United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act of 2018 or the BUILD Act of 2018 This bill establishes the United States International Development Finance Corporation to facilitate the participation of private sector capital and skills in the economic development of countries with low- or lower-middle-income economies and countries transitioning from nonmarket to market economies in order to complement U.S. assistance and foreign policy objectives. The corporation may: (1) make loans or loan guarantees, (2) as a minority investor acquire equity or financial interests in entities, (3) provide insurance or reinsurance to private sector entities and qualifying sovereign entities, (4) provide technical assistance, (5) administer special projects, (6) establish enterprise funds, (7) issue obligations, and (8) charge service fees. The corporation shall terminate after seven years. The corporation shall not provide assistance to: (1) a country whose government has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism, or (2) a private sector entity that is engaged in monopolistic practices. The bill prescribes transitional provisions, including transferring to the corporation the functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (which is subsequently terminated) and specified elements of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Act of 2018 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to create a loan repayment program for individuals who complete a period of service in a substance use disorder treatment job in a mental health professional shortage area or a county where the drug overdose death rate is higher than the national average. The substance use disorder treatment job must be a full-time position where the primary intent and function is the direct care of patients with or in recovery from a substance use disorder. Individuals must enter into an agreement of service of up to six years with the Health Resources and Services Administration. The repayment program shall pay one-sixth of the principal and interest on any eligible loan for each year of service; the maximum total amount of repayment by the program is $250,000 per individual.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
Global Food Security Reauthorization Act of 2018 This bill amends the Global Food Security Act of 2016 to revise policy objectives and to: (1) extend through FY2021 the program to carry out those portions of the global food security strategy that relate to the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development, and (2) expand requirements for reporting by the President regarding strategy implementation. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended to extend through FY2021 the assistance program for international disaster relief and rehabilitation, including the set-aside for the emergency food security program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities Act of 201 8 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the excise tax on the sale of firearms by manufacturers, producers, or importers, to: (1) increase the rate of such tax to 20% on pistols, revolvers, and other firearms and on any lower frame or receiver for a firearm; and (2) impose a 50% tax on shells and cartridges. The bill exempts any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States from such tax. The bill allocates revenues from the increased excise tax under this bill for law enforcement and public safety grant programs, including programs for research on gun violence and its prevention. The bill: (1) increases the occupational tax on importers, manufacturers, and dealers in firearms and the transfer tax on firearms; and (2) modifies the definition of "firearm" for excise tax purposes to include a semiautomatic pistol chambered for cartridges and configured with receivers commonly associated with rifles and capable of accepting detachable magazines.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
This joint resolution nullifies the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission entitled "Restoring Internet Freedom." The rule published on February 22, 2018: (1) restores the classification of broadband Internet access service as a lightly-regulated "information service"; (2) reinstates private mobile service classification of mobile broadband Internet access service; (3) requires Internet service providers to disclose information about their network management practices, performance characteristics, and commercial terms of service; and (4) eliminates the Internet Conduct Standard and the bright-line rules.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the taxation of the foreign-source income of domestic corporations, to: eliminate an exemption for certain returns from tangible investments made overseas, eliminate deductions for a domestic corporation's foreign-derived intangible income and global intangible low-taxed income, repeal a provision that excludes foreign oil and gas extraction income from the tested income of a controlled foreign corporation, limit the tax deduction for the interest expenses of a U.S. corporation that is a member of a financial reporting group (i.e., a group that prepares consolidated financial statements according to generally accepted accounting principles or international financial reporting standards), modify the rules for the taxation of inverted corporations (U.S. corporations that acquire foreign companies to reincorporate in a foreign jurisdiction with income tax rates lower than the United States), and treat certain foreign corporations managed and controlled primarily in the United States as domestic corporations for tax purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2018
Assault Weapons Ban of 2018 This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). The prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is: (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model. Additionally, the bill does not prohibit, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD: importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties. The bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD. Newly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture. The legislation amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to require law enforcement agencies to be notified when a prohibited person attempts to purchase a grandfathered SAW. It also amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to allow a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 2018
