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
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 · 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
Workplace Advancement Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit discharging or retaliating against any employee because such employee has inquired about, discussed, or disclosed comparative compensation information for the purpose of determining whether the employer is compensating an employee in a manner that provides equal pay for equal work. The prohibition does not apply to instances in which an employee who has access to the wage information of other employees as a part of the employee's job functions discloses such wages to an individual who has no access to them, except in response to a charge or complaint or in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action with respect to prohibited sex discrimination, including an investigation conducted by the employer.
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 · 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 · 10 May 2016
National Mitigation Investment Act This bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President to increase the maximum total of contributions for a major disaster by an amount equal to 4% of the estimated aggregate amount of grants to be made under such Act if, at the time of a declaration of a major disaster, the affected state has in effect and is actively enforcing an approved state building code. To be eligible for such increased federal contributions, a state must submit its building code to the President for approval. The President shall approve such a code upon determining that it: (1) is consistent with the most recent version of a nationally recognized model building code; (2) has been adopted by the state within six years of the most recent version of such nationally recognized code; and (3) uses the nationally recognized code as a minimum standard. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shall set appropriate standards for the periodic update, resubmittal, and approval of previously approved state building codes. Recipients may use hazard mitigation assistance received under such Act to conduct activities to help reduce the risk of future damage, hardship, loss, or suffering in any area affected by a flood. States and local governments may use technical and financial assistance received under such Act to implement predisaster hazard mitigation measures to establish and operate a building department and carry out enforcement activities to implement an approved state building code. In determining whether to provide such assistance, the President shall take into account the extent to which a state or local government is carrying out activities to implement an approved state building code. The National Advisory Council shall commence a comprehensive study to evaluate disaster costs and losses and develop recommendations for reducing them. FEMA shall conduct a pilot program to award grants to state, local, and tribal governments to aid and encourage the adoption and active enforcement of nationally recognized model building codes, state building codes, and related mitigation measures.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2016
Working to Integrate Networks Guaranteeing Member Access Now Act or the WINGMAN Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide an accredited, permanent congressional employee with read-only remote access to the electronic Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) claims records system of a represented veteran, regardless of whether the employee is acting under a power of attorney executed by the veteran. The VA shall ensure that access does not allow the employee to modify system data. An employee must complete the VA certification process required of agents or attorneys in order to have system access. Each Member of Congress who elects to have an employee participate in the system shall bear the certification cost, which shall be paid from the Member's representational allowance. Information access by an employee shall be deemed: (1) a covered disclosure requiring prior consent, with specified exceptions; and (2) a permitted disclosure relating to the privacy of individually identifiable health information. The VA may not recognize an employee for purposes of preparation, presentation, and prosecution of VA claims by reason of such system access. "Accredited, permanent congressional employee" means an employee of a Member of Congress who assists constituents with issues regarding federal departments or agencies. "Electronic VBA claims records system" means the VA system that provides claim status information, including information about medical records, compensation and pension exams records, rating decisions, a statement of the case and a supplementary statement of the case, a notice of disagreement, and Form-9.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2016
Bathrooms Accessible in Every Situation (BABIES) Act This bill requires male and female restrooms in a public building to be equipped with baby changing facilities that the General Services Administration determines are physically safe, sanitary, and appropriate. Such requirement shall be subject to any reasonable accommodations that may be made for individuals in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Such requirement shall be inapplicable to a restroom in a public building that: (1) is not available for public use, or (2) contains clear and conspicuous signage indicating where a male or female restroom is located within the same section or corridor of such building.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2016
Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Extension Act of 2016 This bill amends the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 to extend through December 31, 2019, provisions requiring the President to impose sanctions against individuals in Venezuela who are responsible for human rights violations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
This bill bars the Department of Transportation (DOT) from issuing a foreign air carrier permit, or an exemption from certain economic regulations, to furnish foreign air transportation under the United States-European Union-Norway-Iceland Air Transport Agreement of June 21, 2011, unless DOT: finds that issuing the permit or exemption would be consistent with the intent of the parties, set forth in article 17 bis of the agreement, that opportunities created by the agreement do not undermine labor standards or the labor-related rights and principles contained in the parties' respective laws; and imposes conditions on the permit or exemption necessary to ensure that the foreign air transportation furnished complies with the intent of article 17 bis .
