United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2016
Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2016 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct an interagency study regarding research on lung cancer in women, access to lung cancer preventive services, and public awareness and education campaigns on lung cancer. The study must include a comprehensive report on research and knowledge gaps related to lung cancer in women in the federal government and recommendations for: (1) a research program that would encourage innovative approaches to eliminate knowledge gaps, (2) the development of a national lung cancer screening strategy with sufficient resources to expand access to screening, and (3) the development of a national public education and awareness campaign on lung cancer in women and the importance of early detection of lung cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2016
Recognizes and honors the 40th anniversary of the Judgment of Paris and the impact of the California victory at the 1976 Paris Tasting on the world of wine and the U.S. wine industry. (At the 1976 Paris Tasting, French wine experts were invited to blind taste wines from California and France.)
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2016
Safe Treatments and Opportunities to Prevent Pain Act or the STOP Pain Act This bill authorizes the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to intensify and coordinate NIH research into the understanding of pain, therapies for chronic pain, and alternatives to opioids (drugs with effects similar to opium) for pain treatments. The prioritization and direction of federally funded pain research must consider recommendations made by the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2016
Supports designation of National Foster Care Month, and recognizes it as an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges that children face in the foster-care system.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2016
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1025 Nevin Avenue in Richmond, California, as the "Harold D. McCraw, Sr. Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2016
Opioid and Heroin Abuse Crisis Investment Act of 2016 This bill appropriates funding for the activities in the bill. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services to enter into cooperative agreements with states to expand opioid treatment capacity, make services more affordable to those who cannot afford them, and help individuals seek treatment, successfully complete treatment, and sustain recovery. (Opioids are drugs with effects similar to opium, such as heroin and certain pain medications.) Funding must be allocated to states based on the severity of the opioid epidemic in the state and the strength of the state's strategy to respond. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology must expand efforts to support prescription drug monitoring programs and health information technology interoperability. The Bureau of Prisons must support drug treatment programs. The bill amends the Second Chance Act to require the Department of Justice (DOJ) to help justice-involved individuals successfully reintegrate into the community. The bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to permit DOJ to support the development of residential and aftercare services for substance-involved inmates. DOJ must establish new heroin enforcement groups within the Drug Enforcement Administration to target, disrupt, and dismantle heroin trafficking organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2016
Freedom of Religion Act of 2016 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide that an alien may not be denied admission to the United States because of his or her religion or lack of religious beliefs.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2016
Safe Medications for Moms and Babies Act of 2016 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to establish the Task Force on Research Specific to Pregnant Women and Lactating Women to report on issues including: (1) the development of safe and effective therapies for such women, (2) ethical issues surrounding the inclusion of such women in clinical research, and (3) federal research activities regarding such women. The Food and Drug Administration must report specified information including the number of new drugs approved based on research that included such women in clinical trials.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2016
This bill provides FY2016 emergency supplemental appropriations to the Departments of State and Health and Human Services (HHS) to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the Zika virus and other infectious diseases. The bill specifies permissible uses for the funds and designates the funds as an emergency requirement, which exempts the funds from discretionary spending limits. The bill provides appropriations to HHS for: the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund. The bill amends the Public Health Service Act to permit Project BioShield to be used to support the advanced development and procurement of medical countermeasures to diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or treat harm from any infectious disease that may pose a threat to the public health. (Under current law, Project BioShield supports only countermeasures against specific chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorist threats.) The bill temporarily increases from 55% to 65% the Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage in the territories (Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands). The bill provides appropriations to the Department of State for: the Administration of Foreign Affairs, the U.S. Agency for International Development, Bilateral Economic Assistance, International Security Assistance, and Multilateral Assistance. Unobligated balances of specified funds provided for the Ebola virus may be used to respond to the Zika virus and other infectious diseases.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2016
