill provides statutory authority for specified safety regulations that govern offshore oil and gas production in the Outer Continental Shelf and provide protections for human, marine, and coastal environments. The Department of the Interior must contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to complete the study titled "Review and Update of Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Offshore Oil and Gas Operations Inspection Program" within 21 months.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2018
Supports: (1) the goals of the International Decade for People of African Descent, (2) the establishment of a global affairs strategy and assistance for such people, and (3) the expansion of efforts by international organizations to address the human rights situation of such people. Calls upon the United States, in cooperation with African descent communities, academics, activists, businesses, and philanthropic organizations, to develop strategies to execute the goals and ideals of such decade and to combat racism. Reaffirms the commitment of Congress to combat racism, discrimination, and intolerance in the United States and around the globe.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 2018
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution denies as protected speech any financial expenditures, or in kind equivalents, with respect to a candidate for federal office, without regard to whether or not a communication expressly advocates the election or defeat of a specified candidate in the election. The resolution gives Congress the power to enact a mandatory public financing system to provide funds to qualified candidates in federal elections, which shall be the sole source of funds raised or spent with respect to federal elections.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
Supports the designation of Darwin Day. Recognizes Charles Darwin as a worthy symbol on which to celebrate the achievements of reason, science, and the advancement of human knowledge.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
Reaching English Learners Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a grant program for preparing teachers to effectively instruct English learners. Grants may be awarded for up to five years.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
No Unconstitutional Strike against North Korea Act This bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) a conflict on the Korean peninsula would have catastrophic consequences; (2) actions and statements that increase tensions between the United States and North Korea should be avoided; and (3) the President should engage in talks with North Korea to reduce tensions and improve communication, initiate negotiations to achieve a diplomatic agreement to halt and eventually reverse North Korea's nuclear pursuits, and move toward denuclearization and a permanent peace in the Korean peninsula. Funds available to the Department of Defense or to any other federal department or agency may not be used to launch a military strike against North Korea or otherwise introduce U.S. Armed Forces into hostilities in North Korea before the earlier of: (1) the date on which Congress declares war on North Korea, or (2) the date of an authorization that meets the requirements of the War Powers Resolution and that is enacted after the enactment of this bill. Such prohibition shall not apply to military force used to: (1) repel a sudden attack on the United States, its territories or possessions, its Armed Forces, or its allies; or (2) rescue or remove U. S. personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act This bill requires federal employees furloughed due to a lapse in appropriations that begins on or about January 19, 2018, to be compensated at their standard rate of compensation for the period of such lapse as soon as practicable after such lapse ends.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
Transition Team Ethics Improvement Act This bill expands ethics and disclosure requirements for presidential transition teams. Among other changes, the bill requires presidential candidates to develop and publicly release ethics plans for their transition teams, requires team members to sign an ethical code of conduct, requires teams to report to Congress regarding security clearances, and expands disclosure requirements for team members who are assigned to federal departments or agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
Expresses support and respect for Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations. Censures and condemns President Trump for his derogatory statements about Haiti and other countries at the January 11, 2018, White House meeting and calls on him to retract and apologize for such remarks.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2018
Protecting Communities from Lost or Stolen Law Enforcement Weapons Act of 2017 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to modify requirements under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. Specifically, it authorizes the Department of Justice to give preference to a COPS program grant applicant from a state that requires law enforcement agencies to report officers' lost or stolen firearms to the National Tracing Center of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 2018
Hospital Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2018 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to extend through FY2023 support to improve surge capacity and enhance community and hospital preparedness for public health emergencies.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 2018
Federal Adjustment of Income Rates Act or the FAIR Act This bill increases by 3% the rates of basic pay for federal employees under the statutory pay systems (i.e., the General Schedule, the Foreign Service Schedule, and various schedules related to the Veterans Health Administration) for calendar year 2019. Additionally, it increases by 3% the rates of basic pay for prevailing rate employees for FY2019.
United States · United States Congress · 26 December 2017
Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act of 2017 This bill prohibits a predispute arbitration agreement from being valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of a sex discrimination dispute. The prohibition does not apply to an arbitration provision in a contract between an employer and a labor organization or between labor organizations, subject to limitations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 2017
National Law Enforcement Museum Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins that are emblematic of the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington, DC, and the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers throughout the history of the United States. All sales of such coins shall include specified surcharges, which shall be distributed to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Inc., for educational and outreach programs and exhibits.
