United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020
This resolution recognizes (1) the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month; and (2) the integral role of Latinos and their manifold heritage in the economy, culture, and identity of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2020
Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment Act or the TREAT Act This bill temporarily allows, subject to scope of practice and other requirements, a health care professional to provide in-person and telehealth services in any U.S. jurisdiction based on that individual's authorization to practice in any one state or territory. Specifically, health care professionals may provide these services in jurisdictions other than where they are licensed, certified, or authorized to practice for up to 180 days after the end of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency. In addition, the bill provides certain authorities to health care professional regulatory bodies, such as medical boards, to investigate and take disciplinary actions against a professional who provides telehealth services to a patient in that organization's jurisdiction pursuant to this bill. The bill also permits the Department of Health and Human Services to similarly expand the authority of health care professionals to provide these services in the event of future major disasters or emergencies.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2020
FEMA Assistance Relief Act of 2020 This bill modifies the federal cost share of certain emergency assistance relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Specifically, the bill provides for (1) a 100% federal cost share of assistance provided under the emergency declaration issued by the President on March 13, 2020, relating to COVID-19 and any subsequent major disaster declaration that supersedes it; and (2) at least a 90% federal cost share of assistance provided for any emergency or major disaster declared by the President from January 1-December 31, 2020. With respect to the emergency declaration issued on March 13, 2020, the President may provide assistance for activities, costs, and purchases of states or local governments or the owners or operators of eligible private nonprofits, including, among other things backfill costs for first responders and other essential employees who are ill or quarantined; increased operating costs for essential government services due to such emergency; costs associated with maintaining alternate care facilities or related facilities currently inactive but related to future needs tied to the ongoing pandemic event; personal protective equipment and other critical supplies and services for first responders and other essential employees; and costs of procuring and distributing food to individuals affected by the pandemic through networks established by state, local, or tribal governments or other organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2020
I Am Vanessa Guillen Act of 2020 This bill addresses the response of the Department of Defense to sex-related offenses committed against members of the Armed Forces, including allowing a member to confidentially allege a complaint of sexual harassment to an individual outside the immediate chain of command of that member.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2020
Bringing Enhanced Treatments and Therapies to ESRD Recipients Kidney Care Act or the BETTER Kidney Care Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a demonstration program for Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Under the program, renal dialysis facilities, kidney disease specialists, physician practices, and other health care practitioners may form an organization that partners with certain health care entities to provide integrated care to beneficiaries with ESRD. Such care must include all covered Medicare benefits as well as transition services for transplantations, palliative care, and hospice. Each organization must have a minimum number or percentage of participating beneficiaries (350 or 60% of beneficiaries served at the organization's facilities) and must also comply with certain fiscal, governance, and quality of care requirements. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office must study certain data that is reported to the CMS regarding pediatric dialysis care, as well as the effects of race-based corrections to a specified kidney function test on referrals of ESRD patients for transplant evaluations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2020
This resolution supports the announcements of (1) the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain, and (2) the suspension of Israeli actions to apply sovereignty in parts of the West Bank. Further, it calls on each of these countries to encourage greater people-to-people normalization, and it calls on other Arab and Muslim countries to establish full relations with Israel. It also reaffirms the House of Representatives' support for a negotiated, two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2020
This resolution declares that Congress and the President will have a duty to act in 2021 on the self-determination choice of the people of Puerto Rico if the territory's plebiscite chooses statehood. The resolution (1) recognizes that implementation legislation will need to include measures to phase-in the equal treatment of the territory and its residents in federal laws, and (2) states that such measures should implement equality for Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans as expeditiously as possible.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2020
Ending Health Disparities During COVID-19 Act of 2020 or the EHDC Act of 2020 This bill expands COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) relief efforts, expands data collection and health literacy, supports research, promotes diversity in the health professional workforce, increases access to telehealth and other health care, and otherwise addresses the health of minority populations and immigrants. For example, the bill provides funding for emergency aid and services, grants to address COVID-19 health inequities, grants to address social determinants of health, and payments for language services. It also expands COVID-19 testing and contact tracing.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2020
Center for Asymmetric Threat Research and Analytics Act of 2020 or the CATRA Act of 2020 This bill requires the Department of Defense to establish the Center for Asymmetric Threat Research and Analytics to counter terrorism, extremism, and other threats through activities including research, training, and education.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2020
