United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2019
Lymphedema Treatment Act of 2019 This bill includes certain lymphedema compression treatment items as covered durable medical equipment under Medicare. (Lymphedema is a condition of localized fluid retention and tissue swelling that is caused when the lymphatic system is damaged or blocked.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2019
Puerto Rico Admission Act This bill establishes a process to enable the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico to be admitted into the Union as a state. Not later than 90 days after enactment of this bill, the President shall issue a proclamation announcing that Puerto Rico is admitted into the Union on equal footing with other states. All of the territory laws in force in Puerto Rico on the enactment date shall (1) continue in force and effect in the state, except as modified by this bill; and (2) be subject to repeal or amendment by the legislature and the governor of Puerto Rico.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2019
SFC Brian Woods Gold Star and Military Survivors Act This bill expands benefits for survivors of members of the Armed Forces. Specifically, it provides commissary and exchange privileges to a remarried former spouse; provides continued eligibility for payment of an annuity to a spouse who remarries, including a surviving spouse who remarried before the age of 55 and before enactment of this bill; allows payment of necessary expenses for the transportation of a decedent's remains to two locations (if the second is a national cemetery); allows payment of financial assistance to civilian providers of child care or youth program services furnished to survivors of members who die in the line of duty while on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty for training; and provides continued eligibility of a remarried surviving spouse for payment of veterans' dependency and indemnity compensation, including a surviving spouse who remarried before the age of 57 and before enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2019
Ocean Acidification Innovation Act of 2019 This bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and revises the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2009. The bill authorizes a federal agency with a representative serving on the Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification to carry out a program that awards prizes competitively for innovative efforts to research or respond to ocean acidification. Priority must be given to establishing programs that address communities, environments, or industries that are in distress due to the impacts of ocean acidification.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2019
Supporting Children of the National Guard and Reserve Act This bill expands the military student identifier program to include students of parents who serve in reserve components of the Armed Forces, not just active duty members. The military student identifier program provides educators with information about the educational experience of children of members of the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2019
This resolution promotes increased public awareness of motorcycle profiling. The resolution also encourages the motorcycle community and law enforcement to collaborate and communicate on efforts to end motorcycle profiling.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2019
Restoring Investment in Improvements Act This bill confirms that the applicable recovery period for qualified improvement property (nonresidential real estate) for depreciation purposes is 15 years under the modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS) and 20 years under the alternative depreciation system (ADS).
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2019
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 the District of Columbia 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 · 25 March 2019
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment requiring the U.S. Supreme Court to be composed of not more than nine Justices.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2019
United States-Israel Cooperation Enhancement and Regional Security Act This bill authorizes various joint research and cooperation programs between the United States and Israel, reauthorizes security assistance to Israel, and establishes reporting requirements regarding various related issues. The bill authorizes the Department of State to work with Israel on research and development to establish directed energy capabilities. It authorizes through FY2024 cooperative projects involving the United States, Israel, and developing countries to identify and address sustainability challenges related to water resources, agriculture, and energy storage. The bill authorizes through FY2022 (1) activities of the U.S.-Israel Energy Center; (2) cooperation with and assistance to Israel related to security, explosives detection, and cybersecurity; (3) activities related to the U.S.-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund; and (4) activities to establish a cooperative program with Israel to develop health technologies. The State Department shall establish a grant program to support cybersecurity research and development and commercialization of cybersecurity technology open to joint ventures involving U.S. and Israeli entities. The President shall establish contingency plans to provide Israel with necessary defense articles and services and assess plans to assist and supply Israel with munitions in the event of a sustained armed confrontation with Hezbollah. The bill authorizes the President to (1) waive export control requirements and immediately transfer defense articles to Israel in response to an existing or imminent military threat, and (2) transfer precision guided munitions to Israel as necessary for legitimate self-defense. The bill extends through FY2024 security assistance and loan guarantees for Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2019
This resolution opposes the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement (BDS) and other efforts targeting Israel, and states that BDS undermines the possibility for a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The resolution urges both sides to return to direct negotiations and expresses support for a solution resulting in the state of Israel existing alongside a democratic Palestinian state.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2019
Small Scale LNG Access Act of 2019 This bill provides that an application for the exportation of natural gas that does not exceed 51.75 billion cubic feet per year shall be deemed consistent with the public interest and granted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission without modification or delay. Applications for exportation of natural gas to any nation subject to sanctions imposed by the United States may not be expedited.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2019