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2016
Investing in Opportunity Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the designation of opportunity zones in low-income communities and to provide tax incentives for investments in the zones, including deferring the recognition of capital gains that are reinvested in the zones. Governors may submit nominations for a limited number of opportunity zones to the Department of the Treasury for certification and designation. Governors must give particular consideration to areas that: are currently the focus of mutually reinforcing state, local, or private economic development initiatives to attract investment and foster startup activity; have demonstrated success in geographically targeted development programs such as promise zones, the new markets tax credit, empowerment zones, and renewal communities; and have recently experienced significant layoffs due to business closures or relocations. Treasury must designate zones if a governor fails to submit nominations within a specified period of time. The bill defines opportunity funds as any investment vehicle organized as a corporation or a partnership to invest in opportunity zones that holds at least 90% of its assets in opportunity zone assets. Taxpayers may temporarily defer the recognition of capital gains that are invested in opportunity zones or opportunity funds. Investments that are held for at least five years are eligible for capital gains tax reductions or exemptions, depending on how long the investment is held. Treasury must report to Congress on the opportunity zone incentives enacted in this bill, including an assessment of opportunity fund investments at the national and state levels.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2016
Improving Small Business Cyber Security Act of 2016 This bill requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a Small Business Development Center Cyber Strategy after the Government Accountability Office issues a report that reviews federal cybersecurity resources aimed at assisting small businesses. The strategy must include: plans for incorporating small business development centers (SBDCs) into existing cyber programs to assist small businesses; counsel and assistance to improve small businesses' cyber security infrastructure, threat awareness, and training programs for employees, including agreements with Information Sharing and Analysis Centers to gain awareness of actionable threat information that may be beneficial to small businesses; and an analysis of how SBDCs can leverage federal programs and develop partnerships to improve cyber support services to small businesses. The Small Business Act is amended to authorize the SBA to make SBDC grants in furtherance of such strategy. SBDCs shall have access to cyber security specialists to counsel their small business clients. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 and the Small Business Act are amended to authorize DHS and other federal agencies coordinating with DHS to assist SBDCs, through the dissemination of cyber security risk information and other homeland security information, to help small businesses in developing such cyber security infrastructure, threat awareness, and employee training programs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2016
Empowering Educators to Prevent Trafficking Act This bill authorizes the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to award grants to local educational agencies to train school staff to recognize and respond to signs of labor and sex trafficking.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2016
Celebrates the contributions of small businesses and entrepreneurs in every U.S. community during National Small Business Week. Supports the designation of National Small Business Week. Recognizes the importance of creating policies which promote an environment in which small businesses may succeed. Supports efforts to increase awareness of the value of small businesses and their impact on the U.S. economy.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2016
Urges the working group established by the Federal Republic of Germany and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany to recognize the imperative to fund immediately and fully the medical, mental health, and long-term care needs of surviving Holocaust victims, with full transparency and accountability, to ensure all funds for Holocaust victims from the Federal Republic of Germany are administered efficiently, fairly, and without delay. Urges the Federal Republic of Germany also to reaffirm its commitment to fulfill its moral responsibility to Holocaust victims by: ensuring that each Holocaust victim receives all of the prescribed medical care, home care, mental health care, and other vital services necessary to live in dignity; and providing, without delay, additional financial resources to address the unique needs of Holocaust victims.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2016
Zika Eradication and Good Government Act of 2016 This bill authorizes amounts made available to any department or agency for Ebola response and preparedness under the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 to be used for Zika virus response and preparedness. No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available for Zika virus response and preparedness until such amounts have been fully obligated. The President shall: (1) require all federal officials and employees responsible for insect-bourne infectious disease response and preparedness, including efforts to eradicate such disease, to cooperate by sharing best practices; and (2) report to Congress at specified intervals on the programs and activities of the federal government for Zika virus response and preparedness.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2016