Africa Foreign Relations, International Cooperation, and Assistance Act of 2020 or the AFRICA Act of 2020 This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to report on the activities and resources required to enhance security and economic partnerships between the United States and African countries. Additionally, DOD shall seek to build partner capacity and interoperability in the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility through increased partnerships with countries on the African continent, military-to-military engagements, and traditional activities of the combatant commands.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2020
Advancing Development of AI Processes and Talent Act or the ADAPT Act This bill modifies the Department of Defense (DOD) public-private talent exchange program under which DOD and private sector employees exchange duties. It requires that an agreement under such program must specify that DOD employees may not improperly use information that relates to a DOD acquisition or procurement for the benefit or advantage of the private-sector organization. DOD must ensure that the authority for operating a public-private talent exchange program is used to exchange personnel working on artificial intelligence applications. DOD must brief the congressional armed services committees on efforts to expand existing DOD public-private exchange programs and to ensure that such programs seek opportunities for exchanges with private sector entities working on artificial intelligence applications.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2020
Congressional Oversight of Labor Categories in Defense Contracting Act of 2020 This bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on the use of time-and-materials and labor contracts and labor category minimums within the Department of Defense. The GAO must brief Congress on issues covered in the report.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2020
COVID Community Care Act This bill provides FY2020 supplemental funding for the Department of Health and Human Services and the Indian Health Service to implement programs to prevent and respond to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) in medically underserved areas and among tribal populations, respectively. The bill designates the funding as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits.
United States · United States Congress · 1 September 2020
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to (1) submit a plan to address its staffing shortages of licensed professional mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists, and (2) develop an occupational series for such counselors and therapists.
United States · United States Congress · 1 September 2020
VA Mental Health Staffing Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to submit a plan to address the staffing of mental health providers at its facilities. Among other elements, the plan must address the filling of any open positions.
United States · United States Congress · 28 August 2020
This concurrent resolution (1) recognizes the 130 years of significant and meaningful contributions the 1890 Institutions (i.e., historically Black universities established under the Second Morrill Act of 1890) have made to the United States, (2) supports the efforts of the Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies to build stronger partnerships with such institutions, and (3) commits to working in a bipartisan way to address the past funding and program inequities of such institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 August 2020
Diversity in Defense Act of 2020 This bill adds certain diversity-related requirements for the U.S. Armed Forces, including (1) the appointment of a Chief Diversity Officer in military components of the Department of Defense (DOD) and in the Coast Guard; (2) the establishment of a Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council in DOD to, among other things, align diversity and inclusion with DOD strategic goals; (3) enhanced reporting on diversity and inclusion; (4) requiring a mentoring and career counseling program; (5) developing plans to increase recruitment and retention of female and minority members in the Armed Forces, (6) establishing in DOD the Office of the Special Inspector General for Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Armed Forces to examine the effect of military justice and personnel policies on racial and ethnic disparities; (7) tracking investigations of supremacist, violent extremist, and criminal gang activity in the Armed Forces; and (8) improving responses to pregnancy and childbirth for members of the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 25 August 2020
Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2020 This bill recognizes the right of the Puerto Rican people to call a Status Convention through which the people would exercise their right to self-determination and establishes a mechanism for congressional consideration of such decision. Specifically, the bill provides for public financing of delegate elections and establishes a Congressional Bilateral Negotiating Commission to provide advice and consultation to delegates of such convention.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 2020
Delivering for America Act This bill prohibits the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from making changes to operations or levels of service from those that were in effect on January 1, 2020. Specifically, the USPS may not, during the period beginning on enactment of this bill and ending on the last day of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency or January 1, 2021, whichever is later, implement or approve any change to the operations or the level of service that would impede prompt, reliable, and efficient services, including changes in the nature of services that will generally affect service on a nationwide basis; revisions of service standards; closures or consolidations of post offices or reduction of facility hours; prohibitions on payment of overtime pay to USPS officers or employees; changes that would prevent the USPS from meeting its service standards or that would reduce measurements of performance concerning those standards; changes that would have the effect of delaying mail, allowing non-delivery to a delivery route, or increasing the volume of undelivered mail.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 2020
