United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2017
Adoption Information Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require family planning service projects or programs, as a condition of receiving certain grants or contracts, to assure the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that they will provide each person who inquires about their services with a pamphlet containing a comprehensive list of adoption centers in their state. The bill directs HHS to prepare, annually update, and distribute such pamphlets to such projects or programs.
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 · 28 November 2017
Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to limit the aggregate amount of a partner's annual tax deductions for qualified conservation contributions of a partnership to 2.5 times the partner's adjusted basis in the partnership. (Under current law, a "qualified conservation contribution" is the contribution of a qualified real property interest to a qualified organization exclusively for conservation purposes.) The limitation applies for the first five years after the individual becomes a partner in the partnership. It does not apply to certain family partnerships.
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 2017
This bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to (1) prohibit the use of federal funds for the payment of a settlement or award for a claim arising from sexual harassment committed by a Member of Congress, and (2) require congressional ethics committees to consider expulsion of Members who have committed acts of sexual harassment.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2017
Higher Education Reform and Opportunity Act of 2017 This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make postsecondary education courses and programs, such as apprenticeship programs, that provide credits toward a postsecondary certification, credential, or degree eligible for federal student aid funding if the programs and courses are accredited by a state that has an alternative accreditation agreement with the Department of Education. The bill terminates loan forgiveness for borrowers under the income contingent repayment options for new loans made under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. An institution that receives federal student aid funding must pay a default rate fine that is based on the default rate of loans made to its students.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2017
Sugar Policy Modernization Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 and other agricultural laws to modify the Department of Agriculture (USDA) sugar program. The bill modifies the sugar program to: reduce the rates for price support loans to processors of domestically grown sugarcane and sugar beets; require USDA to recover the net cost of the program from domestic sugar processors; extend through 2019 and then terminate the Feedstock Flexibility Program under which USDA purchases surplus sugar from domestic processors for resale to ethanol producers; extend through 2020 and then repeal the flexible marketing allotments which limit the amount of sugar that domestic processing companies may sell for domestic human use; require USDA to administer the program to provide adequate supplies of sugar at reasonable prices; require USDA to adjust sugar tariff-rate quota imports to achieve specified ratios of sugar stocks to total sugar use; and allow the transfer of quotas between countries.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2017
Building Our Largest Dementia Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act or the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to award cooperative agreements to state and local health departments to expand activities related to Alzheimer's disease, including activities involving early detection, support for caregivers, and public awareness.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
Protecting Home Oxygen & Medical Equipment Access Act of 2017 or the Protecting HOME Access Act of 2017 This bill: (1) requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to delay by one year the full implementation of new Medicare payment rates for durable medical equipment, and (2) revises a Medicare budget-neutrality requirement related to oxygen. Under current law, the CMS may establish separate payment classes under Medicare for items of oxygen and related equipment only if doing so does not result in increased program expenditures. The bill provides an exception to this budget-neutrality requirement with respect to such items that are included in a competitive acquisition program.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
Congressional Education About Sexual harassment Eradication Resolution or the CEASE Resolution Amends Rule XXIII (Code of Official Conduct) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require each Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, and employee of the House of Representatives to: (1) complete the Office of Compliance's program of sexual harassment prevention and response training in employment annually; and (2) certify to the House Committee on Ethics by January 31 of each year that the individual has completed the program in the previous year. Requires each current Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, and employee to meet such training and certification requirement not later than the earlier of 120 days after the adoption of this resolution or December 31, 2018. Requires each new Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, and employee to certify completion of such program within 60 days after beginning service. Considers failure to meet such requirement a violation of Rule XXIII. Expresses the sense of the House that the Office of Compliance should: update, as specified, its program of sexual harassment prevention and response training in employment; and consult with the Workplaces Respond to Domestic and Sexual Violence: A National Resource Center in updating and implementing such program.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce tax rates and modify policies, credits, and deductions for individuals and businesses. With respect to individuals, the bill: replaces the seven existing tax brackets (10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%, and 39.6%) with four brackets (12%, 25%, 35%, and 39.6%), increases the standard deduction, repeals the deduction for personal exemptions, establishes a 25% maximum rate on the business income of individuals, increases the child tax credit and establishes a new family tax credit, repeals the overall limitation on certain itemized deductions, limits the mortgage interest deduction for debt incurred after November 2, 2017, to mortgages of up to $500,000 (currently $1 million), repeals the deduction for state and local income or sales taxes not paid or accrued in a trade or business, repeals the deduction for medical expenses, consolidates and repeals several education-related deductions and credits, repeals the alternative minimum tax, and repeals the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes in six years. For businesses, the bill: reduces the corporate tax rate from a maximum of 35% to a flat 20% rate (25% for personal services corporations), allows increased expensing of the costs of certain property, limits the deductibility of net interest expenses to 30% of the business's adjusted taxable income, repeals the work opportunity tax credit, terminates the exclusion for interest on private activity bonds, modifies or repeals various energy-related deductions and credits, modifies the taxation of foreign income, and imposes an excise tax on certain payments from domestic corporations to related foreign corporations. The bill also repeals or modifies several additional credits and deductions for individuals and businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2017
Medicare Care Coordination Improvement Act of 2017 This bill exempts certain alternative payment models under Medicare from the general prohibition on physician self-referrals (also known as the Stark law).
