United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2016
Applauds the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) for 75 years of continuous service. Recognizes the critical emergency services, training support, and mission capabilities that the CAP offers state and national homeland security agencies, as well as the Armed Forces. Commends the more than 23,500 youth and 32,500 adult volunteers of the CAP.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2016
Encourages the observance of National Wildlife Refuge Week. Acknowledges the importance of national wildlife refuges for their recreational opportunities and contribution to local economies. Reaffirms the support of the House of Representatives for wildlife conservation and the National Wildlife Refuge System.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2016
Recognizes and encourages the observance of Small Business Saturday. Supports efforts to: (1) encourage consumers to shop locally, and (2) increase awareness of the value of locally owned small businesses and their impact on the U.S. economy.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2016
Arla Harrell Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reconsider and make a new determination regarding each claim for disability compensation in connection with exposure to mustard gas or lewisite during active military, naval, or air service during World War II that was denied before this bill's enactment. The VA or the Department of Defense (DOD): (1) shall presume that a veteran experienced full-body exposure to mustard gas or lewisite unless proven otherwise; and (2) may not use information contained in the DOD and VA Chemical Biological Warfare Database or any list of known testing sites for mustard gas or lewisite maintained by the VA or DOD as the sole reason for determining that the veteran did not experience such exposure. The VA shall report to Congress every 90 days on reconsidered claims that were denied. The VA and DOD shall jointly establish a policy for processing future claims in connection with such exposure. The bill requires DOD, for purposes of determining whether a site should be added to the list of DOD sites where mustard gas or lewisite testing occurred, to: (1) investigate and assess sites where the Army Corps of Engineers has uncovered evidence of mustard gas or lewisite testing or where more than two veterans submitted claims in connection with exposure that were denied; and (2) report on experiments conducted by DOD during World War II to assess the effects of mustard gas and lewisite. The VA shall: (1) investigate and assess VA actions to reach out to individuals who had been exposed in such experiments, the disability compensation claims that were filed, and the percentage of such claims that were denied; and (2) submit a comprehensive list of each location where such an experiment was conducted.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2016
Protect Family Farms and Businesses Act This bill prohibits proposed Internal Revenue Service regulations published on August 4, 2016, relating to restrictions on liquidation of an interest with respect to estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes from taking effect. The bill prohibits funds from being used to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the proposed regulations or any substantially similar regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2016
Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools, and Nonprofits Act This bill postpones from December 1, 2016, until June 1, 2017, the effective date of a final rule of the Department of Labor revising income thresholds for determining overtime pay for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer ("white collar") employees exempt from regular minimum wage and overtime pay requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2016
Congratulates the people of Ukraine on the 25th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. Commends the democratic reforms that have been accomplished. Reaffirms the U.S. commitment to Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2016
Expresses support for efforts to: (1) exempt sunscreen from over-the-counter medication bans in schools, and (2) encourage health care professionals to educate parents and children about sun-safe behaviors. Encourages schools to allow students to possess sunscreen without restriction and without physician authorization.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2016
Streamlining Income-driven, Manageable Payments on Loans for Education Act or the SIMPLE Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise the process for enrolling a borrower in federal student loan repayment plans when the borrower is delinquent on payments for student loans under the Direct Loan program. Specifically, the Department of Education (ED) may use the tax information of certain delinquent borrowers for purposes of calculating their income-driven repayment plan options. ED must notify those borrowers about their delinquency and repayment plan options. ED must also establish and implement procedures for automatically recertifying the income of certain delinquent borrowers for the purpose of determining their repayment obligations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2016
Expresses support for the designation of National Suicide Prevention Month. Recognizes suicide as a preventable public health problem and supports declaring that suicide prevention should be a priority. Promotes awareness that suicide most often occurs when stressors exceed the current coping abilities of an individual suffering from a mental health condition.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2016