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of Justice (DOJ) should defend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in ongoing litigation. Currently, DOJ supports the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that upheld a district court ruling that certain provisions of the PPACA are not severable from the remainder of the Act and therefore that the entire law is invalid. The Fifth Circuit's ruling is currently pending appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 2020
Helping Home Owners Maintain Economic Security Act of 2020 or the Helping HOMES Act of 2020 This bill expands and extends existing single-family and multifamily mortgage forbearance provisions for borrowers experiencing financial hardships due to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency. Specifically, forbearance may be extended to borrowers for up to 12 months. Currently, borrowers may receive 180 days of forbearance, with an extension of up to an additional 180 days. The bill also expands the forbearance provisions to apply to nonfederally backed mortgages. Mortgage servicers must notify borrowers of the availability of forbearance.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2020
Bias In Automobile Stops Act of 2020 or the BIAS Act of 2020 This bill directs the Department of Transportation to provide grants to institutions of higher education for research and training in the operation or establishment of an implicit bias training program as it relates to racial profiling at traffic stops. To be eligible for grants such institutions must (1) have an active research program or demonstrate that the applicant is beginning a research program to study implicit bias as it relates to racial profiling before and during traffic stops, and (2) partner with state and local police departments to conduct the research and carry out the implementation of implicit bias training with state and local police departments.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2020
Healthy Flights Act of 2020 This bill provides authority for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to impose any requirements on passenger and cargo air travel to protect the health and safety of air carrier crewmembers and passengers and to reduce the spread of such infectious disease through the aviation system during public health emergencies such as COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Among other provisions, the bill sets forth requirements relating to the use of masks and other protective equipment for airline passengers and certain airline employees; requires the FAA to provide certain employees, including any air traffic controller and airway transportation systems specialist, with masks and other protective equipment; mandates the development of a national aviation preparedness plan to ensure the aviation system is prepared to respond to epidemics and pandemics of infectious diseases; directs each air carrier operating an aircraft with a seating capacity of 20 or more to implement appropriate measures on a flight in air transportation for the purpose of reducing the likelihood of any passenger or crewmember contracting an infectious disease; requires the FAA to enter into an agreement with the National Academies to conduct a study on the transmission of infectious diseases, including airborne diseases, in the cabins of passenger airplanes; and establishes a Center of Excellence for Infectious Disease Response and Prevention in Aviation within the FAA.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2020
Pandemic Child Hunger Prevention Act This bill revises food and nutrition programs of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. USDA must reimburse states at the free rate for meals served by school food authorities in such states during the 2020-2021 school year under the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. All children enrolled in a school that participates in such programs are temporarily eligible (without application) to receive free school meals during the 2020-2021 school year. Additionally, such children are certified eligible (without application) for free meals under the (1) summer food service program, (2) child and adult care food program, and (3) meal supplements for children in after-school programs. The bill also sets forth provisions related to the 2021-2022 school year, including provisions regarding (1) calculations to determine the percentage of identified students under the school meal programs, (2) the selection of schools under the fresh fruit and vegetable program, and (3) establishing a price for paid lunches during such school year.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2020
Repairing Existing Public Lands by Adding Necessary Trees Act or the REPLANT Act This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) annually for each of the 10 years after enactment of this bill to transmit to Congress an estimate of the sums necessary to be appropriated, in addition to the funds available from other sources, to replant and otherwise treat an acreage equal to the acreage to be cut over that year, plus a sufficient portion of the backlog of lands found to be in need of treatment to eliminate the backlog within the 10-year period. After such 10-year period, USDA shall transmit annually to Congress an estimate of the sums necessary to replant and otherwise treat all lands being cut over and maintain planned timber production on all other forested lands in the National Forest System to prevent the development of a backlog of needed work larger than the needed work at the beginning of the fiscal year. Each reforestation activity included in a renewable resource assessment shall be carried out in accordance with applicable Forest Service management practices and definitions, including those contained in a specified amendment and regulations related to silvicultural practices. The Forest Service shall, based on recommendations from regional foresters, create a priority list of reforestation projects that primarily take place on priority land, promote effective reforestation following unplanned events, and may include activities to ensure adequate and appropriate seed availability. USDA shall give priority to projects on the priority list.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2020
Save our Stages Act or the SOS Act This bill authorizes the Small Business Administration (SBA) to make grants to eligible live venue operators, producers, promoters, or talent representatives to address the economic effects of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic on certain live venues. Specifically, the SBA may make (1) an initial grant of up to $12 million dollars to an eligible operator, promoter, producer, or talent representative; and (2) a supplemental grant that is equal to 50% of the initial grant. An initial grant must be used for costs incurred between March 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020, but a supplemental grant may be used for expenses incurred through June 30, 2021. Such grants shall be used for specified expenses such as payroll costs, rent, utilities, and personal protective equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2020