Expanding Access to Evidence-Based Opioid Treatment for Seniors Act of 2018 This bill extends Medicare coverage to opioid-use disorder treatment services and programs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2018
Immigrant Witness and Victim Protection Act of 2018 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the annual numerical limit on nonimmigrant U visas (victims of crime who are willing to assist law enforcement in investigations and prosecutions). The Department of Homeland Security shall grant work authorizations to aliens with a pending application for a nonimmigrant U visa or a T visa (victims of trafficking in persons who are willing to assist law enforcement in investigations and prosecutions). The bill prohibits, with specified exceptions, the following nonimmigrants from being considered inadmissible or subject to removal or deportation until there is a final denial of status application: a U or T visa applicant, a battered spouse seeking employment authorization, a battered spouse or child seeking permanent resident status, an alien seeking temporary protected status (TPS), or a self-petitioning alien seeking protections under the Violence Against Women Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2018
Reserve Component Benefits Parity Act of 2018 This bill makes reserve component members who are deployed to support pre-planned operations of a combatant command eligible for: (1) non-reduction in pay while serving in the uniformed services or National Guard, (2) consideration of active duty service to reduce the age for retired pay ; and (3) the high-deployment allowance for lengthy or numerous deployments and frequent mobilizations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2018
Sensible Enforcement of Cannabis Act of 2018 This bill prohibits the Department of Justice from prosecuting marijuana-related conduct that is authorized by state law, subject to specified exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2018
Fresh Start Act of 2018 This bill establishes a process to expunge records related to certain nonviolent criminal offenses. It defines the nonviolent offenses eligible for expungement; it establishes qualifications for an eligible offender; and it sets forth procedures for filing an expungement petition. The bill increases by 5% the allocation of funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program for a state that implements expungement procedures substantially similar to this bill. It decreases by 5% the JAG allocation for a state that fails to enact substantially similar expungement procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2018
International Violence Against Women Act of 2018 This bill provides for a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. The bill establishes in the Department of State an Office of Global Women's Issues which shall be headed by an Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues. The Ambassador-at-Large shall: (1) coordinate U.S. government efforts regarding gender equality and the advancement of women and girls in foreign policy, and (2) develop or update periodically a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. The bill establishes in the U.S. Agency for International Development the position of Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment who shall direct policies, programs, and funding regarding gender equality and women's empowerment. The bill requires that U.S. assistance made available for humanitarian relief, conflict mitigation, and post-conflict reconstruction prevents and responds to violence against women and girls. The Department of State shall also identify incidents that occur during armed conflict and implement emergency responses.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2018
Saving America's Pollinators Act of 2018 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to suspend the registration of members of the nitro group of neonicotinoid insecticides that are registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act for specified uses. Registration for such uses is suspended until the EPA determines that the insecticides will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on pollinators. The determination must be based on: an evaluation of the published and peer-reviewed scientific evidence, and a completed field study that evaluates residues, chronic low-dose exposure, and cumulative effects of multiple chemical exposures. For purposes of protecting and ensuring the long-term viability of native bees and other pollinators, the Department of the Interior must monitor and report on the health and population status of native bees.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2018
Election Security Act This bill directs the Election Assistance Commission to establish grant programs to support (1) states' compliance with certain voting system security requirements, including the use of voting systems that require individual paper ballots marked by hand; (2) states' audits of federal election results (i.e., manual counts of paper ballots); and (3) research and development directed at improving the security and reliability of election infrastructure. The bill also (1) requires the President to develop a national strategy to protect against attacks on U.S. democratic institutions, and (2) establishes the National Commission to Protect U.S. Democratic Institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2018
This bill directs the Department of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing the birthplace of James Weldon Johnson located at Adams and Lee Streets in Jacksonville, Florida, as a unit of the National Park System. James Weldon Johnson was a renowned statesmen, educator, songwriter, author, lawyer, and civil rights activist.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2018