Veterans Pensions Protection Act of 2016 This bill exempts the following payments from annual income determinations with respect to pensions for veterans and surviving spouses and children of veterans: (1) reimbursements, including insurance settlement payments, for medical expenses related to an accident, theft, loss, or casualty, up to the costs of medical care provided to the victim of such event; and (2) payments for pain and suffering, including insurance settlement payments and general damages awarded by a court related to an accident, theft, loss, or casualty loss up to an amount determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs on a case-by-case basis.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2016
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3957 2nd Avenue in Laurel Hill, Florida, as the "Sergeant First Class William 'Kelly' Lacey Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2016
United States-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act of 2016 This bill directs the Department of State to submit to Congress a multi-year strategy for U.S. engagement with the Caribbean region that: identifies State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) efforts to prioritize U.S. policy towards the Caribbean region; broadens State Department and USAID outreach to the Caribbean diaspora community in the United States to promote their involvement in Caribbean economic development and citizen security; outlines an approach to partner with Caribbean governments to improve citizen security, reduce illicit drug trafficking, strengthen the rule of law, and improve the effectiveness of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI); encourages efforts of the region to implement regional and national strategies that improve Caribbean energy security; improves diplomatic engagement with Caribbean governments; and assists Caribbean countries in diversifying their economies, reducing free trade and investment barriers, and supporting the training and employment of persons in marginalized communities. The Government Accountability Office shall submit reports to Congress regarding: (1) the CBSI; and (2) diplomatic outreach from the U.S. embassy in Barbados to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent, and the Grenadines.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2016
Enhancing Advancement, Reducing Noncompliance, and Improving Trust Act or the EARN IT Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for individuals with no qualifying children and to establish additional requirements for claiming the EITC and the child tax credit. The bill modifies the EITC for individuals with no qualifying children by: increasing the credit and phaseout percentages, increasing the earned income and phaseout amounts, reducing the minimum age to claim the credit, and modifying the formula for inflation adjustments. For a qualifying child to be taken into account for the EITC, a tax return must include a certification of the child's residency. The bill prohibits the refundable portion of the child tax credit (commonly referred to as the additional child tax credit) from being claimed for a qualifying child unless the tax return includes a valid social security number for the child. The bill increases from two to five years the disallowance period for taxpayers who improperly claim the EITC due to reckless or intentional disregard of rules and regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2016
Free File Act of 2016 This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to continue to operate the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Free File Program. The program must work with state government agencies to enhance and expand the use of the program, while continuing to: provide free commercial-type online individual income tax preparation and electronic filing services to the lowest 70% of taxpayers by income; provide all taxpayers (regardless of income) with a basic, online electronic fillable forms utility; and work with the private sector to provide the free tax preparation and electronic filing services. Treasury must work with the private sector through the program to identify and implement innovative new program features to improve and simplify the taxpayer's experience with completing and filing individual income tax returns. The IRS and members of the tax software and electronic industry involved in the program must support and promote improvements within the program by mutually testing, piloting, and offering innovative solutions to: simplify the tax system, reduce compliance and reporting burdens, increase tax return accuracy through financial data authentication, strengthen the tax system against fraud through cybersecurity collaboration, avoid duplication, and maximize the use of electronic technology.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2016
American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016 This bill declares the sense of Congress that it should consider a miscellaneous tariff bill. The U.S. International Trade Commission shall: conduct a process, meeting specified requirements, for the submission and consideration of petitions for duty suspensions and reductions; and report to Congress on the effects of duty suspensions and reductions enacted pursuant to this Act on producers, purchasers, and consumers in the United States. The bill prescribes requirements for publication by specified congressional committees of a list of limited tariff benefits contained in a miscellaneous tariff bill.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2016
Comprehensive Strategy to Destroy ISIL Act of 2016 This bill directs the Department of Defense and the Department of State to jointly develop and submit to Congress a strategy to destroy the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and its affiliates. The Director of National Intelligence shall assess for Congress: the willingness and capabilities of coalition members and allies to defeat ISIL and its affiliates; the presence of ISIL or its affiliates in countries other than Syria, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, and Afghanistan; prevention of radicalization of citizens of regional countries by ISIL and its affiliates; the number of foreign fighters joining ISIL and its affiliates and tactics to prevent further recruitment; and significant U.S. intelligence gaps concerning ISIL and its affiliates and the ability of the United States to carry out a regional strategy to defeat ISIL and its affiliates.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2016
