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United States · Official source
5,130 records where Rep. Sessions, Pete [R-TX-17] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 1 September 2017
Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act or the SHARE Act This bill revises existing programs and establishes new programs to expand access to, and opportunities for, hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting on federal lands.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 2017
Vested Employee Pension Benefit Protection Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employees in the building and construction industry to make distributions from their tax-exempt multi-employer pension plan at age 55 if: (1) they are not separated from employment at the time of such distributions, (2) they were participants in such plan on or before April 30, 2013, and (3) the plan provides for payment of separate accrued benefits when the employee attains the plan's normal retirement age. The bill suspends payment of distributions for such building and construction industry employees if their multi-employer plan is in endangered or critical status.
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
Census Accuracy Act of 2017 This bill requires any questionnaire used in the decennial census to determine the total population by states to include: (1) a checkbox or other similar option for a respondent to indicate whether he or she is a U.S. citizen or U.S. national, is lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States, is an alien who otherwise has lawful status under the immigration laws, or is none of these; and (2) a question regarding which federal program or legal provision accorded the respondent such status.
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
Border Security for America Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) construct and operate infrastructure and technology to deter and detect illegal border activity in high traffic areas, (2) deploy the most practical and effective technology to achieve situational awareness and operational control of the border, (3) deploy additional capabilities to specified border sectors or regions, (4) submit a plan for evaluating and using independent verification and validation resources for border security technology, (5) establish a National Border Security Advisory Committee, (6) submit a southern border threat analysis, (7) implement the Border Security Deployment Program, (8) establish a biometric exit data system, and (9) begin eradicating the carrizo cane plant and any salt cedar along the Rio Grande River. The bill provides for: (1) U.S. Border Patrol personnel increases and infrastructure improvements, including forward base upgrades along the southern border; and (2) National Guard and Department of Defense border assistance. The bill: (1) prohibits federal agency restrictions on U.S. Customs and Border Protection activities on federal land within 100 miles of the border, (2) requires increases in immigration and law enforcement personnel and agricultural specialists, (3) authorizes appropriations for specified immigration purposes, and (4) requires electronic passport screening and biometric matching at airports of entry. The Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 is amended to provide for hiring flexibility. Operation Stonegarden is established as a DHS program to provide border security grants. This bill authorizes DHS to construct new ports of entry along the northern and southern borders.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Federal Land Freedom Act This bill authorizes a state with an oil and gas leasing program to take responsibility from the federal government for leasing and regulating the exploration and development of oil, gas, and other forms of energy on federal land in the state. A state must submit to the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture a regulatory program which demonstrates that it has the capability to take responsibility from the federal government, including that it has a state law which provides sanctions for violations of state laws, regulations, or conditions of permits concerning oil and gas exploration, development, and production activities.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Calls on: (1) the Iraqi government to compensate Iranian dissidents for their seized assets in Camps Ashraf and Liberty in order to finance their living costs and long-term accommodation in their new countries of refuge, particularly in Albania; and (2) the U.S. government to urge the Iraqi government to compensate such dissidents.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Ensuring Integrity in the IRS Workforce Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from rehiring any individual who was previously employed by the IRS but was removed for misconduct or whose employment was terminated for cause. No additional funds are authorized to carry out this bill.
