United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2019
Eleanor Smith Inclusive Home Design Act of 2019 This bill requires certain newly constructed, federally assisted housing, including single-family homes and town houses, to contain at least one level that complies with specified minimum standards of accessibility for individuals with disabilities. An aggrieved person may commence a civil action with respect to a violation of this requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2019
Stop Subsidizing Multimillion Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act This bill extends the $1 million limit on the deductibility of executive compensation to all employees of publicly traded corporations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2019
Renewable Energy Extension Act of 2019 This bill extends the energy tax credit for certain renewable resources and the credit for residential energy efficient property for five years.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2019
This resolution recognizes the 71st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and urges the U.S. government, as well as U.N. member states, to promote human rights globally.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2019
This resolution commends the Global Fund to Fight AIDS and its partners for their contributions to ending the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The resolution also affirms previous U.S. commitments to provide 33% of the fund's budget, including for the Sixth Global Fund Replenishment, as demonstrated by legislation passed by the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2019
Greater Access and Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology Act of 2019 or the GAIN Act This bill requires the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) to establish access standards for home (1) medical devices, (2) appliances, and (3) exercise equipment that allow blind consumers to effectively use such products.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2019
Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019 or the MORE Act of 2019 This bill decriminalizes marijuana. Specifically, it removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminates criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana. The bill also makes other changes, including the following: replaces statutory references to marijuana and marihuana with cannabis , requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly publish demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees, establishes a trust fund to support various programs and services for individuals and businesses in communities impacted by the war on drugs, imposes a 5% tax on cannabis products and requires revenues to be deposited into the trust fund, makes Small Business Administration loans and services available to entities that are cannabis-related legitimate businesses or service providers, prohibits the denial of federal public benefits to a person on the basis of certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions, prohibits the denial of benefits and protections under immigration laws on the basis of a cannabis-related event (e.g., conduct or a conviction), and establishes a process to expunge convictions and conduct sentencing review hearings related to federal cannabis offenses.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2019
This resolution calls on the President and the Department of State to (1) make the repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws a priority in bilateral relationships between the United States and countries that have such laws; (2) designate countries that enforce such laws as countries of particular concern for religious freedom; and (3) oppose efforts by the United Nations to implement an international anti-blasphemy norm. The resolution also calls on the governments of countries that enforce such laws to amend or repeal them and to release anyone imprisoned pursuant to them.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2019
End Employer Collusion Act This bill makes it unlawful for any entity to enter into a restrictive employment agreement, or to enforce or threaten to enforce a restrictive employment agreement. A "restrictive employment agreement" is any agreement between two or more employers that prohibits or restricts one employer from soliciting or hiring another employer's employees or former employees. The bill provides for penalties under the Sherman Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act for entering into a restrictive employment agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2019
This resolution recognizes (1) the importance of reminding U.S. citizens of the vital importance of democracy, and (2) the sacrifices of past generations to preserve the freedoms and principles of the United States. The resolution encourages (1) state and local governments to also recognize the importance of helping individuals understand the vital importance of democracy, and (2) the people of the United States to reflect on and appreciate the contributions made by the democratic system of government created by the Constitution to a more free and stable world.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2019