Declares that, whenever a moment of silence related to a tragedy involving gun violence occurs on the floor of the House, the Speaker shall announce on the next legislative day the standing committee (or subcommittee) designated to hold a hearing on the event.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2016
Prevent Retaliation and Open up Transparency to Expand Care for Troops Act of 2016 or the PROTECT Act This bill amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice to establish the offense of retaliation. Retaliation provisions require that any person subject to the code who, with the intent to retaliate against any person for reporting or planning to report a criminal offense, or with the intent to discourage any person from reporting a criminal offense, wrongfully takes or threatens to take an adverse personnel action against any person, or wrongfully withholds or threatens to withhold a favorable personnel action with respect to any person, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. The Department of Defense (DOD) shall prescribe uniform standards for conduct of each of the following functions at all stages of the military justice system, including pretrial, trial, post-trial, and appellate processes: collection and analysis of data concerning substantive offenses and procedural matters in a manner that facilitates case management and decision making and enhances the quality of periodic reviews; case processing and management; timely and accurate production and distribution of trial records; and facilitation of access to docket information, filings, and records. Each military department shall ensure that any individual investigating an allegation of retaliation against a person who has made a protected communication must have training in the definition and characteristics of retaliation. If the investigation involves alleged retaliation in response to a communication regarding rape, sexual assault, or other sexual misconduct, the training shall include specific instruction regarding such violations. It is the sense of Congress that DOD should ensure that its medical and mental health providers are adequately trained to meet the needs of male survivors of military sexual trauma.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2016
Condemns acts of terrorism against Israelis. Mourns all loss of innocent life on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Supports the Administration's efforts to ensure Israel's long-term security through military and intelligence cooperation. Encourages the United States to take further steps to enhance Israel's security, including: reconvening the Trilateral Commission on Incitement to address violence-inspiring rhetoric; maintaining U.S. assistance to train and help support the operational costs of Palestinian security forces cooperating with Israeli security forces to fight terrorism; and working with Israel on enhancing areas of cooperation that would facilitate greater freedom of movement, economic growth, access to water, and other elements of human security for Palestinians living in the West Bank. Encourages the United States to help create progress toward a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by: opposing Palestinian efforts to seek penalties and sanctions against Israel and Israelis before international tribunals such as the International Criminal Court, articulating opposition to settlement expansion, and articulating a non-binding vision of what a comprehensive final status agreement might entail.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2016
Free File Act of 2016 This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to continue to operate the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Free File Program. The program must work with state government agencies to enhance and expand the use of the program, while continuing to: provide free commercial-type online individual income tax preparation and electronic filing services to the lowest 70% of taxpayers by income; provide all taxpayers (regardless of income) with a basic, online electronic fillable forms utility; and work with the private sector to provide the free tax preparation and electronic filing services. Treasury must work with the private sector through the program to identify and implement innovative new program features to improve and simplify the taxpayer's experience with completing and filing individual income tax returns. The IRS and members of the tax software and electronic industry involved in the program must support and promote improvements within the program by mutually testing, piloting, and offering innovative solutions to: simplify the tax system, reduce compliance and reporting burdens, increase tax return accuracy through financial data authentication, strengthen the tax system against fraud through cybersecurity collaboration, avoid duplication, and maximize the use of electronic technology.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
