United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2017
USS Indianapolis Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the House of Representatives and the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design to the crew of the USS Indianapolis, in recognition of their perseverance, bravery, and service. Following the award of the gold medal, it shall be given to the Indiana War Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, where it will be displayed and made available for research. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the Indiana War Memorial Museum should make the gold medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at other locations and events associated with the USS Indianapolis.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2017
This bill provides that the Department of Veterans Affairs per diem payment calculation for an entity receiving homeless veterans shelter grants for a homeless veteran who has care of a minor dependent while receiving services from such entity shall be the sum of the daily cost of care for the veteran plus, for each minor dependent, an amount that equals 50% of the veteran's daily cost of care.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2017
Medicare Beneficiary Opioid Addiction Treatment Act This bill provides for Medicare coverage and payment of methadone (a medication used to treat opioid-use disorder).
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2017
Creating Accountability Measures Protecting University Students Historically Abused, Threatened, and Exposed to Crimes Act or the CAMPUS HATE Crimes Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish measures to hold institutions of higher education accountable for hate crimes that occur on their campuses.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2017
Protect Access to Birth Control Act This bill nullifies interim final rules issued by the Department of Labor, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Health and Human Services that allow employers with religious or moral objections to be exempt from the requirement in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to cover contraceptive services without cost-sharing.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Keep Americans Safe Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly transfer, possess, import, or bring into the United States a large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). It permits the continued possession of a grandfathered LCAFD. Additionally, the bill does not prohibit, with respect to an LCAFD: manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; transfer or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both. Newly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification that clearly shows the device was manufactured after this bill's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2017 This bill prohibits a person from transporting a horse in interstate commerce in a motor vehicle (except a vehicle operated exclusively on rail or rails) containing two or more levels stacked on top of one another. The bill prescribes civil penalties for knowing violations of such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Tax Equity and Prosperity for Puerto Rican Families Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to make citizens of Puerto Rico eligible for the federal earned income tax credit and allow them to claim the refundable portion of the child tax credit on the same basis as U.S. taxpayers. In making the earned income tax credit applicable to Puerto Rican citizens, the bill modifies credit requirements to allow taxpayers in Puerto Rico to claim the credit at age 21 (rather than age 25) and to allow a credit percentage of 40, without regard to the number of qualifying children claimed by the taxpayer.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
75th Anniversary of the End of World War II Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 coins, 500,000 $1 coins, and 750,000 half-dollar coins in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. The coins shall be emblematic of the sacrifices made by millions of people of the United States 75 years ago in bringing an end to World War II. The design on each coin shall represent the World War II Victory Medal, which was awarded to all 16 million U.S. military personnel who served from December 7, 1941, to December 31, 1946. The bill requires all sales of such coins include specified surcharges, which shall be paid by Treasury to the congressionally designated National WWII Museum to fund its educational mission of telling the story of the U.S. experience in World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Title IX Protection Act This bill amends the Department of Education Organization Act to require recipients of federal financial assistance to comply with specified procedural requirements when responding to sexual harassment and sexual violence to prevent and effectively respond to sexual discrimination as required by title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
Food Bank Assistance Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 and the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to provide additional funding to the Department of Agriculture for carrying out the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). (TEFAP helps supplement the diets of low-income Americans, including the elderly, by providing them with emergency food and nutrition assistance. The program provides food and administrative funds to states to supplement the diets of these groups.)