Birmingham Civil Rights National Historical Park This bill establishes the Birmingham Civil Rights National Historical Park in Birmingham, Alabama, to: (1) preserve and interpret its civil rights history; and (2) coordinate its preservation, catalyze economic revitalization, and facilitate interpretive efforts by government, private, or nonprofit entities. The Department of the Interior shall administer the park. Interior must also complete a general management plan in consultation with the city of Birmingham.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2016
Encourages local school districts, youth sports associations, and college and university athletic departments to regularly update their pre-participation physical examination policies in accordance with evidence-based best practices and with respect for parental considerations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
Coral Reef Sustainability Through Innovation Act of 2016 This bill amends the Coral Reef Conservation Act to authorize the 12 federal agencies on the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, which includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to carry out, either individually or cooperatively, prize competitions that promote coral reef research and conservation. The prize competitions should be designed to help the United States achieve its goal of developing new and effective ways to advance the understanding, monitoring, and sustainability of coral reef ecosystems. Priority is given to establish programs that address communities, environments, or industries that are in distress due to the decline or degradation of coral reef ecosystems.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
Finding Innovative Lionfish Elimination Technologies Act of 2016 or the FILET Act of 2016 This bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to award competitive grants for colleges and universities to research lionfish and their impact on the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico ecosystems. An educational institution must satisfy specific requirements to be eligible for a grant. Grants awarded must be used to develop innovative technologies that can detect, monitor, and help mitigate the spread of lionfish in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act This bill declares that the proposed or the final rule of the Department of Labor entitled "Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees" shall cease to have any force or effect. The rule revises the "white collar" exemption of executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees from minimum wage and maximum hour, or overtime, requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA). If the proposed rule is a final rule on the date of enactment of this bill: Labor shall not enforce it based on conduct occurring before that enactment date, an employee shall not have any right of action against an employer for the employer's failure to comply with the final rule at any time before that enactment date, any regulations that were amended by the final rule shall be restored and revived as if the final rule had never taken effect, and nothing in this bill shall be construed to create a right of action for an employer against an employee for the recoupment of any payments made to the employee before the enactment of this bill that were in compliance with that final rule. Labor may promulgate any substantially similar rule only if it has completed certain required actions; but the rule shall not contain any automatic updates to the salary threshold for purposes of exemptions to minimum wage and maximum hour requirements under the FLSA. The requirement that definitions applicable for such exemptions be defined and delimited from time to time by Labor regulations shall be construed to: require Labor to issue a new rule through notice and comment rulemaking for each change in any salary threshold it has proposed; and exclude any rule that would result in changes to any salary threshold for multiple time periods, including through any automatic updating procedure. Labor may not promulgate any final rule that includes any revision to duties tests for exemption from minimum wage and maximum hours requirements unless specific regulatory text for the provision was proposed in the proposed rule.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2016
Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act of 2016 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), through the Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation, to carry out a five-year pilot program under which the VA shall provide service dogs and veterinary health insurance to certain veterans who: (1) served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001; and (2) were diagnosed with, and continue to suffer from, post-traumatic stress disorder. The provision of a service dog shall be done in addition to other types of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and shall not replace established treatment modalities.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2016
Congratulates the Girl Scouts of the USA and Gold Award recipients everywhere on the centennial of the Girl Scout Gold Award. Recognizes the impact Girl Scout Gold Award recipients have had on the world and the lasting impact of their projects on their communities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2016
Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2016 or the RPM Act of 2016 This bill amends the Clean Air Act to allow the modification of a vehicle's air emission controls if the vehicle is used solely for competition.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2016