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2017
IRA Preservation Act of 2017 This bill modifies the requirements for Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) to: (1) require the Department of the Treasury to provide taxpayers with certain educational materials and notifications, and (2) modify various penalties. Treasury must provide the public with: (1) an overview of the laws and regulations related to IRAs, and (2) examples of common errors with respect to the laws and regulations and instructions on how to avoid the errors. Treasury must also provide individual taxpayers with specified notices that identify critical failure points, inconsistencies, or errors and include advice on avoiding failures or errors. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: reduce penalties for taxpayers who voluntarily correct certain IRA errors, including excess contributions and failures to take required minimum distributions; eliminate the 10% additional tax on early distributions that are attributable to withdrawal of interest or other income earned on excess contributions to an IRA; repeal the tax disqualification penalty (loss of tax-exempt status) for accounts where employees engage in certain prohibited transactions; and revise the statute of limitations for collecting certain taxes in connection with an IRA.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2017
Dialysis Patient Access to Integrated-care, Empowerment, Nephrologists, Treatment, and Services Demonstration Act of 2017 or the Dialysis PATIENTS Demonstration Act of 2017 This bill establishes a demonstration program for the provision of integrated care to Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Under the voluntary program, eligible participating providers may form organizations to offer ESRD integrated care models and serve as medical homes for program-eligible beneficiaries. Such a model: (1) shall cover medical and hospital services, other than hospice care, under Medicare; (2) must include benefits for transition into transplantation, palliative care, or hospice; and (3) may cover prescription drug benefits. An organization must offer at least one open network model but may also offer one or more preferred network models. An organization shall return savings achieved under the models to program-eligible beneficiaries. A beneficiary shall have the opportunity to: (1) opt out of the program, (2) make an assignment change into an open network model offered by a different organization, or (3) elect a preferred network model. The bill establishes requirements regarding: (1) benefits for program-eligible beneficiaries who are also eligible for Medicaid benefits, (2) program quality and reporting, (2) ESRD integrated care strategy, (3) program operation and scope, (4) beneficiary notification, and (5) payment. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission must, before 2025, submit to Congress an interim report on the program.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2017
USS Indianapolis Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the House of Representatives and the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design to the crew of the USS Indianapolis, in recognition of their perseverance, bravery, and service. Following the award of the gold medal, it shall be given to the Indiana War Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, where it will be displayed and made available for research. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the Indiana War Memorial Museum should make the gold medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at other locations and events associated with the USS Indianapolis.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
Community-Based Independence for Seniors Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish a Community-Based Institutional Special Needs Plan demonstration program through which up to five eligible Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations shall provide home and community-based care to eligible Medicare beneficiaries. For purposes of the demonstration program, an eligible Medicare beneficiary is ineligible for Medicaid and unable to perform two or more activities of daily living. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shall establish payment rates for eligible MA plans under the demonstration program. Such payment rates are capped but shall be in addition to payments otherwise made to MA organizations with respect to such plans. The CMS shall also: (1) help to educate eligible Medicare beneficiaries on the availability of the program, and (2) provide for program evaluation by an independent third party.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
This bill amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to revise the quorum requirement for the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States to require the lesser of three members or the number of members holding office on the board (currently, at least three members) for there to be a quorum.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Access to Marketplace Insurance Act This bill requires health insurers to accept, on behalf of individuals enrolled in qualified health plans, cost-sharing payments made by certain third parties (e.g., state and federal government programs) and count such payments toward annual cost-sharing limitations. (Qualified health plans are eligible for subsidies and fulfill an individual's requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage.)