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
Community-Based Independence for Seniors Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish a Community-Based Institutional Special Needs Plan demonstration program through which up to five eligible Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations shall provide home and community-based care to eligible Medicare beneficiaries. For purposes of the demonstration program, an eligible Medicare beneficiary is ineligible for Medicaid and unable to perform two or more activities of daily living. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shall establish payment rates for eligible MA plans under the demonstration program. Such payment rates are capped but shall be in addition to payments otherwise made to MA organizations with respect to such plans. The CMS shall also: (1) help to educate eligible Medicare beneficiaries on the availability of the program, and (2) provide for program evaluation by an independent third party.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2017 This bill directs the President to establish a five-year strategy to accelerate progress toward ending preventable child and maternal deaths within a generation and ensure healthy and productive lives for women and children. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) shall: (1) identify target countries with the greatest need and the highest burden of preventable child and maternal deaths, and (2) designate a current USAID employee serving in the Senior Executive Service or at the level of a Deputy Assistant Administrator or higher to serve concurrently as the Senior Coordinator for Child and Maternal Survival.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
2020 American Census Investment Act This bill provides FY2018 appropriations to the Bureau of the Census, including: (1) $300 million for Current Surveys and Programs, and (2) $1.635 billion for Period Censuses and Programs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
This bill amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to revise the quorum requirement for the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States to require the lesser of three members or the number of members holding office on the board (currently, at least three members) for there to be a quorum.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Protecting Americans from Gun Violence Act of 2017 This bill directs the Centers for Disease Control to conduct or support gun violence research. It also requires a gun owner to report a lost or stolen firearm to local law enforcement authorities within 48 hours of discovery.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Stopping the Iron Pipeline Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish and newly manufactured firearms to meet a national standard for incorporating passive identification capability into all firearms sold in the United States. Passive identification capability means technology that: (1) enables identification by a mobile or fixed reading device, and (2) does not transmit an electronic monitoring or tracking signal. In developing a national standard, DOJ must prioritize certain considerations, including a firearm owner's right to privacy and right to legally own firearms and the ability of law enforcement authorities to use passive identification capability to track lost and stolen guns.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act This bill amends the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act to repeal provisions that prohibit civil actions against a firearm or ammunition manufacturer, seller, importer, dealer, or trade association for the criminal or unlawful misuse of a firearm. Additionally, the bill states that firearms trace data maintained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is not immune from legal process. Such data is subject to discovery; is admissible as evidence; and may be used, relied on, or disclosed in a civil action or administrative proceeding.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Pollution Transparency Act The heads of federal agencies in making certain rulemaking or procurement decisions must consider the costs of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions as specified in the bill. The bill establishes the Interagency Working Group on the Costs of Greenhouse Gases to evaluate, at least once every five years, the method of calculating the cost of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The bill also establishes the Costs of Greenhouse Gases Scientific Review Committee. The 10 members of the committee must be selected by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and represent relevant scientific fields. The committee must make recommendations to the working group regarding revisions to the greenhouse gas calculation method.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Hate Crimes Commission Act of 2017 This bill establishes the United States Commission on Hate Crimes to investigate and report on: whether hate crimes have increased; factors that contributed to an increase in hate crimes, if one is determined to exist; policies or actions by law enforcement agencies to reduce hate crimes; and the impact of underreporting on hate crimes statistics and prevention.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Opioid Addiction Prevention Act of 2017 This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to prohibit the Drug Enforcement Administration from registering, or renewing the registration of, a practitioner who is licensed to prescribe opioids in schedule II, III, or IV unless the practitioner agrees to comply with certain requirements when prescribing opioids for the initial treatment of acute pain, such as a limit on the initial supply. An opioid that is approved and prescribed for the treatment of addiction is not subject to the requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Encourages the observance of National Wildlife Refuge Week. Acknowledges the importance of national wildlife refuges for their recreational opportunities and contribution to local economies. Reaffirms support for wildlife conservation and the National Wildlife Refuge System.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2017
Veterans Education Disaster Assistance Act This bill increases Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Post-9/11 educational assistance for veterans pursuing a course of education at an institute of higher education that is closed for at least four weeks because of natural disasters and who pursue such course, or an alternative course, solely by distance learning. The duration of monthly stipends is extended from four months to the shorter of four months or the period necessary to complete the quarter, semester, term, or academic period during the institute's closure. Such stipend is increased from 50% to the full amount that a veteran would be entitled to if pursuing such course of at an institution of higher education. An additional lump sum is made available for books and other educational costs made necessary by such distance learning.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2017
Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act of 2017 This bill establishes new requirements and restrictions with respect to the sale, purchase, shipment, and transport of ammunition. Among other things, the bill does the following: requires an ammunition dealer to be licensed, requires ammunition sales to be conducted in person, and requires a licensed ammunition importer, manufacturer, or dealer to report on bulk sales of ammunition.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2017