This bill directs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, after completion of the study of the Herbert Hoover Dike, Florida, known as the Herbert Hoover Dike Dam Safety Modification Study, to: (1) carry out, without any further congressional authorization, the projects recommended as part the study; and (2) complete such projects by December 31, 2020. Appropriations in the amount of $800 million are made to carry out this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2016
Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2016 This bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop and maintain a voluntary patient registry to monitor, collect, and make available epidemiological information related to cancer incidence and trends among firefighters. The CDC should seek to include specified information in the registry, including the number and type of fire incidents attended by an individual. To collect information for the registry, the CDC may incorporate questions into existing public health surveys, questionnaires, and other databases. The CDC must: (1) encourage the inclusion in the registry of data on minority, female, and volunteer firefighters; and (2) seek feedback on the registry from nonfederal experts. The CDC must develop an approval process for making registry data available for research without a fee if findings or publications derived from the research are made public or available to stakeholders.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2016
Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy Act or the BRACE Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax credit for railroad track maintenance.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2016
Carbon Capture Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for carbon dioxide sequestration, to: (1) make such credit permanent after 2015; (2) increase such credit after 2024 for a qualified facility originally placed in service after December 31, 2015; (3) allow such credit to a person who disposes of, or uses as a tertiary injectant, the carbon dioxide; and (4) modify the definition of "qualified facility" for purposes of eligibility for such credit to require not less than 150,000 metric tons (currently, 500,000 metric tons) to be captured at such a facility during the taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 2016
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 50,000 $5 coins, 400,000 $1 coins, and 750,000 half-dollar coins in recognition and celebration of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The coins shall be in the shape of a dome, and the design on the common reverse of the coins shall depict a basketball. Treasury shall hold a competition to determine the design of the common obverse of the coins, which shall be emblematic of the game of basketball. The bill requires all sales of such coins to include specified surcharges, which shall be paid by Treasury to the Hall to fund an endowment for its operations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2016
United States Fish and Wildlife Service Resource Protection Act This bill authorizes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to seek compensation from individuals or entities for costs or damages for destroying, causing the loss of, or injuring any living, nonliving, historical, cultural, or archaeological resource on land managed by the USFWS, or for causing the USFWS to carry out actions to prevent, minimize, or abate such destruction, loss, or injury. Amounts recovered as a result of such destruction, loss, or injury must be made available to USFWS to: (1) reimburse response costs and damage assessments; (2) restore, replace, or acquire the equivalent of a resource that was destroyed, lost, or injured; or (3) monitor and study those resources.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2016
Senior$afe Act of 2016 This bill provides that: (1) a supervisor, compliance officer, or legal advisor for a covered financial institution who has received training regarding the identification and reporting of the suspected exploitation of a senior citizen (at least 65 years old) shall not be liable for disclosing such exploitation to a covered agency if such individual made the disclosure in good faith and with reasonable care; and (2) a covered financial institution shall not be liable for such a disclosure by such an individual if such individual was employed by the institution at the time of the disclosure and the institution had provided such training. A "covered financial institution" means a bank, a credit union, an investment adviser, or a broker-dealer. A "covered agency" means each of the federal financial institutions regulatory agencies or a state financial regulatory agency, law enforcement agency, or adult protective services agency. A covered financial institution may provide such training to each of its supervisors, compliance officers, or legal advisors who: (1) may come into contact with a senior citizen as a regular part of such employee's duties; or (2) may review or approve the financial documents, records, or transactions of a senior citizen in connection with providing him or her financial services.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2016
Combating BDS Act of 2016 This bill authorizes a state or local government to adopt and enforce measures to divest its assets from, or prohibit investment of its assets in: (1) an entity that such government determines, using credible information available to the public, engages in a commerce or investment-related boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting Israel; or (2) an entity that owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with, such an entity. Such government shall provide written notice to such an entity before applying such a measure. Such a measure by a state or local government is not preempted by any federal law or regulation. The bill applies to measures adopted by a state or local government before, on, or after the date of this Act's enactment. The bill amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to prohibit any person from bringing any civil, criminal, or administrative action against any registered investment company, or any officer or employee thereof, based solely upon such company divesting from, or avoiding investing in, securities issued by persons that such company determines, using credible information available to the public, engage in commerce or investment-related boycotts, divestments, or sanctions activities targeting Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2016
