United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
Improve Well-Being for Veterans Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to award grants for a period of three years to eligible entities for the provision of suicide prevention services to veterans and their families. Under the bill, eligible entities include tribally designated housing entities, community-based organizations, and other private entities that meet certain requirements. Entities must submit an application to receive financial assistance that includes a description of the services they propose to provide, among other elements. The bill requires the VA to equitably distribute grants across geographic regions and areas with the most need. Additionally, the VA shall give preference to entities that are experienced in providing suicide prevention services. Entities receiving funding must notify service recipients that funding is wholly or partially from the VA.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
This resolution expresses support for (1) equal rights and protections for all people, regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity; and (2) the designation of LGBTQ Equality Day on June 26 to commemorate Supreme Court decisions handed down on that day in 2003, 2013, and 2015. The resolution also acknowledges the need for further legislation to ensure that people in the United States are free from all forms of discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that (1) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights are human rights and protected by the U.S. Constitution; (2) LGBTQ Pride Month should be celebrated; and (3) all Americans should be treated equally regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
Restore Honor to Service Members Act This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to review the discharge characterization of a service member who was discharged on the basis of sexual orientation (i.e., on the basis of Don't Ask Don't Tell or a similar policy) if the service member requests such a review. If the service member's discharge is characterized as other than honorable, and if there were no aggravating circumstances that would have independently caused the discharge to be characterized as other than honorable, then DOD must change its characterization of the discharge to honorable.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
LGBTQ Data Inclusion Act This bill requires federal agencies that collect information through a survey that includes demographic data (where subjects self-report information or a proxy provides information about the subject or responds for all persons in a household) to review existing data sets to determine in which data sets information about sexual orientation and gender identity is not included, and to assess needed changes in survey methods related to asking questions on sexual orientation and gender identity. Agencies that publish reports relying on survey demographic data must include information on sexual orientation and gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2019
Integration of Baseball Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins in recognition and celebration of the 75th anniversary of the integration of the game of baseball. All sales of such coins shall include specified surcharges. All surcharges received by Treasury shall be distributed to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, with the understanding that the Hall of Fame shall work with the Jackie Robinson Foundation to develop and operate education programs about the integration of the game of baseball and to preserve artifacts related to the integration of the game.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2019
Fair Pay for All Act of 2019 This bill prohibits sex discrimination in the payment of the minimum wage to workers based on their gender identity, sexual orientation, sex characteristics, a sex stereotype, pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2019
Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act of 2019 This bill prohibits strikes by certain individuals and requires the issuance of rules that provide for federal minimum standard collective bargaining rights and procedures. The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) shall determine for each state whether the laws of such state substantially provide for each of the minimum standard collective bargaining rights and procedures specified by this bill, including the right of public employees and supervisory employees to self-organize, form or join a labor organization, or collectively bargain. The FLRA must issue rules and take actions to establish and administer bargaining rights and procedures for those states that do not substantially provide for them. No employers, emergency services employees, or law enforcement officers may engage in a lockout, strike, or any other organized job action that would probably result in a measurable disruption of the delivery of emergency or public safety services. Furthermore, no labor organization may be the cause of a violation of such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2019
Peace Corps Reauthorization Act of 2019 This bill reauthorizes the Peace Corps through FY2023 and makes various changes to the Peace Corps. Peace Corps volunteers and volunteer leaders shall receive a readjustment allowance of at least $417 for each month of satisfactory service, up from the current minimum of $125 per month. For workers compensation purposes, a Peace Corps volunteer shall be deemed to be paid at the minimum rate of a GS-11 employee on the General Schedule pay scale. Currently, volunteers are treated as minimum rate GS-7 employees for such purposes, while volunteer leaders are already treated as minimum rate GS-11 employees. The bill provides statutory authority for existing practices making certain former Peace Corps volunteers eligible for certain types of civil service employment. The bill also extends the eligibility period in certain instances, such as when a former volunteer applied to an agency where there was a lapse in appropriations. The bill specifies that U.S. nationals are eligible for Peace Corps employment and for related programs. (Individuals born in an outlying U.S. possession are U.S. nationals but do not automatically acquire citizenship through birth in the outlying possession.) The bill authorizes the use of the Peace Corps name as well as the official seal and emblem on the death announcement or grave marker of a person who served in the Peace Corps. The bill makes various changes to the structure and responsibilities of the Peace Corps National Advisory Council.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2019
