United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2020
Cost of Police Misconduct Act of 2020 This bill requires the Department of Justice to collect and make publicly available certain information from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies about allegations of misconduct by law enforcement officers, including the amounts of any relevant settlements. It also directs the Government Accountability Office to study costs and other issues related to such misconduct.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2020
This concurrent resolution makes a correction in the enrollment of H.R. 1830 by referring to the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, Inc. as the National Purple Heart Honor Mission, Inc.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2020
The Resetting the Impact Act (TRIA) of 2020 This bill requires certain data collection and recommendations relating to a Medicare post-acute care prospective payment system to incorporate the effects of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) on providers and patients.
United States · United States Congress · 24 November 2020
Pandemic Accommodation to Support Students Act or the PASS Act This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to extend certain temporary relief related to federal student loans. Specifically, the bill extends to September 30, 2021, the suspension of payments and interest due on Federal Direct Loans and Federal Family Education Loans that are held by ED. Further, ED must carry out a program, beginning on August 1, 2021, to provide at least six notices to borrowers that normal payment obligations will resume.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2020
Keeping All Students Safe Act This bill prohibits the use of seclusion and limits the use of physical restraint in schools and Head Start programs that receive federal funding. It also establishes enforcement provisions, including a private right of action for a student who has been subjected to unlawful seclusion or restraint, and creates a grant program for state educational agencies to implement the procedures required by the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2020
This resolution expresses support for a National Day of Mourning for the lives lost as a result of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). It encourages Americans and the President to commemorate the day by observing a moment of silence and ordering flags flown at half-staff, respectively.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2020
This resolution congratulates the National Urban League on its 110 years of service and commends its efforts to continue addressing systemic racism and economic inequality and fighting for the rights of all Americans to live with freedom, dignity, and prosperity.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2020
This resolution urges the United States to uphold its commitments under U.S. law and international treaties related to asylum seekers and also urges the Department of Homeland Security to stop detentions for legitimate asylum seekers. The resolution also calls on the government of Cameroon to respect the fundamental rights of its citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2020
Analyzing Kinetic Impact Projectiles Against Americans Act of 2020 This bill requires a study on injuries caused by kinetic impact projectiles. These include rubber and plastic bullets, bean bag rounds, and other projectiles commonly used for crowd control. The Department of Health and Human Services must, within 30 days, enter an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct the study.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2020
Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act This bill establishes grant programs to address neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), and contains other related provisions. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall award grants to eligible entities to support research on and facilitate access to investigational drugs that diagnose or treat ALS. The Food and Drug Administration shall award grants to public and private entities to cover the costs of research and development of drugs that diagnose or treat ALS and other severely debilitating neurodegenerative diseases. HHS shall also establish the Collaborative for Neurodegenerative Diseases, which shall support the development and regulatory approval of drugs that address ALS and other rare neurodegenerative diseases.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2020
This resolution honors and recognizes the unique contributions that indigenous peoples have made to the United States. It also supports the designation of Indigenous Peoples' Day to replace Columbus Day as a federal holiday.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2020
Federal Worker Leave Fairness Act of 2020 This bill restores leave that is lost by federal employees during a public health emergency relating to a pandemic. Specifically, the bill restores leave for employees of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government that was lost because the employee's accumulated leave exceeded the maximum amount that is otherwise allowable. The bill applies to leave that is lost on or after the date of enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2020
Preventing Future Pandemics Act of 2020 This bill establishes measures to address global public health risks posed by wildlife markets, which are commercial markets that sell or slaughter wildlife for human consumption as food or medicine in communities where alternative nutritional or protein sources are available. Specifically, the bill prohibits importing, exporting, purchasing, or selling live wild animals in the United States for human consumption as food or medicine. The Department of the Interior must hire, train, and deploy at least 50 new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement attachés around the world, and the U.S. Agency for International Development must increase specified activities to address the threats and causes of zoonotic (animal-to-human transmission) disease outbreaks. Additionally, the United States must work with other United Nations member states to urge a global ban on commercial wildlife markets and enforcement of laws to end wildlife trafficking. Further, the President may impose sanctions against a foreign country or foreign nationals that the Department of State has determined are taking certain actions that enable or facilitate commercial wildlife markets. Among other reports required by the bill, the State Department must conduct a study and submit a report that includes an evaluation of (1) the impact that consumption of terrestrial wildlife as food or medicine has on the transmission of novel viral and other pathogens, (2) the role of consuming terrestrial wildlife as food or medicine in the transmission of microbes from animals to humans, and (3) the conditions at live wildlife markets that lead to this transmission.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2020