Horseracing Integrity Act of 2019 This bill establishes the Horseracing Anti-Doping and Medication Control Authority as an independent, private non-profit corporation with responsibility for developing and administering an anti-doping and medication control program for (1) Thoroughbred, Quarter, and Standardbred horses that participate in horse races; and (2) the personnel engaged in the care, training, or racing of such horses. The Federal Trade Commission shall have oversight over the authority. An interstate compact may be established after five years to take over the authority's duties.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2019
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Centennial Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 100,000 $1 coins in commemoration of the centennial of the establishment of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. All sales of such coins shall include a surcharge of $10 for each coin. All surcharges received by Treasury from the sale of such coins must be paid to the National World War I Museum and Memorial to assist in the commemoration of the centennial.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2019
College Transparency Act This bill requires the National Center for Education Statistics to establish a secure and privacy-protected data system that contains information about postsecondary students. Specifically, the data system must evaluate student enrollment patterns, progression, completion, and postcollegiate outcomes, and higher education costs and financial aid; provide complete and customizable information for students and families making decisions about postsecondary education; reduce the requirements for reporting by institutions of higher education; and periodically match with other federal systems of data. The bill also establishes a postsecondary student data system advisory committee.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2019
Jobs and Opportunity with Benefits and Services for Success Act This bill renames the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program as the Jobs and Opportunity with Benefits and Services (JOBS) program, reauthorizes the program through FY2024, and makes changes relating to work requirements for beneficiaries. States providing aid under the program shall create an individual opportunity plan for each beneficiary. States shall impose work requirements on all work-eligible beneficiaries, and shall reduce benefits for noncompliance. (Currently, individual plans are optional under TANF, and states have discretion as to whether to reduce benefits for noncompliant individuals.) States providing aid shall meet annual performance targets related to the number of beneficiaries who exit the program and find unsubsidized employment. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall reduce grants to states that fail to meet such targets. States shall provide data related to beneficiary employment and wages to HHS, which shall be publicly available. The bill modifies various limitations on the use of funds for various purposes, and establishes that at least 25% of funds from various grants shall be spent on core activities. Certain existing laws relating to monitoring and recovering improper benefits payments shall apply to the JOBS program. The bill eliminates programs providing (1) supplemental grants for population increases, (2) bonuses for high performance states, (3) welfare-to-work grants, and (4) contingency funds for state welfare programs.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2019
This resolution recognizes the importance of alliances in advancing U.S. interests and urges the President to reaffirm the United States' commitment to alliances.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2019
Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act of 2019 This bill requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to conduct and update at least once every seven years an ocean acidification coastal community vulnerability assessment with a corresponding public report. The assessment must identify (1) U.S. coastal communities that are most dependent on coastal and ocean resources that may be impacted by ocean acidification, (2) the nature of those communities' vulnerabilities, and (3) key knowledge gaps where research could be devoted to better understand the possible ocean acidification impacts and possible adaptation strategies for the communities. In carrying out the assessment, NOAA must collaborate with state and local government entities that are conducting or have completed vulnerability assessments, strategic research planning, or other similar activities related to ocean acidification to determine whether those activities may serve as a model for others and to identify opportunities to support those activities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2019
Violence Against Women Extension Act of 2019 This bill extends through March 31, 2020, 19 grant programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and subsequent legislation and administered by the Office on Violence Against Women within the Department of Justice.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2019
Cancer Drug Parity Act of 2019 This bill requires health plans that cover anticancer medications administered by a health care provider to provide no less favorable cost sharing for patient-administered anticancer medications. This requirement applies to medications that are (1) approved by the Food and Drug Administration; (2) medically necessary for the cancer treatment; and (3) clinically appropriate in terms of type, frequency, extent site, and duration. To comply with this requirement, health plans may not, with respect to anticancer medications (1) change or replace benefits to increase out-of-pocket costs, (2) reclassify benefits to increase costs, or (3) apply more restrictive limitations to orally administered medications than to intravenously administered or injected medications.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2019
Free Veterans from Fees Act This bill waives the application fee for any special use permit solely for a veterans demonstration or special event at war memorials on federal land.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2019
No Stolen Trademarks Honored in America Act This bill modifies the bar against U.S. courts enforcing or validating trademarks that were confiscated by the Cuban government. The bill prohibits U.S. courts from enforcing or validating such confiscated trademarks if the mark had been used in connection with a confiscated business or asset. Currently, the prohibition applies only if the confiscated trademark is being asserted in the United States by a Cuban national. Under the bill, the prohibition shall not apply if the original trademark owner, or a successor, has expressly consented to the enforcement action. The prohibition shall apply only if the entity asserting the trademark rights knew or should have known, when it acquired the rights, that the mark was the same or substantially similar to one connected to a confiscated business or asset.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2019
This resolution urges the government of Iran to assist in locating Robert Levinson and provide all available information related to his disappearance. (Robert Levinson is a Central Intelligence Agency operative who has been missing since 2007.)