United States Appreciation for Olympians and Paralympians Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income, for income tax purposes, the value of any medal or prize money received on account of competition in the Olympic Games or Paralympic Games.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2016
Dialysis PATIENTS Demonstration Act of 2016 or the Dialysis Patient Access to Integrated-care, Empowerment, Nephrologists, Treatment, and Services Demonstration Act of 2016 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish a demonstration program for the provision of integrated care to Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Under the voluntary program, eligible participating providers may form organizations to offer ESRD integrated care models and serve as medical homes for program-eligible beneficiaries. Such a model: (1) shall cover medical and hospital services, other than hospice care, under Medicare; (2) must include benefits for transition into palliative care; and (3) may cover prescription drug benefits. An organization must offer at least one open network model but may also offer one or more preferred network models. An organization shall return savings achieved under the models to program-eligible beneficiaries. A beneficiary shall have the opportunity to: (1) opt out of the program, (2) make an assignment change into an open network model offered by a different organization, or (3) elect a preferred network model. The bill establishes requirements regarding: (1) benefits for program-eligible beneficiaries who are also eligible for Medicaid benefits, (2) program quality and reporting, (2) ESRD integrated care strategy, (3) program operation and scope, (4) beneficiary notification, and (5) payment.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2016
Calls on: the President to apply U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty laws against nonmarket economy countries, the President to retain the status of any country currently designated as a nonmarket economy country until it meets certain criteria for treatment as a market economy country, nonmarket economy countries to eliminate all direct and indirect subsidies and other market-distorting government policies benefitting the production and export of goods to the United States, and such countries to enter into binding and enforceable agreements for removing excess production capacity and withdrawing state intervention in and control over their economies.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2016
No Ransom Payments Act of 2016 This bill prohibits the President from paying final judgments, awards, or compromise settlements to Iran using specified Department of Treasury funds (specified funds) until the President certifies that: (1) Iran has returned any money from such funds paid to it by the United States after January 1, 2016, (2) Iran has satisfied all outstanding judgments against it awarded to U.S. plaintiffs by U.S. courts, and (3) individuals taken hostage and held for 444 days following the U.S. Embassy seizure in Iran on November 4, 1979, have been compensated from the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund. The President must certify before providing or authorizing payment of any funds to Iran that: (1) the funds will not be used to support international terrorism, and (2) Iran or Iran-supported groups are not unjustly detaining U.S. citizens. The President, within 60 days after enactment of this bill, shall impose property transaction and U.S. entry sanctions against any Iranian person: involved in the kidnapping or unjust detention of a U.S. citizen on or after March 9, 2007; that engages, or attempts to engage, in an activity or transaction that materially contributes to such kidnapping or unjust detentions; and owned or controlled by such a person, acting on behalf of such a person, or providing support for such a person. The Director of National Intelligence shall report within 60 days on whether funds paid to Iran by the United States after January 1, 2016, have been used by Iran to support international terrorism. The President and U.S. government officers shall not: make a payment to a government or person to secure the release of unjustly detained U.S. citizens (a payment to assist arrested U.S. citizens is excluded from such prohibition), or use specified funds to make any payment to a state sponsor of acts of international terrorism (a specific payment or a specific payee is excluded from such prohibition if Congress has passed a joint resolution waiving the application of such prohibition).
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Intimate Privacy Protection Act of 2016 This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it unlawful to knowingly distribute a photograph, film, or video of a person engaging in sexually explicit conduct or of a person's naked genitals or post-pubescent female nipple with reckless disregard for the person's lack of consent if the person is identifiable from the image itself or from information displayed in connection with the image. The bill establishes exceptions to the ban.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Match Veterans to Student Loan Protections Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify the federal student loan discharge process for a veteran who has a total and permanent disability. Specifically, it directs the Department of Education (ED) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement a computer matching program for ED to identify the borrowers who have been assigned a service-connected disability rating of 100% by the VA. ED must notify such borrowers of their eligibility for federal student loan discharge and provide simple instructions for applying.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
