United States · United States Congress · 19 December 2023
Federal Grant Accountability Act This bill limits the indirect costs that are allowable under federal research awards to institutions of higher education (IHEs). Specifically, the total amount of indirect costs allowable under a federal research award may not exceed the total amount of indirect costs allowable under private research awards. The Office of Management and Budget must determine the average indirect cost rate applicable to private research awards. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office must study and report on (1) the indirect cost rates allowable under federal research awards to IHEs, including awards made by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and other such organizations; and (2) the indirect cost rates allowable under private research awards to IHEs.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2023
Promoting Responsible Oversight To Eliminate Communist Teachings for Our Kids Act or the PROTECT Our Kids Act This bill prohibits federal education funding for any elementary or secondary school that (1) has a partnership in effect with a cultural or language institute funded by the Chinese government, including a Confucius Institute; (2) operates a learning center supported by the Chinese government (commonly referred to as a Confucius Classroom); or (3) receives support from an individual or entity acting on behalf of the Chinese government, including support in the form of teaching materials, personnel, funds, or other resources. The bill directs the Department of Education to provide notice of the bill's requirements to schools, as well as guidance for achieving compliance with the requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2023
Standing Against Houthi Aggression Act This bill requires the Department of State to designate Ansarallah as a foreign terrorist organization and the President to impose property- and visa-blocking sanctions with respect to Ansarallah and any foreign person who is a member, agent, or affiliate of, or owned or controlled by Ansarallah.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2023
This concurrent resolution affirms the commitments in the Geneva Consensus Declaration on Promoting Women's Health and Strengthening the Family and applauds the signatory countries for their dedication to advancing women's health, protecting life at every stage while affirming that there is no international right to abortion, and upholding the importance of the family as foundational to society. The resolution calls on President Biden to once again add the United States as a signatory to the Geneva Consensus Declaration.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2023
This bill terminates the presidential waiver of certain sanctions on Iran and the licenses issued by the Department of the Treasury that allowed for the transfer of previously blocked Iranian funds (namely, the approximately $6 billion of Iranian funds that the Biden Administration permitted to be transferred from restricted accounts in South Korea to restricted accounts in Qatar to facilitate the release of five U.S. citizens detained in Iran). Furthermore, the President may not exercise waiver authority related to certain accounts belonging to Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2023
Student Loan Marriage Penalty Elimination Act of 2023 This bill allows married couples filing a joint tax return to apply the $2,500 limitation on the tax deduction for student loan interest separately to each spouse.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2023
This resolution states that the House of Representatives stands with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists, reaffirms Israel's right to self-defense, and condemns Hamas' brutal war against Israel. The resolution also reaffirms the United States' commitment to Israel's security, supports emergency resupply and certain other types of assistance to Israel, and urges full enforcement of sanctions against Iran to prevent Iran's funding of terrorist groups.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2023
This resolution states that the House of Representatives stands with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists, reaffirms Israel's right to self-defense, and condemns Hamas' brutal war against Israel. The resolution also reaffirms the United States' commitment to Israel's security, supports emergency resupply and certain other types of assistance to Israel, and urges full enforcement of sanctions against Iran to prevent Iran's funding of terrorist groups.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2023
This concurrent resolution condemns Cuba and China for their reported intent to build a joint military training base on Cuba. The concurrent resolution condemns China and Cuba for their active discussions to create a joint military base. It also calls for China to immediately withdraw its military and intelligence assets from the island of Cuba.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2023
This joint resolution nullifies the policy update issued by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) on May 5, 2022, related to discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) deemed the policy update a rule on June 5, 2023, and therefore subject to the Congressional Review Act (CRA) requirement that a rule must be submitted to Congress and the GAO before it can take effect. The CRA also permits Congress to review and disapprove rules using specified procedures. In June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Bostock v. Clayton County that, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the prohibition on sex discrimination in employment includes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The FNS determined that the Bostock analysis also applies to certain FNS-enforced requirements under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 because the requirements are sufficiently similar to those in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The FNS rule concludes that the prohibitions against sex discrimination in the FNS-enforced statutes prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. The rule also directs state agencies and program operators to handle complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation as complaints of prohibited sex discrimination.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2023