Reuniting Families Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to establish the fiscal year worldwide level of employment-based immigrants at 140,000 plus: (1) the previous year's unused visas, and (2) the number of unused visas from FY1992-FY2015. The bill establishes the fiscal year worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants at 480,000 plus: (1) the previous year's unused visas, and (2) the number of unused visas from FY1992-FY2015. The bill redefines "immediate relative" to: mean a child, spouse, permanent partner, or parent of a U.S. citizen or the child or spouse of a lawful permanent resident, except that in the case of parents such citizens shall be at least 21 years old; permit a widow or widower of a U.S. citizen or resident to seek permanent resident status if married at least two years at the time of the citizen's or resident's death or, if married less than two years, by showing through a preponderance of the evidence that the marriage was entered into in good faith and not solely to obtain an immigration benefit; and include an alien who was the child or parent of a U.S. citizen or resident at the time of the citizen's or resident's death if the alien files a petition within two years after such date or prior to reaching 21 years old. The bill increases immigration visas for: (1) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and (2) brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. The bill also: establishes an 80,640 visa allocation for the unmarried sons and daughters of permanent resident aliens, increases annual per country (10% of annual total) and dependent area (5% of annual total) limits for employment-based and family-sponsored immigrant visas, and expands specified family-unity exceptions to unlawful presence-based inadmissibility. An alien shall be inadmissible for willful misrepresentation of citizenship. (Under current law inadmissibility is based on false representation of citizenship.) The bill specifies relief for orphans and spouses regarding: (1) petitions for immediate relative status, (2) parole eligibility, (3) permanent resident status adjustment, and (4) processing of immigrant visas. Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act Children of naturalized Filipino World War II veterans shall be exempt from worldwide or numerical immigrant limitations. The bill makes a minor child of an alien fiancee/fiance or of an alien spouse of a U.S. citizen eligible for derivative K-visa status, provided certain requirements are met. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the Department of Justice may adjust the status of a finacee/fiance or alien spouse and any minor children (K-visa) to conditional permanent resident status if the alien marries the petitioner within three months after U.S. admission. The definition of "child" for purposes of titles I and II of the Act shall include a stepchild under 21 years old. The INA is amended to include a "permanent partner" within its scope. The bill revises requirements regarding: (1) priority date retention; and (2) waiver eligibility for widows, widowers, and orphans. "Permanent partner" shall mean any individual 18 or older who is: in a committed, intimate relationship with another individual age 18 or older in which both individuals intend the commitment to be lifelong; financially interdependent with the other individual, unless DHS or the Department of State has determined, on a case-by-case basis, that this requirement is unreasonable; not married to, or in a permanent partnership with, anyone other than the individual; unable to contract with the other individual a marriage cognizable under this Act; and not a first, second, or third degree blood relation of the other individual. "Alien permanent partner" is defined as the individual in a permanent partnership who is being sponsored for a visa.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
Military Parental Leave Modernization Act This bill revises military parental leave requirements to state that: a member of the armed forces, regardless of gender or marital status, shall be authorized to take at least 84 days of parental leave in connection with the birth of a child, a qualifying adoption of a child, or the placement of a child in foster care with the service member; and in the case of a dual military family, both service members shall be authorized to take parental leave. (The Department concerned shall permit the transfer of such leave between the two service members to accommodate individual family circumstances.) Such parental leave shall be in addition to other leave. Convalescent or other leave taken before childbirth by a pregnant service member shall not reduce the number parental leave days.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2016
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 61 South Baldwin Avenue in Sierra Madre, California, as the "Louis Van Iersel Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2016
Urges the United States to: (1) establish a national goal of 50% clean and carbon-free electricity by 2030, and (2) enact legislation to accelerate the transition to clean energy.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2016
Crab Emergency Disaster Assistance Act of 2016 This bill appropriates funds to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to provide disaster relief funds to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. These funds will assist fisherman and small businesses, including restaurants, which have suffered economic hardship due to the shutdown of the commercial Dungeness and rock crab season on the U.S. West Coast. These funds become available when the Department of Commerce makes a determination declaring a commercial fishery failure or fishery disaster for either the Dungeness crab fishery or the rock crab fishery. Dungeness and rock crab fisheries on the West Coast may contain dangerous levels of domoic acid, a neurotoxin produced by harmful algal blooms that can cause shellfish poisoning. The bill appropriates funds to NOAA for the sampling and monitoring of domoic acid found in the fisheries. In addition, NOAA must distribute grants for research on harmful algal blooms and domoic acid toxicity.
