United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
Achieving Independence through Degrees Act or the AID Act This bill revises certain federal student-aid programs. Among other things, it expands access to Pell Grants, expands loan counseling requirements, revises the Federal Work-Study Program, updates the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process, and extends Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) benefits to certain students. First, it expands access to Pell Grants by (1) increasing the maximum award and indexing it for inflation, (2) increasing the semester eligibility limit to 15 semesters, and (3) extending eligibility to certain short-term workforce training programs. It modifies student loan counseling requirements applicable to institutions of higher education (IHEs) by requiring annual financial counseling and expanding exit counseling. The Department of Education (ED) must maintain an online counseling tool that provides annual and exit counseling. Additionally, it permanently reauthorizes the Federal Work-Study Program and otherwise revises the program, including by allocating program funds to IHEs based on the amount of Pell Grant funds received by each IHE. It establishes a pilot program that provides work-based learning opportunities for students who demonstrate exceptional financial need. It requires ED to allow students to complete FAFSA as independent students under special circumstances. It repeals a provision that makes students convicted of drug-related offenses ineligible for federal student aid and prohibits ED from asking about drug-related convictions on FAFSA. The bill also allows certain students, including those who have an expected family contribution of zero, to qualify for SNAP benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
Wounded Warrior Service Dog Act of 2019 This bill provides for the establishment of program for the provision of service dogs to certain Armed Forces members. It requires the Department of Defense to establish a K-9 Service Corps Program to award grants to nonprofit organizations to assist them in planning, designing, establishing, or operating programs to provide assistance dogs to members with a disability who are receiving receiving medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy; those in medical hold or medical holdover status; or those on the temporary disability retired list in cases where medical principles indicate that the disability may be of a permanent nature.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
Every Child Deserves a Family Act This bill prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or religion in the provision of child welfare programs and services by entities receiving federal funding. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must provide technical assistance to help states follow this requirement, including (1) guidance for bringing state laws into compliance, (2) developing training to increase cultural competency related to social identity, and (3) training for judges and attorneys involved in child welfare cases, among other supports. Additionally, HHS must establish the National Resource Center on Safety, Well-Being, Placement Stability, and Permanency for LGBTQ Children and Youth Involved with Child Welfare Services to provide training, technical assistance, and guidance to applicable state and local agencies and service providers. Further, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act may not be the basis for challenging the application or enforcement of this bill. The Government Accountability Office must study and report on states' compliance with the requirements of the bill no later than three years after enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
This bill directs the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to continue to sell the Alzheimer's disease semipostal stamp for an additional six years. The USPS must continue to transfer proceeds from the sale of the stamp to the National Institutes of Health to fund medical research relating to Alzheimer's disease.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2019 This bill establishes several prohibitions, requirements, and standards relating to prior authorization processes under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Specifically, the bill prohibits MA plans from instituting additional prior authorization requirements for surgeries (including related items) that are furnished to a patient during other surgeries for which prior authorization was not required or was already received. Additionally, MA plans must (1) establish an electronic prior authorization program that meets specified standards, including the ability to provide real-time decisions in response to requests for items and services that are routinely approved; (2) annually publish specified prior authorization information, including the percentage of requests approved and the average response time; and (3) meet other standards, as set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, relating to the quality and timeliness of prior authorization determinations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
This resolution (1) recognizes World Oceans Day and affirms the individual and collective duty, both nationally and internationally, to protect, conserve, maintain, and rebuild our oceans and its resources; and (2) expresses commitment to increasing the investment of federal funds into scientific research and monitoring to better understand the changing oceans.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
Rural and Underserved Residencies to Attract Long-term Physicians Act or the RURAL Physicians Act This bill makes student loan borrowers eligible for interest-free deferment on federal student loans if the borrowers are serving in medical or dental internships or residency programs that are located in areas with a shortage of health professionals, certain rural areas, or medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2019
Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2019 This bill authorizes and establishes procedures for federal courts to issue extreme risk protection orders. An extreme risk protection order is a federal court order that prohibits a person from purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm or ammunition. A family or household member, or a law enforcement officer, may petition for an extreme risk protection order with respect to an individual who poses a risk to themselves or others. The bill also expands the categories of persons who are prohibited from purchasing, shipping, transporting, possessing, or receiving a firearm or ammunition. Specifically, it adds, as a new category, persons who are subject to an extreme risk protection order.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2019
Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2019 This bill revises provisions of the low-income housing tax credit and renames it as the affordable housing credit . The bill increases the per capita dollar amount of the credit and its minimum ceiling amount beginning in 2019 and extends the inflation adjustment for such amounts. The bill modifies tenant income eligibility requirements and the average income formula for determining such income. It also revises rules for student occupancy of rental units and tenant voucher payments and prohibits any refusal to rent to victims of domestic abuse. The bill further modifies the credit to establish a 4% minimum credit rate for certain housing projects, repeal the qualified census tract population cap, prohibit local approval and contribution requirements, increase the credit for certain projects designated to serve extremely low-income households, increase the credit for certain bond-financed projects designated by state agencies, eliminate the basis reduction for properties that receive certain energy-related tax benefits, and increase the population cap for difficult development areas (i.e., areas with high construction, land, and utility costs relative to area median gross income). The bill also includes Indian and rural areas as difficult development areas and modifies other requirements relating to casualty losses, acquisition credits, and foreclosures.