Requests the President and directs the Department of the Interior to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of all documents and communications that refer or relate to Executive Order 13792, dated April 26, 2017, which requires Interior to review designations or expansions of certain national monuments under the Antiquities Act since 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2017
Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a trigger crank, a bump-fire device, or any part, combination of parts, component, device, attachment, or accessory that is designed or functions to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle but not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a machine gun. The bill does not prohibit, with respect to such firearm accessories, the importation or manufacture for, sale or transfer to, or possession by a federal, state, or local government. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2017
Local Food And Regional Market Supply Act or the Local FARMS Act This bill consolidates, modifies, and authorizes several Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs to expand regional or local food markets and implement food safety practices. The bill authorizes and provides mandatory funding for a new Agricultural Market Development Program that is administered by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and consolidates: the Farmers' Market and Local Food Promotion Program, Value-Added Producer Grants, regional food chain coordination, and public-private partnerships to plan and develop regional food systems. The bill modifies the Food Safety Outreach Program to move the program to the AMS, provide mandatory funding, and expand the project priorities. The bill also: establishes a national food safety cost-share program; reauthorizes the National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program; authorizes rural development grants and loans to be used for meat, dairy, and poultry processing infrastructure; allows institutions participating in the school food programs to use locally grown, locally raised, or locally caught as a product specification; authorizes grants for produce prescription programs for low-income individuals and households; and reauthorizes the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program and expands eligibility to include low-income veterans. The bill modifies the Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program to: (1) require the majority of funds to be reserved for national or regional programs involving multiple states, and (2) expand the purposes of the program to include food waste reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish detention standards for each facility at which aliens in DHS custody are detained. Such standards shall provide for at least the level of detainee protections described in the American Bar Association's Civil Immigration Detention Standards. A detained individual who is injured as a result of a violation of such standards may file a claim in U.S. district court. The bill: (1) provides for facility oversight and transparency, (2) phases out the use of private detention facilities and jails for such aliens, and (3) revises procedures for detaining aliens.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Expansion Act This bill amends the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 to increase the number of states that may participate in two-year Medicaid demonstration programs that improve access to community mental health services. It also extends the two-year term for existing state demonstration programs by one year.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2017
Innovative Stormwater Infrastructure Act of 2017 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide grants to eligible higher education institutions and research institutions to establish and maintain between three and five centers of excellence for innovative stormwater control infrastructure, which is any green stormwater management technique that: (1) uses natural systems or engineered systems that mimic natural processes to infiltrate, evapotranspire, or capture stormwater; and (2) preserves, enhances, or mimics natural hydrology to protect or restore water quality. One of the centers must be the national electronic clearinghouse center and operate a website and a public database on the infrastructure. In addition, the EPA must provide grants to state, tribal, or local governments or entities that manage stormwater, drinking water resources, or wastewater resources for innovative stormwater control infrastructure projects. The EPA must ensure that: (1) EPA's Office of Water, Office of Enforcement and Compliance, Office of Research and Development, and Office of Policy promote the use of the infrastructure in, and coordinate the integration of, permitting programs, planning efforts, research, technical assistance, and funding guidance; and (2) the Office of Water supports establishing innovative financing mechanisms in the implementation of the infrastructure. The EPA must: (1) direct each EPA regional office to promote and integrate the use of the infrastructure within the region, and (2) promote sharing information about the infrastructure approaches. The EPA must establish the innovative stormwater control infrastructure portfolio standard of voluntary, measurable goals to increase the percentage of annual water managed by entities that use the infrastructure.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2017
Move America Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt Move America bonds and tax credits to be used for certain infrastructure projects. A Move America bond is treated as a tax-exempt private facility bond with certain exceptions. At least 95% of the net proceeds from the issuance of the bond must be used for infrastructure projects, including: airports; docks and wharves; mass commuting facilities; facilities for the furnishing of water; sewage facilities; railroads; certain surface transportation projects eligible for federal assistance, projects for an international bridge or tunnel, or facilities for transferring freight from truck to rail or rail to truck; flood diversions; inland waterways; or rural broadband service infrastructure. The bill specifies exceptions and modifications to existing rules for bonds regarding land acquisition, government ownership, rehabilitation expenditures, and the alternative minimum tax. The bonds are subject to a volume cap equal to 50% of a state's current private activity bond volume cap. States may exchange all or a portion of the volume cap for Move America tax credits to be allocated to taxpayers. The credits include: (1) a project credit for a portion of the basis of each qualified project; and (2) an infrastructure fund credit for investments in qualified infrastructure funds, including a state infrastructure bank, a water pollution control revolving fund, or a drinking water treatment revolving loan fund. States must report specified details to the Department of the Treasury regarding the amount of the volume cap exchanged and credits allocated.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