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 · 27 July 2017
Relief for Recovering Communities Act This bill requires the Department of Transportation to treat an area as an "urbanized area" following a major disaster under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act until the second decennial census conducted after such disaster if: the population of the area fell below 50,000 as a result of such disaster; the area was defined and designated as such by the Department of Commerce in the decennial census immediately preceding such disaster, beginning with the 2000 decennial census; and the area was not so defined and designated in the decennial census immediately following such disaster. An area treated as an urbanized area shall be assigned the population and square miles of the urban cluster with respect to the area designated by Commerce in the most recent decennial census. This designation as an urbanized area permits an application for federal transit funding based upon population levels in the area prior to the major disaster.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2017
Anti-Pyramid Scheme Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to make it unlawful for any person to establish, operate, or promote a pyramid promotional scheme. "Pyramid promotional scheme" means any plan or operation in which individuals pay consideration for the right to receive compensation that is based upon recruiting other individuals into the plan or operation rather than primarily related to the sale of products or services to ultimate users. Furthermore, any person who establishes, operates, or promotes any plan or operation which sells or solicits the sale of consumer products or services in the home or otherwise outside of a permanent retail establishment, and which sells products or services to independent salespeople, shall have a bona fide inventory repurchase agreement. A violation of the bill shall be treated under the Act as an unfair or deceptive act or practice in, or affecting, commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2017
State Sanctions Against Iranian Terrorism Act This bill amends the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 to specify that a state may, in addition to limiting investment in Iran's energy sector, prohibit or limit any person from engaging in specified investment activities in Iran. A state may also enter into interstate compacts to prohibit or limit such financial activities. Enforcement of such measures may include the imposition of disclosure and transparency requirements. The description of "investment activities" is revised to: (1) reduce the threshold for financial involvement from $20 million to $10 million; and (2) include, in addition to the energy sector, involvement in a business enterprise in Iran, including an entity owned or controlled by the Iranian government. The bill declares that a state or local government measure authorized pursuant to the bill is: (1) authorized and not preempted by any federal law or regulation, or any policy, agreement, or exercise of waiver authority of the executive branch; and (2) is consistent with U.S. federal policy, including U.S. foreign policy. A state or local government may enforce a measure adopted before the enactment of this bill that: (1) provides for the divestment of state or local assets from, or prohibits the investment of those assets in, any person that engages in investment activities in Iran or other business activities in Iran identified in the measure; or (2) prohibits or limits any person from engaging in investment activities in Iran. State and local government authority to divest from certain companies that invest in Iran shall not terminate pursuant to a presidential certification if Congress, not later than 60 days after the date on which the President submits such certification, enacts a joint resolution disapproving such certification.
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 · 20 July 2017
Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act or the ACE Kids Act This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to establish a state Medicaid option to provide for medical assistance with respect to coordinated care provided through a health home (i.e., a designated provider or team of health-care professionals) for children with medically complex conditions. A state shall make payments for such health-home services regardless of whether they are provided through a fee-for-service or managed-care system. For an initial period of eight fiscal-year quarters, the federal matching rate applicable to such payments shall be increased by 20 percentage points, not to exceed 90%. A state that exercises this option shall specify its methodology for determining payment and evaluating quality of care, in accordance with requirements established by the bill. In addition, the state must meet specified requirements regarding hospital referrals, out-of-state providers, education and outreach, data collection, and reporting. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must issue guidance on best practices for using out-of-state providers to provide care to children with medically complex conditions. The Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Payment and Access Commission must report to Congress and to the Department of Health and Human Services on specified matters related to children with medically complex conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
This joint resolution nullifies a rule submitted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding arbitration agreements. (The rule regulates the use of arbitration agreements in contracts for specific consumer financial products and services. It prohibits the use of a predispute arbitration agreement to prevent a consumer from filing or participating in certain class action suits. The rule also requires consumer financial product and service providers to furnish the CFPB with particular information regarding arbitrations.)