United States · United States Congress · 30 May 2019
This bill extends the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 through FY2020, including provisions concerning secure payments to eligible states, territories, and counties containing federal land.
United States · United States Congress · 30 May 2019
Permanently Authorizing PILT Act This bill permanently reauthorizes the Payment in Lieu of Taxes Program. This program compensates local governments for tax revenue lost due to tax-exempt federal lands within their boundaries.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2019
Better Energy Storage Technology Act or the BEST Act This bill addresses grid-scale energy storage systems. The bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish within its Office of Electricity a research, development, and demonstration program for grid-scale energy storage systems. DOE must enter into agreements to carry out not more than five demonstration projects and develop a 10-year strategic plan and cost targets for grid-scale energy storage systems.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2019
Sgt. Brandon Ketchum Never Again Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish inpatient psychiatric care upon request by a covered veteran at (1) the VA facility that is closest to where the veteran resides and that has the capacity and capability to provide such care, or (2) at a non-VA facility if the VA facility lacks such capacity or capability. A covered veteran is a veteran who is enrolled in the VA health care system and is entitled to inpatient psychiatric care.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2019
Women's Health Protection Act of 2019 This bill prohibits state or local governments from imposing certain restrictions on access to abortion services. Specifically, state or local government may not require unnecessary tests or procedures in connection with the provision of abortion services, the same health care provider who provides abortion services to perform such tests or procedures, providers to offer medically inaccurate information to patients before or during abortion services, providers to refrain from prescribing certain drugs, certain hospital facility transfer agreements, one or more medically unnecessary in-person visits, or patients to disclose the reason for seeking abortion services. The bill also prohibits limitations or requirements that both single out and impede access to abortion services based on a number of factors (e.g., restrictions that are reasonably likely to decrease the availability of abortion services in a state). A state or local government also may not prohibit abortions prior to fetal viability nor prohibit abortions after fetal viability in cases where the health care provider determines that continuing the pregnancy poses a risk to the patient's life or health. Additionally, the Department of Justice, individuals, or health care providers may bring a lawsuit to prospectively enjoin a limitation or restriction that is prohibited by this bill. The bill further requires the government defending such a limitation or restriction to show that (1) it significantly advances the safety of abortion services or patient health, and (2) such advancement cannot be met by a less-restrictive measure.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2019
Tribal HUD-VASH Act of 2019 This bill provides statutory authority for the Tribal HUD-VASH program, which provides rental assistance and supportive services to Native American veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and living in or near an area where a tribe or tribally designated housing entity provides assistance for affordable housing. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is directed to use at least 5% of rental assistance amounts under the HUD-VASH program, which provides housing assistance to homeless veterans, for the Tribal HUD-VASH program. The Tribal HUD-VASH program shall be carried out in conjunction with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). HUD and the VA shall consult with tribal organizations regarding the program's design and may make program modifications after consulting with tribal organizations. Program grants shall be made to entities eligible for Native American housing assistance block grants. HUD may make renewal grants to entities that have received prior program grants.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2019
Protection of Social Security Benefits Restoration Act This bill prohibits the application of, and repeals authority for, administrative offsets to Social Security, railroad retirement, and black lung benefits. An administrative offset is the withholding of funds payable by or held by the United States to satisfy a debt.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2019
United States Employee Ownership Bank Act This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to establish the U.S. Employee Ownership Bank, which must provide, in accordance with specified terms, conditions, and other requirements, financial assistance to increase employee ownership of a company. The bill specifies that, in general, if an employer orders the closing of a plant or facility, the employer must offer its employees an opportunity to purchase the plant or facility through an employee stock-ownership plan or an eligible worker-owned cooperative.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2019
Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2019 or the DISCLOSE Act of 2019 This bill expands prohibitions and requires additional disclosures related to political spending. Specifically, foreign nationals are further restricted regarding their involvement in election related activity, including by prohibiting their participation in the decision-making process regarding an election expenditure. Existing foreign money prohibitions are expanded to prohibit disbursements for paid internet or digital communications. The Federal Election Commission must perform an audit after each election cycle to determine the incidence of illicit foreign money. In general, organizations making political expenditures must disclose donors who have contributed $10,000 or more during an election cycle. Certain of these organizations, including corporations, must also disclose their beneficial owners. The bill requires organizations to provide additional disclosures on certain political ads, including the donors who contributed the most money to that organization in the last year.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2019