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2017
Simplifying Technical Aspects Regarding Seasonality Act of 2017 or the STARS Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude seasonal employees from the definition of "full-time employee" for purposes of the employer mandate to provide employees with minimum essential health care coverage. The bill defines a "seasonal employee" as an employee who is employed in a position for which the customary annual employment is not more than six months and which requires performing labor or services that are ordinarily performed at certain seasons or periods of the year.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a three-year demonstration program to determine the impact of third-party, interest-free payment arrangements on: (1) health outcomes, (2) patient engagement and satisfaction, and (3) claims for bad debt that are attributable to a hospital's inability to collect deductibles and coinsurance for Medicare hospital services. Under the program, the CMS shall provide a payment incentive to a hospital that participates in such a payment arrangement and demonstrates improvement in those three areas.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
Commonsense Reporting Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Internal Revenue Code to modify the requirements for employers to report health insurance coverage information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by the end of the tax year. The bill changes the information that is required and permits employers to voluntarily report the information prior to the beginning of open enrollment. The Department of the Treasury must develop a prospective reporting system to permit: employers to voluntarily report specified health insurance coverage information before the annual open enrollment period; the exchanges, the Federal Marketplace Data Services Hub, and the IRS to access the information to carry out their missions and provide the Department of Health and Human Services with information related to eligibility for advance payment of premium tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies; the exchanges to communicate with employers and employees regarding eligibility for the tax credits or cost-sharing subsidies; and employers to provide updates to the hub regarding changes in coverage for employees. At the time of enrollment, exchanges must provide employers the names of employees and dependents that enroll in a qualified health plan for a year. If a health insurance issuer or employer is unable to obtain the taxpayer identification number of a dependent, Treasury may permit the individual's full name and date of birth to be used instead. Employers participating in the reporting system established by this bill are exempt from the requirement to report health insurance coverage information to the IRS by the end of the tax year.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
Accountability for Quality VA Healthcare Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a two-year pilot program to enhance the physical security of VA medical facilities. The VA shall periodically update its Planning and Activating Community Based Outpatient Clinics handbook to reflect current policies and clarify the responsibilities of VA leasing project personnel. The VA shall: (1) strengthen its medical facility inspection process; and (2) monitor women veterans' access to gender-specific care services under community care contracts, including appointment scheduling and completion times. The VA shall: (1) clarify measures for medical appointment wait times in a manner that reduces the likelihood of misinterpretation, (2) ensure that "patient indicated date" (the earliest date the patient needs to be seen) is clearly defined for purposes of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) scheduling and related training documents, (3) improve recruitment and retention of scheduling staff and require facilities to routinely assess scheduling and resource needs, and (4) improve telephone access at its medical facilities. The VA shall conduct evaluations of the VHA's organizational structure and the Veterans Integrated Service Networks (regional VA health care administrative areas).
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Save American Workers Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to change the definition of "full-time employee" for purposes of the employer mandate to provide minimum essential health care coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act from an employee who is employed on average at least 30 hours of service a week to an employee who is employed on average at least 40 hours of service a week.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2017
Community Health Investment, Modernization, and Excellence Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to extend through FY2022 and make appropriations for enhanced funding for the community health centers program.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2017
Denounces and opposes the violence, xenophobia, and bigotry promoted by white nationalists and neo-Nazis. Urges federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to recognize white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups as terrorist organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2017
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the application of Medicare competitive acquisition rates to complex, rehabilitative, manual wheelchairs and accessories. (A competitive bidding program has replaced the use of established fee schedule amounts to determine payments under Medicare for certain durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs.)