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Hizballah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act of 2017 This bill amends the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015 to impose specified sanctions on: (1) foreign persons that knowingly assist in or provide support for fund raising or recruitment activities for Hizballah; (2) agencies of foreign governments that provide Hizballah with financial support, arms, or other assistance (export license requirements are included in addition to sanctions if such government is a state sponsor of terrorism); and (3) Hizballah, including by reason of Hizballah's significant transnational criminal activities. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that sanctions should be placed on financial institutions that serve Lebanese government officials affiliated with Hizballah. The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 is amended to sanction foreign financial institutions that facilitate efforts by Iran or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to aid Hizballah. The bill prescribes reporting requirements or reporting modifications with respect to: (1) foreign persons that knowingly assist or provide significant financial, material, or technological support for foreign persons assisting Hizballah; (2) financial institutions that are owned or organized under the laws of state sponsors of terrorism; (3) Hizballah's racketeering activities; (4) combating illicit tobacco trafficking networks used by Hizballah and other foreign terrorist organizations to finance their operations; (5) the estimated net worth of senior Hizballah officials and how these funds were acquired and used; and (6) countries that support Hizballah or in which Hizballah maintains important logistics networks or financial networks and steps such countries are taking to disrupt such networks.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Hunting, Education, and Recreational Development Act or the HEARD Act This bill authorizes the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to dispose of federal lands under their respective jurisdictions by offering them for sale or exchange to units of local government in accordance with this bill. The bill prescribes requirements for disposition of the gross proceeds of the sales of lands under this bill, including that: 15% be paid to the state where the sale takes place to be used to supplement the education of students in kindergarten through grade 12, to supplement public support of institutions of public higher education, and to supplement state agricultural and natural resource agencies; and 10% of such proceeds be deposited in a special account to be created in the Treasury which may be used for the acquisition of recreational beneficial lands and interests (providing an opportunity for hunting, recreational fishing, recreational shooting, recreational off-highway vehicles, or other recreational purposes, or to achieve better management of public lands through consolidation of federal ownership).
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Affirms U.S. leadership and commitment to improving access to quality education for the poorest and most marginalized children and youth worldwide. Supports the mission and goals of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) to mobilize global and national efforts to contribute to the achievement of equitable, quality education and learning. Recognizes that U.S. investments in bilateral basic education are complemented by GPE's education systems approach and convening authority. Encourages continued commitment and investments by the U.S. government, international donors, private foundations, and private sector donors through the GPE to the global effort to promote children and youth attending school.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2017
This bill requires the annual reports submitted by the Department of State to Congress concerning the U.S. plan to endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan at the annual summit of the World Health Assembly (WHA) held by the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, to include an account of the changes and improvements that the State Department has made to such plan following any annual meetings of the WHA at which Taiwan did not obtain such status.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2017
Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to allow the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) to subject a bank holding company to enhanced supervision if: (1) the company has been identified as a global systemically important company; or (2) the risk of the company's financial distress, or the nature of the company's activities, could pose a threat to the financial stability of the United States. Currently, companies are subject to this type of oversight if they possess at least $50 billion in assets or are a nonbank financial company under the FRB's supervision. The Financial Stability Oversight Council must approve of any metrics used by the FRB in determining by regulation that a category of bank holding companies is subject to enhanced supervision. Under this bill, companies subject to enhanced supervision may be required to limit mergers and acquisitions, restrict products offered, or maintain a certain debt ratio. The FRB must publish the list of companies that have been identified as requiring enhanced supervision.
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
This bill extends and expands the Independence at Home demonstration program, through which comprehensive primary care services are delivered at home to Medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions.
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 · 11 July 2017
Medicare Part B Improvement Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: establish a transitional Medicare payment system with respect to certain home infusion services; extend the Medicare Intravenous Immune Globulin demonstration project and provide for participants to be automatically reenrolled in the project; specify that, for purposes of determining the reasonableness and medical necessity of orthotics and prosthetics, documentation created by an orthotist or prosthetist shall be considered part of a beneficiary's medical record; allow renal dialysis facilities to be accredited for Medicare participation by an approved accreditation body; allow Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) to receive certain ESRD-related visits via telehealth; codify certain rules regarding signature requirements and holdover arrangements as they relate to prohibitions against physician self-referrals; and beginning in FY2021, reduce funding available to the Medicare Improvement Fund by an amount equal to the amount of projected expenditures attributable to specified provisions of the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Transparency and Honesty in Energy Regulations Act of 2017 This bill prohibits the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of the Interior, and the Council on Environmental Quality from considering the social cost of carbon, methane, or nitrous oxide as part of any cost benefit analysis in the rule making process, unless a federal law is enacted authorizing such consideration. They may also consider those social costs if they use an estimate that: (1) complies with the requirements of the Office of Management and Budget's "Circular A-4" document; (2) uses the discount rates of three and seven percent specified in that document; (3) considers only the domestic costs and benefits of the activity; and (4) uses only the most up to date and empirically estimated equilibrium climate sensitivity distributions, and realistic time horizons. The EPA must report on the number of proposed and final rulemakings, guidance documents, and agency actions since January 2009 that use those social costs, including as part of any cost benefit analysis required under Executive Order 12866 or other relevant authority.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Endangered Species Litigation Reasonableness Act This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to replace the current standard for awarding court costs, including attorney fees, in citizen suits with the federal judicial code standard for awarding costs to a prevailing party.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2017
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3004) to amend section 276 of the Immigration and Nationality Act relating to reentry of removed aliens, and providing for proceedings during the period from July 3, 2017, through July 10, 2017.