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2019
New Markets Tax Credit Extension Act of 201 9 This bill makes the new markets tax credit permanent. It also modifies the credit to (1) provide for an inflation adjustment to the limitation amount for the credit after 2018, and (2) allow an offset against the alternative minimum tax for the credit (determined with respect to qualified equity investments initially made after 2018).
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2019
Veterans Improved Access and Care Act of 2019 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a pilot program at a minimum of 10 medical facilities to assess the feasibility and advisability of expediting the VA's process for onboarding new medical providers. Priority shall be given to facilities facing hiring shortages of licensed and independent medical providers. The VA is also required to submit to Congress a strategy to reduce the duration of its hiring process for licensed medical providers.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2019
Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act This bill establishes various entities and procedures to address the wrongful detainment of U.S. nationals abroad. The President shall appoint a Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. The envoy's duties shall include leading diplomatic engagement on U.S. hostage policy and coordinating diplomatic engagements in support of hostage recovery efforts. The President shall establish an interagency Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, which shall assess and track all hostage cases of U.S. nationals and coordinate agency efforts to safely recover hostages. The President shall also establish the Hostage Recovery Group, which shall make recommendations regarding hostage recovery options and coordinate the development and implementation of U.S. hostage recovery policies. The President is authorized to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions against any foreign person responsible for or complicit in the unlawful or wrongful detention of a U.S. national abroad. The Department of State shall review cases where U.S. nationals are detained abroad and refer instances of wrongful or unlawful detainment to the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2019
Enewetak Atoll Cleanup Radiation Study Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to seek to enter an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study and report on the level of radiation exposure experienced by members of the Armed Forces who participated in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll between January 1, 1977, and December 31, 1980.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2019
Veterans Armed for Success Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to make grants to organizations for the provision of transition assistance services, such as interview training, to members of the Armed Forces who are recently retired, separated, or discharged from the Armed Forces and the spouses of such members.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2019
National Nurse Act of 2019 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to designate the Chief Nurse Officer of the Public Health Service as the National Nurse for Public Health. The position includes the authority to (1) provide leadership and coordination of Public Health Service nursing professional affairs for the Office of the Surgeon General and other agencies of the Public Health Service, (2) conduct outreach and education, and (3) provide guidance and leadership for activities that will increase public safety and emergency preparedness. The National Nurse for Public Health must (1) participate in identification of national health priorities, (2) encourage volunteerism of nurses and strengthen the relationship between government agencies and health-related national organizations, and (3) promote the dissemination of evidence-based practice in educating the public on health promotion and disease prevention activities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2019
Education Savings Accounts for Military Families Act of 2019 This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to establish a program to provide children with parents on active duty in the uniformed services with funds to pay educational expenses. Specifically, ED shall establish a tax-exempt Military Education Savings Account for dependent children of parents in the uniformed services for the payment of the children's educational expenses. Funds in the savings account may be used for, among other things, the cost of attendance at a private elementary or secondary school or institution of higher education, private tutoring, or costs associated with an apprenticeship or other vocational training program.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2019
Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2019 This bill waives Medicare coinsurance requirements with respect to colorectal cancer screening tests, regardless of the code billed for a resulting diagnosis or procedure.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2019
Sunshine Protection Act of 2019 This bill makes daylight savings time the new, permanent standard time. States with areas exempt from daylight savings time may choose the standard time for those areas.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2019
This resolution honors Gibraltar's contribution to advancing U.S. security interests in the Mediterranean region and expresses support for the people of Gibraltar.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2019
Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2019 This bill expands Medicare coverage of intensive behavioral therapy for obesity. Specifically, the bill allows coverage for therapy that is provided by (1) a physician who is not a primary care physician; or (2) other health care providers (e.g., physician assistants and nurse practitioners) and approved counseling programs, if provided upon a referral from, and in coordination with, a physician or primary care practitioner. Currently, such therapy is covered only if provided by a primary care practitioner. The bill also allows coverage under Medicare's prescription drug benefit of drugs used for the treatment of obesity or for weight loss management for individuals who are overweight.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2019
Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act This bill allows individual and corporate taxpayers a tax credit for cash contributions to tax-exempt scholarship-granting organizations for elementary and secondary education expenses. It imposes a cap of $5 billion on the amount of contributions that qualify for a tax credit. The bill directs the Department of Education, in coordination with the Department of the Treasury, to establish, host, and maintain a web portal that (1) lists all eligible scholarship-granting organizations; (2) enables contributions to such organizations; (3) provides information about the benefits of this bill; and (4) enables a state to submit and update information about its programs and scholarship-granting organizations, including information on student eligibility and allowable educational expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2019
