United States · United States Congress · 6 July 2023
Positioning the Election Assistance Commission for the Future Act of 2023 This bill makes changes to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The bill revises certain requirements related to staffing and funding of the EAC. For example, the bill (1) limits the number of full-time equivalent employees that may be hired to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the EAC, and (2) permits an individual serving a term of service on the EAC to hold a position at an institution of higher education under specified circumstances. Additionally, the bill provides the EAC with exclusive authority to make election administration payments to states. The bill authorizes the Executive Board of the Standards Board to enter into certain contracts to enable the Standards Board to discharge its duties with respect to the examination and release of voluntary considerations for states to administer federal elections. Further, the bill specifies that the EAC has primary jurisdiction to address issues with respect to the administration of federal elections. The bill prohibits states and local governments from using payments from the EAC for any get-out-the-vote activity (i.e., activities that assist, encourage, or urge potential voters to vote). The bill also requires public communications that are funded by EAC payments to include a specified disclaimer.
United States · United States Congress · 6 July 2023
This resolution recognizes that allowing illegal immigrants and noncitizens the right to vote devalues the franchise and diminishes the voting power of U.S. citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2023
John W. Walsh Alpha-1 Home Infusion Act of 2023 This bill provides for Medicare coverage of treatment for alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency (a protein deficiency that raises the risk of lung and other diseases). Specifically, the bill provides for coverage of at-home augmentation therapy for beneficiaries with emphysema as a result of severe hereditary AAT deficiency. Treatment must be provided through qualified home infusion therapy suppliers; beneficiaries must be under the care of a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2023
Promising Pathway Act This bill provides for expedited, provisional approval of drugs for serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions. Specifically, the bill allows for provisional approval of drugs that are used to treat, prevent, or diagnose a serious or life-threatening disease or condition for which premature death is likely without early medical intervention. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must evaluate applications within 90 days of receipt. The FDA may approve applications if there is early evidence, including real-world and real-time evidence, of the drug's efficacy, as well as substantial evidence of the drug's safety. Provisional approval is valid for two years and may be renewed for up to eight years. The FDA may withdraw provisional approval in the event of serious adverse health effects. Drug sponsors that receive provisional approval must require all patients receiving the drug to participate in an observational registry, through which the drug sponsor may collect and submit data relating to the drug until it is fully approved. Registries may be operated by the drug sponsor or another entity. The FDA must annually review these registries; sponsors of registries that fail to meet the bill's requirements are subject to civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2023
Expanding Access to High-Impact Tutoring Act of 2023 This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to state educational agencies and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for implementing, administering, and evaluating tutoring programs in elementary and secondary schools. Additionally, the bill directs ED to establish an advisory board. Among its duties, the advisory board must (1) evaluate and approve plans to ensure that LEAs will meet tutoring program requirements, (2) provide technical assistance and guidance to grant recipients, and (3) develop a nationwide tutoring workforce.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2023
This resolution declares that it is the policy of the United States (1) to use all means necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and (2) to support the freedom of action of partners and allies to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2023
Brianna Lieneck Boating Safety Act of 2023 This bill requires the Coast Guard to study and report to Congress on recreational vessel operator training. The study must include a review of Coast Guard Auxiliary and Power Squadron training programs, existing state boating education programs, and other recreational vessel operator training programs. The report must analyze, among other topics, minimum standards for education of recreational vessel operators; how a federal training and testing program can be harmonized with state programs; how the Coast Guard would administer a federal boating education, training, and testing program; and the extent to which a federal boating education, training, and testing program should be required for all waters of a state.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2023
Project Safe Neighborhoods Reauthorization Act of 2023 This bill reauthorizes through FY2028 the Project Safe Neighborhoods grant program within the Department of Justice. The bill also allows funds under the program to be used for hiring crime analysts to assist with violent crime reduction efforts; the cost of overtime for law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and law enforcement assistants who assist with the program; purchasing, implementing, and using technology to assist with violent crime reduction efforts; and supporting multijurisdictional task forces.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2023
Preserving Local Medicaid Access Act of 2023 This bill specifies that, in order to receive certain Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) increases under Medicaid, states with a local share requirement must agree to distribute funds to each locality in an amount that is proportional to the locality's Medicaid contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2023
VA Loan Informed Disclosure Act of 2023 or the VALID Act of 2023 The bill requires a Federal Housing Administration mortgage notice to contain comparative rate and fee information about loans available under the Department of Veterans Affairs home loan program.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2023