Greater Leadership Overseas for the Benefit of Equality Act of 2019 or the GLOBE Act of 2019 This bill contains provisions related to (1) the protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals globally; and (2) immigration protections for vulnerable individuals. The bill establishes (1) an interagency group to respond to urgent threats to LGBTI people in foreign countries, and (2) a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Peoples in the Department of State. The President shall impose visa-blocking sanctions on foreign persons responsible for violating the human rights of individuals due to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics. The State Department shall establish the Global Equality Fund to provide assistance to nongovernmental organizations working to advance and protect human rights. The U.S. Agency for International Development shall establish the LGBTI Global Development Partnership to work with the private sector and nongovernmental organizations to support LGBTI rights. The bill removes prohibitions against providing foreign assistance to nongovernmental organizations that offer certain medical services using non-U.S. government funds. The bill contains several immigration-related provisions, such as those (1) establishing that persecution based on sexual orientation or gender identity may form the basis of an asylum request, (2) removing the general requirement that an asylum claim must be filed within one year of the applicant's arrival in the United States, (3) establishing that a permanent partnership between two partners is a marriage for immigration law purposes, and (4) establishing that indigent aliens have a right to free counsel in certain immigration proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2019
Travel Promotion, Enhancement, and Modernization Act of 2019 This bill extends funding for Brand USA, the Corporation for Travel Promotion, through FY2027 and raises the fee for using the electronic system for travel authorization.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2019
Countering Russian and Other Overseas Kleptocracy Act or the CROOK Act This bill directs the Department of State to take various actions designed to combat public corruption in foreign countries. The State Department shall establish the Anti-Corruption Action fund to help foreign states fight public corruption and develop rule-of-law-based governance structures. A portion (5%) of fines and penalties imposed under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act shall be deposited into the fund. The State Department shall (1) take primary responsibility in managing U.S. government efforts to fight foreign public corruption, and (2) establish an interagency task force to assist in coordinating such efforts. Each U.S. embassy shall have a point of contact responsible for coordinating the embassy's anti-corruption efforts. The State Department shall report to Congress on its anti-corruption activities and make various reports publicly available online.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2019
This bill authorizes the Coast Guard to issue a certificate of documentation with a coastwise endorsement for the vessel Oliver Hazard Perry (United States official number 1257224).
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2019
Preventing Lead Poisoning Act of 2019 This bill requires coverage under the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) of lead blood level assessments. Specifically, CHIP must cover a child's assessment once at the age of 12 months and once at the age of 24 months, or once between the ages of 24 months and 72 months if the child has never been assessed. The bill also provides statutory authority for these requirements (regarding testing intervals) for state Medicaid programs.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2019
Athletics Fair Pay Act of 2019 This bill addresses pay equity for amateur athletes. It requires amateur sports national governing bodies to provide equitable wages and other compensation for women where separate programs for male and female athletes are conducted on a national basis. The bill also requires a national governing body to report to Congress on the compensation of amateur athletes in the sport governed by such body for each of the two consecutive calendar years ending immediately before, and each calendar year beginning after, this bill's enactment. Each report shall include (1) the median compensation for amateur athletes, disaggregated by race and gender; and (2) the minimum and maximum compensation paid to amateur athletes, disaggregated by race and gender.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2019
Justice for Student Borrowers Act This bill prohibits a predispute arbitration agreement from being valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of a dispute relating to a private education loan.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2019
This resolution states that immigrants and their descendants have made America stronger and naturalized citizens are just as American as those whose families have been in the United States for generations. It also expresses a commitment to keep America open to those who lawfully seek refuge from violence and oppression and those willing to work hard to achieve the American Dream, regardless of race, ethnicity, faith, or country of origin. The resolution strongly condemns as racist the President’s comments about immigrants and those who look to the President like immigrants and states that these have legitimized hatred of new Americans and people of color, including his reference to immigrants and asylum seekers as “invaders.”