United States · United States Congress · 29 February 2016
Assistance, Quality, and Affordability Act of 2016 This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to reauthorize the Act through FY2021. The bill sets forth requirements concerning Safe Drinking Water Act State Revolving Fund (SRF) projects, including mandates for the use of bond sales, mandates to produce goods in the United States, and mandates to provide prevailing wages to laborers and mechanics. The bill makes changes to provisions that states must include in their Intended Use Plans, including data on variances, exemptions, and persistent violations. The bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide additional assistance to public water systems that serve disadvantaged communities. The bill increases the portion of SRF funds that states may reserve to provide technical assistance to public water systems. Additionally, the bill increases the funds that may be reserved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use in the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. The EPA must: (1) study the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in drinking water sources, (2) establish requirements for electronic submission of compliance monitoring data by public water systems, (3) collect data on best practices for administration of SRF programs, (4) implement a certification program for effective water leak control technology, (5) develop a strategic plan for assessing and managing the risks of drought to drinking water, (6) establish a grant program to assist water systems in improving drinking water resiliency and sustainability, and (7) establish a grant program to remove lead service lines from public water systems.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2016
Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2016 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) authorize the Department of Justice (DOJ) to appoint or provide counsel at government expense to aliens in removal proceedings. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall provide an alien in removal proceedings with all relevant documents in its possession, unless the alien has knowingly waived the right to such documents. In the absence of a waiver a removal proceeding may not proceed until the alien has received, and had time to review, the documents. DOJ may appoint or provide counsel to aliens in any INA proceeding. DHS shall ensure that aliens have access to counsel inside all immigration detention and border facilities. DOJ shall appoint counsel, at government expense if necessary, for an unaccompanied alien child or a particularly vulnerable individual. If DOJ has consolidated any such alien's case with that of any other alien, and that other alien does not have counsel, then the appointed counsel shall be appointed to represent the other alien as well. DHS shall: (1) facilitate access to counsel for all aliens detained in facilities under the supervision of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); and (2) establish procedures to ensure that legal orientation programs are available for all detained aliens, including aliens held in CBP facilities. DOJ shall develop and administer a two-year pilot program at not fewer than two immigration courts to grant access to legal information to non-detained aliens with pending asylum claims. DHS shall establish a pilot program to increase the court appearance rates of unaccompanied alien children and particularly vulnerable individuals by contracting with nongovernmental, community-based organizations to provide such aliens with case management services. The pilot program shall not be used to monitor individuals designated as unaccompanied alien children under the Homeland Security Act. If DOJ fails to appoint counsel for an unaccompanied alien child or vulnerable person: (1) no limitation pertaining to the filing of any motion to reopen the removal proceeding shall apply, and (2) the filing of such a motion shall stay the removal of the alien.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2016
Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2016 This bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop and maintain a voluntary patient registry to monitor, collect, and make available epidemiological information related to cancer incidence and trends among firefighters. The CDC should seek to include specified information in the registry, including the number and type of fire incidents attended by an individual. To collect information for the registry, the CDC may incorporate questions into existing public health surveys, questionnaires, and other databases. The CDC must: (1) encourage the inclusion in the registry of data on minority, female, and volunteer firefighters; and (2) seek feedback on the registry from nonfederal experts. The CDC must develop an approval process for making registry data available for research without a fee if findings or publications derived from the research are made public or available to stakeholders.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2016
Hallways to Health Act This bill amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program [CHIP]) of the Social Security Act to: establish a grant program for school-based health centers to, with respect to children who are eligible for Medicaid and CHIP, facilitate access to services and encourage the adoption of healthy behaviors; establish a demonstration program for the provision or expansion of telehealth services in school-based health centers; and require state Medicaid and CHIP programs to cover services furnished by school-based health centers. In addition, the bill amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize through FY2021 and revise school-based health center programs. The bill also amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to specify that school-based health centers are essential community providers for purposes of inclusion in a qualified health plan.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2016
Water Conservation Rebate Tax Parity Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an exclusion from gross income of the value of any water conservation and efficiency measure or water runoff management improvement (or any subsidy, rebate, or other amount for such a measure or improvement) received from a water department. A "water department" means any entity (including a public or private utility, the federal government, or a state or local government) engaged in the provision of water to the public through pipes or other conveyances or in the collection, treatment, management, or disposal of storm water or waste water generated by the public.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 2016
Incentivizing Medicaid Expansion Act of 2016 This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide the enhanced federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) to every state that expands Medicaid coverage for individuals who are newly eligible under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, regardless of when such expansion takes place. Under current law, the enhanced FMAP is equivalent to 100% in 2014 through 2016, 95% in 2017, 94% in 2018, 93% in 2019, and 90% thereafter. The bill retains this enhanced FMAP, but bases it on a term of years rather than on specific dates. The bill applies retroactively.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 2016
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 50,000 $5 coins, 400,000 $1 coins, and 750,000 half-dollar coins in recognition and celebration of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The coins shall be in the shape of a dome, and the design on the common reverse of the coins shall depict a basketball. Treasury shall hold a competition to determine the design of the common obverse of the coins, which shall be emblematic of the game of basketball. The bill requires all sales of such coins to include specified surcharges, which shall be paid by Treasury to the Hall to fund an endowment for its operations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2016
Lake Berryessa Recreation Enhancement Act of 2016 This bill establishes as the Lake Berryessa Recreation Area specified land administered by the Bureau of Reclamation that is underlying or adjacent to Lake Berryessa in California, including any improvements. The bill transfers the administrative jurisdiction over the area from the Bureau of Reclamation to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of the Department of the Interior. Interior shall develop a management plan for the area and may establish guidelines and restrictions on recreational uses to ensure the safety and security of recreational users. Interior may also issue recreation concession permits, including at the area, to allow a third party to provide facilities and services to visitors on lands and waters managed by the BLM in support of outdoor recreational opportunities. Reclamation shall continue to administer and operate the Monticello Dam and any related facility, including any power facility.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2016
Families of Flint Act This bill provides support for Flint, Michigan in addressing lead in the city's drinking water and related issues. The bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by establishing a 10-year grant program to ensure that Flint's drinking water does not contain: (1) lead levels that threaten public health or the environment, or (2) other drinking water contaminants and pathogens that threaten public health. The bill also establishes specified grant programs for assisting Flint that are established within the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Education, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The bill amends the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, by allowing states to use more than 20% of funds from Drinking Water State Revolving Fund capitalization grants for addressing a threat to public health from heightened exposure to lead in a municipal drinking water supply if a federal or state emergency declaration has been issued for that threat. HHS must establish in Flint a Center of Excellence on Lead Exposure. The bill amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to increase the allowable participation period in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children for children residing in areas that are in a state of emergency. A state may elect to allow those children to participate in the program for a period that ends on the earlier of: (1) the child's tenth birthday (currently fifth), or (2) five years after the emergency (currently children may participate for a one-year period).
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2016
Commemorates Representatives Sam Johnson and John Lewis for their patriotic service and sacrifice to the country they love and for becoming the first ever recipients of the Congressional Patriot Award.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2016
Truth in Advertising Act of 2016 This bill directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to submit a report to Congress assessing the prevalence, in advertisements and other media for the promotion of commercial products and services in the United States, of images that have been altered to materially change the appearance and physical characteristics of the faces and bodies of the individuals depicted. The report must contain: (1) an evaluation of the degree to which such use of altered images may constitute an unfair or deceptive act or practice, (2) guidelines for advertisers regarding how the FTC determines whether such use constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or practice, and (3) recommendations reflecting a consensus of stakeholders and experts to reduce consumer harm arising from such use. The FTC must solicit input, to the extent practicable, from: (1) stakeholders that are geographically and culturally diverse; and (2) experts from physical and mental health, business, consumer advocacy, and advertising industry communities.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2016
Comprehensive Behavioral Health Reform and Recovery Act of 2016 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to revise Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) authorities, oversight, and programs, including to establish various grant programs. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Education must: (1) organize a national awareness campaign regarding serious mental illness, and (2) support a public health approach to mental health services. This bill amends the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act to require HHS to carry out activities regarding disclosure of the protected health information of individuals with mental or substance use disorders. This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to require state Medicaid plans to cover specified services, including same day primary care and mental health care services. Title XVIII (Medicare) of the SSAct is revised, including to eliminate the lifetime limit on inpatient psychiatric hospital services. HHS must award grants for programs and services, including telehealth services provided by psychiatrists or psychologists. The bill provides liability protection to certain health professional volunteers. HHS must maintain a Minority Fellowship Program for mental and substance use disorder treatment professionals to improve services for racial and ethnic minority populations. The bill makes occupational therapists eligible for the National Health Service Corps. The bill revises provisions regarding parity between mental health and substance use disorder benefits and medical and surgical benefits. This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act, including to require practitioners to complete training before dispensing opioids, which are drugs with effects similar to opium, such as certain pain medications. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must provide support to entities to improve drug overdose surveillance and reporting. HHS must establish a loan repayment program for substance use disorder health professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2016
Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Reduction Act This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to revise requirements for and limitations on practitioners who dispense narcotic drugs for maintenance or detoxification treatment. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must establish grant programs to: (1) encourage prescribing and purchase of opioid overdose reversal drugs (e.g., naloxone), and (2) develop prescribing guidelines for such drugs. (Opioids are drugs with effects similar to opium, such as heroin or certain pain medications.) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must provide support to improve drug overdose surveillance and reporting capabilities. HHS may support syringe exchange programs. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration must provide support to: (1) reduce drug overdose deaths; and (2) develop, expand, and enhance substance use recovery support services. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to extend residential treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women. The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment must: (1) carry out a pilot program to support services for pregnant and postpartum women with a substance use disorder; (2) award grants to expand treatment activities in areas with a high rate of, or a rapid increase in, the use of opioids; and (3) support increasing the capacity of substance use disorder services for adolescents. This bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and Internal Revenue Code to direct HHS and the Departments of Labor and the Treasury to require disclosures, issue guidance, conduct audits, and publish information regarding the requirement for group health plans and health insurance coverage to have parity between mental health and substance use disorder benefits and medical and surgical benefits. HHS must establish a consumer parity portal website. HHS must establish a loan repayment program for substance use disorder health professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2016
Opportunities in Cooperative Education And New Research Partnerships Act or the OCEAN Research Partnerships Act This bill amends the National Sea Grant College Program Act to revise and reauthorize through FY2021 the National Sea Grant College Program. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must award Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowships. Currently, NOAA has discretion in awarding such fellowships. These fellowships support the placement of graduate students in fields related to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources in positions with the executive and legislative branches. In placing marine policy fellows in the legislative branch, NOAA must give priority to positions in: (1) offices or committees of Congress that have jurisdiction over NOAA; and (2) offices of Members of Congress that have a demonstrated interest in ocean, coastal, or Great Lakes resources. The bill authorizes through FY2021 grants for university research on: (1) the biology, prevention, and control of aquatic nonnative species; (2) oyster diseases, oyster restoration, and oyster-related human health risks; (3) the biology, prevention, and forecasting of harmful algal blooms; and (4) sustainable aquaculture techniques and technologies. The bill also authorizes through FY2021 grants for: (1) fishery extension activities conducted by sea grant colleges or sea grant institutes to enhance existing core program funding, and (2) priority issues identified in the National Sea Grant Program's strategic plan.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2016
Condemns the unlawful, armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon and calls on those involved to end their occupation and surrender to law enforcement authorities immediately.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 2015
Expresses condolences for the victims of anti-Muslim hate crimes. Declares that the House of Representatives: confirms its dedication to the rights and dignity of all citizens; denounces the increase of hate speech and hate crimes targeted against mosques, Muslims, or those perceived to be Muslim; and recognizes the positive contributions made by the U.S. Muslim community to U.S. society. Declares that the civil rights and liberties of all U.S. citizens, including Muslims in the United States, should be protected. Urges law enforcement authorities to work to prevent hate crimes and to prosecute the perpetrators of such crimes. Reaffirms the inalienable rights of every citizen to live without fear and intimidation and to practice freedom of faith.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2015