Restore Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability Act of 2023 or the Restore VA Accountability Act of 2023 This bill modifies personnel action procedures regarding certain employees and executives of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The bill authorizes the VA to remove from civil service, demote, or suspend VA employees that are supervisors or managers if the VA determines by substantial evidence that the performance or misconduct of such individual warrants such action. This authority does not apply to certain appointees or individuals in their probationary or trial period. Supervisors or managers who are subject to a removal, demotion, or suspension under this bill are entitled to (1) advance notice of the action and supporting evidence, (2) representation by an attorney or representative, and (3) grieve the action in accordance with an internal grievance process. The bill also provides protections from removal, demotion, or suspension for supervisor or managers who are whistleblowers or are seeking corrective action for an alleged prohibited personnel practice such as discrimination. The bill also modifies the procedures to remove, demote, or suspend VA employees or senior executives based on performance or misconduct, specifically by requiring the VA to determine by substantial evidence that the performance or misconduct of the individual warrants such removal, demotion, or suspension. Such procedures must apply retroactively, beginning on the date of enactment of the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 (June 23, 2017).
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2023
Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Act or the HERO Act This bill establishes a series of programs relating to the behavioral health of law enforcement officers, first responders, 9-1-1 operators, and other public safety officers and health care providers. The programs include a public safety officer suicide-reporting system at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a grant program for peer-support behavioral health and wellness programs within fire departments and emergency medical services agencies, and a grant program for behavioral health and wellness programs for health care providers.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2023
Shelter Act This bill allows individual and business taxpayers a new tax credit for 25% of qualified disaster mitigation expenditures. The credit is limited to $2,500 and $5,000 for individual taxpayers and business taxpayers respectively. The bill defines qualified disaster mitigation expenditures to include expenditures to modify or improve a dwelling unit located in an area in which a federal natural disaster declaration has been made within the preceding five-year period.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2023
Think Differently about Education Act of 2023 This bill establishes a notification requirement related to an individualized education program (IEP). (Generally, IEPs are individualized plans to ensure that a child with a disability receives a free appropriate public education.) Under current law, states and local educational agencies (LEAs) must convene a team to develop an IEP. The composition of the team that develops the IEP is outlined in current law and allows for other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child (including related services personnel, as appropriate) to participate in this team. This bill requires the relevant agency (e.g., the LEA or state educational agency) to notify the child's parents of their right to include these other individuals with knowledge or special expertise on the child's IEP team.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2023
Allergen Disclosure In Non-food Articles Act or the ADINA Act This bill requires the labels of drugs to identify ingredients that contain, or are derived from, major food allergens or gluten-containing grains.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2023
Quiet Communities Act of 2023 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to reestablish an Office of Noise Abatement and Control to promote the development of local noise control programs and carry out related duties.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2023
Protecting UACs Through Enhanced Sponsor Vetting Act of 2023 This bill requires the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Department of Health and Human Services to take additional actions when placing an unaccompanied alien child in the custody of a sponsor. (Under federal law, an unaccompanied alien child is a minor with no lawful immigration status and no parent or legal guardian in the United States to provide care and physical custody.) Before placing such a child with a sponsor and again when a placement decision has been made, the office must notify the governments of the state and the locality in which the prospective or selected sponsor resides. When making determinations concerning the placement of such a child with a sponsor, the office must (1) consult the Federal Bureau of Investigation and appropriate state and local law enforcement, (2) ensure that the child is protected from designated transnational criminal organizations, (3) conduct a thorough background check of each prospective sponsor using the Next Generation Identification System, and (4) share with the Terrorist Screening Center any information establishing the child's or sponsor's affiliation with a designated transnational criminal organization.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2023
Federal Assistance to Initiate Repayment Act or the FAIR Act This bill makes various changes to the federal student loan system, including by establishing a new income-driven repayment plan and limiting the authority of the Department of Education (ED) to propose or issue regulations and executive actions related to federal student aid programs. The bill directs ED to provide at least 12 notices to each borrower of a federal student loan indicating (1) the date on which the borrower is required to make monthly loan payments; (2) the borrower's options for repayment; and (3) the options available to a borrower who is in default, including the option to consolidate or rehabilitate loans. ED must also conduct additional outreach to at-risk borrowers. Additionally, the bill replaces existing federal student loan repayment plans with one standard 10-year repayment plan and one income-driven repayment plan. The bill outlines the terms of this new income-driven repayment plan. The bill provides deferment options for borrowers with loans made on or after July 1, 2024. The bill prohibits ED from authorizing additional deferment options or periods of deferment other than those authorized by this bill. The bill allows borrowers to rehabilitate a defaulted loan twice (currently, only once). The bill also prohibits ED from issuing a proposed rule, final regulation, or executive action related to federal student aid programs if ED determines that the rule, regulation, or action (1) is economically significant, and (2) would result in an increase in a subsidy cost.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2023
Safer Response Act of 2023 This bill reauthorizes through FY2028 a grant program that is administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to support training and other resources for first responders on opioid overdose reversal drugs (e.g., naloxone).