Local Public Health And Safety Protection Act This bill authorizes the Department of Justice to make grants to states that allow local governments to impose firearms laws that are more restrictive than state firearms laws. A state that receives a grant must award subgrants to localities to help implement the more restrictive firearms laws.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2019
Stopping Bad Robocalls Act This bill updates various policies and regulations relating to robocalls. Specifically, the bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to protect consumer privacy as it relates to robocalls. The FCC must update regulations involving certain robocalls that are exempt from criminal liability to include specific requirements identifying classes of parties who may make such calls, parties who may be called, and how many times they may be called. Additionally, the bill removes the requirement that a citation be issued prior to a forfeiture penalty being imposed in cases where violations involving illegal robocalls have been intentional and where inaccurate caller identification information has been provided. The bill also implements a three-year statute of limitation for such violations requiring notice, and a four-year statute of limitation where an intentional violation has occurred. The FCC must promulgate regulations to address requirements for effective call authentication technology as well as to establish a process to streamline the ways in which a private entity may voluntarily share with FCC information relating to an illegal call or text or for calls with misleading or inaccurate caller identification information. Finally, the bill requires the FCC to ensure robocall blocking services provided on an opt-out basis are provided free of cost with transparency and redress options for consumers and callers.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2019
Veterans Expedited TSA Screening Safe Travel Act or the VETS Safe Travel Act This bill makes certain veterans eligible for the Transportation Security Administration PreCheck Program at no cost if they meet the program's background check and security requirements. Veterans who are eligible for this fee waiver are those who have been determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs to have incurred permanent blindness, or those who have been determined to require the use of a wheelchair, prosthetic limb, or other assistive device to aid with mobility due to (1) loss, or loss of use, of a limb; or (2) full or partial paralyzation.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2019
This resolution recognizes the historical significance and supports the continued celebration of Juneteenth Independence Day, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2019
This bill requires the Department of Defense to report to Congress on the vulnerabilities to sea level rise of (1) the Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, and (2) the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site (in the Marshall Islands). The report shall include identification of alternative locations for the continuance of the installations' operations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2019
Neighborhood Homes Investment Act This bill establishes a new business-related tax credit to finance home building and rehabilitation in neighborhoods that meet certain eligibility criteria relating to poverty rates, income, and home values. The credit is limited to 35% of the lesser of the qualified development cost (i.e., the cost of construction, substantial rehabilitation, demolition, and environmental remediation of residential properties) or 80% of the national median sale price for new homes. The credit applies to single family homes containing four or fewer residential units, condominiums, or houses or apartments owned by cooperative housing corporations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2019
Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2019 This bill generally prohibits deceptive practices, false statements, and voter interference regarding federal elections. Specifically, the bill prohibits any person, within 60 days before an election, from communicating, causing to be communicated, or producing for communication certain information on voting, if the person (1) knows such information to be materially false, and (2) has the intent to impede or prevent another person from exercising the right to vote in an election. The bill also prohibits false statements regarding public endorsements and hindering, interfering with, or preventing voting or registering to vote. A private right of action for preventive relief is established for persons aggrieved by violations of these prohibitions. Criminal penalties are also established for violations. If the Department of Justice (DOJ) receives a credible report that materially false information has been or is being communicated in violation of these prohibitions, DOJ must communicate to the public accurate information designed to correct the materially false information.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2019
Global Respect Act This bill imposes visa-blocking sanctions on foreign persons responsible for or complicit in violating the human rights of individuals due to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics. The President shall report and periodically update a list of foreign persons responsible for such human rights violations and apply sanctions accordingly. The Department of State shall designate at least one senior officer who shall be responsible for tracking violence and discrimination against individuals based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics in foreign countries.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2019
Carbon Capture Prize Act The bill directs the Department of Energy to carry out a competition to award prizes for technology that reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, including through direct carbon removal and permanent sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2019
Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald Schools Act of 2019 This bill directs the Department of the Interior to study the sites associated with the life and legacy of Julius Rosenwald, a part-owner and President of Sears, Roebuck and Company and a noted philanthropist. The study shall include a special focus on the Rosenwald Schools (the 5,357 schools and related buildings that were constructed in 15 southern states between 1912 and 1932). In conducting such study, Interior shall (1) determine which sites are of national significance, (2) prioritize the study of any Rosenwald Schools recommended to Interior by the State Historic Preservation Officer of any of the states in which such schools exist, and (3) determine the suitability and feasibility of designating one or more units of the National Park System to include those Rosenwald Schools and other sites representing Julius Rosenwald's life and legacy.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2019
Humanitarian Standards for Individuals in Customs and Border Protection Custody Act This bill imposes requirements and standards related to the care of aliens in U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody. CBP shall conduct an initial health screening of each alien in custody to identify those with acute conditions and high-risk vulnerabilities and to provide appropriate healthcare. CBP shall conduct the screening within 12 hours of each alien's initial detention, and within 3 hours for certain priority individuals such as children, pregnant women, and those with disabilities. The bill imposes various requirements related to the services, personnel, and infrastructure for providing such screenings, such as providing interpreters, chaperones, and mental health treatment when necessary. CBP shall ensure detainees have access to drinking water, toilets, sanitation facilities, hygiene products, food, and shelter. The bill imposes certain standards relating to such requirements, such as the minimum amount of drinking water and space for each detainee. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall enter into memoranda of understanding with various emergency government relief agencies to address instances when surge capacity is necessary. The Inspector General of DHS shall conduct unannounced inspections of ports of entry, border patrol stations, and detention facilities and report the results to Congress. The Government Accountability Office shall assess CBP's management of such facilities and whether CBP and DHS processes are in compliance with this bill's requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2019
No Federal Funds for Public Charge Act of 2019 This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to implement, administer, enforce, or carry out the proposed Department of Homeland Security rule entitled Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds . The rule makes aliens who are likely at any time to become a public charge and receive certain public benefits inadmissible.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2019
Securing Energy for our Armed Forces Using Engineering Leadership Act of 2019 or the SEA FUEL Act of 2019 This bill directs the Department of Defense to carry out a program of research, development, testing, evaluation, study, and demonstration of technologies related to blue carbon capture and direct air capture, with the goals of developing technologies to turn carbon dioxide into clean fuels, creating products for military uses, and using the technologies at military facilities and in military transportation. The bill defines "blue carbon capture" as the removal of dissolved carbon dioxide from seawater through engineered or inorganic processes and "direct air capture" as the use of equipment to capture carbon dioxide directly from the air.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2019
Land and Water Conservation Fund Permanent Funding Act This bill makes permanent, beginning in FY2020, funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The President shall annually submit to Congress specified details regarding the allocation of funds to the LWCF. Congress may provide for alternate allocations using specified procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2019
Strengthening Support of NATO Through Dual Use Infrastructure Act This bill directs the Department of Defense and Department of State to report to Congress on the value of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member-state investments in dual-use infrastructure projects. Dual-use infrastructure projects are those identified by the European Union as upgrades to the Trans-European Transport Network that also improve military mobility.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2019
This bill requires the Department of Defense to provide a death gratuity, casualty assistance, and life insurance to the survivors of a graduate of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps who dies before receiving a first duty assignment.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2019
National Defense Accelerator Network Act of 2019 This bill extends through FY2024 and otherwise revises the Department of Defense's Proof of Concept Commercialization Pilot Program (which accelerates commercialization of basic research innovations). The program must focus on priority defense technology areas that attract public funding and private-sector investment.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2019
This bill provides that the Department of Defense shall make the Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (also known as DD Form 214 or Report of Separation) machine readable and electronically transferable.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2019