Increasing Access to Mental Health in Schools Act This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to partnerships between educational agencies and graduate institutions to increase the number of school-based mental-health services providers employed by low-income local educational agencies (LEAs). Grant funds may be used for specified purposes, including to provide student-loan forgiveness and tuition credits and to support recruitment, hiring, and training. In addition, ED shall establish a program to provide student-loan forgiveness for individuals who (1) are not, and have never been, participants in the grant program established by the bill; and (2) have been employed by low-income LEAs for five or more consecutive school years as mental-health services providers.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2019
This resolution acknowledges the contributions that Senior Corps volunteers make to the communities in which they live and serve and to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2019
Extinction Prevention Act of 2019 This bill requires the Department of the Interior to provide financial assistance for the conservation of butterflies and moths in North America; plant species in Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands; freshwater mussels in the United States; and bony fish found in desert ecosystems in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Among other things, the bill establishes the North America Butterfly Conservation Fund, the Pacific Islands Plant Conservation Fund, the Freshwater Mussels Conservation Fund, and the Southwest Desert Fish Conservation Fund. In selecting projects for assistance, Interior must prioritize projects that conserve threatened and endangered species.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2019
Food and Agribusiness Merger Moratorium and Antitrust Review Act of 2019 This bill places a moratorium on certain acquisitions between large agricultural and retail-related businesses and establishes the Food and Agriculture Concentration and Market Power Review Commission. The commission shall report to Congress and the President on (1) the nature and consequences of market concentration in the U.S. food and agricultural economy, and (2) recommended legal and regulatory changes to address such market concentration.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2019
Stopping Harmful Image Exploitation and Limiting Distribution Act of 2019 or the SHIELD Act of 2019 This bill establishes a new criminal offense related to the distribution of intimate visual depictions. Specifically, it makes it a crime to knowingly distribute (or intentionally threaten to distribute) an intimate visual depiction of an individual (1) with knowledge of or reckless disregard for the individual's lack of consent and reasonable expectation of privacy, and (2) without a reasonable belief that distributing the depiction touches a matter of public concern. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2019
Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act This bill modifies the Conrad 30 Waiver program, which incentivizes qualified foreign physicians to serve in underserved communities. It also extends statutory authority for the program through FY2021. Aliens coming to the United States under a J-1 nonimmigrant visa to receive medical training typically must leave the country and reside for two years abroad before being eligible to apply for an immigrant visa or permanent residence. The Conrad program waives this requirement for individuals who meet certain qualifications, including serving for a number of years at a health care facility in an underserved area. The bill increases the number of waivers that a state may obtain each fiscal year from 30 to 35 if a certain number of waivers were used the previous year, and provides for further adjustments depending on demand. An alien physician may be employed at an academic medical center to meet the Conrad program's employment requirements if the alien's work is in the public interest, even if the medical center is not in an underserved area. Employment contracts for alien physicians under the Conrad program shall contain certain information, such as the maximum number of on-call hours per week the physician shall have to work. Certain alien physicians (along with the physician's spouse and children) shall be exempt from the direct annual numerical limits on immigration, including those physicians that have met certain requirements related to visas for physicians to serve in underserved areas.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2019
Animal Freedom from Testing, Experiments, and Research Act of 2019 or the AFTER Act of 2019 This bill requires federal research facilities to facilitate the adoption or nonlaboratory placement of certain warm-blooded animals (e.g., dogs, cats, monkeys, guinea pigs, hamsters, and rabbits) with animal rescue organizations, animal sanctuaries, animal shelters, or individuals. In order to be adopted or placed, the animals must (1) no longer be needed for research; (2) be suitable for release; (3) not be birds, rats, or mice.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2019
Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act This bill prohibits the use of exotic or wild animals in performances of a traveling animal act, such as a circus, carnival, or parade. The prohibition does not apply to zoos, aquariums, research facilities, wildlife sanctuaries, and other entities. The prohibition also does not apply to domestic animals or farm animals.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2019
Protect Our Refuges Act of 2019 This bill prohibits the use of neonicotinoids (a class of neuroactive insecticides that are chemically similar to nicotine) within the National Wildlife Refuge System.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2019