Protecting the Health and Wellness of Babies and Pregnant Women in Custody Act This bill contains provisions related to the medical needs of incarcerated women. The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) shall provide women in its custody access to certain reproductive health services. The bill also requires the BOP to (1) comply with requirements related to the health of a pregnant incarcerated woman, such as providing appropriate meals and medical services; and (2) provide appropriate health care to a woman with a high-risk pregnancy. The bill also modifies restrictions on using restraints on an incarcerated woman during pregnancy, labor, or after delivery. The bill prohibits such restraints unless the relevant corrections official and a health care professional determine that the restraints are appropriate for the woman's medical safety. The health care professional must review this determination every six hours. The current statute allows using such restraints if the corrections official determines that restraints are needed due to a flight risk or threat of harm, and does not require periodic review. The bill also prohibits the BOP from placing a pregnant woman into restrictive housing, such as solitary confinement, unless the relevant corrections official determines that such an action is necessary to address a serious and immediate risk of physical harm. This determination shall be reviewed every four hours. The Department of Justice may make grants to eligible entities, such as a state department of corrections, to provide obstetrical care, gynecological care, and related services to women in custody. The Bureau of Justice Statistics shall collect certain data related to the health needs of pregnant incarcerated women.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2020
Represent America Abroad Act of 2020 This bill requires the Department of State to establish the Represent America Mid-Career Foreign Service Entry Program to increase diversity in the Foreign Service by recruiting mid-career professionals who are from minority groups. As part of the program, the State Department shall (1) establish and publish eligibility criteria for participation; (2) carry out recruitment efforts to attract highly qualified, mid-career professionals from minority groups; and (3) include appropriate mentorship and other career development opportunities for program participants. The State Department must submit an annual report on the status of the program.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2020
Coronavirus Economic Relief for Transportation Services Act This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to provide grants and other forms of emergency assistance to certain providers of transportation services that have experienced a significant revenue loss as a direct or indirect result of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Treasury must ensure equal access to the assistance for small, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses. As a condition of receipt of assistance, Treasury must require that a provider of transportation services agree to (1) use the funds, on a priority basis, to maintain through December 31, 2020, pay, paid administrative leave, and benefits to all employees after making any adjustments required for retirement or voluntary employee separation; and (2) recall or rehire any employee laid off, furloughed, or terminated because of reduced service as a result of COVID-19, to the extent warranted by increased service levels.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2020
This bill provides for the removal of certain statues and a bust from display in the Capitol. The bill directs the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) to remove the bust of Roger Brooke Taney in the Old Supreme Court chamber of the Capitol and replace it with a bust of Thurgood Marshall to be obtained by the Joint Committee on the Library. The AOC must remove the statues of Charles Brantley Aycock, John Caldwell Calhoun, and James Paul Clarke from areas of the Capitol accessible to the public. Furthermore, the AOC must store each statue until it and the state that provided the statue arrange for its return to the state. Additionally, the bill prohibits the display of statues in National Statuary Hall of persons who served as officers or voluntarily with the Confederate States of America or of the military forces or government of a state while it was in rebellion against the United States; requires the AOC to identify such statues and arrange for their transfer and deliverance from the Capitol to the Smithsonian Institution, subject to the approval of the joint committee; requires the Smithsonian to follow its preexisting policies and procedures regarding the storage and display of such transferred statues; requires each statue to be returned to the providing state, including its ownership, if the state requests and agrees to pay any transportation-related costs; and permits a state that has a statue removed to replace the statue.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2020
This bill provides FY2020 supplemental appropriations to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for maintaining the projected FY2020 and FY2021 levels of operations for immigration adjudication and naturalization services, including maintaining current staffing levels and current contracts at full performance. The bill designates the appropriations as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits. The bill also requires USCIS to add a 10% surcharge to premium processing fees for employment-based petitions and applications until the additional fees collected equal the amount of supplemental appropriations provided by this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2020
Limit on the Expansion of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Act This bill establishes that the joint resolution authorizing the use of military force after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks shall not authorize the use of force in any country in which the Armed Forces are not engaged in hostilities under that authorization on the date this bill is passed.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2020
This resolution expresses support for the designation of Journeyman Lineworkers Recognition Day. (A journeyman lineworker is a person who builds and maintains electrical power systems.)
