United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2018
Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2018 This bill establishes a series of programs and requirements relating to the health of minority populations, including provisions to improve data collection, health literacy, health workforce diversity, and overall access to health care.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2018
Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections for Separated Children Act or the HELP Separated Children Act This bill sets forth Department of Homeland Security apprehension procedures with respect to children involved in immigration enforcement actions, including detention center access to courts, welfare agencies, and consular officials.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2018
Child Gun Access Prevention Act This bill authorizes the Department of Justice to award state grants to implement child access prevention laws. A child access prevention law prohibits an adult from leaving an unsecured firearm in a manner that is known to be, or reasonably should be known to be, accessible to a child. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must study and report to Congress: (1) on child injuries and deaths resulting from firearms, and (2) on safe storage practices for firearms. Finally, the bill amends the federal criminal code to require a licensed firearms dealer to provide gun safety information, including safe storage practices, to a firearm purchaser.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2018
Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act This bill prohibits the Bureau of Land Management from administering an oil and gas leasing, development, production, and transportation program in and from the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2018
Improving Access to Good Jobs for Parents Act This bill establishes, and provides funds for, grants to support the coordination of specified job-related activities through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2018
Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2018 This bill requires the House of Representatives and the Senate to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the U.S. merchant mariners of World War II, in recognition of their service during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2018
Promoting Flood Risk Mitigation Act This bill directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study to assess: (1) the efficacy of practices or programs under which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides assistance to state and local governments to acquire flood-damaged properties (buyout practices), and (2) ways to streamline the buyout practices. The study must consider and analyze certain factors, such as current and future trends regarding repetitive loss structures that are insured under the National Flood Insurance Program and constraints on buyout practices. The GAO shall submit to specified congressional committees and FEMA a report on the buyout practices study and the feasibility of FEMA establishing an alternative buyout program.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2018
Substance Use Disorder Coordination, Access, Recovery Enhancement Act of 2018 or the SUD CARE Act This bill increases the maximum number of patients that health care practitioners may initially treat with medication-assisted treatment (i.e., under a buprenorphine waiver), and also 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 · 15 May 2018
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, including authorized disclosures and penalty structures for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2018
Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2018 or the BURMA Act of 2018 This bill provides humanitarian assistance for Burma (Myanmar) and Bangladesh and imposes sanctions on Burmese military or security officials responsible for serious human rights abuses. The bill provides humanitarian assistance for Burma, Bangladesh, and the surrounding region, including assistance for the Rohingya minority. The Department of State, the Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Agency for International Development shall jointly submit to Congress a strategy for promoting economic growth in Burma.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2018
Kittens In Traumatic Testing Ends Now Act of 2018 or the KITTEN Act of 2018 This bill amends the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit the Department of Agriculture from using cats in experiments that may cause pain or stress, unless the pain or stress is a result of a physical exam or training program.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2018
Albatross and Petrel Conservation Act This bill authorizes the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to promulgate regulations to implement and enforce the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, done at Cape Town, South Africa, on February 2, 2001. This bill authorizes USFWS and NMFS to take action to conserve albatrosses and petrels, including to: reestablish albatrosses and petrels; prevent the introduction of, eradicate, or control invasive and nonnative species that have or may have an adverse effect on albatrosses and petrels; conserve, protect, and restore breeding sites; undertake measures for the conservation and protection of albatross and petrel habitat and other marine habitats that provide food for albatrosses and petrels; undertake scientific research to assess the effects of pollutants and marine debris on albatrosses and petrels; develop and implement measures to prevent, minimize, or mitigate the taking or disturbance of albatrosses and petrels in U.S. waters or by U.S. vessels; develop and undertake measures to minimize the bycatch of albatrosses and petrels; and share information on the conservation status of albatrosses and petrels, the threats facing albatrosses and petrels, and any actions taken under this bill. This bill prohibits the taking of an albatross or petrel without a permit, authorization, or exemption. USFWS, in consultation with NMFS, may authorize the taking of an albatross or petrel under exceptional circumstances or incidental to otherwise lawful activities. This bill gives the USFWS, the NMFS, and the Coast Guard authority to enforce this bill. This bill authorizes cooperation with other countries to achieve and maintain a favorable conservation status of albatrosses and petrels.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2018