This bill requires each federal agency, for the purposes of booking and making payments for traveling employees' lodging expenses, to give priority to preferred places of accommodation. To be considered a preferred place of accommodation, a hotel, motel, or other place of public accommodation must have certain measures in place, including (1) a zero-tolerance policy regarding severe forms of trafficking in persons, (2) procedures for employees to identify and report such exploitation to appropriate law enforcement authorities and to hotel management, and (3) certain mandatory training for employees who are located at the place of accommodation and who are likely to interact with guests. The General Services Administration shall (1) develop and make available a model zero-tolerance policy for places of accommodation, (2) develop and publish a list of training programs that address the identification of human trafficking and reporting to authorities, and (3) maintain a list of each preferred place of accommodation. Compliance with these requirements shall be assessed and enforced separately for each individual place of accommodation, and a lack of compliance by one shall not impact the eligibility of an affiliated establishment.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2019
Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of one Congressional Gold Medal to Katherine Johnson, in recognition of her service to the United States as a mathematician; one Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Christine Darden, for her service to the United States as an aeronautical engineer; two Congressional Gold Medals in commemoration of the lives of Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, in recognition of their service to the United States during the Space Race; and one Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of all the women who served as computers, mathematicians, and engineers at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) between the 1930s and the 1970s.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2019
This bill designates the federal building and U.S. courthouse at 401 Southeast 1st Avenue in Gainsville, Florida, as the "Maurice M. Paul Federal Building and United States Courthouse."
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2019
Health Insurance Tax Relief Act of 2019 This bill delays reimposition of the annual fee on health insurers until 2022. Under current law, the annual fee for a health insurer is calculated based on the insurer's share of total premiums from the preceding year. The fee is suspended for 2019 (i.e., there is no fee based on premiums from 2018); reimposition is scheduled for 2020.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2019
ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2019 This bill eliminates the five-month waiting period for disability benefits under the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program for individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a progressive neurodegenerative disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord). Under current law, individuals must wait five months after becoming disabled before their disability insurance benefit payments may begin.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2019
Big Cat Public Safety Act This bill revises requirements governing the trade of big cats (i.e., species of lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, or cougar or any hybrid of such species). Specifically, it revises restrictions on the possession and exhibition of big cats, including to restrict direct contact between the public and big cats.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2019
Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act This bill requires private health insurance plans to cover diagnosis and treatment services for congenital anomalies and birth defects, such as reconstructive services and prosthetics. Coverage must include services that functionally improve, repair, or restore any body part that is medically necessary for normal bodily functions or appearance, as determined by the treating physician.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 2019
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress and the President should acknowledge the great decision made by the United States in acquiring the territory of Florida from Spain under the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819 and acknowledge the great contributions the State of Florida has given to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2019
Coastal and Ocean Acidification Stressors and Threats Research Act of 2019 or the COAST Research Act of 2019 This bill addresses the effects of ocean and coastal acidification on marine organisms and ecosystems. Specifically, the bill reauthorizes through FY2023 and revises the Ocean Acidification Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the ocean acidification grant program of the National Science Foundation. The bill expands those programs, as well as the ocean acidification activities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to include efforts to research and monitor the effects of coastal acidification.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2019
Help Extract Animals from Red Tape Act of 2019 or the HEART Act of 2019 This bill modifies notice requirements in a civil forfeiture proceeding that involves the seizure of an animal involved in animal fighting. Specifically, the government must notify interested parties of an animal's seizure within 30 days (currently, 60 days). The notice period may be extended only if a delay is warranted after considering certain factors, including the cost to the government of providing shelter for the animal, the health of the animal and the effect of a delay on its rehabilitation, and any increased risk that a delay could necessitate the euthanasia of the animal. Additionally, the bill authorizes amounts in the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund to be used to pay for costs associated with a seized animal, including transportation, shelter, care, veterinary services, and humane euthanasia.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2019
This resolution expresses the House of Representatives's sense that Cuba is engaging in state-sponsored human trafficking through Mais Medicos, a Brazilian government program that brings doctors from other countries, including Cuba, to serve in Brazil. The resolution also urges the Department of State to downgrade Cuba to Tier 3 in its annual Trafficking in Persons report and to reestablish the Cuban Medical Professionals Parole program, which allowed certain Cuban medical personnel in countries other than Cuba to apply for parole to enter the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2019
Deadline Enforcement Act This bill provides specified continuing appropriations to prevent a government shutdown if any appropriations measure for a fiscal year has not been enacted before the fiscal year begins or a joint resolution making continuing appropriations is not in effect. The bill also withholds congressional salaries and prohibits the use of federal funds for official travel by a Member of Congress while the continuing appropriations are in effect.