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2019
Recovering America’s Wildlife Act of 2019 This bill provides funding for (1) the conservation or restoration of wildlife and plant species of greatest conservation need; (2) the wildlife conservation strategies of states, Indian tribes, or territories; or (3) wildlife conservation education and recreation projects. The Department of the Interior must use a portion of the funding for a grant program. The grants must be used for innovative recovery efforts for species of greatest conservation need, species listed as endangered or threatened species, or the habitats of such species.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2019
This resolution expresses support for the full consolidation of democracy in Ukraine and calls on the Ukrainian Central Election Commission, as well as social media platforms, to ensure that elections meet international democratic standards.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2019
Fair and Open Skies Act This bill prohibits the Department of Transportation (DOT) from issuing a foreign air carrier permit or an exemption from certain air carrier certificate requirements under the United States-European Union Air Transport Agreement of April 2007, unless DOT finds that issuing the permit or exemption would be consistent with Article 17 bis of the agreement, which provides that opportunities created by the agreement do not undermine labor standards or the labor-related rights and principles contained in the laws of the respective parties to the agreement; and imposes conditions on the permit or exemption necessary to ensure compliance with Article 17 bis . The bill modifies policy considerations relating to air carrier certificates to require DOT to consider preventing entry into U.S. markets by flag of convenience carriers (i.e., foreign air carriers established in a country other the home country of their majority owner in order to avoid regulations of the home country) and preventing the undermining of labor standards. In carrying out such air carrier certificate requirements, DOT must consider preventing entry of flag of convenience carriers into U.S. markets as being in the public interest and consistent with public convenience and necessity for safety in air transportation and air commerce. In formulating U.S. international air transportation policy relating to the elimination of discrimination and unfair competition, the Department of State and DOT must include in their considerations the undermining of labor standards.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 2019
High Speed Gunfire Prevention Act This bill provides statutory authority for restrictions on the possession or transfer of bump-stock-type devices and other parts capable of converting a firearm to automatically shoot multiple rounds without manual reloading by a single function of the trigger. It also makes it a crime to import, manufacture, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive parts or accessories designed to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm without converting it to a fully automatic firearm. An individual who violates this provision is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2019
Hot Cars Act of 2019 This bill requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to issue a final rule requiring all new passenger motor vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less to be equipped with an alert system to detect the presence of an occupant (e.g., a child or domestic animal) in a rear designated seating position after the vehicle engine is turned off. DOT must also consider requiring systems that can detect the presence of any occupant unable to independently exit the vehicle and the presence of a child who has entered an unoccupied vehicle independently. The alert must (1) include a distinct auditory and visual alert to notify individuals inside and outside of the vehicle of the presence of an occupant which must be combined with an interior haptic warning (i.e., vibrations), and (2) be activated when the vehicle engine is turned off and the presence of an occupant is detected. DOT must enter into an agreement with an independent third party for a study on retrofitting existing passenger motor vehicles with technology to address the problem of occupants left unattended in motor vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
Greg LeMond 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 Greg LeMond, in recognition of his contributions to the nation as an athlete, activist, role model, and community leader.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
This bill expands the scope of the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans by including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals as minority group members. The committee reports on the issues of minority group members in relation to Department of Veterans Affairs programs.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
City and State Diplomacy Act This bill establishes within the Department of State the Office of Subnational Diplomacy, which shall supervise federal support for engagement by state and municipal governments with foreign governments. The head of the office shall be the Ambassador-at-Large for Subnational Diplomacy, who shall be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
Untraceable Firearms Act of 2019 This bill generally prohibits and penalizes the manufacture, sale, transfer, purchase, or receipt of a ghost gun. A ghost gun is a firearm that lacks a unique serial number.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
End Purchase of Firearms by Dangerous Individuals Act of 2019 This bill addresses reporting systems and mental health records for certain individuals who are prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm. Specifically, the bill requires each state to establish a reporting system through which mental health professionals may report information about an individual committed to a mental institution who poses a danger or an individual who communicates a serious threat of violence, provide mental health records to the National Instant Criminal History Background Check System for use in determining whether a person is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm, and establish a process related to the temporary involuntary commitment of individuals at mental health facilities. Beginning 10 years after the bill's enactment, the Department of Justice must reduce by 5% funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program for a state that fails to comply with these requirements. The bill expands the categories of persons barred from receiving or possessing a firearm to include persons who communicate a serious threat of violence to a mental health professional. Finally, the bill replaces various statutory references to persons adjudicated as a mental defective with references to persons adjudicated as ineligible due to disqualifying mental status .