College Student Hunger Act of 2017 This bill amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to expand the eligibility of students to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) to include individuals enrolled in an institution of higher education who: (1) have an expected family contribution of zero, as determined by the procedures established the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA); or (2) are determined to be independent based on specified criteria included in the HEA.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish two care-management demonstration programs for chronic kidney disease (CKD) under the Medicare program: (1) the CKD Early Detection and Treatment Demonstration Program, and (2) the Demonstration Program for Advanced CKD. A practitioner's participation in either program shall be optional. Through each program, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shall provide to an enrollee's participating primary-care practitioner a single, monthly, performance-based payment for covered CKD care-management services furnished to the enrollee. The amount of this payment shall be greater than the amount that the practitioner would otherwise have received under Medicare for furnishing such services to the enrollee. The CMS shall specify applicable performance measures, in accordance with clinical guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
Organic Farmer and Consumer Protection Act of 2017 This bill amends the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 to reauthorize through FY2023 and modify the Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP). USDA must modernize the international trade tracking and data collection systems of the NOP, which must include ensuring that trade and transaction certificates are fully traceable without unduly hindering trade. The bill authorizes mandatory funding to be used for this purpose and for maintaining previous database and technology upgrades. The bill modifies requirements for recordkeeping, investigations, and enforcement with respect to the organic certification process to: allow parties to an active investigation to share confidential business information with government officers or employees and certifying agents involved in the investigation, require federal agencies that administer cross-border documentation systems to provide USDA with access to the data from the systems, allow the NOP to grant an accredited certifying agent the authority to require additional documentation or verification before granting certification, and require USDA to issue regulations limiting the type of operations that are excluded from certification. With respect to the accreditation process for certifying agents, the bill: (1) authorizes USDA to oversee and approve certifying agents operating in a foreign country, and (2) requires certifying agents that intend to operate in a foreign country to be annually authorized.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
IRS Data Verification Modernization Act of 2017 This bill requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to implement a program to ensure that disclosures of tax returns or return information by the IRS to a person verifying the income of a taxpayer for a legitimate business purpose are: (1) fully automated and accomplished through the Internet, and (2) accomplished in as close to real-time as is practicable. The IRS must assess and collect a fee for the disclosures described above at rates that are sufficient to recover the costs related to implementing the program not later than five years after the costs are paid or incurred.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2017
We the People Democracy Reform Act of 2017 This bill amends various provisions related to elections, including by: expanding the ban on election contributions by foreign nationals to include corporations subject to specified levels of ownership or control by foreign nationals or governments; expanding and otherwise revising various disclosure and reporting requirements related to campaign communications; imposing penalties for willfully violating limits related to campaign contributions for coordinated expenditures; revising notification requirements for campaign contributions of $1,000 or more from any contributor during a calendar year; replacing the Federal Election Commission with the Federal Election Administration, which shall enforce specified election-related laws and formulate related policies; imposing restrictions on covered financial-services regulators, such as by prohibiting them from using their position to influence any matter that provides a direct and substantial pecuniary benefit to certain former employers or clients; requiring the President and Vice President to disclose financial interests, including tax returns, to Congress and the Office of Government Ethics; modifying the system for the public financing of presidential elections, including by providing for 600% matching funds for smaller campaign contributions and requiring a candidate who accepts public financing to agree not to accept certain bundled contributions; requiring each state to conduct redistricting through a plan developed by an independent commission or, if such a commission plan is not enacted, a plan developed and enacted by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; and directing states to permit same-day voter registration.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2017
Directs the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities in Yemen, except those engaged in operations directed at Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, within 30 days after adoption of this concurrent resolution, unless: (1) the President requests and Congress authorizes a later date, or (2) a declaration of war or specific authorization for the use of the Armed Forces has been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2017
Reverse Mass Incarceration Act of 2017 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to establish a grant program for states to implement evidence-based programs designed to reduce crime rates and incarcerations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2017
Drinking Water Infrastructure for Job Creation Act This bill provides $7.5 billion in supplemental FY2017 appropriations to the Environmental Protection Agency to remain available through FY2022 for capitalization grants to the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. (The program assists public water systems in financing infrastructure projects needed to comply with federal drinking water regulations and meet health objectives under the Safe Drinking Water Act.) The funding provided by this bill is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. The emergency funding is exempt from discretionary spending limits and is only available if the President subsequently designates the amounts as an emergency and submits the designation to Congress. The bill also exempts the funding from sequestration. (Sequestration is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals.)
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2017
Transportation Infrastructure for Job Creation Act This bill provides $7.5 billion in supplemental FY2017 appropriations to the Department of Transportation to remain available through FY2022 for national infrastructure investments under a competitive grant program commonly known as the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. The funding provided by this bill is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. The emergency funding is exempt from discretionary spending limits and is only available if the President subsequently designates the amounts as an emergency and submits the designation to Congress. The bill also exempts the funding from sequestration. (Sequestration is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals.)
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2017
Healthy Start Reauthorization Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize through FY2023 the Healthy Start for Infants program. (The purpose of this program is to reduce infant mortality and improve perinatal outcomes.)