Harnessing Opportunity to Maximize Expansion, Capture, and Organization of Minority Innovation in the Next Generation of Research Act of 2019 This bill establishes a commission to review the state of defense research at certain minority institutions of higher education. Such institutions are historically black colleges and universities and other higher education institutions at which at least 50% of the total student enrollment consists of students from ethnic groups that are underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering. The commission shall consider how to advance research capacity at these institutions to address U.S. national security and defense needs. The bill also directs the Department of Defense to require that the system that monitors or records contractor past performance for a grant or contract awarded to an institution includes incentives for the award of a subgrant or subcontract to such minority institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2019
This bill requires the Department of Defense to include, in workplace and gender relations surveys administered by the Office of People Analytics, questions regarding whether respondents have (1) experienced or witnessed in the workplace supremacist or extremist activity or racism, and (2) reported such activity.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2019
Promoting STEM in JROTC Act of 2019 This bill requires a secondary educational institution, in order to maintain a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps unit, to include instruction or activities in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in its course of military instruction.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2019
This bill directs the Department of Defense to modernize its forms and surveys that contain terms or classifications that may be considered racially or ethnically insensitive.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
Domestic Terrorism Documentation and Analysis of Threats in America Act or the Domestic Terrorism DATA Act This bill establishes new requirements to expand the availability of information on domestic terrorism, as well as the relationship between international terrorism and domestic terrorism. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to submit joint reports on domestic terrorism. Additionally, the Science and Technology Directorate within DHS must do the following: create a National Center for the Study of Domestic Terrorism to advance research on trends in domestic terrorism, and report on international terrorism that has a nexus to such trends.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
Every Child Deserves a Family Act This bill prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or religion in the provision of child welfare programs and services by entities receiving federal funding. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must provide technical assistance to help states follow this requirement, including (1) guidance for bringing state laws into compliance, (2) developing training to increase cultural competency related to social identity, and (3) training for judges and attorneys involved in child welfare cases, among other supports. Additionally, HHS must establish the National Resource Center on Safety, Well-Being, Placement Stability, and Permanency for LGBTQ Children and Youth Involved with Child Welfare Services to provide training, technical assistance, and guidance to applicable state and local agencies and service providers. Further, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act may not be the basis for challenging the application or enforcement of this bill. The Government Accountability Office must study and report on states' compliance with the requirements of the bill no later than three years after enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
This bill directs the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to continue to sell the Alzheimer's disease semipostal stamp for an additional six years. The USPS must continue to transfer proceeds from the sale of the stamp to the National Institutes of Health to fund medical research relating to Alzheimer's disease.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2019 This bill establishes several prohibitions, requirements, and standards relating to prior authorization processes under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Specifically, the bill prohibits MA plans from instituting additional prior authorization requirements for surgeries (including related items) that are furnished to a patient during other surgeries for which prior authorization was not required or was already received. Additionally, MA plans must (1) establish an electronic prior authorization program that meets specified standards, including the ability to provide real-time decisions in response to requests for items and services that are routinely approved; (2) annually publish specified prior authorization information, including the percentage of requests approved and the average response time; and (3) meet other standards, as set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, relating to the quality and timeliness of prior authorization determinations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
"Six Triple Eight" Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2019 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 in honor of the women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion (commonly known as the "Six Triple Eight") in recognition of their pioneering military service, devotion to duty, and contributions to increase the morale of personnel stationed in the European theater of operations during World War II. The medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution and made available for display and research.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
Department of Energy National Labs Jobs ACCESS Act This bill establishes the Department of Energy National Lab Jobs ACCESS Program to provide grants for technical, skills-based preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs that provide employer-driven or recognized postsecondary credentials during the five-year grant period.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2019
Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2019 This bill authorizes and establishes procedures for federal courts to issue extreme risk protection orders. An extreme risk protection order is a federal court order that prohibits a person from purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm or ammunition. A family or household member, or a law enforcement officer, may petition for an extreme risk protection order with respect to an individual who poses a risk to themselves or others. The bill also expands the categories of persons who are prohibited from purchasing, shipping, transporting, possessing, or receiving a firearm or ammunition. Specifically, it adds, as a new category, persons who are subject to an extreme risk protection order.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2019