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
Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 This bill directs federal agencies (excluding any entity that is an element of the intelligence community) to give priority to an employee transfer request if the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) grants a stay of a personnel action at the request of: (1) the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) if the OSC determines the personnel action was taken, or is to be taken, as a result of a prohibited personnel practice; or (2) the employee if such employee is in probationary status and seeks corrective action. The bill: (1) prohibits any employee who has the authority to take, direct others to take, recommend, or approve of any personnel action to access the medical records of another employee or applicant for employment; and (2) authorizes disciplinary action against supervisors for retaliation against whistle-blowers. Agencies must: (1) refer information about employee suicides to the OSC, (2) train supervisors on responding to complaints alleging whistle-blower protections violations, (3) provide information regarding whistle-blower protections to new employees during probationary periods, (4) inform employees of the role of the OSC and the MSPB with regard to whistle-blower protection, and (5) make information about such protections available on agency websites. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must: (1) submit a plan to Congress on efforts to prevent any unauthorized access to the medical records of VA employees; (2) conduct an outreach program to inform its employees of any mental health services, including telemedicine options; and (3) ensure protocols are in effect to address threats against VA employees providing health care.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
George W. Bush Childhood Home Study Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the childhood home of former President George W. Bush, which is located at 1412 West Ohio Avenue in Midland, Texas. Interior shall: (1) evaluate the national significance of the site, (2) determine the suitability and feasibility of designating the site as a unit of the National Park System (NPS), and (3) determine the effect of the site's designation as an NPS unit on existing commercial and recreational uses and the effect on state and local governments to manage those activities.
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).
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
Kate's Law This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise provisions relating to the reentry of removed aliens. The bill provides that an alien who has been excluded, deported, removed, or denied admission, or who has departed the United States while under an outstanding order of exclusion, deportation, or removal, and who subsequently crosses or attempts to cross the border into the United States, shall be fined, imprisoned not more than two years, or both. The bill revises reentry of criminal offender provisions to provide that an alien who was convicted before such removal or departure of: three or more misdemeanors or for a felony shall be fined, imprisoned up to 10 years, or both; a felony for which the alien was sentenced to not less than 30 months in prison shall be fined, imprisoned up to 15 years, or both; a felony for which the alien was sentenced to not less than 60 months shall be fined, imprisoned up to 20 years, or both; or murder, rape, kidnapping, or a felony offense relating to peonage and slavery or terrorism, or of three or more felonies of any kind, shall be fined, imprisoned up to 25 years, or both. An alien who has been excluded, deported, removed, or denied admission three or more times and thereafter enters, attempts to enter, or crosses or attempts to cross the border to, or is at any time found in, the United States shall be fined, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
No Sanctuary for Criminals Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit any federal, state, or local government from prohibiting any government entity, official, or employee from complying with the immigration laws or cooperating with federal law enforcement of such laws. The bill expands the scope of law enforcement activities relating to immigration-related information that a federal, state, or local government may not restrict or prohibit. A non-complying state or political subdivision shall not be eligible to receive specified grants and assistance, including Department of Justice or Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grants that are substantially related to law enforcement, terrorism, national security, immigration, or naturalization. DHS: (1) may decline to transfer an alien in its custody to a non-complying state or political subdivision regardless of whether the state or political subdivision has issued a writ or warrant; (2) may issue a detainer if it has probable cause to believe that an individual arrested by a federal, state, or local law enforcement official for an alleged violation of any criminal or motor vehicle law is inadmissible or deportable; and (3) shall not transfer an alien with a final order of removal to a non-complying state or political subdivision. The bill: (1) creates a private right of action for victims of murder, rape, or certain felony offenses; (2) expands the categories of offenses requiring mandatory detention; (3) provides immunity for a state or local government entity or official temporarily holding an alien in custody under color of federal authority; (4) provides that an alien may be detained, and a criminal alien shall be detained, without time limitation during the pendency of removal proceedings; and (5) restricts a detained alien's release on bond.