Humane Retirement Act This bill requires animal care committees at entities that receive federal funds for biomedical or behavioral research to make reasonable efforts to find parties to adopt dogs and cats that have been retired from research. Prior to euthanizing, the animal care committee must assess the temperament of the dog or cat to determine whether it is suitable for adoption and, if so, make reasonable efforts to offer the dog or cat to an adopting party.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2019
Frank Adelmann Manufactured Housing Community Sustainability Act This bill allows a business-related tax credit equal to 75% of the gain from the sale or exchange of real property to a qualified manufactured home community cooperative or corporation if (1) the property is acquired for use as a manufactured home community, (2) the seller (or any related person) owned the property for at least two years before the sale or exchange, and (3) the property is transferred subject to a binding covenant that the property will be used as a manufactured home community for at least 50 years or the maximum term permitted under state law. A "qualified manufactured home community cooperative or corporation" is a cooperative or a nonprofit corporation established pursuant to the laws of the state in which the property is located. The bill specifies membership and governance requirements for the communities owned by the cooperative or nonprofit corporation. The bill also imposes a tax on buyers who violate the covenant to use the property for manufactured housing for at least 50 years or the maximum term permitted under state law.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2019
AUMF Clarification Act This bill expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress has not authorized the use of military force against Iran. It further specifies that no previous authorization for the use of military force against anyone associated with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, may be construed to provide authorization for the use of such force against Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2019
Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act of 2019 This bill increases the rehabilitation tax credit and modifies certain requirements for the credit. The bill increases the rate of the credit to 30% for smaller projects (rehabilitation expenditures not exceeding $3.75 million) and caps the credit for such projects at $750,000 for all taxable years. The bill also allows taxpayers to transfer all or a portion of the credits that are allowable for smaller projects. The bill expands the types of buildings eligible for rehabilitation by decreasing the rehabilitation threshold from 100% to 50% of project expenses. It also eliminates the basis adjustment requirement for the credit and modifies rules relating to the eligibility of tax-exempt use property for the credit.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2019
Protecting America's First Responders Act This bill revises the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program. That program provides death, disability, and education benefits to public safety officers and survivors of public safety officers who are killed or injured in the line of duty. Specifically, it revises the payment amount of disability benefits for claims pending more than one year. The amount must be based on the date of the adjudication of such claim rather than the date of the injury. It also increases the interim benefit payment amount and adjusts it based on the Consumer Price Index. Additionally, the payment amount of death benefits must be the greater of (1) the amount payable as of the date of the public safety officer's death, or (2) the amount payable based on the date of the adjudication of the claim. Currently, such amount is based only on the date of death. Next, the bill includes within the definition of firefighter for purposes of benefits an individual whose primary duty during an emergency response is to secure the scene or manage traffic. Further, the bill allows applicants who were denied benefits in the previous three years to reapply for benefits. The Bureau of Justice Assistance of the Department of Justice (DOJ) must use all available investigative tools, including subpoenas, to (1) expedite the processing of a claimant's eligibility for a death, disability, or education benefit; and (2) obtain necessary information from third parties (e.g., public agencies). Finally, DOJ must provide retroactive educational assistance to eligible survivors of public safety officer.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2019
Training the Next Generation of Primary Care Doctors Act of 2019 This bill alters funding provisions, and establishes additional reporting requirements, relating to the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program, which is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The program supports training for primary-care-physician and dental residents at community-based clinics. The bill (1) establishes certain parameters for payments to approved and newly approved graduate medical-residency training programs, and (2) requires HRSA to publish a report regarding new and expanded programs.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2019
Summer Meals Act of 201 9 This bill revises provisions related to the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) of the Department of Agriculture (USDA), which provides meals to children and teens in low-income areas during the summer months when school is not in session. The bill redefines areas in which poor economic conditions exist , where the SFSP may operate, as areas in which at least 40% (currently, 50%) of the children have been determined to be eligible for free or reduced price school meals under the school lunch and breakfast programs. The bill reimburses service institutions (other than school food authorities) for up to one meal and one snack per child each day during after-school hours, weekends, and school holidays during the regular school calendar. Currently, such institutions are reimbursed for meals and snacks served to children over the summer months or to children who are on vacation under a continuous school calendar. USDA may award competitive grants to service institutions to increase participation in the summer food service program for children at congregate feeding sites through innovative approaches to limited transportation and mobile meal trucks. Service institutions that are participating in the summer food service program for children may serve up to three meals, or two meals and one snack, during each day of operation. Currently, this option is reserved for camps and service institutions that serve meals primarily to migrant children.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2019