This resolution condemns the performance of unwanted, unnecessary medical procedures on individuals without their informed consent and recognizes the need for additional accountability, oversight, and transparency to protect individuals from such medical procedures while they are in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It also calls on the Department of Homeland Security to fully cooperate with investigations about, and take other actions related to, medical procedures in one of its detention centers.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020
Jobs and Justice Act of 2020 This bill addresses a wide variety of domestic policy matters and focuses on economically distressed communities, opportunities for minorities and the disadvantaged, and civil rights enforcement. Included in the programs and requirements affected are those concerning the following areas: workforce development, including job training and wage standards; economic development, including through assistance to minority businesses; antipoverty measures, including programs to specifically address child poverty and persistent poverty; housing and savings matters, including housing affordability, discrimination, homelessness assistance, tenant protections, public housing funding, home ownership and foreclosure mitigation, and lead-safe housing; savings and consumer finance, including financial literacy and lending discrimination; public contracting; infrastructure development; job training for youth and older Americans; veterans' and military family benefits; health care coverage and access, including Medicare and Medicaid coverage; small business investment and commercial investment in underserved areas, including through tax benefits; elementary and secondary education, including education of girls and minorities and teacher preparation; higher education access, including through community college attendance; science, technology, and information security education; law enforcement officer conduct, resources and administration, juvenile justice, sentencing procedures, hate crimes, correctional facilities, and firearms sales and possession; election administration and voting rights; and environmental, agriculture, and energy matters, including climate change, environmental justice, and energy efficiency and transition to alternative and renewable resources.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020
This bill requires senior government officials to report certain payments received from the federal government by the officials or certain immediate family members, and it revises availability requirements for certain financial disclosures. Specifically, the bill requires senior government officials, including the President, Members of Congress, and certain government employees, to file a report of certain payments made or promised to be made by the federal government (e.g., loan agreements, contracts, and grants). This report must include (1) an identification of the type of payment or thing of value applied for or received, (2) the name of the recipient and the recipient's relation to the person required to file the report, (3) the dates of the application for and receipt of the payment or thing of value, and (4) the amount of the payment or thing of value. Further, the bill requires that certain financial disclosure reports that must be filed by senior government officials be available in a manner that (1) allows the public to search, sort, and download report data using specified criteria; (2) allows access through an application programming interface (i.e., a mobile application); and (3) complies fully with accessibility guidelines for online content.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2020
Bringing Enhanced Treatments and Therapies to ESRD Recipients Kidney Care Act or the BETTER Kidney Care Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a demonstration program for Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Under the program, renal dialysis facilities, kidney disease specialists, physician practices, and other health care practitioners may form an organization that partners with certain health care entities to provide integrated care to beneficiaries with ESRD. Such care must include all covered Medicare benefits as well as transition services for transplantations, palliative care, and hospice. Each organization must have a minimum number or percentage of participating beneficiaries (350 or 60% of beneficiaries served at the organization's facilities) and must also comply with certain fiscal, governance, and quality of care requirements. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office must study certain data that is reported to the CMS regarding pediatric dialysis care, as well as the effects of race-based corrections to a specified kidney function test on referrals of ESRD patients for transplant evaluations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2020
This resolution supports the announcements of (1) the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain, and (2) the suspension of Israeli actions to apply sovereignty in parts of the West Bank. Further, it calls on each of these countries to encourage greater people-to-people normalization, and it calls on other Arab and Muslim countries to establish full relations with Israel. It also reaffirms the House of Representatives' support for a negotiated, two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2020
Ending Health Disparities During COVID-19 Act of 2020 or the EHDC Act of 2020 This bill expands COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) relief efforts, expands data collection and health literacy, supports research, promotes diversity in the health professional workforce, increases access to telehealth and other health care, and otherwise addresses the health of minority populations and immigrants. For example, the bill provides funding for emergency aid and services, grants to address COVID-19 health inequities, grants to address social determinants of health, and payments for language services. It also expands COVID-19 testing and contact tracing.