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Protecting Gun Owners in Bankruptcy Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal bankruptcy code to allow an individual debtor to exempt from their bankruptcy estate one or more fierarms, up to a total maximum value of $3,000. The bill also specifies that such firearms are household goods that are not subject to liens in bankruptcy.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017 This bill shall apply whenever the Department concerned, either the Department of Agriculture for National Forest System (NFS) lands or the Department of the Interior for public lands, prepares an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) for specified forest management activities, including those that: will occur on lands identified as suitable for timber production; or will occur on a landscape-scale area designated by the Department concerned as part of an insect and disease treatment program on NSF land pursuant to the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003, notwithstanding whether such activity is initiated before September 30, 2018. In such an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement, the Department concerned shall study, develop, and describe only these two alternatives: the forest management activity, and the alternative of no action. In the case of the alternative of no action, the Department concerned shall evaluate: the effect of no action on forest health, habitat diversity, wildfire potential, insect and disease potential, and timber production; and the implications of a resulting decline in forest health, loss of habitat diversity, wildfire, or insect or disease infestation on domestic water supply in the project area, wildlife habitat loss, and other economic and social factors. The bill establishes categorical exclusions regarding certain other forest management actions. A process is established for declaration of a major disaster for wildfire on federal lands managed by specified federal land management agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Reaffirms that it is U.S. policy to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiated between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Commends: (1) Israel's efforts to improve bilateral relations with Arab and Muslim-majority states in the region, and (2) steps taken by such states to improve bilateral relations with Israel. Urges: (1) such states and the Palestinian Authority to engage in bilateral and multilateral negotiations with Israel to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and support the normalization of bilateral relations, and (2) the resumption of bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
Report and Educate About Campus Hazing Act or the REACH Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify campus security reporting requirements for an institution of higher education (IHE) that participates in federal student aid programs. Specifically, an IHE must disclose hazing incidents that were reported to campus security authorities or local police agencies in its annual security report. In addition, each IHE must provide students with an educational program on hazing, which includes information on hazing awareness, hazing prevention, and the IHE's policies on hazing. Hazing means any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a student, or a former student, of an IHE against another student, that: (1) was committed in connection with an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in, any organization that is affiliated with the IHE; and (2) contributes to a substantial risk of physical injury, mental harm, or degradation or causes physical injury, mental harm or personal degradation.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
Promoting Interagency Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines Act This bill expands the authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to act as the lead agency for the purpose of coordinating all applicable federal authorizations and environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) with respect to authorizing a natural gas pipeline project under the Natural Gas Act. Federal, state, and local agencies involved in the environmental review process must defer to FERC's approved scope for a NEPA review. FERC must invite and designate the other participating agencies involved in the authorization process. A federal, state, or local agency may not participate if it informs FERC that it does not have the necessary authority or expertise, or does not intend to submit comments. An agency that is not designated may not conduct an environmental review unless it is legally required to do so and the agency requires information that FERC could not obtain through its NEPA review. The bill establishes a 90 day deadline to complete an authorization application for other authorizing agencies and requires concurrent reviews when multiple agencies are involved in the authorization process. If a federal or state agency considering an aspect of an application for authorization requires the person applying for such authorization to submit data, the agency must consider any such data gathered by aerial or other remote means that the person submits. FERC must track and publicly display on its website specific information related to the actions required to complete an authorization.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2017