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 2020
Long Bridge Act of 2020 This bill authorizes the National Park Service (NPS) to convey to Virginia or the District of Columbia any federal land or interest in federal land under the jurisdiction of the NPS that is identified by Virginia or the District as necessary for the Long Bridge Project, a project to expand commuter and regional passenger rail service and provide bicycle and pedestrian access crossings over the Potomac River. The NPS may allow the temporary use of any federal land under the jurisdiction of the NPS that is identified by Virginia or the District as necessary for the construction of the Long Bridge Project.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 2020
Flexible Financing for Rural America Act of 2020 This bill allows rural utility service providers to submit to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) a request to adjust the interest rate or modify the terms of certain loans. The request shall include a report summarizing how the adjustment or modification will assist the borrower in providing critical utility services to a rural community. Specifically, on receipt of a request, USDA must adjust the interest rate on the loan to match certain interest rates in effect when the bill is enacted for obligations of comparable maturity to the term remaining on the loan (or a higher rate requested by the borrower), and make modifications to the loan terms as necessary to address changes in the financial position of the borrower due to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency and to promote the financial sustainability of the borrower. In carrying out the adjustments or modifications, USDA shall not impose or collect any fee from, or impose any penalty on, a borrower. The bill also provides funding to implement the adjustments and modifications.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 2020
Reviving the Economy Sustainably Towards A Recovery in Twenty-twenty Act or the RESTART Act This bill establishes a loan program whereby the Small Business Administration (SBA) shall guarantee loan amounts to certain businesses affected by COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Specifically, the bill requires the SBA to guarantee 100% of program loan amounts made to certain small businesses that have not more than than 5,000 full-time employees. The terms for such loans shall include (1) a maximum duration of not more than seven years; (2) an amount that is not greater than 45% of 2019 gross receipts, up to $12 million; and (3) no payment on principal for the first two years of the loan. A lender that is otherwise approved to make paycheck protection loans may make and approve loans established by the bill, and a recipient may use loan funds for specified allowable expenses including payroll costs, rent, utilities, and personal protective equipment. Such loans may be forgiven up to the amount of total losses incurred by the recipient in the taxable year 2020.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2020
This bill authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT) to award maritime career training grants to institutions of higher education and postsecondary vocational institutions for the purpose of developing, offering, or improving educational or career training programs for American workers related to the maritime workforce. Each awarded grant may not exceed $20 million. DOT must award grants based on a determination of the merits of the grant proposal submitted by the institution of higher education or postsecondary vocational institution to develop, offer, or improve maritime educational or career training programs to be made available to workers; an evaluation of the likely employment opportunities available to workers who complete a maritime educational or career training program that the institution proposes to develop, offer, or improve; an evaluation of prior demand for training programs by workers in the community served by the institution, as well as the availability and capacity of existing maritime training programs to meet future demand for training programs; and any prior designation of the institution as a Center of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2020
Assisted Living Facility Coronavirus Reporting Act This bill temporarily imposes reporting requirements related to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) cases in assisted living facilities on states as a condition of receiving certain federal COVID-19 relief funding. Specifically, states must report each week on suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 in assisted living facilities to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with the data disaggregated by race and other demographic characteristics. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services must publish the information provided by states. States must also require assisted living facilities to notify federal, state, and local health agencies and facility residents, their representatives, and their families within one calendar day of any confirmed cases of COVID-19 or the onset of new respiratory symptoms at a particular facility. In addition, subject to some limitations, the bill applies federal COVID-19 reporting requirements for nursing facilities and skilled nursing facilities to assisted living facilities and requires the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the use of required reporting by nursing homes to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 in such facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2020