Hardrock Leasing and Reclamation Act of 2018 This bill modifies various requirements for mineral leasing, exploration, and development on federal land.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2018
Ending Maternal Mortality Act of 2018 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services to publish every two years a national plan to reduce the rate of preventable maternal mortality (maternal deaths that occur during or within 12 months of pregnancy). Each plan must address specific issues relating to maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity (unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery that result in significant short- or long-term consequences to a woman's health), such as issues surrounding public awareness, at-risk populations and disparities, and quality of care.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2018
The Solitary Confinement Study and Reform Act of 2018 This bill establishes the National Solitary Confinement Study and Reform Commission: (1) to study the impact of solitary confinement in correctional facilities on governments, communities, and social institutions; (2) to report findings; and (3) to recommend national standards to reduce the use of solitary confinement. The bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to publish national standards to reduce solitary confinement in correctional facilities. The Bureau of Prisons must comply with the national standards immediately. A state or local government must certify compliance with the national standards to be eligible for DOJ-administered grant program funding to construct, maintain, or operate correctional facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2018
Wildlife Conservation and Anti-Trafficking Act of 2018 This bill supports wildlife conservation, including by: (1) expanding federal law enforcement powers to combat wildlife trafficking (i.e., poaching), (2) rewarding whistle-blowers for reporting violations of wildlife-trafficking laws, (3) requiring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to carry out the International Wildlife Conservation Program, and (4) providing funding for wildlife conservation.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2018
Afghan Allies Protection Amendments Act of 2018 This bill amends the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 to authorize, in addition to any unused visas in prior fiscal years, up to 4,000 visas in FY2019 for the Afghan special immigrant visa program. That program provides special immigrant visa status for Afghans (and certain family members) who are threatened because of their work as translators, interpreters, or support staff for the U.S. government or its Armed Forces in Afghanistan. The bill also requires that the period of employment for Afghans eligible for the special visa end by December 31, 2021, and that Afghans seeking special immigrant status must apply to the Chief of Mission in Afghanistan by that same date.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2018
Stop Excessive Narcotics in our Retirement Communities Protection Act or the SENIOR Communities Protection Act This bill authorizes the suspension of payments to a pharmacy under the Medicare prescription drug benefit and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans pending the investigation of a credible allegation of fraud by the pharmacy. A fraud hotline tip, without other evidence, may not be considered a credible allegation of fraud.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2018
Medical Cannabis Research Act of 2018 This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to establish a new, separate registration process for manufacturers of cannabis for research. The Drug Enforcement Administration must assess whether there is an adequate and uninterrupted supply of research cannabis and register additional manufacturers.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2018
Farmers Conserving Agricultural Resources through EQIP Act or the Farmers CARE Act This bill reauthorizes and modifies the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). (EQIP provides financial and technical assistance for agricultural producers and land owners to implement certain conservation practices.) The bill expands and modifies the purposes of the program. It also includes modifications that: increase payments for certain land management and vegetative practices that result in highly cost-effective treatment of priority resource concerns; prohibit payments for large confined animal feeding operations to construct an animal waste management facility or any associated waste transport or transfer device; repeal the allocation of funding for practices relating to livestock production; increase the allocation of funding for practices relating to improving fish and wildlife habitat; specify an allocation of funding for producers who participate in an independent animal welfare certification program; add payments for certain practices that promote ground and surface water conservation; remove the payment limitation for practices related to organic production; add payments for certain conservation practices related to antibiotic use and pasture-based production systems; prioritize applications that address priority resource concerns identified by USDA; and reduce the limitation on total EQIP payments.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2018
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 Barbara Rose Johns in recognition of her achievements and contributions to the nation and civil rights.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2018
Special Counsel Transparency Act of 2018 This bill establishes reporting requirements with respect to a special counsel appointed under Department of Justice (DOJ) regulations. Specifically, it establishes these requirements: a special counsel must report periodically on the status of an investigation; a special counsel who is removed from office must report on the status of an investigation, as of the date of dismissal; and DOJ must report on the status of an investigation following the removal of a special counsel.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2018
VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act of 2018 This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to conduct and support research on the efficacy and safety of certain forms of cannabis and cannabis delivery for veterans enrolled in the VA health care system diagnosed with conditions such as chronic pain or post-traumatic stress disorder. Collected data shall be preserved in a manner that facilitates further research.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2018
Stephen Michael Gleason Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Stephen Michael Gleason.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2018
Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act This bill sets forth requirements and limitations with respect to the removal from office of a special counsel appointed by the Attorney General, or of another official appointed by the Attorney General who exercises a similar degree of independence from the Department of Justice (DOJ) chain of command. Specifically, a special counsel or other appointed official: may only be removed by the Attorney General or the most senior Senate-confirmed DOJ official, in certain circumstances; may only be removed for misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or other good cause; must be provided written notice that specifies the reason for removal; and may file an action to challenge the removal not later than 10 days after notice was provided.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2018
Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act This bill directs the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to: identify and publish a recommended core set of maternal and infant quality measures for women and children, as specified by the bill; publish an initial core set of any such measures applicable to mothers and infants eligible under Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); establish a Maternal and Infant Quality Measurement Program; and establish an online clearinghouse of resources for entities working to improve maternity and infant care quality. The CMS may make grants to eligible entities for: the development of new state and regional maternity and infant care quality collaboratives, expanded activities of existing collaboratives, and maternity and infant care initiatives within established state and regional quality collaboratives that are not focused exclusively on maternity care. Under current law, the CMS must contract with a consensus-based entity to carry out specified duties regarding performance measurement. The bill requires such an entity to facilitate increased coordination and alignment between the public and private sector with respect to quality and efficiency measures.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2018
Never Again Education Act This bill authorizes the Holocaust Education Assistance Program Fund for the Department of Education (ED) to: (1) award grants to eligible entities to carry out Holocaust education programs, and (2) conduct periodic regional workshops to provide teachers with technical assistance on how to incorporate Holocaust education within state and local education standards. The fund may accept donations and in-kind contributions. ED shall: (1) create and maintain a Holocaust education program website containing resources for middle grades and high schools; and (2) establish the Holocaust Education Advisory Board to advise on developing application criteria for the fund's grants, advise on content for the Holocaust education program website, and lead efforts to solicit donations for the fund.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2018
Help Separated Families Act of 2018 This bill helps reunify children of detained or deported parents with their parents, legal guardians, or relatives and expands requirements governing state plans for foster care and adoption assistance to include provisions that assist children separated from detained or deported parents.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2018
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of World Water Day. Recognizes the importance of conserving and managing water resources for sustainable development.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2018
Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act This bill requires federal employees furloughed due to a lapse in appropriations that begins on or about March 23, 2018, to be compensated at their standard rate of compensation for the period of such lapse as soon as practicable after such lapse ends.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2018
Student Non-Discrimination Act of 2018 This bill prohibits discrimination, under a federally assisted program, against public school students on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or that of their associates. The bill authorizes federal departments and agencies to terminate the educational assistance of recipients found to be violating this prohibition. An aggrieved individual may assert a violation of this bill in a judicial proceeding and recover reasonable attorney's fees.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2018
2020 Census Improving Data and Enhanced Accuracy Act or the 2020 Census IDEA Act This bill prohibits the Department of Commerce, in the 2020 decennial census and each decennial census thereafter, from: (1) implementing any major operational design that has not been researched, studied, and tested for at least three years before the date on which the applicable census occurs; or (2) including on the questionnaire for the census any subject, type of information, or question that was not submitted to Congress. The Government Accountability Office must certify to Congress that the subjects, types of information, and questions to be included in a decennial census have been adequately researched, studied, and tested to the same degree as in previous decennial censuses.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2018
Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act of 2018 This bill reauthorizes through FY2023 and revises the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2018
Ensuring Medicaid Provides Opportunities for Widespread Equity, Resources, and Care Act or the EMPOWER Care Act This bill amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to extend funding through FY2022 for the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program and to otherwise revise the program. (Under this program, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must award grants to state Medicaid programs to assist in rebalancing states' long-term care systems.)