Presidential Inaugural Committee Oversight Act This bill requires disbursements by presidential inaugural committees to be reasonable, related to the inaugural ceremony, and reported to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Currently, there are no restrictions on disbursements and committees must report donations to the FEC, but not disbursements. Upon termination, a committee's remaining funds must be donated to charity.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2018
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 Billie Jean King in recognition of her courageous and groundbreaking leadership advancing equal rights for women and the LGBT community in athletics, education, and our society.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2018
Stopping Abuse and Fraud in Electronic Lending Act of 2018 or the SAFE Lending Act of 2018 This bill amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and the Truth in Lending Act. The bill revises requirements related to consumer financial protection and small-dollar lending, including matters concerning remotely created checks, electronic fund transfers, registration of small-dollar lenders, overdraft fees, and the collection of personal information.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2018
Preventing Allocation of Resources for Absurd Defense Expenditures Act or the PARADE Act. This bill prohibits the use of funds for a parade that is sponsored by the Department of Defense or the White House or the Executive Office of the President and is not a parade that has been held to commemorate a holiday or special event during the ten-year period preceding the enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2018
Chronic Disease Management Act of 2018 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to health savings accounts (HSAs), to allow the high deductible health plans required for an HSA to provide care for chronic conditions with no deductible. The bill covers care and prescription medicines related to the treatment of medically complex chronic conditions which: (1) are substantially disabling or life threatening, (2) have a high risk of hospitalization or other significant adverse health outcomes, and (3) require specialized delivery systems across domains of care.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2018
Concentrating on High-Value Alzheimer's Needs to Get to an End (CHANGE) Act of 2018 This bill makes a series of changes to Medicare and the directives of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation in order to address Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, such as incorporating certain cognitive impairment detection tools and diagnostic service referrals into the Medicare annual wellness visit.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2018
Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act This bill requires federal employees furloughed due to a lapse in appropriations that begins on or about February 8, 2018, to be compensated at their standard rate of compensation for the period of such lapse as soon as practicable after such lapse ends.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2018
This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to report on how the inclusion of quality percentage increases affects certain payment calculations under Medicare Advantage.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2018
Reuniting Families Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to recapture unused employment-based and family-sponsored visas from FY1992-FY2016; reclassify spouses, permanent partners, minor children, and stepchildren of permanent residents as immediate relatives; repeal the per-country immigration limits; repeal specified bars to reentry and allow waivers of inadmissibility to promote family unity; exempt children of naturalized Filipino veterans from immigration limitations; and allow relatives of a deceased alien to maintain visa eligibility. The bill defines "permanent partner" to purposes of applying the INA to LGBT families and individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2018
American Opportunity Carbon Fee Act of 201 8 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose fees on: (1) fossil fuel products producing carbon dioxide emissions, including coal, petroleum products, and natural gas; (2) fluorinated greenhouse gases; (3) emissions of any greenhouse gas from any greenhouse gas emissions source; and (4) associated emissions (attributable to venting, flaring, and leakage across the supply chain). The bill directs the Department of the Treasury to: establish, implement, and report on a program to identify all major source categories of associated emissions and collect data on associated emissions from the coal, petroleum products, and natural gas supply chains; make specified adjustments to the new fees for importers and exporters of energy-intensive manufactured goods; make a specified payment each calendar year to certain Social Security beneficiaries, veterans, and disabled individuals; make cost mitigation grants to states to assist low-income and rural households and provide job training and worker transition assistance; and establish a website to make regular disclosures concerning revenue, tax savings, and benefits attributable to this bill. The bill also allows a new carbon fee offset tax credit for the lesser of: 6.2% of earned income, or $800.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2018
Women and Climate Change Act of 2018 This bill establishes a Federal Interagency Working Group on Women and Climate Change within the Department of State. The duties of the working group include: (1) coordinating the development of policies and activities of the federal government relating to addressing the effects of climate change on women, and (2) identifying and disseminating best practices for improved data collection relevant to the disparate impact of climate change on women. The working group and the State Department's Office of Global Women's Issues must develop a strategy to prevent and respond to the effects of climate change on women. The office must designate a Senior Coordinator for Women and Climate Change.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2018
Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018 or the STOP School Violence Act of 2018 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to revise and reauthorize through FY2028 the Secure Our Schools grant program. This grant program provides grants to states, local governments, and Indian tribes to improve security, including the placement and use of metal detectors and other deterrent measures, at schools and on school grounds.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2018
Securing Required Funding for Water Infrastructure Now Act or the SRF WIN Act This bill amends the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 (WIFIA) to allow the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide additional financial assistance (e.g., low-interest loans) through FY2023 to state infrastructure financing authorities for drinking water state revolving funds (SRFs) and clean water SRFs to carry out certain water and wastewater infrastructure projects. For projects funded under this bill, the EPA: (1) must expedite their application and review process, (2) may provide up to 100% of the project costs, and (3) must provide financial assistance based on need and give equal consideration to drinking water projects and wastewater projects. Total financial assistance provided under this bill may not exceed $7 billion per state. The bill authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA to provide financial assistance under WIFIA to carry out projects for flood damage reduction, storm damage reduction, environmental restoration, or navigation improvement to certain waterways. Under current law, such financial assistance may be provided to only pilot projects.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2018
Ensuring Full Participation in the Census Act of 2018 This bill prohibits questions regarding citizenship, nationality, or immigration status from being used in the decennial census. The bill does not apply to the American Community Survey.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2018
Recognizes the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers strike. Honors the perseverance of the members of Union Local 1733 and the contribution of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in resolving the labor dispute.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2018
Healthy Climate and Family Security Act of 2018 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require the Department of the Treasury to establish a carbon trading program that caps the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from crude oil, coal, and natural gas. Beginning in 2019, crude oil refineries, petroleum importers, coal mines, coal importers, and natural gas suppliers or processors must purchase carbon permits equivalent to the amount of CO2 that would be emitted by covered fuels. Treasury will auction these permits to those entities. This bill establishes a declining cap on the quantity of permits issued to reduce CO2 emissions until 2050 when the permits issued represent an amount 80% below 2005 CO2 emission levels. Treasury must issue permits for carbon capture and sequestration of CO2 from covered fuels. This bill provides for the trading or sale of permits between entities, the banking by entities of permits for future years, and the borrowing by Treasury of permits from future years to stabilize permit prices. Auction proceeds and penalties are returned to U.S. citizens lawfully present in the United States using the Healthy Climate Trust Fund established by this bill. Treasury must impose fees on the import and pay fees for the export of carbon-intensive goods when the export country does not have equivalent measures to regulate greenhouse gases. Carbon-intensive goods are goods with an increased cost due to the regulation of greenhouse gases. The Environmental Protection Agency must regulate within 10 years all sources of greenhouse gases that are anthropogenically emitted. This excludes gases attributable to the production of animals for food.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2018
Safe Coasts, Oceans, And Seaside Towns Act or the Safe COAST Act This bill provides statutory authority for specified safety regulations that govern offshore oil and gas production in the Outer Continental Shelf and provide protections for human, marine, and coastal environments. The Department of the Interior must contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to complete the study titled "Review and Update of Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Offshore Oil and Gas Operations Inspection Program" within 21 months.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
Standardizing Electronic Prior Authorization for Safe Prescribing Act of 2018 This bill requires Medicare's electronic-prescription program to provide for the secure electronic transmittal of a prior authorization request from a Medicare enrollee's prescribing health-care professional with respect to a drug covered under the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
Marijuana Effective Drug Studies Act of 2018 or the MEDS Act This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to establish a new, separate registration process to facilitate research involving marijuana and the commercial production of drugs made from marijuana. Specifically, the bill requires the Drug Enforcement Administration to register manufacturers and distributors to supply marijuana: (1) for use in research, and (2) for the commercial production of approved drugs containing or derived from marijuana.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