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2017
Investing in 21st Century Schools Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to qualified zone academy bonds, to: (1) extend through 2020 the national limitation amount for such bonds, and (2) reduce from 10% to 5% of bond proceeds the required contribution amount for private businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 2017
Free File Permanence Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to continue to operate the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Free File Program. The program must work with state government agencies to enhance and expand the use of the program, while continuing to: provide free commercial-type online individual income tax preparation and electronic filing services to the lowest 70% of taxpayers by income; provide all taxpayers (regardless of income) with a basic, online electronic fillable forms utility; and work with the private sector to provide the free tax preparation and electronic filing services. Treasury must work with the private sector through the program to identify and implement innovative new program features to improve and simplify the taxpayer's experience with completing and filing individual income tax returns. The IRS and members of the tax software and electronic industry involved in the program must support and promote improvements within the program by mutually testing, piloting, and offering innovative solutions to: simplify the tax system, reduce compliance and reporting burdens, increase tax return accuracy through financial data authentication, strengthen the tax system against fraud through cybersecurity collaboration, avoid duplication, and maximize the use of electronic technology. The Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee must report annually to Congress regarding the program, including website statistics, cybersecurity standards, demographic information, marketing and education efforts, simplifications and innovations, and state and local participation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2017
Local Coverage Determination Clarification Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the process by which Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) issue and reconsider local coverage determinations (LCDs) that: (1) are new, (2) restrict or substantively revise existing LCDs, or (3) are otherwise specified in regulation. (MACs are private insurers that process Medicare claims within specified geographic areas.) Before such an LCD may take effect, the MAC issuing the determination must, with respect to each geographic area to which the determination applies: publish online a proposed version of the determination and other specified, related information; convene one or more public meetings to review the draft determination, receive comments, and secure the advice of an expert panel; post online a record of the minutes from each such meeting; provide a period for submission of written public comments; and post online specified information related to the rationale for the final determination. Upon the filing of an applicable request by an interested party with regard to the reconsideration of a specified LCD, the MAC that issued the determination shall: provide specified information related to whether the determination failed to correctly apply qualifying relevant evidence, exceeds the scope of its intended purpose, fails to apply as intended, or is otherwise erroneous; preserve the determination, modify the determination, or rescind the determination in part; and make publicly available a written description of such action. An interested party may appeal a reconsideration decision to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The CMS shall appoint a Medicare Reviews and Appeals Ombudsman to carry out specified duties with regard to LCDs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Fairness for Korean DMZ Veterans Act of 2017 This bill provides a presumption of herbicide exposure as the service-connected cause of certain diseases notwithstanding that there is no evidentiary record of any such disease during a veteran's service period. The bill defines a "veteran" for purposes of this bill as an individual who, during active military, naval, or air service, served in or near the Korean demilitarized zone during the period beginning on September 1, 1967, and ending on August 31, 1971. The bill specifies such a disease as: (1) a listed disease that becomes manifest, or (2) any additional disease that the Department of Veterans Affairs determines warrants a presumption of service-connection by reason of a positive association with herbicide exposure and that manifests itself within a prescribed period.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Every Prescription Conveyed Securely Act This bill generally requires, with specified exceptions, electronic prescribing under the Medicare prescription drug benefit with respect to covered drugs that are controlled substances.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act This bill aligns federal privacy standards for substance use disorder patient records more closely with standards under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Hamas Human Shields Prevention Act This bill states that it is U.S. policy to: (1) condemn the use of human shields by Hamas as an act of terrorism and a violation of human rights and international humanitarian law, and (2) act against those engaging in or supporting the use of human shields. The President is urged to direct the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (U.N.) to use U.S. influence at the U.N. Security Council to secure support for a resolution imposing multilateral sanctions against Hamas's use of human shields. The President shall prohibit property transactions and U.S. entry with respect to: (1) each foreign person or entity that is a member of or acting on behalf of Hamas and that is responsible for or complicit in Hamas' use of human shields; and (2) each foreign person or entity and each agency or instrumentality of a foreign state that has significantly facilitated any act with respect to such use of human shields, provided material support to a listed person or entity, or attempted to facilitate or support such acts or persons. The President may waive a sanction for 120 days with prior congressional certification that such waiver is vital to U.S. national security interests.