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2018
Food for Peace Modernization Act This bill amends the Food for Peace Act to revise the Food for Peace program under the U.S. Agency for International Development, which provides assistance, including agricultural commodities, overseas. The bill expands food security assistance authorities. The bill recognizes that American farmers play an integral role in U.S. food assistance and agricultural development programs overseas. Assistance shall be directed toward areas of greatest need, coordinated with indigenous organizations and beneficiary groups. The bill extends authorities under the Act for (1) prepositioning agricultural commodities, (2) the micronutrient fortification program, and (3) the farmer-to-farmer training program. It removes provisions setting minimum levels for purchase of U.S. agricultural commodities and for nonemergency assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2018
Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act of 2018 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to modify requirements for tax-favored retirement savings accounts, employer-provided retirement plans, and retirement benefits for federal judges. With respect to employer-provided plans, the bill modifies requirements regarding: multiple employer plans, automatic enrollment and nonelective contributions, loans, terminating or transferring plans, reporting and disclosure rules, nondiscrimination rules, selecting lifetime income providers, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation premiums. The bill also increases the tax credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and allows a tax credit for small employers that establish retirement plans that include automatic enrollment. With respect to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), the bill: treats taxable non-tuition fellowship and stipend payments as compensation, repeals the maximum age for traditional IRA contributions, and permits any IRA to be a shareholder of any S corporation that is a bank. The bill makes several modifications to retirement benefits for magistrate judges of the U.S. Tax Court and other federal judges. The bill also modifies various tax provisions to: reinstate and increase the tax exclusion for benefits provided to volunteer firefighters and emergency medical responders, revise the required distribution rules for pension plans, increase penalties for failing to file tax or retirement plan returns, and require the Internal Revenue Service to share returns and return information with U.S. Customs Border Protection to administer the heavy vehicle use tax.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2018
Safe Equitable Campus Resources and Education Act of 2018 or the Secure Act of 2018 This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to address the needs of individuals with disabilities, such as their needs if a campus is evacuated or their needs if they are victims of sex offenses, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking incidents.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2018
Clean and Efficient Cars Act of 2018 This bill provides statutory authority for rules concerning corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for automobiles with model years 2021 through 2025 and greenhouse gas emission standards for light-duty vehicles (e.g., trucks) with model years 2017 through 2025. Specifically, the bill provides statutory authority for rules issued in 2012 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the CAFE standards and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the greenhouse gas emission standards. NHTSA and the EPA may not take actions that could reduce the stringency of the standards.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2018
Alternatives to Opioids (ALTO) in the Emergency Department Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to carry out a three-year demonstration program awarding grants to hospitals and emergency departments to develop, implement, enhance, or study alternative pain management protocols and treatments that promote limited use of opioids in emergency departments.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2018
Recognizes: (1) the contributions of American wines and distinctive American wine-growing regions; and (2) the value of promoting wines from the regions, including those protected by American Viticultural Area designations or other appellations of origin. Supports efforts to promote awareness of and appreciation for the regions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2018
Firearm Safety Act of 2018 This bill amends the Consumer Product Safety Act to allow the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue safety standards for firearms and firearm components.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2018
This bill requires the Surgeon General to report annually to Congress on the effects of gun violence on public health and the status of actions taken to address those effects.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2018
Protecting Medicare from Excessive Price Increases Act of 2018 This bill requires a drug manufacturer to pay a Medicare rebate on a single-source drug or biological in accordance with the extent to which the manufacturer's average sales price for the drug or biological increases faster than inflation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2018
Bipartisan HSA Improvement Act of 2018 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify various requirements for health savings accounts (HSAs). The bill allows: individuals participating in an HSA to receive or be eligible to receive specified items and services at onsite employee clinics and retail health clinics, individuals who are covered by a spouse's health flexible spending arrangement to contribute to an HSA, high deductible health plans that are required for an HSA to include coverage with no deductible for care and prescription medications related to the treatment of medically complex chronic conditions, and HSAs to be used for certain sports and fitness expenses. The bill also: expands the definition of insurance that is permitted under an HSA to include insurance consisting of coverage for excepted benefits (Excepted benefits are not subject to certain requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.), modifies the definition of a dependent to include a child who has not attained the age of 27, and modifies the eligibility rules and other requirements for individuals who also participate in health flexible spending arrangements or health reimbursement arrangements.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2018
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Women's History Month. Recognizes and honors the women and organizations in the United States that have fought for and continue to promote the teaching of women's history.