United States · United States Congress · 28 August 2020
Foster Youth Dental Act of 2020 This bill expands Medicaid coverage of current and former foster youth, particularly with respect to dental services. Specifically, the bill requires state Medicaid programs to cover early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment services, including dental services, for current and former foster youth under the age of 26. States must set a special payment rate, based on rates in the private sector, for dental services provided to such individuals; the bill provides an enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) for excess expenses that result from such payments. The bill's requirements take effect 80 days after the date of enactment of the bill. The bill also accelerates the application of certain provisions that require a state Medicaid program to cover former foster youth from other states until the age of 26; such provisions currently apply to former foster youth who reach the age of 18 on or after January 1, 2023. The bill instead applies these provisions to former foster youth who reach the age of 18 on or after the date of enactment of the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 25 August 2020
Nonpartisan Postmaster General Act This bill restricts the political activities of the members of the Postal Service Board of Governors, including the Postmaster General and the Deputy Postmaster General. Specifically, the bill (1) prohibits the Postmaster General and the Deputy Postmaster General from taking an active part in political management or political campaigns; (2) prohibits the Board of Governors, the Postmaster General, and the Deputy Postmaster General from holding any political position while in office or soliciting funds for the campaign of a candidate for elected office or for a political party; and (3) restricts nominees for Postmaster General and Deputy Postmaster General to those who have not engaged in political activities in the four years prior to their appointments.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 2020
Delivering for America Act This bill prohibits the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from making changes to operations or levels of service from those that were in effect on January 1, 2020. Specifically, the USPS may not, during the period beginning on enactment of this bill and ending on the last day of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency or January 1, 2021, whichever is later, implement or approve any change to the operations or the level of service that would impede prompt, reliable, and efficient services, including changes in the nature of services that will generally affect service on a nationwide basis; revisions of service standards; closures or consolidations of post offices or reduction of facility hours; prohibitions on payment of overtime pay to USPS officers or employees; changes that would prevent the USPS from meeting its service standards or that would reduce measurements of performance concerning those standards; changes that would have the effect of delaying mail, allowing non-delivery to a delivery route, or increasing the volume of undelivered mail.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 2020
Helping Home Owners Maintain Economic Security Act of 2020 or the Helping HOMES Act of 2020 This bill expands and extends existing single-family and multifamily mortgage forbearance provisions for borrowers experiencing financial hardships due to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency. Specifically, forbearance may be extended to borrowers for up to 12 months. Currently, borrowers may receive 180 days of forbearance, with an extension of up to an additional 180 days. The bill also expands the forbearance provisions to apply to nonfederally backed mortgages. Mortgage servicers must notify borrowers of the availability of forbearance.