Interstate Sextortion Prevention Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to establish separate criminal offenses with respect to: (1) interstate coercion of sexual acts, of sexual contact, or of the production of sexually explicit visual depictions; and (2) interstate coercion or extortion involving threats to publish sexually explicit visual depictions. The bill establishes increased penalties for such offenses that: (1) involve minors, (2) are committed by repeat offenders, or (2) result in death or serious bodily injury.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
Protect Our Schools from Tax Delinquents Act of 2016 This bill amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to require that each housing assistance payments contract entered into under the Section 8 rental assistance voucher program by a public housing agency (PHA) and the owner of a dwelling unit provide that such owner pay, on a timely basis, all covered taxes validly assessed against the property in which the unit is located. A "covered tax" is any tax under state or local law assessed upon real property or the revenue of which is dedicated for use only for schools or for costs of education. The bill allows a contract to provide that, upon notification and identification of a tax delinquency by a taxing authority, the PHA shall abate all of the rental assistance amounts for the property, transferring them monthly to the taxing authority, until the delinquency is eliminated. The bill does not authorize or establish any cause or grounds for the termination of the tenancy of any tenant from any dwelling unit assisted under the rental assistance voucher program. The Department of Housing and Urban Development must maintain a database of information regarding owners of dwelling units: (1) assisted under the program whose housing assistance payments contracts have been terminated for noncompliance with the requirements of this bill, and (2) with respect to whom assistance amounts have been abated and transferred to a taxing authority.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2016
Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2016 This bill declares that it is U.S. policy that all diplomatic and coercive economic means should be used to compel the government of Bashir al-Assad to halt the slaughter of the Syrian people and actively work toward transition to a democratic government. This bill directs the President to impose specified entry and U.S.-based property sanctions against a foreign person that knowingly provides significant financial, material, or technological support: (1) to the government of Syria and the Central Bank of Syria, including Syria's intelligence and security services or its armed forces, including through money laundering or with respect to Syria's gas or petroleum production or civilian aircraft services; and (2) that materially contributes to Syria's ability to acquire or develop ballistic missiles, chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons, or destabilizing numbers and types of advanced conventional weapons. The Syria Human Rights Accountability Act of 2012 is amended to direct the President to impose entry and U.S.-based property sanctions against persons responsible for or complicit in: (1) directing the commission of serious human rights abuses against citizens of Syria or their family members, regardless of whether such abuses occurred in Syria; or (2) transferring to Syria certain military items or goods or technologies that may be used to commit human rights abuses. The Department of State and the Agency for International Development shall report on the monitoring and evaluation of ongoing assistance programs in Syria and to the Syrian people. The bill requires the President to: (1) submit an updated list of Syrian officials who are responsible for or complicit in the commission of serious human rights abuses against Syrian citizens, and (2) assess the potential effectiveness of a no-fly zone over Syria. The State Department shall provide assistance to entities taking criminal and evidence gathering actions for prosection of individuals who have committed crimes against humanity or war crimes in Syria since March 2011. The President may suspend sanctions against Syria under specified conditions. The bill: (1) expresses the sense of Congress with respect to a transitional government in Syria, and (2) sets forth activities and transactions that are exempt from sanctions.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2016
Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, and Creativity for Careers Act or the Four C's for Careers Act This bill amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to revise requirements for the local use of funds received by eligible recipients under the Act to support their career and technical education programs. The bill requires such funds to be used by eligible recipients to support career and technical education programs that: train career guidance and academic counselors to use labor market information in assisting students with postsecondary education and career planning; and support public-private partnerships designed to provide students with the credentials and skills required to secure employment in relevant fields; and if determined appropriate by the local educational agency, support programs that coordinate and integrate academic and career and technical education content and specified work-based learning opportunities. Funds may be used to assess resources required for promoting greater engagement and coordination with business and industry. An eligible agency, with input from eligible recipients, may identify in its state plan, the acquisition of critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity skills as additional indicators of performance for the career and technical education activities authorized under the Act. State plans shall describe how eligible agencies will improve the critical thinking, communications, collaboration, and creativity skills of the students participating in their career and technical education programs.