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2023
This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to publish guidance and implementation procedures for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), also known as drones, that specifically address environmental assessments and reviews. For instance, the FAA guidance and implementation procedures must provide guidance for nationwide programmatic approaches for large-scale distributed UAS operations to leverage environmental assessments or environmental impact statements for subsequent related actions, contain intra-agency process improvements to avoid providing conflicting safety and environmental feedback to operators, and prioritize proposed projects or activities that can be shown to contain specific factors that benefit the environment (e.g., offsets or limits the impacts of non-zero emission activities). The bill also directs the FAA, to the maximum extent practicable, to concurrently conduct reviews and analyses for an environmental assessment required as part of the review of a UAS's design, construction, maintenance and operational sustainability, airworthiness approval, or operational approval. Further, the FAA must develop and establish substantive criteria and standards metrics to determine the airworthiness of an unmanned aircraft based on specific noise standards.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2023
COVID-19 Commuter Benefits Distribution Act This bill permits a one-time payment of unused transportation fringe benefits to a succeeding month. Under current law, such unused benefits are forfeited.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2023
Schools Not Shelters Act This bill prohibits using the facilities of certain schools that receive federal financial assistance to provide shelter or housing for any non-U.S. national ( alien under federal law) who has not been admitted for lawful entry. Specifically, this bill shall apply to the facilities of (1) public elementary or secondary schools, and (2) institutions of higher education. This prohibition shall not apply to shelter or housing provided in response to certain disasters such as a fire, flood, explosion, or tornado for which there has been a disaster declaration.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2023
Youth Coastal Fishing Program Act of 2023 This bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a grant program to support youth fishing projects. Under the program, NOAA must award grants to nonprofit organizations; educational institutions; state, local, or tribal governments; or Native Hawaiian organizations for conducting youth fishing projects. Funds from the grants must be used for related purposes, such as (1) the purchase or rental of fishing equipment; (2) fees for boats, piers, or other facilities; (3) fishing licenses; and (4) fishing guide costs. In awarding such grants, NOAA must prioritize proposals for projects focused on underserved communities. NOAA must also provide technical assistance related to the youth fishing projects. The bill also requires NOAA to report to Congress regarding (1) the entities that were awarded grants, (2) the amount of funds disbursed, and (3) the activities and number of participants funded by the grants.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2023
Access to Genetic Counselor Services Act of 2023 This bill provides for coverage under Medicare of genetic counseling services that are furnished by genetic counselors. Covered services include those services, as well as incidental services and supplies, that would otherwise be covered under Medicare if provided by a physician.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2023
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 80 Prospect Street in Avon, New York, as the "Officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz Memorial Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 2023
Mink: Vectors for Infection Risk in the United States Act or the Mink VIRUS Act This bill prohibits the farming of mink for their fur beginning one year after the bill's enactment and establishes a compensation program. Beginning 90 days after the bill's enactment, any termination of farmed mink must be done in a manner that (1) meets the definition of euthanasia specified in Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations (i.e., the humane destruction of an animal accomplished by a method that produces rapid unconsciousness and subsequent death without evidence of pain or distress, or that utilizes anesthesia that causes painless loss of consciousness and subsequent death); and (2) is classified as acceptable by the American Veterinary Medical Association Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals. This prohibition and these requirements do not preempt or limit any state law or regulation that is more restrictive. Further, any person in violation of this prohibition or these requirements is subject to civil penalties. The bill also directs USDA to establish a payment program to compensate fur farm owners whose operations involve the farming of mink. Under the program, USDA must provide payments for (1) the reasonable costs incurred to comply with this bill, and (2) the market value of the portion of the farm involving mink farming (exclusive of the land). Fur farm owners may not use payment funds for any materials, supplies, labor costs, or activities associated with fur farm operations. Further, the owner must provide USDA with a permanent property easement that prohibits the operation of any fur farm on the easement area.