Promoting Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure Act This bill prohibits any person from constructing, connecting, operating, or maintaining a border-crossing facility for the import or export of oil, natural gas, or electricity across an international border of the United States without obtaining a certificate of crossing. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), with respect to oil or natural gas pipelines, or the Department of Energy (DOE), with respect to electric transmission facilities, must issue a certificate of crossing for the border-crossing facility within 120 days after final action is taken under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, unless it is not in the public interest. DOE, as a condition of issuing a certificate, must require that the border-crossing facility be constructed, connected, operated, or maintained consistent with specified policies and standards. The bill amends the Natural Gas Act to require FERC to approve within 30 days after receipt any application for the importation or exportation of natural gas to or from Canada or Mexico. No presidential permit as required under specified executive orders shall be necessary for the construction, connection, operation, or maintenance of an oil or natural gas pipeline or electric transmission facility, including any border-crossing facility. No certificate of crossing shall be required for a modification to an existing facility that is operating for the import or export of oil, natural gas, or electricity prior to the enactment of this bill. FERC and DOE must publish a final rule in the Federal Register within one year to carry out the requirements of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2017
Preserving Patient Access to Compounded Medications Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to expand the circumstances under which a drug may be compounded (manufactured at small scale) to allow pharmacists and physicians to compound drugs for administration to patients in an office or clinical setting, in accordance with state law. (Drugs that are compounded do not need to meet certain federal requirements regarding manufacturing, labeling, or approval.) Dietary supplements may be used in the compounding of a drug. The bill exempts from interstate distribution limits the dispensing of a compounded drug from the facility where it is compounded to a patient or health facility. The scope of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspections of compounding pharmacies is limited to pertinent equipment, materials, containers, and labeling, which is the same scope as inspections of pharmacies. (Currently, the scope of inspections of compounding pharmacies is the same scope as inspections of drug manufacturers.) The bill eliminates the requirement for compounding pharmacies to register with the FDA as drug manufacturers.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Stop the Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogues Act of 2017 or the SITSA Act This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to establish a new, sixth schedule of controlled substances—schedule A. A drug or substance in schedule A has a chemical structure that is similar to, and an effect on the body that is similar to or greater than, a controlled substance in schedule I, II, III, IV, or V. The bill adds 13 synthetic fentanyl-related substances to schedule A. It also authorizes, and establishes procedures for, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to temporarily and permanently place a drug or substance in schedule A. The bill establishes criminal penalties for an individual who imports, exports, manufactures, distributes, or possesses with intent to distribute a schedule A substance. However, it explicitly prohibits criminal and civil penalties solely for possession of a schedule A controlled substance. The bill makes it unlawful to import, export, manufacture, distribute, dispense, or possess with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, a schedule A substance that is not clearly labeled. Finally, it establishes new, separate DEA registration requirements for manufacturers, distributors, and importers and exporters of schedule A substances.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Affordable Retirement Advice for Savers Act This bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to modify requirements related to fiduciaries and the provision of investment advice for pension and retirement plans. (Under current law, a person who provides investment advice has a fiduciary obligation that requires the person to provide advice in the sole interest of plan participants and beneficiaries.) The bill nullifies several regulations that are commonly referred to as "the fiduciary rule" and broadened the types of investment advice that impose a fiduciary obligation with respect to the plans. The bill defines "investment advice" as a recommendation that relates to: the advisability of acquiring, holding, disposing, or exchanging any moneys or other property of a plan by the plan, participants, or beneficiaries, including any recommendation regarding whether to take a distribution of benefits from the plan or any recommendation relating to a rollover or distribution from such plan; the management of moneys or other property of the plan, including recommendations relating to the management of plan assets to be rolled over or otherwise distributed from the plan; or the advisability of retaining or ceasing to retain a person who would receive a fee or other compensation for providing investment advice. Investment advice must be rendered pursuant to either: (1) a written acknowledgment of the obligation of the advisor to comply with fiduciary standards; or (2) a mutual agreement, arrangement, or understanding that may include limitations on scope, timing, and responsibility to provide ongoing monitoring or advice services. The bill establishes exemptions to the prohibited transactions rules under ERISA and the IRC for advice that meets certain requirements for reasonable compensation, disclosures, and recommendations that are in the best interest of the plan or recipient of the advice.