This resolution designates an annual Gold Star Families Remembrance Week and recognizes the sacrifices made by veterans' families and the families of members of the Armed Forces who made the ultimate sacrifice in order to defend freedom and protect the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2023
Subpoena Compliance Accountability Act This bill allows a Member of the House of Representatives to object to the consideration of any legislation that funds the salary of a federal officer or employee who has been convicted of, and exhausted all related appeals for, refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2023
FACE Act Repeal Act of 2023 This bill repeals provisions of federal criminal law that prohibit conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with persons who are seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2023
End U.N. Censorship Act This bill specifies that no federal funds may be made available to support the iVerify tool (a fact-checking tool developed by the United Nations Development Programme) or any other effort that seeks to label speech or expression as mal-, mis-, or dis-information.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2023
This resolution condemns the actions of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham for violating the Second Amendment to the Constitution and depriving the citizens of New Mexico of their right to bear arms.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2023
CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act This bill prohibits a Federal Reserve bank from offering products or services directly to an individual, maintaining an account on behalf of an individual, or issuing a central bank digital currency (i.e., a digital dollar) directly or indirectly to an individual. Further, The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee are prohibited from using a central bank digital currency to implement monetary policy.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2023
Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2023 This bill phases in a new funding formula for determining benefit amounts under the windfall elimination provision (WEP). The WEP reduces Social Security retirement and disability benefits for those who receive pensions for certain non-covered employment. The new formula adjusts an individual's total lifetime earnings based on the proportion of those earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes. It applies to individuals who (1) become eligible for Social Security benefits after 2067, and (2) have earnings from non-covered service performed in a year after 1977. Beneficiaries who become eligible for benefits between 2025 and 2067 receive the higher of their benefit calculated under the existing WEP or the new formula. In addition, certain beneficiaries currently impacted by the WEP receive an additional payment. The Social Security Administration must include non-covered earnings in Social Security account statements and must study the feasibility of partnering with certain pension systems to address data sharing issues related to non-covered pensions.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2023
Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act This bill authorizes the use of federal elementary and secondary education funds to purchase or use dangerous weapons for purposes of training students in archery, hunting, or other shooting sports. Current law prohibits the use of these funds to provide any person with a dangerous weapon or training in the use of a dangerous weapon. The bill specifies that this prohibition shall not apply to training students in archery, hunting, or other shooting sports.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2023
Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Recoupment Act This bill extends the time period when a state must recover improperly paid pandemic unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and bring related criminal charges or enforcement actions to 10 years. The bill also adds certain recovery requirements to two pandemic UI programs—Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Lost Wages Assistance (LWA)—that match the requirements of other pandemic UI programs. Specifically, the state must (1) repay itself by deducting the PUA or LWA funds from any UI benefits a recipient may later qualify to receive; and (2) ensure the recipient is provided with notice, a hearing, and a final determination.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2023
Thrifty Food Plan Accountability Act of 2023 This bill requires that, when the Department of Agriculture (USDA) reevaluates the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), the results of the reevaluation (1) be budget-neutral; and (2) only adjust the cost of the diet based on current standards (i.e., food price inflation, household size, and the cost of food in specific states). USDA created the TFP (the cost of purchasing a nutritionally adequate low-cost diet), which is used to determine maximum monthly benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). USDA calculates the cost of the TFP each year to account for food price inflation. Under a provision of the 2018 farm bill, USDA must reevaluate the contents of the TFP (i.e., the market basket of goods) every five years based on current food prices, food composition data, consumption patterns, and dietary guidance. USDA last re-evaluated the TFP in 2021.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2023
This resolution condemns Iran for the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. It also urges the Biden Administration and U.S. allies to publicly condemn the massacre and to pressure Iran to provide information to the families of the victims.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2023
No Taxpayer Funding For Climate Zealots Advancing Radical Schemes Act or the No Taxpayer Funding For CZARS Act This bill prohibits the use of federal funds for any activity of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2023
Main Street Tax Certainty Act This bill makes permanent the tax deduction for qualified business income. (Under current law, the deduction expires after December 31, 2025.) Qualified business income is defined as the net amount of qualified items of income, gain, deduction and loss with respect to any trade or business, excluding capital gains or losses, dividends, interest income, or income earned outside the U.S.