United States · United States Congress · 31 May 2023
Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act or the SHIP Act This bill requires the President to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions against foreign persons that knowingly transport, process, refine, or otherwise deal in petroleum and petroleum products originating in Iran. These sanctions also extend to certain foreign persons associated with the sanctioned individual, such as adult family members and any entities owned or controlled by the sanctioned individual.
United States · United States Congress · 31 May 2023
Disaster Assistance Fairness Act This bill makes common interest communities, such as housing cooperatives (co-ops) and condominiums, eligible for the same assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as other homeowners. Specifically, the bill adds definitions of residential common interest community, condominium, and housing cooperative to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act; requires FEMA to issue rules for the removal of debris or wreckage from real estate owned by a residential common interest community resulting from a major disaster and deems such removal to be in the public interest when a state or local government determines in writing that such debris or wreckage constitutes a threat to life, public health or safety, or the economic recovery of such community; and provides for the repair of essential common elements of a condominium or co-op damaged by a disaster under FEMA's Federal Assistance to Individuals and Households Program.
United States · United States Congress · 31 May 2023
Stop Anti-Semitism on College Campuses Act This bill prohibits an institution of higher education (IHE) that participates in federal student aid programs from authorizing, facilitating, providing funding for, or otherwise supporting any event that promotes anti-Semitism on the IHE's campus.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2023
Mental Health Services for Students Act of 2023 This bill provides specific statutory authority for the Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) State Educational Agency Grant Program that is administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The program supports school-based mental health services, including screening, treatment, and outreach programs.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2023
Migrant Relocation Transparency Act This bill requires the federal government to, before resettling, transporting, or relocating any non-U.S. nationals ( aliens under federal law) not in detention, consult with the affected state and local governments. Specifically, the department taking the action, either the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), must consult with the affected state and local governments at least three days before the action. HHS and DHS must also submit to Congress monthly state-specific reports about such actions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2023
Schools Not Shelters Act This bill prohibits schools that receive certain federal financial assistance from using their facilities to shelter certain non-U.S. nationals ( aliens under federal law) unless the individual pays for such shelter. Specifically, this prohibition shall apply to sheltering individuals who are (1) unlawfully present, or (2) subject to removal proceedings or a removal order and are not being detained by the Department of Homeland Security. Under this bill, if an elementary school, secondary school, or institution of higher education receives financial assistance from a program administered by the Department of Education, that school or institution may not use its facilities to provide shelter to such individuals unless the individual is housed in a dormitory and pays the amount normally assessed to residents of that dormitory.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2023
This resolution condemns all manifestations of expressions of racism and anti-Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander or ethnic intolerance. The resolution calls on federal law enforcement officials, working with state and local officials, to expeditiously and vigorously investigate all reports of hate crimes and threats against Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the United States; work to improve the reporting of such hate crimes; and hold the perpetrators of those crimes, incidents, or threats accountable and bring the perpetrators to justice.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2023
Veterans National Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to implement a five-year pilot program to furnish, under the Veterans Community Care Program, hyperbaric oxygen therapy to veterans with traumatic brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2023
After Hours Child Care Act This bill establishes a pilot program for the Administration for Children & Families to award grants to increase the capacity of child care providers to deliver services to families in which a parent is working nontraditional work hours (e.g., before 9:00 a.m., after 5:00 p.m., or on a Saturday or Sunday).