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Increasing Opportunity through Evidence-Based Home Visiting Act This bill amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to reauthorize through FY2022, and otherwise revise, the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program. Under current law, grantees were required, after three years of program implementation, to demonstrate improvement in specified benchmark areas. The bill requires grantees to continue, in subsequent years, to track and demonstrate improvement in applicable benchmark areas. A grantee that fails to do so must develop and implement a corrective action plan, subject to approval by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS shall terminate a program grant made to a grantee that implements such a plan but continues to fail to demonstrate improvement. As a condition for receiving grant funds under the program, a state must conduct a statewide needs assessment by October 1, 2019, and at least once every five years thereafter. A grantee may use program grant funds to support a "pay-for-outcomes initiative" (a performance-based grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, awarded by a public entity, in which a commitment is made to pay for improved outcomes that result in social benefit and public-sector cost savings). Grantees must provide matching funds under the program beginning in FY2020. HHS must designate data-exchange standards applicable to the program. The bill also amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) under the SSAct to prohibit the payment of SSI benefits to an individual who is subject to an arrest warrant for: (1) committing, or attempting to commit, a felony; or (2) violating a condition of parole or probation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Accelerating Individuals into the Workforce Act This bill amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to require the Administration for Children & Families (ACF) to make grants to states for demonstration projects that provide wage subsidies to enable low-income individuals to enter and retain employment. States may use grant funds to subsidize an individual's wages for up to 12 months. The subsidy may be up to 50% of an individual's wages. Individuals are eligible for subsidized wages if they: (1) are recipients of TANF or similar state assistance or a noncustodial parent of a child receiving such assistance, (2) are unemployed when the subsidy begins, and (3) have an income below 200% of the poverty line. States must ensure that participants in subsidized job programs do not displace current workers. The ACF must reserve funding to carry out this bill from amounts in the Contingency Fund for State Welfare Programs.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Combating BDS Act of 2017 This bill allows a state or local government to adopt and enforce measures to divest its assets from, prohibit investment of its assets in, or restrict contracting with: (1) an entity that engages in a commerce- or investment-related boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting Israel; or (2) an entity that owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with such an entity. Such measures are not preempted by federal law. A state or local government that seeks to adopt or enforce such measures shall comply with specified requirements related to notice, timing, and opportunity for comment. In addition, the bill amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to prohibit a person from bringing any civil, criminal, or administrative action against a registered investment company based solely upon that company's divestment from securities issued by a person that engages in a commerce- or investment-related boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2017
Research and Experimentation Advances Competitiveness at Home Act or the REACH Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for increasing research activities (known as the research and experimentation tax credit), to: increase the alternative simplified credit rate to match the rate of the regular credit; allow taxpayers to use reasonable estimation techniques in lieu of contemporaneous accounting to measure employee hours per business component; allow employees engaging in the direct supervision or direct support of research activities which constitute qualified research to be included in the research expense calculation without regard to the employee's position or management level; allow the credit to be used for research related to the adaptation of an existing business component to a particular customer's requirement or need, cost reduction, or obsolescence mitigation; and allow taxpayers to make an election for a reduced credit (in order to be allowed a full deduction for research expenses) on an amended tax return.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2017
Control Unlawful Fugitive Felons Act of 2017 This bill amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance), VIII (Special Benefits for Certain World War II Veterans), and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the payment of benefits under those titles to an individual who is the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant for: (1) committing, or attempting to commit, a felony; or (2) violating a condition of parole or probation. Current law prohibits the payment of such benefits to an individual who: (1) is fleeing to avoid prosecution or confinement for committing, or attempting commit, a felony; or (2) is violating a condition of parole or probation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2017 This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl in recognition of his acts of valor during World War II.