United States · United States Congress · 7 August 2020
Promoting and Advancing Communities of Color through Inclusive Lending Act This bill revises requirements applicable to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) and addresses lending during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. The bill establishes mandatory set-asides for (1) minority CDFIs under the CDFI Fund, and (2) CDFIs and MDIs under existing COVID-19 economic aid programs. The bill also establishes an impact bank designation for certain small depository institutions that lend primarily to low-income borrowers and establishes programs for impact banks and MDIs regarding investments, technical assistance, and federal government deposits. Finally, the Department of the Treasury must provide capital and interest-free loans to CDFIs, MDIs, impact banks, and credit unions that primarily serve low-income, underserved communities. The bill also reduces the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program minimum issuance amount from $100 million to $25 million for FY2020 and to $50 million for fiscal years thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 2020
Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act This bill requires the Federal Reserve Board to carry out its duties in a manner that supports the elimination of racial and ethnic disparities in employment, income, wealth, and access to affordable credit. The board must report on disparities in labor force trends as well as on plans and activities of the board to minimize and eliminate these disparities.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2020
Removing Barriers to Basic Needs Act of 2020 This bill modifies eligibility requirements under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) to temporarily waive requirements related to the denial of assistance and benefits for certain drug-related convictions. Any state law, policy, or regulation that imposes conditions on eligibility for SNAP and TANF based on an individual's conviction of an offense related to a controlled substance shall have no force or effect until December 31, 2022.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2020
Pandemic Child Hunger Prevention Act This bill revises food and nutrition programs of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. USDA must reimburse states at the free rate for meals served by school food authorities in such states during the 2020-2021 school year under the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. All children enrolled in a school that participates in such programs are temporarily eligible (without application) to receive free school meals during the 2020-2021 school year. Additionally, such children are certified eligible (without application) for free meals under the (1) summer food service program, (2) child and adult care food program, and (3) meal supplements for children in after-school programs. The bill also sets forth provisions related to the 2021-2022 school year, including provisions regarding (1) calculations to determine the percentage of identified students under the school meal programs, (2) the selection of schools under the fresh fruit and vegetable program, and (3) establishing a price for paid lunches during such school year.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2020
Jobs and Neighborhood Investment Act This bill establishes investment programs and generally revises provisions related to community development financial institutions and minority depository institutions. The Department of the Treasury must establish a Neighborhood Capital Investment Program to facilitate direct capital investments in low- and moderate-income community financial institutions. To qualify for the program, these institutions must, among other things, (1) demonstrate specified lending history regarding low-and moderate-income borrowers and other targeted populations, and (2) provide details regarding plans to expand or maintain lending to certain minority communities and historically disadvantaged borrowers. The bill also establishes the Neighborhood Loan Program through the Federal Reserve Board's emergency powers to create a credit facility for small business loans, specifically targeting low- and moderate-income community financial institutions serving low- and moderate-income and minority communities. The bill requires certain amounts available through existing COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) economic aid programs to be set aside for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. Regarding minority depository institutions, the bill establishes the Minority Bank Deposit Program to expand the use of minority depository institutions to hold the deposits of federal departments and agencies, allows new minority depository institutions to take three years to meet initial capital requirements, and establishes a program allowing minority depository institutions to apply to receive deposits from certain Treasury accounts.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2020
COVID-19 Mine Worker Protection Act This bill requires the Department of Labor to promulgate health and safety standards to protect coal miners from occupational exposure to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Labor shall promulgate emergency standards within seven days of this bill's enactment, and such emergency standards shall be in force until permanent standards are established. Labor shall also collect data to track and investigate cases of exposure to COVID-19 among coal miners.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2020
Represent America Abroad Act of 2020 This bill requires the Department of State to establish the Represent America Mid-Career Foreign Service Entry Program to increase diversity in the Foreign Service by recruiting mid-career professionals who are from minority groups. As part of the program, the State Department shall (1) establish and publish eligibility criteria for participation; (2) carry out recruitment efforts to attract highly qualified, mid-career professionals from minority groups; and (3) include appropriate mentorship and other career development opportunities for program participants. The State Department must submit an annual report on the status of the program.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2020
Mixed Earner Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Act of 2020 This bill allows states to provide pandemic unemployment assistance to individuals who earn a combination of regular wages and a minimum of $7,250 of self-employed annual income (1) instead of regular unemployment compensation if they are otherwise eligible, or (2) if they are still employed at their regular-wage job, but unable to earn self-employed income due to circumstances related to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Under current law, individuals earning such mixed income are only eligible for pandemic unemployment assistance if they are not eligible for regular unemployment and unable to work due to COVID-19.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2020
Coronavirus Economic Relief for Transportation Services Act This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to provide grants and other forms of emergency assistance to certain providers of transportation services that have experienced a significant revenue loss as a direct or indirect result of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Treasury must ensure equal access to the assistance for small, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses. As a condition of receipt of assistance, Treasury must require that a provider of transportation services agree to (1) use the funds, on a priority basis, to maintain through December 31, 2020, pay, paid administrative leave, and benefits to all employees after making any adjustments required for retirement or voluntary employee separation; and (2) recall or rehire any employee laid off, furloughed, or terminated because of reduced service as a result of COVID-19, to the extent warranted by increased service levels.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2020
Protect Access to Birth Control Act This bill nullifies interim final rules issued by the Department of Labor, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Health and Human Services that allow employers with religious or moral objections to be exempt from the requirement that their health insurance plans cover contraceptive services without cost-sharing.