Helping Angels Lead Our Startups Act or the HALOS Act This bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to amend Regulation D (governing the limited offer and sale of securities without registration under the Securities Act of 1933) to make the prohibition against general solicitation or general advertising inapplicable to events with specified kinds of sponsors (including angel investor groups not connected to broker-dealers or investment advisers) where: presentations or communications are made by or on behalf of an issuer, the advertising does not refer to any specific offering of securities by the issuer, the sponsor does not engage in certain activities (such as offering investment recommendations or advice to attendees), the sponsor does not receive compensation for the event which would require registration as a broker or dealer or as an investment advisor, and no specific information regarding a securities offering is communicated (other than that the issuer is in the process of offering or planning to offer securities, including the type and amount of securities being offered). This bill may only be construed as requiring the SEC to amend Regulation D with respect to presentations and communications, and not with respect to purchases or sales.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2016
Everglades for the Next Generation Act This bill amends the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 to authorize the Department of the Army, after completing an implementation report prepared for a project under the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and without any further congressional authorization, to carry out: (1) any project identified in the Plan for which a project implementation report is completed that is in accordance with an integrated delivery schedule approved by the Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District, provided that the report is completed by five years after the date of the enactment of this Act; and (2) any group of projects under the Plan that the Corps determines will provide regional or watershed ecosystem or water supply benefits if constructed in accordance with a project implementation report approved by the Corps and the District by such date.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2016
Commends the cooperative owners and the employees of the Farm Credit System for their continuing service in meeting the credit and financial-services needs of rural communities and agriculture.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2016
Servicemember Retirement Improvement Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow members of the Ready Reserve of a reserve component of the Armed Forces to make the maximum allowable contribution ($18,000 in 2016) to their Thrift Savings Plans without limiting the amount such members may contribute to a retirement plan based upon other employment. The bill also doubles the maximum allowable contribution amount to the Thrift Savings Plans of federal employees in the Ready Reserve.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2016
Faster Care for Veterans Act of 2016 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to begin an 18-month pilot program in at least three Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) under which veterans use an Internet website to schedule and confirm appointments at VA medical facilities. The pilot program's duration may be extended and the number of VISNs may be increased.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2016
Women Airforce Service Pilot Arlington Inurnment Restoration Act This bill directs the Department of the Army to ensure that the cremated remains of persons who served as Women's Air Forces Service Pilots are eligible for interment in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2016
Improving Contract Procurement for Small Businesses through More Accurate Reporting Act of 2016 This bill amends the Small Business Act to require the Small Business Administration to report to the President and Congress an analysis of the number and dollar amount of prime contracts awarded by federal agencies each fiscal year to small business concerns, including those: owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans; located in qualified HUBZones; owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals; owned by an Indian tribe, an Alaska Native Corporation, or a Native Hawaiian Organization; or owned and controlled by women. The analyses shall cover all such small business concerns: that were purchased by another entity after the initial contract was awarded and as a result would no longer be deemed to be small business concerns for purposes of the initial contract, and that were awarded using a procurement method that restricted competition to the kinds of small business concerns listed here or a subset of any of them.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 2015
Service Provider Opportunity Clarification Act of 2015 This bill requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) to issue regulations providing examples of activities that would be considered a failure to make a good faith effort to comply with the requirements imposed on any entity (other than a small business) awarded a prime contract exceeding $500,000 (or exceeding $1 million if for construction of a public facility) that contains an SBA clause that: notifies potential offering companies of SBA requirements relating to contracts awarded pursuant to the negotiated method of procurement; or requires any bidder selected for a contract reward to submit to the appropriate federal agency a subcontracting plan which incorporates specified SBA information.