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Second Amendment Guarantee Act or the SAGA Act This bill prohibits a state or local government from establishing a regulation, prohibition, or registration or licensing requirement with respect to a rifle or shotgun that is more restrictive (or that imposes a greater penalty) than federal law.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Rightsizing Pension Premiums Act of 2017 This bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to: (1) modify the formula that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) uses to calculate the funded percentage of single-employer pension plans, and (2) reduce single-employer PBGC premiums for pension plans that are sponsored by certain small employers or have specified PBGC funded percentages. The bill also prohibits the budget effects of provisions that change PBGC premiums from being counted for the purposes of determining budget points of order for legislation in the House or the Senate. (The PBGC is a federal agency that insures the benefits of private sector, defined benefit pension plans. The PBGC is financed by insurance premiums paid by sponsors of the plans, investment income, assets from pension plans taken over by the PBGC, and recoveries from the companies formerly responsible for the plans.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Strong Families Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow certain employers a business-related tax credit for a specified percentage (not to exceed 25%) of the amount of wages paid to their employees during any period (not exceeding 12 weeks) in which such employees are on family and medical leave, (2) limit the allowable amount of such credit with respect to any employee to the product of the normal hourly wage rate of such employee for each hour (or fraction thereof) of actual services performed for the employer and the number of hours (or fraction thereof) for which family and medical leave is taken, and (3) terminate such credit five years after the enactment of this bill. The Government Accountability Office shall complete a study on the effectiveness of the tax credit for paid family and medical leave.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Save Local Business Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide that a person may be considered a joint employer in relation to an employee only if such person directly, actually, and immediately, and not in a limited and routine manner, exercises significant control over the essential terms and conditions of employment (including hiring employees, discharging employees, determining individual employee rates of pay and benefits, day-to-day supervision of employees, assigning individual work schedules, positions, and tasks, and administering employee discipline).
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2017
529 Opening Paths To Invest in Our Nation's Students Act or the 529 OPTIONS Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow distributions from qualified tuition programs (known as 529 plans) to be used for certain expenses associated with registered apprenticeship programs. The bill expands the definition of "qualified higher education expenses" for which tax-free distributions are allowed to include: (1) books, supplies, and equipment required for the enrollment or attendance of a designated beneficiary in an apprenticeship program registered and certified with the Department of Labor; (2) child care at a licensed day care center, and transportation, in connection with such enrollment or attendance; and (3) costs associated with obtaining an industry certification or other credential in connection with an apprenticeship program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2017
Ensuring Access to Air Ambulance Services Act of 2017 This bill makes a series of changes relating to payment of air ambulance services under Medicare, including by establishing certain cost-reporting requirements for providers.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2017
Improving the Quality of Disability Decisions Act of 2017 This bill directs the Social Security Administration (SSA) to conduct quality reviews of hearing decisions concerning Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits to ensure that administrative law judges are complying with the SSA's regulations. The SSA must report annually on these quality reviews.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2017
Protecting Consumer Access to Vision Care Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to exclude premiums for limited scope vision benefits from health insurance premiums for purposes of the annual fee on health insurers, which is calculated based on an insurer's share of total nationwide health insurance premiums.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2017
ELD Extension Act of 2017 This bill delays for an additional two years the effective date of regulations implementing the requirement that a commercial motor vehicle involved in interstate commerce and operated by a driver subject to federal hours of service (HOS) and record of duty status regulations be equipped with an electronic logging device to improve vehicle operator compliance with HOS regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
President John F. Kennedy Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 silver coins in commemoration of President John F. Kennedy. The bill requires all sales of such coins to include a surcharge of $10 per coin, which shall be paid by Treasury to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation to support the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Biomass Thermal Utilization Act of 2017 or the BTU Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to include 30% of qualified biomass fuel property expenditures for property placed in service before 2022 in the residential energy efficient property tax credit. A "qualified biomass fuel property expenditure" is an expenditure for property which uses the burning of biomass fuel (a plant-derived fuel available on a renewable or recurring basis) to heat a dwelling used as a residence, or to heat water for use in such dwelling, and which has a thermal efficiency rating of at least 75%. The bill also allows: (1) a 15% energy tax credit until 2022 for investment in open-loop biomass heating property, including boilers or furnaces that operate at thermal output efficiencies of at least 65% and provide thermal energy in the form of heat, hot water, or steam for space heating, air conditioning, domestic hot water, or industrial process heat; and (2) a 30% credit until 2022 for investment in such property that operates at a thermal output efficiency of at least 80%.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2017