United States · United States Congress · 6 July 2020
COVID Preparedness, Response, and Effective Planning for Advanced Requirements by the Executive Branch Act or the COVID PREPARE Act This bill requires federal agencies to submit to Congress plans for responding to any resurgence of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Specifically, each agency shall submit (1) an initial report detailing an action plan, informed by research and best practices learned from the onset of COVID-19 and previous presidentially declared emergencies, for addressing the needs and mitigating and eliminating the risks and challenges associated with any resurgence in COVID-19 cases; and (2) subsequent reports, on a quarterly basis until the President ends the declared emergency, that update the details submitted in the plan. The initial report shall include agency priorities for preparing for and responding to any resurgence; measurable goals specific to priorities and a time line for addressing each priority; anticipated challenges to addressing priorities and how the agency will address such challenges; how the agency will consult with Congress, the public, state and municipal governments, and relevant stakeholders while working remotely; and how the agency plans to issue relevant guidance to entities under the jurisdiction of the agency.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2020
This bill authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT) to award maritime career training grants to institutions of higher education and postsecondary vocational institutions for the purpose of developing, offering, or improving educational or career training programs for American workers related to the maritime workforce. Each awarded grant may not exceed $20 million. DOT must award grants based on a determination of the merits of the grant proposal submitted by the institution of higher education or postsecondary vocational institution to develop, offer, or improve maritime educational or career training programs to be made available to workers; an evaluation of the likely employment opportunities available to workers who complete a maritime educational or career training program that the institution proposes to develop, offer, or improve; an evaluation of prior demand for training programs by workers in the community served by the institution, as well as the availability and capacity of existing maritime training programs to meet future demand for training programs; and any prior designation of the institution as a Center of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2020
Assisted Living Facility Coronavirus Reporting Act This bill temporarily imposes reporting requirements related to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) cases in assisted living facilities on states as a condition of receiving certain federal COVID-19 relief funding. Specifically, states must report each week on suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 in assisted living facilities to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with the data disaggregated by race and other demographic characteristics. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services must publish the information provided by states. States must also require assisted living facilities to notify federal, state, and local health agencies and facility residents, their representatives, and their families within one calendar day of any confirmed cases of COVID-19 or the onset of new respiratory symptoms at a particular facility. In addition, subject to some limitations, the bill applies federal COVID-19 reporting requirements for nursing facilities and skilled nursing facilities to assisted living facilities and requires the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the use of required reporting by nursing homes to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 in such facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2020
This resolution recognizes the forthcoming centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. The resolution, among other things acknowledges the historical significance of this event as one of the largest single instances of state-sanctioned violence against black people in American history; honors the lives and legacies of the estimated 300 black individuals who were killed during the massacre and the nearly 9,000 who were left homeless and penniless; condemns efforts to cover up the truth and shield the white community, especially government officials, from accountability; condemns the continued legacy of racism and white supremacy against black people in the United States, particularly in the form of police brutality; encourages education about the massacre, the history of white supremacy that fueled the massacre, and subsequent attempts to deny or cover up the massacre, in all elementary and secondary education settings and in institutions of higher education; and recognizes the commitment of Congress to acknowledge and learn from the history of racism and racial violence to reverse the legacy of white supremacy and fight for racial justice.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2020
Coastal and Inland Ports and Terminals Commerce Improvement Act This bill directs the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) of the Department of Transportation to provide grants to the owners or operators of certain inland and small coastal port and terminal facilities, and for infrastructure improvements, equipment purchases, and capital investments at such facilities. Eligible facilities include piers, wharves, docks, terminals, and similar structures used principally for the movement of goods, including areas of land, water, or areas in proximity to such structure that are necessary for the movement of goods, located at a port, to and from which the average annual tonnage of cargo for the immediately preceding three calendar years from the time an application is submitted is less than 8 million short tons as determined using U.S. Army Corps of Engineers data. In providing assistance, MARAD must take into account the economic advantage and the contribution to freight transportation at eligible facilities, and the competitive disadvantage of such facilities; not make more than one award per applicant for each fiscal year appropriation; and promote the enhancement and efficiencies of such facilities. MARAD may not provide funding unless it determines that sufficient funding is available for a recipient to meet federal matching requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2020