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2023
Transnational Criminal Organization Illicit Spotter Prevention and Elimination Act This bill provides for criminal penalties for certain conduct that interferes with U.S. border control measures. Specifically, a person who knowingly transmits the location or activities of law enforcement with the intent to further a crime related to immigration, customs, or controlled substances may be imprisoned for a maximum of 10 years. A person who knowingly damages or destroys a device deployed to control the border or port of entry may be imprisoned for a maximum of 10 years. Additionally, the bill provides for enhanced punishment for carrying or using a firearm in connection with certain criminal immigration violations such as assisting a non-U.S. national ( alien under federal law) who is inadmissible due to a felony conviction.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2023
Donut Dollies Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill awards a Congressional Gold Medal to members of the Red Cross Supplemental Recreational Activities Overseas (SRAO) program, also known as the Donut Dollies , who served honorably during the Vietnam conflict. The bill also authorizes the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make arrangements for presenting the medals.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023
Hot Foods Act of 2023 This bill expands the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to permit the use of SNAP benefits to purchase hot foods or hot food products ready for immediate consumption.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023
Save America's Forgotten Equines Act of 2023 or the SAFE Act of 2023 This bill permanently prohibits the slaughter of equines (e.g., horses and mules) for human consumption. (Current law prohibits the slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption. This bill extends the prohibition to equines.) Specifically, this bill prohibits a person from knowingly slaughtering an equine for human consumption; or shipping, transporting, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donating an equine to be slaughtered for human consumption or equine parts for human consumption. The bill subjects a violator to a fine. The bill applies to conduct in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. However, it does not apply to an activity carried out by an Indian for a religious ceremony. In recent years, appropriations acts have prohibited the Department of Agriculture (USDA) from using federal funds to inspect horses before they are slaughtered for human consumption. Therefore, there are currently no USDA-inspected horse slaughter facilities in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023
Protecting Veteran Community Care Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish residential mental health or substance-use services to certain veterans through the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP). Specifically, the VA must furnish such care if a veteran (1) meets VA criteria for priority admission to a VA Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program and the VA is unable to accommodate priority admission, or (2) has contacted the VA to request such mental health services and the VA is not able to furnish such services in a manner that complies with VA access standards for specialty care provided under the VCCP. The VA must ensure that a referral to an alternate Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program does not take precedence over timely access to mental health or substance-use services unless the referral is requested by the veteran. The VA is prohibited from determining a veteran is ineligible for VCCP care solely because VCCP providers are unable to comply with wait times or access standards. If multiple options for care or services are available, the VA must permit a veteran to elect the option the veteran prefers. Additionally, the bill provides minimum standards for residential mental health or substance-use services provided under the VCCP (e.g., treatment programs or facilities must be licensed and accredited for the specified services).
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2023
United States Foreign Service Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the United States Foreign Service. All surcharges received by Treasury from the sale of such coins must be paid to the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training to support the collection, curation, and sharing of diplomatic history in the United States via oral history, books, social media, and other means.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2023
Fire Department Repayment Act of 202 3 This bill requires standard operating procedures for reciprocal fire suppression cost share agreements. The Departments of Agriculture, the Interior, Homeland Security, and Defense shall establish standard operating procedures relating to fire suppression cost share agreements established under the Reciprocal Fire Protection Act; and with respect to each agreement in operation on one year after enactment of this bill, review each agreement and modify it as necessary to comply with the standard operating procedures. The standard operating procedures shall include a requirement that each fire suppression cost share agreement be aligned with each of the cooperative fire protection agreements applicable to the entity subject to such fire suppression cost share agreement. The standard operating procedures shall also include a requirement that the departments, to the maximum extent practicable, complete reviews, including second-level reviews of a fire suppression cost share agreement, as soon as practicable after a wildfire related to the area covered by such cost share agreement is contained; and a requirement that in completing such reviews, the department concerned consults with state and local fire suppression organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2023
Give Kids a Chance Act of 2023 This bill authorizes certain targeted clinical trials involving combinations of drugs to treat pediatric cancer. Specifically, the bill modifies requirements relating to molecularly targeted pediatric cancer investigations so as to authorize investigations of new drugs that are used in combination with active ingredients that have already been approved and that (1) have been determined to be the standard of care for treating a pediatric cancer, or (2) have been approved to treat an adult cancer and are directed at molecular targets for pediatric cancer. The Food and Drug Administration must issue guidance and report on the bill's implementation. The Government Accountability Office must report on the effectiveness of the bill's changes with respect to the development of pediatric cancer drugs.
![Official portrait of Rep. D'Esposito, Anthony [R-NY-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/d000632_200.jpg)