Advancing Seniors and Kids Act or the ASK Act This bill extends, and otherwise revises, various public health and social welfare programs. Specifically, the bill: permanently extends the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); extends by one year, but reduces by half, additional federal financial participation for CHIP; extends CHIP's qualifying-states option, express-lane eligibility option, and outreach and enrollment program; extends the Child Enrollment Contingency Fund, the Childhood Obesity Demonstration Project, and the Pediatric Quality Measures Program; modifies Medicare payment rules and reporting requirements with respect to ground-ambulance services; permanently extends specialized Medicare Advantage (MA) plans for certain special-needs individuals; expands certain supplemental benefits under MA for chronically ill enrollees; extends the Medicare payment adjustment known as the "home-health rural add-on"; makes permanent or extends other specified programs and payment rules under Medicare; under Medicaid, extends certain health workforce demonstration projects as well as specified programs related to community health centers, diabetes, graduate medical education, family-to-family health-information centers, abstinence education, and personal-responsibility education; delays certain changes, under Medicaid, to disproportionate-share hospital allotments and to third-party liability provisions; extends the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program and requires, under the program, continued demonstration of improvements in certain benchmark areas; establishes a grant program for the monitoring of representative payees under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program and the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program; otherwise revises provisions related to representative payment under SSI and OASDI; and with respect to the child-welfare system, modifies provisions related to information sharing and to overpayment liability.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
No Unconstitutional Strike against North Korea Act This bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) a conflict on the Korean peninsula would have catastrophic consequences; (2) actions and statements that increase tensions between the United States and North Korea should be avoided; and (3) the President should engage in talks with North Korea to reduce tensions and improve communication, initiate negotiations to achieve a diplomatic agreement to halt and eventually reverse North Korea's nuclear pursuits, and move toward denuclearization and a permanent peace in the Korean peninsula. Funds available to the Department of Defense or to any other federal department or agency may not be used to launch a military strike against North Korea or otherwise introduce U.S. Armed Forces into hostilities in North Korea before the earlier of: (1) the date on which Congress declares war on North Korea, or (2) the date of an authorization that meets the requirements of the War Powers Resolution and that is enacted after the enactment of this bill. Such prohibition shall not apply to military force used to: (1) repel a sudden attack on the United States, its territories or possessions, its Armed Forces, or its allies; or (2) rescue or remove U. S. personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act This bill requires federal employees furloughed due to a lapse in appropriations that begins on or about January 19, 2018, to be compensated at their standard rate of compensation for the period of such lapse as soon as practicable after such lapse ends.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2018
Marijuana Justice Act of 2018 This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act: to remove marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinols from schedule I; and to eliminate criminal penalties for an individual who imports, exports, manufactures, distributes, or possesses with intent to distribute marijuana. It prohibits and reduces certain federal funds for a state without a statute legalizing marijuana, if the Bureau of Justice Assistance determines that such a state has a disproportionate arrest rate or disproportionate incarceration rate for marijuana offenses. The bill directs federal courts to expunge convictions for marijuana use or possession. Finally, it establishes in the Treasury the Community Reinvestment Fund. Amounts in the fund may be used by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to establish a grant program to reinvest in communities most affected by the war on drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2018
Stop Civil Asset Forfeiture Funding for Marijuana Suppression Act of 2018 This bill prohibits the use of amounts in the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund for the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA's) Domestic Cannabis Suppression/Eradication Program. Additionally, the bill prohibits the transfer of property to a federal or state and local agency for a purpose pertaining to such a program. Finally, the bill expresses the sense of Congress that the DEA's marijuana prohibition policy is an inappropriate use of resources.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2018
Protecting Communities from Lost or Stolen Law Enforcement Weapons Act of 2017 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to modify requirements under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. Specifically, it authorizes the Department of Justice to give preference to a COPS program grant applicant from a state that requires law enforcement agencies to report officers' lost or stolen firearms to the National Tracing Center of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 2018
Restraining Excessive Federal Enforcement & Regulations of Cannabis Act of 2018 or the REFER Act of 2018 This bill prohibits the use of funds made available by Congress to a federal department or agency: to restrict a state or local law that authorizes the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of cannabis; to detain, prosecute, sentence, or initiate civil proceedings against an individual, business, or property involved in cannabis-related activities in accordance with state or local law; or to penalize a financial institution for providing financial services to a business engaged in cannabis-related activities in compliance with state or local law.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 2018
Federal Adjustment of Income Rates Act or the FAIR Act This bill increases by 3% the rates of basic pay for federal employees under the statutory pay systems (i.e., the General Schedule, the Foreign Service Schedule, and various schedules related to the Veterans Health Administration) for calendar year 2019. Additionally, it increases by 3% the rates of basic pay for prevailing rate employees for FY2019.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2018