United States · United States Congress · 5 July 2016
This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to Larry Doby in recognition of his achievements and contributions to American major league athletics, civil rights, and the Armed Forces during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 5 July 2016
Requires both chambers of Congress to assemble annually in the Hall of the House of Representatives to receive a presentation from the Comptroller General on the Government Accountability Office's audited financial statement of the accounts and associated activities of the executive branch, together with an analysis of the financial position and condition of the federal government.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2016
Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2022 the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, divides career and technical education (CTE) students into CTE concentrators and CTE participants, and revises requirements for within-state funding allocations. The bill also revises requirements for core indicators of performance, including state adjusted levels of performance, to differentiate those for CTE concentrators who graduate from high school and for CTE concentrators at the postsecondary level. The Institute for Education Sciences shall act for the Department of Education (ED) to appoint the independent advisory panel on the evaluation of CTE programs. The bill revises requirements for the contents of an evaluation. ED may award grants to eligible entities, including local educational agencies and area CTE schools, to: create, develop, implement, or take to scale evidence-based, field initiated innovations, including through a pay for success initiative to improve CTE student outcomes; and evaluate such innovations rigorously. The bill reauthorizes through FY2022 grants for tribally controlled CTE institutions, and repeals the authorization for assistance for certain occupational and information activities. State plans shall be for four years instead of six years. The bill revises requirements for: such plans as well as state program improvement plans and state leadership activities; local applications for CTE programs, including a comprehensive CTE needs assessment, and local uses of funds; and state maintenance of efforts, including administrative penalties for failure to meet maintenance requirements. The bill repeals the separate mandate for tech prep education. The Government Accountability Office shall evaluate: the strategies, components, policies, and practices used by eligible agencies or eligible recipients receiving funding to assist successfully all students in pursuing and completing programs of study aligned to high-skill, high-wage occupations, as well as any specific underrepresented subgroup of students; and any challenges associated with replication of such strategies, components, policies, and practices. The Wagner-Peyser Act is amended to revise the duties of a state agency receiving federal assistance for participation in the nationwide employment statistics system of workforce and labor market information.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2016
Survivors' Bill of Rights Act of 2016 This bill amends the federal criminal code to establish statutory rights for sexual assault survivors, including the right to: (1) not be prevented from receiving a forensic medical examination and not be charged for an examination; (2) have a sexual assault evidence collection kit (i.e., a rape kit) preserved for 20 years or the maximum applicable statute of limitations, whichever is shorter; (3) receive written notification prior to destruction or disposal of a rape kit; and (4) be informed of these rights and policies. Additionally, it makes statutory crime victims' rights applicable to sexual assault survivors. The term "sexual assault" means any nonconsensual sexual act prohibited by federal, state, or tribal law, including when a victim lacks capacity to consent. Funds made available to the Crime Victims Fund under the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 must be used to carry out the requirements concerning these rights, subject to specified exceptions. The bill amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to authorize the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Office of Justice Programs to make grants to states to develop sexual assault survivors' rights and policies and to disseminate written notice of such rights and policies to medical centers, hospitals, forensic examiners, sexual assault service providers, law enforcement agencies, and other state entities. DOJ must establish a working group to develop, coordinate, and disseminate best practices regarding the care and treatment of sexual assault survivors and the preservation of forensic evidence.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2016
Dialysis PATIENT Demonstration Act of 2016 or the Patient Access to Integrated-care, Empowerment, Nephrologists and Treatment Demonstration Act of 2016 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish a demonstration program for the provision of integrated care to Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Under the voluntary program, eligible participating providers may form organizations to offer ESRD integrated care models and serve as medical homes for program-eligible beneficiaries. Such a model: (1) shall cover medical and hospital services, other than hospice care, under Medicare; (2) must include benefits for transition into palliative care; and (3) may cover prescription drug benefits. An organization must offer at least one open network model but may also offer one or more preferred network models. An organization shall return savings achieved under the models to program-eligible beneficiaries. A beneficiary shall have the opportunity to: (1) opt out of the program, (2) make an assignment change into an open network model offered by a different organization, or (3) elect a preferred network model. The bill establishes requirements regarding: (1) benefits for program-eligible beneficiaries who are also eligible for Medicaid benefits, (2) program quality and reporting, (2) ESRD integrated care strategy, (3) program operation and scope, (4) beneficiary notification, and (5) payment.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2016
This bill redesignates as the "Nancy Reagan Memorial Park" the Gravelly Point Park located along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Arlington County, Virginia.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2016
Small Business Health Care Relief Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), and other laws to exempt qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangements (HRA) from certain requirements that apply to group health plans. A qualified small employer HRA is offered by employers that have fewer than 50 full-time employees and do not offer group health plans to any of their employees. A qualified small employer HRA must: be provided on the same terms to all eligible employees of the employer; be funded solely by the employer without salary reduction contributions; provide, after an employee provides proof of coverage, for the payment or reimbursement of medical expenses of the employee and family members; and limit annual payments and reimbursements to specified dollar amounts. HRAs that meet these requirements are not considered group health plans and are exempt from various requirements that apply to group health plans, including coverage and cost-sharing requirements. (Under current law, employers that sponsor group health plans that do not meet specified requirements are subject to an excise tax.) Coverage and payments under a qualified HRA are excluded from gross income, unless the employee does not have minimum essential coverage for the month in which the medical care was provided. Employers offering a qualified HRA must notify employees in advance regarding permitted benefits and report benefit information on W-2 forms and to health exchanges. The bill sets forth requirements for determining whether an employee covered under an HRA is also eligible for premium subsidies under PPACA.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2016
Expresses support for a whole child approach to education. Recognizes the benefit of ensuring students are challenged, supported, healthy, safe, and engaged. Encourages the federal government to identify opportunities among federal agencies to coordinate the education, health, and social service sectors serving youth in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2016
Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2016 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should be a global leader in promoting the meaningful participation of women in conflict prevention, management, and resolution and post-conflict relief and recovery efforts. The President, not later than October 1 of 2017, 2022, and 2027, shall submit to Congress and make public a Women, Peace, and Security Strategy, which shall: be aligned with other nations' plans to improve the participation of women in peace and security processes, conflict prevention, peace building, and decision-making institutions in conflict-affected environments; and include goals and evaluation plans to ensure strategy effectiveness. The Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended to direct the Department of State to ensure that personnel responsible for, or deploying to, countries or regions considered to be at risk of undergoing, or emerging from, violent conflict obtain training in the following areas, each of which shall include a focus on ensuring participation by women: conflict prevention, mitigation, and resolution; protecting civilians from violence, exploitation, and trafficking in persons; and international human rights law. The Department of Defense shall ensure that personnel responsible for, or deploying to, countries or regions considered to be at risk of undergoing, or emerging from, violent conflict obtain training in: conflict prevention, peace processes, mitigation, resolution, and security initiatives that addresses the importance of participation by women; and gender considerations and meaningful participation by women, including training regarding international human rights law and protecting civilians from violence, exploitation, and trafficking in persons. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development shall establish guidelines for overseas U.S. personnel to consult with stakeholders regarding U.S. efforts to: prevent, mitigate, or resolve violent conflict; and enhance the success of mediation and negotiation processes by ensuring the meaningful participation of women.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2016
Social Security Must Avert Identity Loss (MAIL) Act of 2016 This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to direct the Social Security Administration to ensure that no document it sends by mail includes a complete Social Security account number unless necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2016
Condemns the Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, China, because it: (1) is a spectacle of extreme animal cruelty, (2) is a commercial activity not grounded in Chinese history, (3) is opposed by a majority of the Chinese people, and (4) threatens global public health. Urges: the government of China and the Yulin authorities to ban the killing and eating of dogs as part of Yulin's festival and to enforce China's food safety laws regulating the processing and sale of animal products and the 2011 Agriculture Ministry of China Regulation on the Quarantine of Dogs at the Place of Origin requiring one certificate for one dog on trans-provincial transport trucks, and the National People's Congress of China to enact an animal anticruelty law that bans the dog meat trade. Affirms the commitment of the United States to the protection of animals and to the progress of animal protection.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2016
Stamp Out Invasive Species Act This bill directs the U.S. Postal Service to issue and sell a Combating Invasive Species Semipostal Stamp. Proceeds from the sale of the stamp must be transferred in equal proportion to the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture for combating invasive species. (Invasive species are nonnative species whose introduction poses a serious threat to natural ecosystems and causes detrimental economic damage to local communities.) The stamp must be made available to the public for two years.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2016
Expresses the commitment of the House of Representatives to create a comprehensive solution to the threat of invasive, nonnative species throughout the United States by controlling and eradicating established invasive species populations, and preventing the further introduction of nonnative species into native ecosystems. (An invasive species is an organism that is not native to an ecosystem and is ecologically or economically harmful in the new environment where it is not native.)
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2016
This bill designates the Department of Veterans Affairs health care center in Center Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, as the "Abie Abraham VA Clinic."
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2016
Congratulates the Einstein Healthcare Network on its 150th anniversary and commends the network for providing high-quality medical care to the people of Philadelphia and the surrounding region.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2016
Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016 This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in appointing air traffic controllers, to give preferential consideration to qualified individuals maintaining 52 consecutive weeks of experience involving the active separation of air traffic after receipt of an air traffic certification or facility rating within 5 years of application while serving at an FAA air traffic control facility, a civilian or military air traffic control facility of the Department of Defense, or a tower operating under contract with the FAA. The FAA shall consider additional applicants by referring an approximately equal number of employees for appointment among two applicant pools. The number referred from each group shall not differ by more than 10%. Pool one shall consist of applicants who: have successfully completed air traffic controller training and graduated from an institution participating in the Collegiate Training Initiative program and have received an appropriate recommendation or endorsement from such institution, are eligible for a veterans recruitment appointment and provide a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty within 120 days of the announcement closing, are veterans eligible for veterans' benefits who maintain aviation experience obtained in the course of the individual's military experience, or are preference eligible veterans. Pool two shall consist of applicants who apply under a vacancy announcement recruiting from all U.S. citizens. The FAA: (1) may not use a biographical assessment when hiring, (2) must provide an individual who applied in response to a specified 2014 vacancy announcement and was disqualified as the result of a biographical assessment an opportunity to reapply under the revised hiring practices, and (3) must waive any maximum age limit for such reapplying applicants who met such requirement when they applied under such announcement. Otherwise, the maximum age limit for an original appointment as an air traffic controller under this bill shall be 35 years of age. The FAA shall consider directly notifying secondary schools and institutes of higher learning of a vacancy announcement for pool one applicants.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2016
DUI Reporting Act of 2016 This bill requires a state or local government that receives funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program to enact a law or policy to ensure that law enforcement agencies report arrests involving driving under the influence to the National Crime Information Center. The Department of Justice (DOJ) must reduce by up to 20% the JAG allocation of a state or local government that fails to comply.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2016
Reaffirms: that Israel is a major U.S. strategic partner, that it is U.S. policy and law to ensure that Israel maintains its qualitative military edge and self-defense capacity, and support of an Israeli tiered missile defense program. Urges finalization of a new Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Israel. Supports a long-term Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Israel that increases the amount of aid from previous agreements and enhances Israel's military capabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2016
Stop Taxing Death and Disability Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an individual the discharge of student loans or private education loans due to the death or disability of the student. The bill also amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education (ED) to discharge the liability on loans that parents received on behalf of a student who: (1) has become permanently and totally disabled, or (2) is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity due to a physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or has lasted or is expected to last continuously for at least 60 months. (Under current law, ED is required to discharge the loans to parents if the student dies.)
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2016
Safe Medications for Moms and Babies Act of 2016 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to establish the Task Force on Research Specific to Pregnant Women and Lactating Women to report on issues including: (1) the development of safe and effective therapies for such women, (2) ethical issues surrounding the inclusion of such women in clinical research, and (3) federal research activities regarding such women. The Food and Drug Administration must report specified information including the number of new drugs approved based on research that included such women in clinical trials.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2016
State Outreach for Local Veterans Employment Act of 2016 This bill prohibits the Department of Labor from rejecting a disabled veterans training and employment outreach plan submitted by a state based solely on which agency the state selected to carry out the plan. Labor shall encourage each state to: (1) colocate its disabled veterans outreach program specialists and local veterans employment representatives with one or more one-stop centers, and (2) tailor its plan to meet the employment and training needs of in-state veterans. If a plan addresses a significant employment barrier, a state may propose such barriers as appropriate in order to allow additional categories of veterans to receive outreach and local veterans employment representative services. Labor shall, if it objects to only a portion of a state's plan: (1) approve those portions of the plan that it does not object to, (2) submit to the state an explanation of which portions were not approved and why, and (3) allow the state to submit revisions to such portions for approval.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2016
ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2016 This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the five-month waiting period for disability insurance benefits for individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and require their payment starting the first month during all of which the individual is under a disability and in which the individual becomes entitled to the benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2016
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend and modify tax credits for investments in certain energy property. The bill extends the tax credits to apply to investments in certain energy property with construction that begins before January 1, 2022. The extensions apply to investments in: qualified fuel cell property, qualified microturbine property, combined heat and power system property, qualified small wind energy property, and thermal energy property. The bill sets forth a schedule for reducing from 30% to 22% the credit rate for investments in qualified fuel cell property and small wind energy property.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2016
Christa McAuliffe Commemorative Coin Act of 2016 This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 350,000 $1 silver coins in commemoration of Christa McAuliffe. The design of the coins shall bear an image of and the name of Christa McAuliffe on the obverse side and a design on the reverse side that depicts the legacy of McAuliffe as a teacher. Treasury may issue the coins from January 1-December 31, 2018. All surcharges received by Treasury from the sale of the coins shall be paid to the FIRST robotics program for the purpose of engaging and inspiring young people, through mentor-based programs, to become leaders in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2016
Technologies for Energy Security Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend and modify the tax credits for residential energy efficient property and investments in energy property. The bill modifies the tax credit for residential energy efficient property to extend through 2021 the credits for expenditures for fuel cell property, small wind energy property, and geothermal heat pump property. For each extended credit, the bill phases out the current credit rate of 30% of expenditures by reducing it to 26% or 22%, depending on the date that the property is placed in service. The bill extends the tax credit for investments in energy property for the following property with construction that begins before January 1, 2022: fiber-optic solar energy property, fuel cell property, microturbine property, combined heat and power system property, small wind energy property, and thermal energy property. The bill phases out the current credit rate of 30% for investments in fuel cell property, small wind energy property, and fiber-optic solar energy property by reducing it to 26% or 22%, depending on the date that the property is placed in service.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2016
Recognizes the special ties between Ireland and the United States and the importance of nurturing the unique relationship between the the two countries. Welcomes the program of commemorations in the United States marking the 100th anniversary of Ireland's 1916 Rising, including the events taking place in Washington, DC.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
S tability and Democracy for Ukraine Act or the STAND for Ukraine Act This bill provides that no federal agency should take any action or extend any assistance that recognizes Russian sovereignty over Crimea, its airspace, or its territorial waters. The bill urges that the Government Publishing Office not print any document indicating Crimea as part of the Russian Federation (Russia). U.S. sanctions provided for in Executive Orders 13660, 13661, 13662, (blocking property of persons contributing to the situation in Ukraine) and 13685 (blocking property of persons contributing to the situation in Crimea) shall remain in effect until the President certifies to Congress that: Ukraine's sovereignty over Crimea has been restored, or the status of Crimea has been resolved to the satisfaction of a democratically elected government of Ukraine. The Support for the Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy, and Economic Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014 is amended to authorize the President to block and prohibit a foreign person's transactions of property or property interests that are U.S.-sited or controlled by a U.S. person if the foreign person has knowingly: (1) violated such executive orders, or (2) facilitated deceptive or structured transactions for or on behalf of any person subject to U.S. sanctions against Russia. The President shall: use U.S. influence to seek North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) adoption of a policy that opposes the transfer of defense articles and services to Russia while Russia occupies the territory of Ukraine or of a NATO member, and direct appropriate U.S. agencies to monitor and identify transfers by NATO members of defense articles and services to Russia. A license application or other authorization for the transfer of any defense article or service to or on behalf of a NATO member so identified shall be subject to a presumption of denial. The Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 is amended to include in the list of persons responsible for gross violations of human rights persons committing such actions in any territory forcibly occupied or otherwise controlled by Russia. The Department of State shall seek to establish an international consortium to increase private investment in Ukraine that shall include the United States. It is the sense of Congress that the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall establish Crimean Tatar services (subordinate to the Ukrainian language services) and broadcast Crimean Tatar language content into Crimea.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
Better On-line Ticket Sales Act of 2016 or the BOTS Act This bill prohibits: (1) intentionally using or selling software to circumvent a security measure, access control system, or other control or measure on a ticket seller's Internet website that is used by the seller to ensure equitable consumer access to tickets for any given event; or (2) selling any ticket in interstate commerce knowingly obtained in violation of such prohibition. The Federal Trade Commission shall enforce against violations of such prohibitions, which shall be treated as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act. A person who suffers injury as a result of a violation of these prohibitions may bring a civil action for damages plus $1,000 for each distinct use or sale of software, or sale of a ticket, that caused such injury and reasonable attorney's fees.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
No 2H2O from Iran Act This bill prohibits funds available to any federal department or agency for any fiscal year from being obligated or expended to purchase or issue a license to purchase heavy water produced in Iran.
![Official portrait of Rep. Costello, Ryan A. [R-PA-6]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c001106_200.jpg)