Congressional Oversight to Secure Transparency of Relocations Act or the COST of Relocations Act This bill requires a federal agency seeking to relocate more than 5% of its employees or more than 100 employees to conduct and make public a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of the proposed change. Specifically, the agency must conduct such analysis and submit it to the agency's office of inspector general for review and submission to Congress. The report must include, among other things the anticipated outcomes and improvements that will result from the proposed relocation, the metrics for measuring whether the proposed relocation results in the anticipated outcomes and improvements, a timeline of past and future engagements with stakeholders regarding the proposed relocation, a comprehensive strategy for accomplishing the proposed relocation, and an assessment of the short- and long-term effects of the proposed relocation on the agency's mission.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2020
HBCU Capital Finance Debt Relief Act This bill requires the Department of Education to, within 30 days, cancel the obligation of historically Black colleges and universities to repay the balance of principal and interest due on their capital financing loans.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2020
Guard and Reserve Retirement Points during COVID-19 Pandemic Act This bill authorizes the Department of Defense to approve constructive credit towards retirement for a reservist of the Armed Forces who cannot complete minimum annual training requirements due to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) national emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2020
Child Care for Economic Recovery Act This bill provides additional funding in FY2020 for taxpayer services, social services block grants, and infrastructure grants to improve child care safety, including needs assessments. The bill adds and modifies certain tax provisions to increase and make refundable the child and dependent care tax credit; increase the exclusion from employee income for employer-provided dependent care assistance; allow employers payroll tax credits for certain fixed expenses of child care facilities closed due to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019), certain employer-paid employee dependent care expenses, and the employment of workers who perform domestic service in the private home of an employer; and allow a carryover of unused benefits or contributions remaining in a dependent care flexible spending arrangement from the 2020 plan year to the 2021 plan year. The bill increases funding (1) in FY2020-FY2024 for the general child care entitlement under the Social Security Act, and (2) for child care services for the children of essential workers. The bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct an immediate needs assessment of the condition of child care facilities throughout the United States and authorizes HHS to award grants to acquire, construct, renovate, or improve child care facilities, including expanding facilities to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2020
Improving College Affordability for our Guard and Reserve Act This bill authorizes all members of the Armed Forces—including reservists or those in the National Guard and regardless of their duty status—to claim independent student status when applying for federal financial aid. Currently, active duty service members and veterans of the Armed Forces may claim such independent student status.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2020
Research Investment to Spark the Economy Act or the RISE Act This bill authorizes the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, the Interior, and Health and Human Services and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Science Foundation, and Environmental Protection Agency to provide support for research regarding COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) or research disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Support under this bill shall be provided through federal science agencies with at least $50 million in basic and applied research obligations in FY2020. Support may be used to provide supplemental funding to extend the duration of a grant to a research institution or national laboratory that was awarded prior to the enactment of this bill, or to expand the purposes of such a grant as specified; provide supplemental funding through existing competitively awarded cooperative agreements and contracts to cover the increased costs of construction of scientific facilities and equipment that have been delayed because of COVID-19; and award grants and cooperative agreements to institutions of higher education to conduct research on the behavioral, social, or economic effects of COVID-19 and the responses to the disease or on the effectiveness of such responses. Agencies must provide the support as rapidly as possible. Provided funds shall remain available for expenditure for up to two years.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2020
HOME Investment Partnerships Reauthorization Act of 2020 This bill reauthorizes through FY2025 the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which provides funds to states and local governments to create affordable housing for low-income individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2020
Quit Because of COVID-19 Act This bill provides for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage of certain tobacco cessation services during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019), as well as for two years after the emergency period ends. Specifically, the bill provides for coverage of diagnostic, therapy, and counseling services and pharmacotherapy, including prescription and nonprescription tobacco cessation agents, that are provided under medical supervision and in accordance with specified guidelines. The bill excludes such items and services from cost-sharing and applies an enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate).