United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act or the ACE Kids Act This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to establish a state Medicaid option to provide for medical assistance with respect to coordinated care provided through a health home (i.e., a designated provider or team of health-care professionals) for children with medically complex conditions. A state shall make payments for such health-home services regardless of whether they are provided through a fee-for-service or managed-care system. For an initial period of eight fiscal-year quarters, the federal matching rate applicable to such payments shall be increased by 20 percentage points, not to exceed 90%. A state that exercises this option shall specify its methodology for determining payment and evaluating quality of care, in accordance with requirements established by the bill. In addition, the state must meet specified requirements regarding hospital referrals, out-of-state providers, education and outreach, data collection, and reporting. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must issue guidance on best practices for using out-of-state providers to provide care to children with medically complex conditions. The Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Payment and Access Commission must report to Congress and to the Department of Health and Human Services on specified matters related to children with medically complex conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Hizballah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act of 2017 This bill amends the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015 to impose specified sanctions on: (1) foreign persons that knowingly assist in or provide support for fund raising or recruitment activities for Hizballah; (2) agencies of foreign governments that provide Hizballah with financial support, arms, or other assistance (export license requirements are included in addition to sanctions if such government is a state sponsor of terrorism); and (3) Hizballah, including by reason of Hizballah's significant transnational criminal activities. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that sanctions should be placed on financial institutions that serve Lebanese government officials affiliated with Hizballah. The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 is amended to sanction foreign financial institutions that facilitate efforts by Iran or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to aid Hizballah. The bill prescribes reporting requirements or reporting modifications with respect to: (1) foreign persons that knowingly assist or provide significant financial, material, or technological support for foreign persons assisting Hizballah; (2) financial institutions that are owned or organized under the laws of state sponsors of terrorism; (3) Hizballah's racketeering activities; (4) combating illicit tobacco trafficking networks used by Hizballah and other foreign terrorist organizations to finance their operations; (5) the estimated net worth of senior Hizballah officials and how these funds were acquired and used; and (6) countries that support Hizballah or in which Hizballah maintains important logistics networks or financial networks and steps such countries are taking to disrupt such networks.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act of 2017 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for up to 8,000 employment-based immigrant visas per fiscal year for qualifying nurses, physical therapists, and other health care workers (excluding physicians) and their accompanying family members. Such aliens are exempted from worldwide and foreign state numerical limits. A petition filed on behalf of such an immigrant must be accompanied by evidence that the prospective U.S. employer has the ability to pay the proffered wage.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Ensuring Quality in the Unemployment Insurance Program (EQUIP) Act This bill allows states to enact unemployment compensation laws that require an applicant for unemployment compensation, before receiving any such compensation, to: (1) complete a substance abuse risk assessment, and (2) test negative for controlled substances within one week after the results of such assessment if determined to be high-risk. It prescribes retesting requirements and payment suspensions for applicants who test positive.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
President John F. Kennedy Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 silver coins in commemoration of President John F. Kennedy. The bill requires all sales of such coins to include a surcharge of $10 per coin, which shall be paid by Treasury to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation to support the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Disaster Assistance Equity Act of 2017 This bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to modify the definition of "private nonprofit facility" to include any facilities (including roads, bridges, sewer systems, and other critical community infrastructure) owned or operated by a common interest community that provide essential services of a governmental nature. The bill also defines additional terms under such Act, including "condominium" and "housing cooperative." "Common interest community" is defined as: (1) any nonprofit mandatory membership organization comprised of owners of real estate (other than a condominium or housing cooperative) described in a declaration or created pursuant to a covenant or other applicable law with respect to which a person, by virtue of the person's ownership of a unit, is obligated to pay for a share of real estate taxes, insurance premiums, maintenance or improvement of, or services or other expenses related to, common elements, other units, or any other real estate other than the unit described in the declaration; and (2) a condominium project that is comprised entirely of detached single family units or that is comprised of four or more multi-unit housing structures and that owns or operates facilities that provide essential services of a governmental nature. The bill amends such Act to provide that for purposes of the provision of federal disaster assistance with respect to residential elements that are the legal responsibility of an association for a condominium or housing cooperative, the terms "individual" or "household" include the association. The President must determine the maximum amount of assistance that any such association may receive under such Act for a single disaster.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2017
Federal Acquisition Savings Act of 2017 This bill requires: (1) each executive agency to consider equipment rental in any cost-effectiveness analysis for equipment acquisition; and (2) the Government Accountability Office, within two years after enactment of this bill, to report on agency decisions to acquire equipment by lease or purchase.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2017
Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017 This bill amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to direct the Department of Energy (DOE) to initiate a program to consolidate and temporarily store commercial spent nuclear fuel during the development, construction, and operation of a permanent nuclear waste repository. The bill addresses federal land withdrawal and related management issues, including the permanent withdrawal of specific federal land for repository use by DOE, updating the Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing process and conditions for the repository, and limiting activities relating to developing a separate defense waste repository used for storing high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel derived from the atomic energy defense activities of DOE. DOE may enter into agreements to provide benefits to state, local, and Tribal governments that might host or be affected by facilities related to storing nuclear waste. The bill revises the method by which DOE funds its nuclear waste management activities though the collection and usage of the Nuclear Waste Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2017
Freedom from Union Stalking Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act to declare that nothing in such Act shall be construed to preempt a law of any state, territory, or the District of Columbia that prohibits, criminalizes, or creates a civil cause of action for stalking, cyberstalking, or harassment.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2017
Freedom from Union Identity Theft Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act to declare that nothing in such Act shall be construed to preempt a law of any state, territory, or the District of Columbia that prohibits, criminalizes, or creates a civil cause of action for identity theft or the release of an individual's personally identifiable information.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Reform Act of 2017 This bill amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to modify the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) work requirements that apply to able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs). The bill modifies the work requirements to: terminate the authority of the Department of Agriculture to waive the requirements, upon the request of a state agency, for individuals residing in an area that has an unemployment rate of over 10% or does not have a sufficient number of jobs to provide employment for the individuals; shorten from three months to one month the time limit for receiving benefits in a three-year period without meeting the requirements; decrease from 15% to 5% the portion of ABAWDs that a state may exempt from the requirements; allow participation in a supervised job search to satisfy the requirements; require states receiving SNAP funds to provide ABAWDs with opportunities to participate in a work program, a workfare program, or a supervised job search; and reduce SNAP allotments for states that fail to comply with requirements regarding eligibility disqualifications. The bill also modifies the congressional declaration of policy to specify that the purpose of SNAP is to increase employment, to encourage healthy marriage, and to promote prosperous self-sufficiency (maintaining an income above the poverty level without services and benefits from the federal government).
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
This bill amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office, upon receiving a request from Congress, to determine if legislation would reduce spending outside of the 10-year budget window through the use of preventive health and preventive health services.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
Patients First Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct and support basic and applied research to develop techniques for the isolation, derivation, production, testing, and human clinical use of stem cells that may result in improved understanding of, or treatments for, diseases and other adverse health conditions, provided that the techniques will not involve: (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; (2) the destruction or discarding of, or risk of injury to, a living human embryo; or (3) the use of any stem cell the derivation or provision of which would be inconsistent with this bill. HHS must issue guidelines to ensure that any research (including any clinical trial) supported under this bill: (1) is clearly consistent with the standards established in this bill, if conducted using human cells; and (2) is prioritized in terms of potential for near-term clinical benefit in human patients. HHS must report on peer reviewed stem cell research proposals that were not funded.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2017
Preserving Patient Access to Compounded Medications Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to expand the circumstances under which a drug may be compounded (manufactured at small scale) to allow pharmacists and physicians to compound drugs for administration to patients in an office or clinical setting, in accordance with state law. (Drugs that are compounded do not need to meet certain federal requirements regarding manufacturing, labeling, or approval.) Dietary supplements may be used in the compounding of a drug. The bill exempts from interstate distribution limits the dispensing of a compounded drug from the facility where it is compounded to a patient or health facility. The scope of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspections of compounding pharmacies is limited to pertinent equipment, materials, containers, and labeling, which is the same scope as inspections of pharmacies. (Currently, the scope of inspections of compounding pharmacies is the same scope as inspections of drug manufacturers.) The bill eliminates the requirement for compounding pharmacies to register with the FDA as drug manufacturers.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Refugee Program Integrity Restoration Act of 2017 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) establish the number of annual refugee admissions at 50,000, (2) authorize the President to submit an adjustment recommendation to Congress for approval based upon humanitarian or national interest concerns, and (3) provide that the President must submit emergency refugee admission recommendations to Congress for approval. The President shall (currently, may) terminate the refugee status of a person not entitled to such status. Refugee status is terminated for an individual who applied for such status because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution in the country from which he or she sought refuge on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, but who has returned to such country absent changed conditions. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall, when processing refugee applications from individuals seeking refuge from a "country of particular concern," grant priority to minority religion applicants whose claims are based on persecution because of their religion. DHS may conduct recurrent background security checks of an admitted refugee until the refugee adjusts to permanent resident status. Waiver authorities are limited with respect to refugee inadmissibility and permanent resident status adjustment. With respect to refugee status adjustment to permanent resident: (1) required U.S. residency is increased to three years; (2) an in-person DHS interview is required; (3) five-year reexaminations are required for a refugee whose status adjustment is refused; and (4) deportability grounds, with an exception for public charge grounds, shall be grounds for refusal of status adjustment. Resettlement of any refugee may not be provided for in any state or locality in which the governor, chief executive, or legislature has taken action disapproving such resettlement. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shall complete a refugee processing fraud study. DHS shall: (1) establish a program to detect the use of fraudulent documents in refugee admissions applications, which shall include placement of fraud detection officers at screening locations; and (2) use digital recording technology to record USCIS refugee interviews. A person may not be considered a refugee if such person fled from violence in his or her country of nationality if the violence: (1) was not specifically directed at the person; or (2) was specifically directed at the person but not because of that person's race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Prior to U.S. refugee admission, DHS shall ensure that an alien is not a threat to U.S. national security based on a background check that includes a review of the alien's publicly available Internet interactions, including social media services.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Welfare Reform and Upward Mobility Act This bill requires the President to include in the annual budget proposal the total level of means-tested welfare spending by the federal, state, and local governments for the most recent fiscal year for which such data is available, and estimated levels for the current and 10 ensuing fiscal years. For each of FY2018-FY2028 each state that receives means-tested welfare spending by the federal government shall report annually to the Congressional Budget Office on the total amount of such spending by the state for the fiscal year. The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended to define means-tested welfare spending as spending for any federal program designed specifically to give assistance or benefits exclusively to low-income Americans. The refundable portion of certain tax credits shall also be means-tested welfare spending, as well as the refundable portion of the premium and out-of-pocket health care subsidies to be paid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act. The bill revises work eligibility requirements under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act is amended to create the work preparation program for TANF families. The bill eliminates separate participation rate requirements for two-parent families. No federal funds shall be made available to carry out any means-tested housing program, but states may receive grants to fund their own housing programs. The bill prohibits funding for abortions and for health benefits that cover abortion, including certain tax credits, except where the pregnancy results from rape or incest or in certain other health cases.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2017
Patient Choice and Quality Care Act of 2017 This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to create and test a new Medicare model for advanced illness and care management that would enable certain Medicare beneficiaries with serious, chronic progressive, or advanced illnesses, to voluntarily engage in a planning process to obtain specialized care consistent with their health care goals. At least one participant in this model must be a hospice program. The model requires an interdisciplinary team comprised of physicians, nurses, and social workers to work together to provide beneficiaries and their caregivers with information and services on disease trajectory, treatment options, and available care. Information on advance care planning must be included in the Medicare & You Handbook. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must: (1) award grants to certain public or private entities to increase awareness of advance care planning and advanced illness care, (2) establish the Advance Care Planning Advisory Council to advise HHS on issues relating to advanced and terminal illnesses, and (3) issue an annual report analyzing the circumstances of deceased Medicare beneficiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2017 This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl in recognition of his acts of valor during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Employee Rights Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act to: (1) make it an unlawful labor practice for a labor organization to interfere (currently, restrain or coerce) with the rights of employees to organize and collectively bargain; (2) require union recertification after a turnover in the workforce exceeding 50% of the bargaining unit; (3) require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to give 14 days advance notice before a hearing investigating an election petition; and (4) require an employer to provide the NLRB with a list consisting only of employee names and addresses of all eligible voters within seven days after an NLRB determination of the appropriate bargaining unit or an agreement on eligible voters. The bill: (1) grants union and nonunion employees the right to vote by secret ballot on whether to ratify a collective bargaining agreement or engage in a strike, (2) prohibits the use of union dues for any purpose not directly related to collective bargaining, (3) prohibits a strike without the consent of a majority of all represented employees determined by secret ballot, and (4) prohibits the use or threat of force or violence to obtain the right to represent employees. .
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Truck, Trailer, and Transport Efficiency Act of 2017 This bill removes trailers that do not emit greenhouse gases in connection with a propulsion system from the scope of the final rule titled "Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles--Phase 2." The Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration jointly issued the rule, which created fuel consumption standards and carbon dioxide emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles (e.g., tractors, trucks, vans, and vocational vehicles), on October 25, 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Horseracing Integrity Act of 2017 This bill establishes the Horseracing Anti-Doping and Medication Control Authority as an independent non-profit corporation with responsibility for developing and administering an anti-doping and medication control program for: (1) Thoroughbred, Quarter, and Standardbred horses that participate in horse races that have a substantial relation to interstate commerce, (2) such horse races, and (3) the personnel engaged in the care, training, or racing of such horses. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all horse racing anti-doping and medication control matters. The Authority and such FTC jurisdiction shall terminate if an interstate compact providing for services consistent with such program is established within five years after the program takes effect. The Authority may enter into agreements with state racing commissions to implement the program within their jurisdictions. Program elements shall include: anti-doping and medication control rules, lists of permitted and prohibited substances and methods, a prohibition on the administration of any such substance within 24 hours of a horse's next racing start, and testing and laboratory standards. The Authority shall: develop, maintain, and publish such lists; establish a list of anti-doping and medication control rule violations applicable to either covered horses or persons; establish standards and the process for laboratory accreditation and sample testing; and promulgate rules for anti-doping and medication control results management, for the disciplinary process for violation results management, and for imposing sanctions for violations. The bill sets forth civil enforcement provisions. Activities under this bill are funded by an assessment placed on state racing commissions based on the calculation of cost per racing starter.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Home Health Documentation and Program Improvement Act of 2017 This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to use an individual's medical record from a home-health agency, as appropriate, to support certification of such individual's Medicare eligibility for home-health services. The bill requires the CMS to establish a process for home-health agencies that are entitled to an administrative appeal after being denied eligibility for Medicare reimbursement to, instead, enter into a settlement with the CMS.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2017
National Park Service Legacy Act of 2017 This bill: (1) establishes the National Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund, and (2) requires specified amounts of federal mineral revenues that are not otherwise credited, covered, or deposited pursuant to federal law to be deposited into such fund each fiscal year through FY2047. Amounts in the fund shall be used for meeting high-priority deferred maintenance needs of the National Park Service (NPS) as follows: 20% shall be allocated to transportation-related projects that may be eligible for funding made available to the NPS through the federal lands transportation program or any similar federal land highway program administered by the Department of Transportation; and 80% shall be allocated for the repair and rehabilitation of assets for certain projects that are not eligible for funding under such programs, including historic assets, nonhistoric assets related to visitor access, health and safety, and recreation, and visitor facilities, water and utility systems, and employee housing. No fund amounts may be used by the NPS to acquire land or to supplant discretionary funding made available for annually recurring facility operations and maintenance needs. As part of its annual budget submission, the NPS shall submit a prioritized list of deferred maintenance projects proposed to be funded by such fund during the fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2017
Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2017 or the CONNECT for Health Act of 2017 This bill makes a series of changes to expand coverage of telehealth services under Medicare, including by exempting certain telehealth services (e.g., specified renal dialysis and stroke evaluation services) from originating site requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2017
American Legion 100th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue commemorative coins in recognition and celebration of the 100th anniversary of the American Legion. Surcharges received from the sale of these coins shall be paid to the American Legion for costs related to promoting the importance of: (1) caring for those who have served, and those who are still serving, in the Armed Forces; and (2) maintaining patriotic values, strong families, and assistance for at-risk children.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2017
Expanding Veterans' Access to Choice Act This bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to provide that a veteran who lives within 40 miles (calculated on distance traveled) of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facility, including a community-based outpatient clinic, remains eligible to receive Veterans Choice program services through an approved private health care center if: (1) the VA cannot assign a full-time primary care physician to the veteran at any VA facility within such distance, or (2) no VA facility within such distance provides the needed hospital care or medical treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2017
Michael Davis, Jr. and Danny Oliver in Honor of State and Local Law Enforcement Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act and related federal law with respect to immigration law enforcement within the United States. The bill authorizes: (1) states and localities to enact and enforce criminal penalties for immigration violations; and (2) state and local law enforcement personnel to investigate, arrest, and transfer aliens to federal custody. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall: (1) make grants to states and localities for equipment, technology, and facilities; (2) construct or acquire additional domestic detention facilities for aliens pending removal; and (3) expand to all states a program that provides for the identification and removal of detained criminal aliens. The bill provides for: (1) federal custody of inadmissible or deportable aliens upon state or local request, and (2) personal liability immunity for state or local personnel enforcing immigration laws. States and localities shall: (1) notify the federal government of inadmissible or removable aliens encountered by law enforcement personnel, and (2) comply with federal law enforcement information requests. Specified federal assistance is denied to a state or locality that prohibits cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The bill: (1) revises certain terrorism-related requirements and prohibitions with respect to benefits, naturalization and denaturalization, asylum, voluntary departure, and removal; (2) adds new grounds of inadmissibility and deportability; (3) establishes probable cause standards for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers; (4) provides for increases in immigration enforcement personnel; (5) prescribes visa security provisions; (6) authorizes DHS to designate groups as criminal gangs and makes alien gang members inadmissible or deportable; (7) establishes an ICE Advisory Council; and (8) prescribes criminal alien removal provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2017
Deborah Sampson Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a three-year pilot program to assess the feasibility of peer-to-peer assistance for women veterans who are separating or newly separated from the Armed Forces), with emphasis placed on women who suffered service-related sexual trauma or who are at risk of becoming homeless. Additionally, the VA shall: expand the women veterans call center to include a text messaging capability; establish a partnership with at least one nongovernmental organization to provide legal services to women veterans based upon their 10 highest unmet needs; retrofit VA medical facilities with fixtures, materials, and other outfitting measures to support the care of women veterans; ensure that each VA medical facility has at least one full-time or part-time women's health primary care provider; expand to 14 days VA post-delivery care services for women veterans who are receiving maternity care in a VA or VA-contracted facility; ensure that the women veteran manager program is supported at each VA medical center with a program manager and an ombudsman; collect, analyze, and publish data on each VA service or benefit program and disaggregate such data by sex and minority status; and publish an Internet website that serves as a centralized information source for women veterans' benefits and services. The bill makes funds available for: (1) primary care and emergency care clinicians' participation in the women veterans health care mini-residency program, and (2) organizations that focus on providing assistance to women veterans and their families. The bill: (1) provides for reintegration and readjustment services to veterans and family members in group retreat settings, and (2) expresses the sense of Congress that the VA's motto should be more inclusive.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2017
Facilitating Investments in Local Markets Act of 2017 or the FILM Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2018 provisions that allow the expensing of the costs of qualified film, television, and live theatrical productions.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2017
Action for Dental Health Act 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize oral health promotion and disease prevention programs through FY2022. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may award grants or enter into contracts to obtain portable or mobile dental equipment and pay operational costs for the provision of free dental services to underserved populations. The CDC may also award grants or enter into contracts to collaborate with state, county, or local public officials and other stakeholders to develop and implement initiatives to: (1) improve oral health education and dental disease prevention; (2) make the dental services delivery system more accessible and efficient through outreach programs that facilitate the establishment of dental homes; (3) reduce geographic barriers, language barriers, cultural barriers, and other similar barriers in the provision of dental services; (4) reduce the use of emergency departments by individuals who seek dental services more appropriately delivered in a dental primary care setting; or (5) facilitate the provision of dental care to nursing home residents who are disproportionately affected by lack of care.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2017
This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, J. Christopher Stevens, and Sean Smith in recognition of their contributions to the nation.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2017
Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers Act of 2017 or the PAWS Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a five-year pilot program under which it provides grants to eligible nonprofit organizations to provide service dogs to veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder after completing other evidence-based treatment. An organization that receives a grant shall provide for each participating service dog and veteran: coverage by a commercially available veterinary health insurance policy, hardware clinically determined to be required by the dog to perform the tasks necessary to assist the veteran, payments for travel expenses to obtain the dog, and travel expenses required to obtain a replacement service dog. To be eligible for a grant, an organization must: (1) agree to cover all costs in excess of the grant amount to guarantee such benefits, (2) be certified by Assistance Dogs International, (3) provide one-on-one training for each service dog and recipient for 30 hours or more over 90 days or more, and (4) provide an in-house residential facility or other accommodations nearby in which service dog recipients stay for a minimum of 10 days while receiving at least 30 hours of training. The VA shall develop metrics to measure the improvement in psychosocial function and therapeutic compliance and changes independence on prescription narcotics and psychotropic medication of veterans participating in the program. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on the methodology used for the pilot program.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2017
Faith in Health Savings Accounts Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat membership in a tax-exempt health care sharing ministry as coverage under a high deductible health plan for purposes of the tax deduction for contributions to a health savings account.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2017
Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 This bill revises the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability claims appeals system. The bill permits a veteran to appeal within one year by: (1) requesting a review of the agency of original jurisdiction's (AOJ) decision by a higher-level adjudicator within AOJ using the same evidentiary record; (2) filing a supplemental claim with a regional office that includes the opportunity to submit additional evidence and have a hearing; or (3) appealing directly to the Board of Veterans' Appeals, with the opportunity to select an expedited review to submit new evidence but without a hearing, or to select a review with the option to submit new evidence and request a hearing. A veteran may: (1) maintain the original effective date of a claim if he or she submits new and relevant evidence within one year of the most recent decision, and (2) retain the services of attorneys and accredited agents who charge a fee when the AOJ provides notice of the original decision. The VA's statutory duty to assist a veteran terminates after the original decision. The bill: (1) requires the VA to issue decision notification letters, (2) permits certain veterans who initiated an appeal prior to the bill's effective date to opt-in to the modernized appeals system, (3) authorizes the VA to conduct a pilot program to test such system, and (4) requires the VA, prior to full implementation, to certify to Congress that it has sufficient resources and personnel to carry out the legacy and modernized appeals systems.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2017
Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order Act or the EL CHAPO Act This bill requires the forfeited profits of Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera (El Chapo) from his illicit drug trafficking enterprise to be reserved for border security measures between the United States and Mexico, including the completion of a wall. Additionally, it requires the forfeited funds from the felony conviction of a member of a drug cartel to be reserved for border security measures between the United States and Mexico, including the completion of a wall.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2017
Armed Services Always Paid Act or ASAP Act This bill provides for funding the pay and allowances, without interruption, of members of the Armed Forces, including reserve personnel, during any period of lapsed appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2017
Civil Rights Legacy of Medgar Wiley Evers Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to Myrlie Evers-Williams in recognition of the contributions and sacrifice that she and her husband, assassinated civil rights leader Medgar Wiley Evers, made in the fight for racial equality in the United States. Following its award, the medal shall be given to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, where it is to be available for display or for temporary loan to be displayed elsewhere.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
Condemns: (1) any threat to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, freedom, and democracy of the Baltic States; and (2) the ongoing violation of the Helsinki principles by the Russian Federation with respect to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Supports: (1) keeping in effect U.S. sanctions imposed against Russia relating to Crimea until Ukraine's sovereignty over Crimea has been restored and sanctions relating to the Donbas until the Minsk agreements are fully implemented; (2) keeping the door to North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership open to those countries that are eligible to join the alliance and that meet all the necessary requirements for membership; and (3) the democratic aspirations of the people of all countries concerned, including Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova. Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) considers it to be essential for the United States to maintain and increase political, economic, and security support for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe; and (2) appreciates the spirit of friendship of such countries, their commitment to collective security, and their contributions to peace operations around the globe. Calls for continued support to the United States European Reassurance Initiative.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2017 This bill requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study of the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico mixed-use fisheries. The bill authorizes a regional fishery management council to use alternative fishery management measures in developing a fishery management plan for a recreational fishery or the recreational component of a mixed-use fishery. The bill establishes a moratorium on any new limited access privilege programs (programs whereby limited access privileges to harvest a quantity of total allowable catch in a fishery are issued by federal permit) in mixed-use fisheries under the jurisdiction of the South Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils. Additionally, the bill establishes exemptions from annual catch limit requirements for certain fisheries. NOAA must follow certain guidelines before issuing a new exempted fishing permit. NOAA must develop a report on facilitating greater incorporation of data, analysis, stock assessments, and surveys from state agencies and nongovernmental sources into fisheries management decisions. NOAA must also establish partnerships with states and make grants to improve recreational fisheries data collection.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
End Discriminatory State Taxes for Automobile Renters Act of 201 7 This bill prohibits state or local taxes that discriminate against the rental of motor vehicles, the business of renting motor vehicles, or motor vehicle rental property, except where such tax is imposed as of the enactment date of this bill, the tax does not lapse, the tax rate does not increase, and the tax base for such tax does not change. A tax that is imposed on the rental of motor vehicles or a motor vehicle rental business is discriminatory if: (1) it is not generally applicable to more than 51% of other rentals of tangible personal property or businesses within a state or locality, or (2) the rate exceeds the generally applicable tax rate on at least 51% of the other rentals of tangible personal property or businesses within the jurisdiction. A tax discriminates against motor vehicle rental property if a state or locality: (1) assesses the property at a value that has a higher ratio to the true market value of the property than the ratio applicable to commercial and industrial property, or (2) levies or collects either a tax on an assessment prohibited by this bill or an ad valorem property tax on motor vehicle rental property at a generally applicable rate that exceeds the rate for commercial and industrial property in the jurisdiction. A person who is aggrieved by a discriminatory tax may bring a civil action in a U.S. district court for damages, injunctive relief, other legal or equitable relief, or declaratory relief.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
Federal Budget Accountability Act This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to report annually to Congress on the effect of provisions of legislation for the previous congressional session that were enacted to offset or pay for the costs of carrying out the legislation, including provisions that increase revenue, rescind budget authority, or reduce direct spending. The OMB must also establish and report to Congress on a system to track the accuracy of the offsets and pay-fors. (Under the bill, an "offset and pay-for" is an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office for a provision of legislation that reduces spending, increases revenue, or reduces the deficit.)
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2017
Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2017 This bill modifies requirements regarding access to preferred pharmacies (i.e., pharmacies that provide reduced enrollee cost sharing for prescription drugs) under a Medicare prescription drug plan (PDP). Specifically, if a Medicare PDP has, in its pharmacy network, one or more preferred pharmacies located in a health shortage or medically underserved area, then the PDP sponsor must allow any pharmacy in the health shortage or medically underserved area to join the preferred pharmacy network under comparable terms and conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2017
This bill modifies the methodology used to calculate a manufacturer's average sales price for certain drugs covered under Medicare. Specifically, the bill excludes, from a manufacturer's average sales price calculation, customary prompt pay discounts extended to wholesalers.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2017
Families of Fallen Servicemembers First Act This bill provides a permanent appropriation for the payment of death gratuities and related benefits to survivors of deceased members of the uniformed services during a period of lapsed appropriations. The bill provides the appropriations at the rate and under the conditions provided for the most recent fiscal year for which an Act making appropriations for the uniformed services has been enacted. The appropriations are provided during a period of lapsed appropriations, in which appropriations are unavailable due to the absence of the timely enactment of an Act or joint resolution providing appropriations or continuing appropriations for the death gratuity and related benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2017
Rural Access to Hospice Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow payment under Medicare for certain services furnished to hospice patients by rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). With respect to a patient who elects to receive hospice care under Medicare, current law generally limits payment for services that are either duplicative of such care or related to the treatment of the individual's terminal illness. However, current law exempts from this limitation: (1) physicians' services furnished by an attending physician not employed by the hospice program; and (2) services provided or arranged by the hospice program. The bill expands this exemption with regard to rural health clinic and FQHC services. Specifically, the payment limitation shall not apply to such services that: (1) would otherwise be physicians' services if furnished by an individual unaffiliated with a rural health clinic or FQHC; and (2) are either arranged by the hospice program or furnished by an attending physician not employed by the hospice program.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2017
Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act of 2017 This bill allows Medicare payment for home health services ordered by a nurse practitioner, a clinical nurse specialist, a certified nurse-midwife, or a physician assistant.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2017
This bill revises provisions concerning military technicians (dual status), including by: (1) transferring authority to issue regulations regarding the employment, use, and status of such technicians from the Departments of the Army and the Air Force to the Department of Defense (DOD); and (2) requiring that such individuals be outside the competitive service and be appointed and administered by an adjutant general. An individual who becomes employed as such a technician while already a member of a reserve component of the armed forces shall not have to repay any enlistment, reenlistment, or affiliation bonus provided before such employment. The bill: (1) makes such technicians eligible for TRICARE, and (2) sets forth FY2018 end strengths for the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 is amended to reduce from 20% to 4.8% the percentage of technician positions filled in administration, clerical, finance, and office service occupations as of October 1, 2017, that DOD must convert to civilian positions. A governor or the commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard may order a member of the National Guard to perform active Guard and Reserve duty in support of state missions. The bill modifies personnel management authorities of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, including by requiring adjutants general to exercise the Chief's authority to employ, administer, and assign certain persons within their jurisdictions.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2017
ObamaCare Repeal Act This bill repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of December 31, 2017. Provisions of law amended by those Acts are restored.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2017
Protecting American Jobs Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act, with respect to the authority of the National Labor Relations Board, to: repeal the authority of the General Counsel of the board to issue, and prosecute before the board, complaints of unfair labor practices; limit the board's rulemaking authority to rules concerning the internal functions of the board; prohibit the board from promulgating rules that affect the substantive rights of any person, employer, employee, or labor organization; repeal the board's authority to prevent persons from engaging in unfair labor practices, limiting such authority to the investigation of allegations of such practices; and repeal the board's authority to petition courts for enforcement of its orders, seek injunctions, or hold hearings on jurisdictional strikes.
![Official portrait of Rep. Carter, Earl L. "Buddy" [R-GA-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c001103_200.jpg)