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2017
Medicare Home Health Flexibility Act of 2017 This bill establishes circumstances under which an occupational therapist may conduct an initial or comprehensive assessment for an individual who is eligible for home health services under Medicare. Specifically, an occupational therapist may conduct the assessment if the physician's referral order does not include skilled nursing care but does include: (1) occupational therapy, and (2) physical therapy or speech language pathology.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2017
Sustainable Farmland for the Future Act This bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to modify the conservation compliance provisions that apply to farmers who receive certain Department of Agriculture (USDA) benefits and have land that is highly erodible or a wetland. The bill modifies the compliance provisions to: apply the requirements to cropland that is planted to a row crop rather than highly erodible cropland; modify the requirements for a conservation system; modify the compliance requirements for farmers who receive crop insurance premium subsidies; expand the authority and requirements for USDA to review conservation plans; require USDA to use specified funds to provide technical assistance, conduct status reviews, and carry out other tasks needed to implement the conservation requirements; and revise the enforcement procedures for wetlands.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2017
Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma Working Family Tax Relief Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain individuals affected by Hurricanes Harvey or Irma to elect to use earned income from the preceding year for the purpose of determining earned income for the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit. The bill applies to an individual: (1) whose principal place of abode on specified dates was located in the Hurricane Harvey disaster area or the Hurricane Irma disaster area, (2) who was displaced from the place of abode due to the disaster, and (3) who performed substantially all employment services in the disaster area and was so employed on the specified date. The Department of the Treasury must pay to each U.S. possession with a tax system that mirrors federal tax law (mirror code tax system) amounts equal to the loss to the possession due to this bill. For U.S. possessions that do not have a mirror code tax system, Treasury must pay an amount equal to the aggregate benefits that would have been provided to residents of the possession due to this bill if a mirror code tax system had been in effect.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2017
Safe Communities Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide grants to assist states and local governments in: (1) the development or revision of land use planning statutes and state or local comprehensive planning documents, (2) the creation or revision of state land use planning statutes and local comprehensive land use plans that incorporate risk reduction and hazard mitigation, and (3) the development or revision of comprehensive land use plans or plan elements for multi-state regions. The bill sets forth eligibility criteria for grant recipients and allowable uses of grant funds. DHS shall conduct research and analysis of best practices in comprehensive land use and community planning that aims to reduce threats posed by natural hazards and acts of terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) Congress and the states should consider a constitutional amendment to reform the Electoral College and establish a process for electing the President and Vice President by a national popular vote, and (2) Congress should encourage the states to continue to reform the Electoral College process through such steps as the formation of an interstate compact to award the majority of Electoral College votes to the national popular vote winner.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Animal Emergency Planning Act of 2017 This bill amends the Animal Welfare Act to require research facilities, dealers, exhibitors, intermediate handlers, and carriers (covered persons) to develop, document, and follow a contingency plan to provide for the humane handling, treatment, transportation, housing, and care of their animals in the event of an emergency or disaster. The plan must: identify situations that the covered person might experience that would trigger the need to implement the measures identified in the plan; outline tasks to be carried out in response to emergencies or disasters; establish a chain of command and identify the individuals responsible for fulfilling the tasks; and address how response and recovery will be handled in terms of materials, resources, and training needed. Covered persons must review their plan at least annually, train personnel in their roles and responsibilities as outlined in the plan, and provide training when the plan changes.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
US Navy SEAL SCPO Tyrone Snowden Woods Ceremony Invitee Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of State to: prescribe a policy by which a member of a diplomatic mission may designate those next-of-kin who will be invited to, and be entitled to attend, any memorial service held to honor the member in the event of his or her death in service to the United States; and publicize such policy and make the appropriate forms available to each member of a diplomatic mission.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Common Sense Opportunities Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education (ED) to inform each entity operating programs under the federal TRIO programs (programs designed to identify and provide services for students from disadvantaged backgrounds) of the status of their application for continued funding at least four months (currently eight) prior to the expiration of the funding. The bill establishes a process for applicants to resubmit an application for a grant or contract for higher education resources or student assistance when the application contains a technical error. The bill prohibits ED from rejecting an application solely because it contains a technical error, unless ED notifies the applicant of the error and the applicant does not correct it by the resubmission deadline. ED must submit an annual report that: (1) identifies each entity that received a grant or contract for higher education resources or student assistance and indicates the amount of the grant or contract; and (2) identifies each entity that applied for, but did not receive, such grant or contract and indicates the reason for the rejection of the application. ED must set forth the information separately for each state and local educational agency in the report.
![Official portrait of Rep. Blumenauer, Earl [D-OR-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000574_200.jpg)