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
Unlawful Gun Buyer Alert Act This bill establishes a notification requirement following a firearms-related background check that results in a denial. Specifically, the bill requires the national instant criminal background check system to notify federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies if a firearms-related background check determines that an individual is ineligible to receive or possess a firearm. The notification requirement applies even if more than three business days have elapsed since the background check was initiated, and a firearm has already been transferred to the individual.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
National Opposition to Hate, Assault, and Threats to Equality Act of 2019 or the NO HATE Act This bill establishes various grants within the Department of Justice for states and units of local government to improve law enforcement activities to address hate crimes, including by improving the reporting of hate crime data to relevant national systems. It also allows a court to order, as a penalty for a violation of a federal hate crime statute, a defendant to participate in educational classes or community service related to the community harmed by the defendant's offense as part of a supervised release.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
This resolution recognizes the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising and commends the bravery and resiliency of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community in the face of violence and discrimination, past and present. The resolution also condemns violence and discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community and recommits the House of Representatives to securing justice, equality, and well-being for LGBTQ people.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 2019 This bill prohibits commercial conversion therapy, which is a practice or treatment designed to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity or otherwise change behaviors, thoughts, or expressions related to gender or sexual attraction. This prohibition does not apply to treatment that assists an individual undergoing a gender transition or facilitates identity exploration and development.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
Building Our Opportunities to Survive and Thrive Act of 2019 This bill creates a new refundable tax credit of $3,000 for individual taxpayers subject to an income-based phaseout and an inflation adjustment to the credit amount after 2019. It also provides for advance payments of credit amounts to taxpayers on a monthly basis and allows a disregard of credit amounts for purposes of determining eligibility for federal or state assistance programs. The bill directs the Internal Revenue Service to establish a Community Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Matching Grant Program to provide tax return preparation assistance to low-income taxpayers. The bill expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the cost of this bill should be fully offset by (1) the repeal of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (except for provisions of that Act that provide relief to taxpayers with annual incomes of less than $100,000), and (2) a fee on financial institutions with consolidated assets of more than $50 billion.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
Secure E-Waste Export and Recycling Act This bill prohibits the export or reexport of electronic waste, such as computers, televisions, and consumer electronics, subject to certain exemptions (e.g., items that meet specific criteria designed to ensure they do not become the source of counterfeit products).
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
This resolution expresses support for (1) equal rights and protections for all people, regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity; and (2) the designation of LGBTQ Equality Day on June 26 to commemorate Supreme Court decisions handed down on that day in 2003, 2013, and 2015. The resolution also acknowledges the need for further legislation to ensure that people in the United States are free from all forms of discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that (1) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights are human rights and protected by the U.S. Constitution; (2) LGBTQ Pride Month should be celebrated; and (3) all Americans should be treated equally regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
Safeguard our Elections and Combat Unlawful Interference in Our Democracy Act or the SECURE Our Democracy Act This bill directs the Department of State to identify each foreign person who engaged in U.S. election interference since January 1, 2015. The bill imposes financial and immigration sanctions on these individuals. Specifically, such individuals shall be ineligible to receive a U.S. entry visa and any current visa shall be revoked. The Department of the Treasury must (1) freeze and prohibit a listed foreign person's transactions in property and property interests that are in the United States, and (2) require financial institutions to certify that they have frozen all such assets.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
Restore Honor to Service Members Act This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to review the discharge characterization of a service member who was discharged on the basis of sexual orientation (i.e., on the basis of Don't Ask Don't Tell or a similar policy) if the service member requests such a review. If the service member's discharge is characterized as other than honorable, and if there were no aggravating circumstances that would have independently caused the discharge to be characterized as other than honorable, then DOD must change its characterization of the discharge to honorable.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
LGBTQ Data Inclusion Act This bill requires federal agencies that collect information through a survey that includes demographic data (where subjects self-report information or a proxy provides information about the subject or responds for all persons in a household) to review existing data sets to determine in which data sets information about sexual orientation and gender identity is not included, and to assess needed changes in survey methods related to asking questions on sexual orientation and gender identity. Agencies that publish reports relying on survey demographic data must include information on sexual orientation and gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students Act of 2019 or the JOBS Act of 2019 This bill expands student eligibility for Pell Grants by establishing the Job Training Federal Pell Grant program. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Education to award a job training Pell Grant to a student who does not have a degree; attends an institution of higher education (IHE); is enrolled in a career and technical education program at an IHE that provides 150 to 600 clock hours of instructional time over a period of 8 to 15 weeks and provides training aligned with high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors (i.e., job training programs); and meets all other eligibility requirements for a Pell Grant. It also specifies that any period during which a student receives a job training Pell Grant counts toward that student's Pell Grant eligibility period.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2019