Protecting Access to Lifesaving Screenings Act of 2019 or the PALS Act This bill makes a series of changes relating to health insurance coverage of screening mammography. Specifically, the bill requires that any provision of law referring to current recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) with respect to breast cancer screening mammography be administered as if (1) the provision referred to USPSTF recommendations last issued before 2009; and (2) those recommendations applied to any screening mammography modality, including any digital modality of such a procedure. This requirement shall also apply to the Veterans Health Administration's policy on mammography screening for veterans. In addition, the bill preserves Medicare coverage for screening mammography, without a requirement for coinsurance, and expands the definition of screening mammography to include any digital modality of such a procedure. Further, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may not decrease the frequency with which screening mammography may be paid by Medicare for a woman over 39 years of age. In 2009, the USPSTF updated its guidelines to recommend against routine screening mammography for women between 40 to 49 years of age and to recommend biennial, instead of annual, screening mammography for most women between 50 to 74 years of age. In 2015, through the appropriations process, a three-year moratorium was placed on implementing the guidelines; the moratorium was subsequently renewed until January 1, 2020.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2019
Protecting LGBTQ Youth Act This bill expands programs that prevent and treat child abuse and neglect to address issues facing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. Specifically, these programs include (1) research and reporting requirements, (2) providing technical assistance, (3) grants to states and local agencies to train child-welfare personnel, and (4) community-based prevention-service grants, among others.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2019
Huntington's Disease Parity Act of 2019 This bill waives, for individuals diagnosed with Huntington's Disease, the 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage. Current law generally applies this waiting period to individuals deemed eligible for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2019
Zero-Emission Vehicles Act of 2019 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a zero-emission passenger vehicle standard. Specifically, the bill sets a schedule for increasing the percentage of zero-emission vehicles a vehicle manufacturer delivers for sale, culminating in a requirement to sell only zero-emission vehicles from 2040 on. The bill also requires the EPA to establish a zero-emission vehicle credit program that approves one zero-emission vehicle credit for each zero-emission vehicle delivered for sale in the United States and partial credits for qualified electric vehicles based on the estimated proportion of the mileage driven on the battery. Manufacturers that fail to meet the minimum required percentage of zero-emission vehicle sales must submit to the EPA a quantity of zero-emission vehicle credits sufficient to offset the excess. Credits may also be sold, transferred, exchanged, or retired in certain circumstances. The bill imposes civil penalties for the failure to comply with zero-emission vehicle credit standards, with collected penalties being deposited into the Highway Trust Fund. After 2040, the EPA may issue injunctions on the manufacture of passenger vehicles other than zero-emission vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2019
Protecting American Votes and Elections Act of 2019 This bill addresses the security of federal elections, including by requiring paper ballots, requiring audits of election results, and establishing requirements for election cybersecurity. The bill provides requirements for ballots. Voting systems must use a paper ballot that is verifiable by a voter before being cast and these ballots must be retained for recounts or audits. During a recount, ballots must be counted by hand. States and jurisdictions must perform an audit of an election that must include a manual adjudication of voter intent from some or all of the ballots cast. The audit results must meet specified statistical requirements and must be published before such election is certified. The bill provides a private right of action for any person aggrieved by a violation of voting system or audit requirements. The Election Assistance Commission must provide funds to states to replace paperless voting systems to comply with requirements of the bill, for the acquisition of accessible ballot marking devices for voters with disabilities, for certain ballot design and printing costs, and for certain election audit costs. The bill also directs the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within in the Department of Homeland Security to set mandatory election cybersecurity standards, including those regarding optical scanning devices, ballot marking devices, election management systems, voter registration websites, and election results systems.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2019