Behavioral Health Coverage Transparency Act of 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act, Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and Internal Revenue Code to direct the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury to require group health plans and health insurers to disclose the analyses performed to ensure compliance of plans or coverage with the law and regulations. Disclosures must include findings and conclusions regarding whether nonquantitative treatment limitations (e.g., tiered benefits, step therapy, or preauthorization) applied to mental health or substance use disorder benefits are comparable to, and applied no more stringently than, such limitations on medical and surgical benefits. HHS, Labor, and Treasury must: (1) issue guidance on the process for current and potential participants and beneficiaries to file formal complaints of plans or insurers being in violation of the requirement for parity between mental health and substance use disorder benefits and medical and surgical benefits, (2) conduct audits of plans and insurers to determine compliance with parity requirements and publish information from those audits, and (3) publish information on denials of claims by plans and insurers for mental health and substance use disorder services compared to denials of claims for medical and surgical services. HHS must establish a consumer parity portal website that allows for submission of complaints and provides information to consumers on parity. The Government Accountability Office must report on HHS, Labor, and Treasury efforts to enforce parity.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2015
Assault Weapons Ban of 2015 This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). The prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is: (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model. Additionally, the bill does not prohibit, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD: importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties. The bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD. Newly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture. The legislation amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to require law enforcement agencies to be notified when a prohibited person attempts to purchase a grandfathered SAW. It also amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to allow a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2015
Medicare and Medicaid Improvements and Adjustments Act of 2015 This bill amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to modify payment rules and other provisions related to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The bill includes off-campus outpatient department (OPD) services in Medicare's prospective payment system (in which predetermined amounts form the basis of payment) with respect to departments that are under development. The existing Medicare payment adjustment for cancer hospitals shall apply to off-campus OPDs. The bill temporarily prohibits specified Medicare payment adjustments related to competitive acquisition programs for certain wheelchair accessories. In addition, the bill modifies provisions related to: (1) reimbursement under Medicare for certain drugs furnished through durable medical equipment (DME), (2) Medicare payment rules for certain radiation therapy services, and (3) the treatment of Medicaid supplemental needs trusts. The bill expands criminal penalties and civil monetary penalties for certain acts involving federal health care programs. With respect to negative Medicare payment adjustments for physicians and hospitals that fail to comply with certain requirements related to electronic health records (EHR), the bill authorizes a temporary blanket exception. A patient encounter occurring at an ambulatory surgical center shall not be used to determine whether an eligible professional qualifies as a meaningful EHR user. This prohibition applies until a specified period has passed following a determination by the Department of Health and Human Services that certified EHR technology is applicable to that setting. Current law limits state reimbursement for DME under Medicaid to Medicare payment rates beginning January 1, 2019. The bill accelerates this limitation such that it begins October 1, 2018.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015
Protecting Our Students by Terminating Graduate Rates that Add to Debt Act or the POST GRAD Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make graduate and professional students eligible to receive subsidized Stafford Loans under the Federal Direct Loan Program beginning on July 1, 2016. (Graduate and professional students have been ineligible to receive subsidized Stafford Loans since July 1, 2012.)
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015
CLEANER Act of 2015 or the Closing Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of Regulations Act of 2015 This bill amends the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to eliminate the exemption for waste derived from the exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy from regulations governing the disposal of hazardous waste. Within a year of this bill's enactment, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must: determine whether waste associated with oil, gas, or geothermal energy activities meet the criteria promulgated for the identification or listing of hazardous waste; identify or list as hazardous waste any of those wastes if they meet the identification or listing criteria; and promulgate regulations regarding standards applicable to generators, transporters, and owners and operators of facilities for the treatment, storage, or disposal of those wastes. The EPA may modify the regulation of those standards to consider the special characteristics of those wastes so long as the modified regulations protect human health and the environment. Within a year of this bill's enactment, the EPA must promulgate revisions of certain criteria concerning landfills and waste management practices of open dumping for facilities that may receive wastes that are: (1) associated with those activities, and (2) not identified or listed as hazardous waste. Those revisions must: protect human health and the environment, while allowing consideration of the practicable capability of such facilities; and require groundwater monitoring as necessary to detect contamination; establish criteria for the acceptable location of new or existing facilities; and provide for corrective action and financial assurance as appropriate.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2015
Denounces the attacks on health care centers for women, providers of health care for women, and patients. Affirms that all women have the right to access reproductive health care services without fear of violence, intimidation, or harassment.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2015