This bill revises the Department of Defense Mentor-Protege Program, under which disadvantaged small business concerns are assisted in participation as federal contractors. The bill permanently authorizes the program and removes its pilot designation, requires the establishment of performance goals, and modifies the definition of a business for purposes of the program, allowing it to be up to the size standard according to its primary North American Industry Classification System code.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2019
Woman on the Twenty Act This bill requires that all $20 Federal Reserve notes printed after December 31, 2022, prominently feature a portrait of Harriet Tubman on their front face. The bill also instructs the Department of the Treasury to release to the public by December 31, 2020, the preliminary design of the $20 Federal Reserve note that shall prominently feature a portrait of Harriet Tubman.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2019
Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act This bill authorizes the Department of the Interior to award offshore wind career training grants to institutions of higher education or labor organizations to develop, offer, or improve educational or career training programs that provide skills necessary for employment in the offshore wind industry.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2019
Quiet Communities Act of 2019 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to reestablish an Office of Noise Abatement and Control to promote the development of local noise control programs, carry out research, and develop and disseminate educational materials, among other duties.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2019
Women's Health Protection Act of 2019 This bill prohibits state or local governments from imposing certain restrictions on access to abortion services. Specifically, state or local government may not require unnecessary tests or procedures in connection with the provision of abortion services, the same health care provider who provides abortion services to perform such tests or procedures, providers to offer medically inaccurate information to patients before or during abortion services, providers to refrain from prescribing certain drugs, certain hospital facility transfer agreements, one or more medically unnecessary in-person visits, or patients to disclose the reason for seeking abortion services. The bill also prohibits limitations or requirements that both single out and impede access to abortion services based on a number of factors (e.g., restrictions that are reasonably likely to decrease the availability of abortion services in a state). A state or local government also may not prohibit abortions prior to fetal viability nor prohibit abortions after fetal viability in cases where the health care provider determines that continuing the pregnancy poses a risk to the patient's life or health. Additionally, the Department of Justice, individuals, or health care providers may bring a lawsuit to prospectively enjoin a limitation or restriction that is prohibited by this bill. The bill further requires the government defending such a limitation or restriction to show that (1) it significantly advances the safety of abortion services or patient health, and (2) such advancement cannot be met by a less-restrictive measure.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2019
Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2019 or the DISCLOSE Act of 2019 This bill expands prohibitions and requires additional disclosures related to political spending. Specifically, foreign nationals are further restricted regarding their involvement in election related activity, including by prohibiting their participation in the decision-making process regarding an election expenditure. Existing foreign money prohibitions are expanded to prohibit disbursements for paid internet or digital communications. The Federal Election Commission must perform an audit after each election cycle to determine the incidence of illicit foreign money. In general, organizations making political expenditures must disclose donors who have contributed $10,000 or more during an election cycle. Certain of these organizations, including corporations, must also disclose their beneficial owners. The bill requires organizations to provide additional disclosures on certain political ads, including the donors who contributed the most money to that organization in the last year.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2019
Securing the Rights our Veterans have Earned Act of 2019 or the SERVE Act of 2019 The bill expands eligibility for Department of Veterans Affairs hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to former members of the Armed Forces who were discharged from service under conditions other than honorable or with an entry-level separation by reason of sexual orientation or gender identity (including by reason of a gender dysphoria diagnosis).
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2019
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to designate one week per year as Buddy Check Week for the purposes of organizing outreach events and educating veterans on how to conduct peer wellness checks. The VA shall ensure that the Veterans Crisis Line has a plan for handling the potential increase in calls that may occur during such week.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2019
This concurrent resolution expresses support for efforts to ensure that all women have access to comprehensive, preventative, and affordable health care services and are able to receive unbiased information about those services.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2019
Department of the Treasury Officer Protection Act of 2019 This bill allows a law enforcement officer who is employed by the Department of the Treasury to carry a service weapon home and store it in his or her residence while off duty.
![Official portrait of Rep. Brown, Anthony G. [D-MD-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b001304_200.jpg)