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 2017
Ending Secrecy About Workplace Sexual Harassment Act This bill directs every employer required to submit to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission an Employer Information Report EEO-1 to include in such report the number of settlements reached in the resolution of claims pertaining to sex discrimination.
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 2017
Music Modernization Act of 2017 This bill amends the copyright law to create a statutory blanket license for making and distributing nondramatic musical sound recordings, including through digital delivery. The blanket license allows digital music services to distribute sound recordings covered by the license without negotiating for the rights for each individual recording, as long as the music service complies with the license's requirements, such as paying the required royalties.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2017
Welfare of Our Friends Act of 2017 or the WOOF! Act This bill amends the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit the Department of Agriculture (USDA) from licensing a dealer of dogs whose previous licenses have been suspended or revoked in the last 10 years if the license is for operating a facility that the dealer previously used. Further, USDA may not issue or renew a license to: (1) the dog dealer's immediate family members, (2) a person who resides at the same address as the dog dealer, or (3) certain legal entities if such dealer holds an ownership interest in the entity.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2017
Inclusive Campuses Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow historically black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions of higher education to use federal aid provided under title III of the Act to establish resource centers on campus that provide support to and education about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2017
Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act This bill requires federal employees furloughed due to a lapse in appropriations that begins on or about December 22, 2017, to be compensated at their standard rate of compensation for the period of such lapse as soon as practicable after such lapse ends.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 2017
Korematsu-Takai Civil Liberties Protection Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to modify the detention authority of the United States. Specifically, it adds a provision to prohibit the detention or imprisonment of an individual based solely on an actual or perceived protected characteristic of that individual. A protected characteristic includes race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2017
Fundamentally Understanding The Usability and Realistic Evolution of Artificial Intelligence Act of 2017 or the FUTURE of Artificial Intelligence Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Commerce to establish the Federal Advisory Committee on the Development and Implementation of Artificial Intelligence to advise Commerce on matters relating to the development of artificial intelligence, including: U.S. competitiveness, including the promotion of investment into the development of artificial intelligence; the U.S. workforce, including the potential for using artificial intelligence for rapid retraining of workers, due to the possible effect of technological displacement; education, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education to prepare workers as the needs of employers change; open sharing of data and research on artificial intelligence; and international cooperation and competitiveness, including the competitive international landscape for artificial intelligence-related industries.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2017
Stop Underrides Act of 2017 This bill amends federal transportation law to require the Department of Transportation (DOT) to issue a final rule to require the installation of rear underride guards that meet a specified performance standard on all trailers, semi-trailers, and single unit trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds that are manufactured on or after the effective date of the rule. DOT shall issue a final rule requiring the installation of side underride guards that meet a specified performance standard on all trailers, semi-trailers, and single unit trucks with a gross vehicle rating of more than 10,000 pounds manufactured on or after the effective date of the rule. DOT shall issue a final rule requiring all commercial motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds manufactured on or after the effective date of the rule to be equipped with front underride guards. It shall complete research on equipping commercial motor vehicles with a gross weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds with a front underride guard to prevent trucks from overriding the passenger vehicle and submit to the congressional transportation committees a report on such research. The bill sets forth provisions regarding retrofit and maintenance requirements, and requires post-accident inspections and pre-trip inspections by drivers.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2017
Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2017 This bill requires the Social Security Administration (SSA) to make annual grants to each state's protection and advocacy system for the purpose of conducting reviews of representative payees under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program and the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program. The SSA must also conduct periodic onsite reviews of individual and organizational payees. The bill lessens certain monitoring requirements with respect to specified family members who are serving as representative payees. The bill provides for advance designation of representative payees. In general, an individual who has been convicted of a felony, or of an attempt or a conspiracy to commit a felony, may not serve as a representative payee. An individual who has a representative payee may not also serve as a representative payee. The SSA must report to specified congressional committees on certain issues related to representative payment with respect to SSI and OASDI benefits. The SSA must: (1) enter into agreements with each state for the purpose of sharing information to identify represented minor beneficiaries who are in foster care; and (2) determine the appropriate representative payee for any represented minor beneficiary who has entered foster care, exited foster care, or changed foster care placement in a given month. The bill modifies provisions related to overpayment liability with respect to a represented minor beneficiary in foster care. The Government Accountability Office must report to specified congressional committees on certain issues related to represented minor beneficiaries in foster care.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2017
Workplace Action for a Growing Economy Act or the WAGE Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to award back pay and additional damages to any employee whose rights under the NLRA have been violated by an employer; impose penalties upon an employer for failing to post a notice of the rights of their employees under the NLRA; impose penalties upon an employer whose violations of the NLRA result in the discharge of an employee or other serious economic harm to the employee; provide civil remedies, including restraining orders, and a private right of action for violations of the NLRA; require the NLRB to issue an order requiring collective bargaining when a majority of valid ballots have been cast in favor of union representation; prevent the classification of employees as supervisors for the purpose of denying such employees the protections of the NLRA; and expedite the establishment of initial collective bargaining agreements. The bill empowers the NLRB to enforce its own orders without petitioning a court for enforcement.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2017
Continuing Community Health and Medical Professional Programs to Improve Our Nation and Keep Insurance Delivery Stable Act of 2017 or the CHAMPION KIDS Act of 2017 This bill extends funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), community health centers, and other specified public health programs, and otherwise modifies provisions related to Medicaid, CHIP, and public health.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2017
Stop Harmful and Abusive Telecommunications Expression Act of 2017 or the Stop HATE Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Commerce and the Department of Justice to report about the role of telecommunications in violent acts and the commission of crimes of hate against individuals or groups of individuals on the basis of race, gender and gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, color, or national origin. The report must analyze information about the use of telecommunications to advocate and encourage violent acts and the commission of crimes of hate, including: (1) the role that such telecommunications are playing in giving groups that advocate and commit such crimes a platform to spread their messages and to organize; (2) how such use and the role of telecommunications have changed with new forms of communication on the Internet and other electronic media; and (3) any recommendations, consistent with the First Amendment, necessary to address such use and such role of telecommunications.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2017
Bears Ears National Monument Expansion Act This bill expands the boundaries of the Bear Ears National Monument in Utah. The Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture USDA shall administer the lands under their jurisdictions within the expanded boundaries: (1) as part of the monument; and (2) in accordance with Presidential Proclamation 9558, dated December 28, 2016, which provided for establishment of the monument. Interior and USDA shall promptly carry out the proclamation's provisions, including the provisions requiring them to engage the Bear Ears Commission to: ensure the proper care and management of the objects identified; ensure that management decisions affecting the monument reflect tribal expertise and traditional and historical knowledge; and provide guidance and recommendations on the development and implementation of management plans and on management of the monument. The National Park Service shall administer Natural Bridges National Monument and those portions of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area that are within the expanded boundaries as part of the monument. Interior and USDA may acquire lands, waters, or interests in land that are located within the revised boundaries of the monument by donation, purchase, or exchange.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2017
Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Labor to update the salary threshold applicable to bona fide executive, administrative, and professional employees for purposes of determining eligibility for overtime pay. The bill adopts rulemaking promulgated by Labor in 2016 that established the threshold for exempting such employees from overtime requirements at the 40th percentile of earnings for full-time salaried employees in the lowest-wage census region. The bill also requires updates to the threshold amount every three years.
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 · 16 November 2017
Sustainable Energy Development Reform Act This bill addresses sustainable energy development, including to (1) increase royalty rates and penalties for oil and gas leasing; (2) increase the amount of renewable energy on public land and waters; (3) prepare and manage for the impacts of climate change; (4) revise the onshore and offshore fossil fuel leasing, exploration, and development program; and (5) include the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System and reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Having Open Access to Relevant Data Act or the Hoard Act The bill requires the Department of the Interior to submit to Congress a report on the number and age of unused approved oil and gas drilling permits and the average cost to the Bureau of Land Management of approving such permits.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
This bill allows a vehicle that is propelled exclusively by means of electric battery power to exceed the Interstate System vehicle weight limit by an amount that is equal to the difference between: (1) the weight of the vehicle attributable to the electric batteries and the vehicle's wiring system, and (2) the weight of a comparable diesel tank and fueling system. Current law caps the weight of a vehicle at 80,000 pounds. This bill allows an electric vehicle to have a maximum gross weight of 82,000 pounds.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act This bill establishes the Pension Rehabilitation Administration within the Department of the Treasury and a related trust fund to make loans to certain multiemployer defined benefit pension plans. To receive a loan, a plan must be either in critical and declining status (including any plan with respect to which a suspension of benefits has been approved) or insolvent, if the plan became insolvent after December 16, 2014, and has not been terminated. Treasury must issue bonds to fund the loan program and transfer amounts equal to the proceeds to the trust fund established by this bill. The Pension Rehabilitation Administration may use the funds, without a further appropriation, to make loans, pay principal and interest on the bonds, or for administrative and operating expenses. The bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to allow the sponsor of a multiemployer pension plan that is applying for a loan under this bill to also apply to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) for financial assistance if, after receiving the loan, the plan will still become (or remain) insolvent within the 30-year period beginning on the date of the loan. The bill also appropriates to the PBGC the funds that are necessary to provide the financial assistance required by this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2017
California Wildfire Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow various tax credits, deductions, and modifications to existing rules for individuals and businesses affected by wildfires in California. With respect to individuals and businesses in the affected areas, the bill: waives the 10% additional tax on early distributions from retirement plans for up to $100,000 in distributions made on or after October 8, 2017, and before January 1, 2019; permits individuals to recontribute funds to retirement plans if the funds were distributed for a home purchase in a wildfire disaster area that was cancelled on account of the wildfires; increases the limit and extends the repayment deadline for loans from retirement plans; allows an employee retention tax credit for a portion of the wages paid to an employee whose principal place of employment on specified dates was in a wildfire disaster zone; temporarily suspends the limitation on charitable contributions for relief efforts in the wildfire disaster areas; modifies the rules for the deduction for personal casualty losses, and allows taxpayers to use earned income from the immediately preceding year for the purpose of determining earned income for the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit. The bill is designated as an emergency requirement, which exempts the budgetary effects of the bill from certain budget enforcement rules, such as Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) rules.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2017
Member and Employee Training and Oversight On Congress Act or the ME TOO Congress Act This bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) to revise procedures for reporting, investigating, and resolving allegations of legislative branch employees that their rights and protections under the CAA, such as protections against sexual harassment and discrimination, have been violated.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2017
Impeaches President Donald J. Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors. Sets forth articles of impeachment for offenses related to: obstruction of justice, violation of the foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution, violation of the domestic emoluments clause of the Constitution, abuse of power by undermining the independence of the federal judiciary and the rule of law, and undermining freedom of the press.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2017
This bill nullifies a rule finalized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on November 13, 2017, that modifies payment under Medicare for certain drugs purchased through the 340B discount program.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2017
Veteran Treatment Court Coordination Act of 2017 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that veterans treatment courts are a successful program aimed at helping veterans charged with non-violent crimes receive the help and the benefits to which they are entitled. The Department of Justice (DOJ) shall establish a Veteran Treatment Court Program to provide assistance to state circuit court systems that have adopted or filed a notice of intent to establish such a program. The DOJ program shall include veterans treatment court grant programs carried out pursuant to laws establishing other incarceration alternatives programs.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2017
Wage Adjustment for Veterans Student Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay the higher of the federal, state, or local government minimum wage as a work-study allowance under the educational assistance programs. Currently, the VA must pay the higher of the state or federal minimum wage.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2017
Offshore Oil and Gas Worker Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 This bill prohibits an employer from discharging or discriminating against employees working in waters above the Outer Continental Shelf who report or testify about violations of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, including about unsafe conditions or the adequacy of any oil spill response plan required by law. The bill sets forth procedures for the filing, investigation, and adjudication of a whistle-blower complaint. Employers are required to: post a notice approved by the Department of Labor explaining employee rights and remedies in a conspicuous workplace location; provide training to employees about their rights within 30 days of employment, and at least once every 12 months thereafter; and provide employees with a card containing a toll free telephone number for obtaining information or for filing a complaint.
![Official portrait of Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/115_rp_ca_11_desaulnier_mark_200.jpg)