Healthy Fields and Farm Economies Act This bill reauthorizes and modifies the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977, which provides the Department of Agriculture (USDA) with strategic assessment and planning authority for the conservation, protection, and enhancement of soil, water, and related natural resources. The bill authorizes USDA to establish a conservation effects assessment project to: quantify the environmental and economic effects of conservation practices, develop the science base for managing the agricultural landscape for environmental quality and sustainable productive capacity, and improve the efficacy of conservation practices and programs by evaluating conservation effects. USDA must establish a goals and assessment process for conservation programs that includes: the identification of natural resource and environmental objectives, outcomes, and results for the programs; assessments of the resulting changes in the status and conditions of natural resources and the environment; and a monitoring and evaluation process for the programs and initiatives. In implementing the monitoring and evaluation process, USDA must use certain funds provided for conservation programs and establish a National Technical Committee. USDA may enter into cooperative agreements with government agencies, universities and colleges, and nongovernmental organizations to assist in implementing the monitoring and evaluation process. The bill also sets forth reporting requirements regarding the progress conservation programs have made in achieving the objectives and outcomes.
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 2017
Opioids and STOP Pain Initiative Act This bill establishes and provides funds for the Opioids and STOP Pain Initiative at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support pain-related research, including: understanding pain, therapies for chronic pain, and alternatives to opioids for pain treatment as directed in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016; improving options and evidence for medication-assisted treatment and opioid overdose reversal treatments; and supporting the Federal Pain Research Strategy. NIH must establish the Pain Therapy Screening Program to award grants to support the development of new pre-clinical models for pain disorders, and the application of these models in drug, device, or other therapy screening.
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 2017
Medicare IVIG Access Enhancement Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to establish a three-year demonstration project to evaluate the benefits of providing Medicare coverage and payment for items and services needed for the in-home administration of intravenous immune globulin to treat chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy or multifocal motor neuropathy. Beneficiary participation shall be voluntary.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2017
Welfare of Our Friends Act of 2017 or the WOOF! Act This bill amends the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit the Department of Agriculture (USDA) from licensing a dealer of dogs whose previous licenses have been suspended or revoked in the last 10 years if the license is for operating a facility that the dealer previously used. Further, USDA may not issue or renew a license to: (1) the dog dealer's immediate family members, (2) a person who resides at the same address as the dog dealer, or (3) certain legal entities if such dealer holds an ownership interest in the entity.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2017
Recovering America's Wildlife Act This bill amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to direct the Department of the Treasury to transfer, beginning in FY2018, revenues from energy and mineral development on federal lands totaling $1.3 billion to the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Subaccount of the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Fund, to be available without further appropriation. The bill revises the requirements governing how the funds from the subaccount may be used, including by requiring funds to be used to develop, revise, and implement state wildlife conservation strategies. The bill expands the allowable uses of the subaccount, including by allowing funds to be used for managing invasive and nuisance species and for law enforcement activities that are directly related to the conservation of species of the greatest conservation need. Funds apportioned from the subaccount may not be conditioned upon the provision of public access to private lands, waters, or holdings. The bill specifies what types of funds and donations states may use to meet matching fund requirements. The bill revises the formula used to determine how funds are distributed to states.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2017
Recognizes the second anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Agreement, an international agreement to keep global temperature from rising 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels, and recommends that the United States remain a signatory to the global warming agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2017
Gun Violence Research Act of 2017 This bill amends the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, with respect to the prohibition on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) using funds to advocate or promote gun control. The bill declares that this prohibition does not restrict HHS funding for research on mental health, gun violence, and how they intersect. The Surgeon General must report annually on the effects of gun violence on public health, including mental health, and the status of actions taken to address those effects. HHS must report on the effects of gun violence on public health in minority communities.
![Official portrait of Rep. Blumenauer, Earl [D-OR-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000574_200.jpg)