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 LGBT Equality Day. 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 · 2 December 2015
Clean Energy Victory Bond Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to issue, and promote the purchase of, Clean Energy Victory Bonds to pay for the energy-related tax benefits established or extended by this Act. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: extend through 2023 the tax credit for investment in solar energy property, geothermal heat pumps, fuel cell property, microturbine property, combined heat and power system property, and small wind energy property; allow an energy tax credit for investment in offshore wind facilities placed in service before January 1, 2022; extend through 2024 the tax credit for residential energy efficiency improvements; extend through 2023 the placed-in-service requirement for wind facilities and other renewable energy facilities for purposes of the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable resources; extend through 2023 the tax credit for nonbusiness residential energy property; allow a new tax credit, through 2024, for home energy efficiency improvements that increase energy efficiency by at least 20%; extend through 2023 the tax credit for new energy efficient homes; and increase, and extend through 2023, the tax deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings. The bill directs the Department of Energy to establish a voluntary voucher program, through 2018, for the purchase of plug-in electric vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2015
Beach Act of 2015 This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise and reauthorize through FY2020 a grant program for monitoring, and notifying the public of, any pathogens in coastal recreation waters bordering public beaches. The bill reauthorizes through FY2018 the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000. The bill establishes requirements with respect to: (1) using rapid testing methods to detect unsafe levels of pathogens or pathogen indicators in those waters, and (2) notifying governmental agencies when pathogens exceed water quality standards. Those methods must provide testing results within four hours of receiving a sample. Communication with governments must occur within two hours of the receipt of the results of water quality samples. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must assess state and local compliance with coastal recreation water quality monitoring and notification legal requirements and grant conditions. The bill limits federal support of grants to non-compliant state or local governments. The Government Accountability Office must review the EPA's compliance assessments and corrective actions. States with coastal recreation waters must adopt the most protective water quality criteria and standards practicable for pathogens. The EPA must: (1) update the national list of beaches that are used by the public regardless of the presence of a lifeguard within 12 months and biennially thereafter (currently, periodically); (2) study the long-term impact of climate change on pathogenic contamination of coastal recreation waters; and (3) study the impacts of excess nutrients on coastal recreation waters.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2015
Supporting Working Moms Act of 2015 This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to extend the requirement that certain employers provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child to bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity employees or outside salesmen who are exempt from federal labor laws that limit the number of hours in a workweek.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2015
Secure Refugee Process Act of 2015 This bill declares that no alien shall be admitted as a refugee: whose identity has not been satisfactorily established pursuant to Department of Homeland Security procedures, which shall address any insufficient, conflicting, or unreliable information, including biographic and biometric data that is unresolved at the time of admission; and if, by the time of admission, the alien's identity has not been checked against specified federal records or databases to determine any national security, criminal, or other grounds on which the alien may be inadmissible. An alien may only be admitted as a refugee after DHS certifies that all provisions of this Act have been complied with and that the alien has not been firmly resettled in a safe third country. DHS shall report to Congress monthly regarding the total number of refugee applicants of special interest and the number of such applicants whose applications were denied. The Inspector General of DHS shall conduct an annual risk-based review of a sampling of certifications and report its findings to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2015
Veterans Mental Health Accessibility Act This bill makes any veteran who served on active duty in a theater of combat operations during specified conflicts eligible for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for any mental illness through the Department of Veterans Affairs, notwithstanding insufficient medical evidence to conclude that the mental illness is attributable to such service. The conflicts specified include World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam era, the Persian Gulf War, Operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom, or any other period of war after the Persian Gulf War, or in combat against a hostile force during any period of hostilities.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2015
Veterans' STEM Education Program This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay an additional appropriate amount, beyond other educational assistance, to each individual entitled to post-9/11 educational assistance who is pursuing a program of education with a STEM focus (science, technology, engineering, and math). Information on such additional payments must be included in a currently required annual VA educational assistance report.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2015
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 6531 Van Nuys Boulevard in Van Nuys, California, as the "Marilyn Monroe Post Office."
![Official portrait of Rep. Capps, Lois [D-CA-24]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c001036_200.jpg)