Holding SSA Employees Accountable Act This bill prohibits employees of the Social Security Administration who are convicted of certain offenses related to their official duties from further participating in federal annuity programs.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2017
Invent and Manufacture in America Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the research tax credit, to allow an increased credit for qualified domestic manufacturers. A "qualified domestic manufacturer" is a taxpayer who has domestic production gross receipts that are more than 50% of total gross receipts.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2017
Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017 This bill amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to direct the Department of Energy (DOE) to initiate a program to consolidate and temporarily store commercial spent nuclear fuel during the development, construction, and operation of a permanent nuclear waste repository. The bill addresses federal land withdrawal and related management issues, including the permanent withdrawal of specific federal land for repository use by DOE, updating the Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing process and conditions for the repository, and limiting activities relating to developing a separate defense waste repository used for storing high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel derived from the atomic energy defense activities of DOE. DOE may enter into agreements to provide benefits to state, local, and Tribal governments that might host or be affected by facilities related to storing nuclear waste. The bill revises the method by which DOE funds its nuclear waste management activities though the collection and usage of the Nuclear Waste Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Philanthropic Enterprise Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt the holdings of a private foundation in any business enterprise that meets specified requirements relating to exclusive ownership, minimum distribution of net operating income for the charitable purpose (all profits to charity distribution requirement), and independent operation (not controlled by a substantial contributor or family members) from the excise taxes on excess business holdings.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
School Food Modernization Act This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to direct the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to issue loan guarantees to local educational agencies (LEAs), school food authorities, tribal organizations, and other eligible entities to finance infrastructure improvements or equipment purchases to facilitate their provision of healthy meals through the school lunch program. USDA must give preference to applicants that demonstrate a substantial or disproportionate need for food service infrastructure or durable equipment, and shall establish fees for the loan guarantee program that are sufficient to cover the federal government's administrative costs in operating the program. USDA must also award competitive matching grants to assist LEAs, school food authorities, tribal organizations, and other eligible entities in purchasing the durable equipment and infrastructure they need to serve healthier meals and improve food safety. In doing so, USDA must give grant priority to applicants that: (1) have identified and are reasonably expected to meet an unmet local or community need, and (2) are located in states that have enacted funding measures to assist them with such purchases. In addition, USDA must award competitive matching grants to experienced third-party training institutions to provide school food service personnel with the training and technical assistance they need to: (1) meet school lunch program nutrition standards, and (2) improve the efficacy and efficiency of the school lunch and breakfast programs. The bill authorizes these grant and loan programs through FY2022. USDA must complete a study on the use of state administrative expense funds. The bill also rescinds $35 million of the Department of Education's unobligated balance available for administrative expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Reform Act of 2017 This bill amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to modify the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) work requirements that apply to able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs). The bill modifies the work requirements to: terminate the authority of the Department of Agriculture to waive the requirements, upon the request of a state agency, for individuals residing in an area that has an unemployment rate of over 10% or does not have a sufficient number of jobs to provide employment for the individuals; shorten from three months to one month the time limit for receiving benefits in a three-year period without meeting the requirements; decrease from 15% to 5% the portion of ABAWDs that a state may exempt from the requirements; allow participation in a supervised job search to satisfy the requirements; require states receiving SNAP funds to provide ABAWDs with opportunities to participate in a work program, a workfare program, or a supervised job search; and reduce SNAP allotments for states that fail to comply with requirements regarding eligibility disqualifications. The bill also modifies the congressional declaration of policy to specify that the purpose of SNAP is to increase employment, to encourage healthy marriage, and to promote prosperous self-sufficiency (maintaining an income above the poverty level without services and benefits from the federal government).
![Official portrait of Rep. Kelly, Mike [R-PA-16]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/k000376_200.jpg)