This resolution directs the Committee on the Judiciary to inquire into specified instances to determine whether the House of Representatives should impeach Attorney General William Barr. The resolution authorizes the committee, or any subcommittee or task force designated by the committee, to take affidavits and depositions by a member, counsel, or consultant of the committee, pursuant to notice or subpoena.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2020
Calculate PPP Forgiveness Act of 2020 This bill requires the Small Business Administration to establish or certify an online calculator that allows recipients of assistance under the Paycheck Protection Program established to support small businesses in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) to (1) estimate the amount of loan forgiveness for which they are eligible, and (2) assist with their applications to request loan forgiveness.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2020
HBCU Capital Finance Debt Relief Act This bill requires the Department of Education to, within 30 days, cancel the obligation of historically Black colleges and universities to repay the balance of principal and interest due on their capital financing loans.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2020
Community Services Block Grant Enhancement Act of 2020 This bill modifies the distribution of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) relief funds with respect to, and temporarily expands eligibility criteria to participate in activities funded by, the Community Services Block Grant. (This grant provides formula-based allotments of federal funds to states, territories, and tribes for anti-poverty activities.) Specifically, the bill exempts funding appropriated for this grant under the CARES Act from a cap on the annual growth of a state's allotment and requires states to distribute COVID-19 relief funding to the local organizations and other eligible entities that carry out block grant activities within specified time frames. In addition, it expands eligibility for programs and activities funded by the block grant to 200% of the federal poverty line (FPL) through FY2022. Under current law, eligibility is set at the FPL, with states authorized to increase eligibility to 125% under certain conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2020
Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act of 2020 This bill addresses various housing issues in response to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency, including housing assistance programs and moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures. The bill authorizes additional housing assistance, including rental assistance, for (1) low-income individuals with families, including those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness; (2) the elderly; (3) individuals with disabilities; and (4) rural renters. In addition, the bill establishes a 12-month moratorium on evictions covering all tenants, whereas the previously enacted moratorium covered only tenants of federally assisted properties. Similarly, the bill establishes a 12-month moratorium on foreclosures that covers all tenants, whereas the previously enacted moratorium covered only federally backed mortgages. The bill also establishes an automatic 60-day forbearance (i.e., suspension of mortgage payments) for a single-family mortgage that becomes delinquent by 60 days during the public health emergency. Under current law, the borrower must request a forbearance. This automatic forbearance also applies to certain reverse mortgages. The bill extends the maximum period of forbearance for multifamily mortgages from 90 days to 12 months. Additionally, the bill establishes a six-month moratorium on the repossession of personal property used as a dwelling. The bill also provides additional bankruptcy protections by (1) increasing the homestead exemption (generally, the equity in a residence that is protected from creditors in a bankruptcy proceeding) from $15,000 to $100,000, and (2) expanding eligibility for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2020
Quit Because of COVID-19 Act This bill provides for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage of certain tobacco cessation services during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019), as well as for two years after the emergency period ends. Specifically, the bill provides for coverage of diagnostic, therapy, and counseling services and pharmacotherapy, including prescription and nonprescription tobacco cessation agents, that are provided under medical supervision and in accordance with specified guidelines. The bill excludes such items and services from cost-sharing and applies an enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate).
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2020
This resolution commemorates June 19, 1865, or Juneteenth, as the end of slavery in the United States. It also reaffirms the commitment of Congress to honor Juneteenth by supporting the enactment of policies that ensure fair and secure elections for all Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2020
This resolution recognizes the historical significance and supports the continued celebration of Juneteenth Independence Day, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