End Neglected Tropical Diseases Act This bill states that it is U.S. policy to support a broad range of activities toward finding cost-effective treatment for, and eliminating, neglected tropical diseases in order to improve the economic and social well-being of all people. The bill defines neglected tropical diseases as those that disproportionately impact individuals living in extreme poverty, especially in developing countries, and includes Chagas disease, dengue fever, and leprosy.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2019
Offshore Wind Incentives for New Development Act or the Offshore WIND Act This bill allows an energy tax credit for investment in qualified offshore wind property, the construction of which begins before January 1, 2026. The bill defines "qualified offshore wind property" as an offshore facility using wind to produce electricity.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2019
Fair Pay for All Act of 2019 This bill prohibits sex discrimination in the payment of the minimum wage to workers based on their gender identity, sexual orientation, sex characteristics, a sex stereotype, pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2019
America's Call To Improve Opportunities Now for National Service Act or the ACTION for National Service Act This bill (1) converts the Corporation for National and Community Service into the National and Community Service Administration; (2) reauthorizes programs carried out by the administration; (3) establishes a National Service Foundation to accept and administer gifts on behalf of the administration; and (4) modifies the calculation of national service educational awards. Furthermore, the bill creates a 21st Century American Service Outreach Program to notify individuals age 17 and not more than age 30 about their eligibility to participate in national service programs,; increases living stipends for such volunteers and the cap on such full-time positions; provides a living allowance to members of the National Civilian Community Corps, under specified conditions; and provides an exclusion from gross income, for income tax purposes, for such educational awards and living allowances.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2019
Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act of 2019 This bill prohibits strikes by certain individuals and requires the issuance of rules that provide for federal minimum standard collective bargaining rights and procedures. The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) shall determine for each state whether the laws of such state substantially provide for each of the minimum standard collective bargaining rights and procedures specified by this bill, including the right of public employees and supervisory employees to self-organize, form or join a labor organization, or collectively bargain. The FLRA must issue rules and take actions to establish and administer bargaining rights and procedures for those states that do not substantially provide for them. No employers, emergency services employees, or law enforcement officers may engage in a lockout, strike, or any other organized job action that would probably result in a measurable disruption of the delivery of emergency or public safety services. Furthermore, no labor organization may be the cause of a violation of such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2019
This resolution commends the people of Tunisia for their commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and free elections, and encourages Tunisia's political leaders to work together to accelerate economic reforms and anti-corruption measures. It also calls on the government to fully implement the Tunisian Constitution of 2014, which includes protections for civil liberties and the establishment of the Constitutional Court.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2019
This bill establishes the Alzheimer's Research and Caregiving Trust Fund. Taxpayers may contribute to the fund at the time of filing of their tax returns. Amounts in the fund shall be available for research regarding the treatment or cure of Alzheimer's disease and for education, counseling, respite and other supportive services for the benefit of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and of their families, caregivers, and health care professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2019
Help Separated Families Act of 201 9 This bill prohibits states from disqualifying a prospective adoptive or foster parent based on that person's immigration status. It also expands the requirements for state foster-care cases in which a parent has been detained or deported as the result of an immigration proceeding. Specifically, states may not initiate a proceeding to terminate the parental rights of a parent who has been detained or deported unless the state has made reasonable efforts to (1) locate the parent, (2) notify the parent about the proceeding, (3) provide the parent with appropriate services, and (4) reunify the parent and child. States also must (1) ensure that case managers can communicate in separated children's native language, (2) provide assistance for separated children to accompany their parent to the family's country of origin, (3) keep information about such children confidential, and (4) publish a list of legal services available to separated children. Further, case management plans must provide (1) the location of the child's parent who has been detained or deported, and (2) a written record of information about such child that is disclosed to government agencies or nonlegal guardians. The bill requires states to accept specified forms of foreign identification to complete background checks for prospective foster care placements. States also must notify prospective foster or adoptive relatives that such relatives' immigration status will not be requested except with respect to eligibility for certain social services.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2019
This resolution supports the designation of Portuguese National Heritage Month. The bill also esteems the integral role of the Portuguese-American community and the manifold heritage of Portugal in the economy, culture, and identity of the United States.