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act This bill prohibits employment practices that discriminate against making reasonable accommodations for job applicants or employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Specifically, the bill declares that it is an unlawful employment practice to (1) fail to make reasonable accommodations to known limitations of such job applicants or employees, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on an entity's business operation; (2) deny employment opportunities based on the need of the entity to make such reasonable accommodations to an applicant or employee; (3) require such job applicants or employees to accept an accommodation that they do not want, if such accommodation is unnecessary to perform the job; (4) require such employees to take paid or unpaid leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided to their known limitations; or (5) take adverse action in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment against an employee requesting or using such reasonable accommodations. The bill sets forth enforcement procedures and remedies under various statutes that cover different types of employees in relation to such unlawful employment practices. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission must provide examples of reasonable accommodations that shall be provided to affected job applicants or employees unless the employer can demonstrate that doing so would impose an undue hardship. The bill prohibits state immunity under the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution from an action for a violation of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2019
Savanna's Act This bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review, revise, and develop law enforcement and justice protocols to address missing and murdered Native Americans. The bill requires DOJ to take the following actions: provide training to law enforcement agencies on how to record tribal enrollment for victims in federal databases, develop and implement a strategy to notify the public of the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, conduct specific outreach to tribes regarding the ability to publicly enter information through the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System or other non-law enforcement sensitive portal, develop regionally appropriate guidelines for response to cases of missing and murdered Native Americans, provide training and technical assistance to tribes and law enforcement agencies for implementation of the developed guidelines, and report statistics on missing and murdered Native Americans. The bill authorizes DOJ to provide grants for the purposes of (1) developing and implementing policies and protocols for law enforcement regarding cases of missing and murdered Native Americans, and (2) compiling and reporting data relating to missing and murdered Native Americans. Federal law enforcement agencies must modify their guidelines to incorporate the guidelines developed by DOJ. The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall include gender in its annual statistics on missing and unidentified persons published on its website.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2019
Methane Waste Prevention Act of 2019 This bill addresses methane emissions from oil and gas operations. (Methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil.) The bill provides statutory authority for the Environmental Protection Agency rule titled Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources , published on June 3, 2016. The bill directs the Department of the Interior to establish specified requirements for reducing and preventing the waste of natural gas, including by venting, flaring, and fugitive releases, from all oil and gas operations; and measuring and reporting the production and disposition of all gas subject to the mineral leasing laws, all such gas produced, consumed on site, or lost through venting, flaring, or fugitive releases. All such requirements shall include consistent enforcement mechanisms for any operations not in compliance with them.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2019
Real Education for Healthy Youth Act of 2019 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in coordination with certain HHS components, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Education, to award grants for comprehensive sex education for adolescents. It also awards grants for comprehensive sex education provided by institutions of higher education and for training faculty and staff to teach comprehensive sex education to adolescents. Comprehensive sex education programs may include, among other things, instruction that addresses the physical, mental, emotional, and social dimensions of human sexuality and approaches designed to motivate and assist students to maintain and improve their sexual health, prevent disease and reduce sexual health-related risk behaviors. Grant funds generally may not be used for specified purposes, including to (1) withhold specified health information related to HIV, (2) provide medically inaccurate information, or (3) promote gender or racial stereotypes. The bill also revises requirements and eliminates prohibitions regarding the content of educational programs funded through the HIV/AIDS prevention program, repeals the prohibition on using funds for materials or programs that promote or encourage sexual activity and contraceptive distribution in school, and repeals the Abstinence Only Until Marriage program.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2019
This bill specifies that certain Medicare payment rules applicable to imaging services shall apply to dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry services used in bone mass scans beginning in 2019. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must establish national minimum payment amounts for such services.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2019
No President is Above the Law Act This bill tolls (i.e., pauses) the statute of limitations for federal criminal offenses that are committed by the President prior to or during their term of office. (Currently, most federal criminal offenses have a five-year statute of limitations.)
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2019
Election Security Act of 2019 This bill addresses election security through grant programs and requirements for voting systems and paper ballots. The bill establishes requirements for voting systems, including that systems (1) use individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots; (2) make a voter's marked ballot available for inspection and verification by the voter before the vote is cast; (3) ensure that individuals with disabilities are given an equivalent opportunity to vote, including with privacy and independence, in a manner that produces a voter-verified paper ballot; and (4) be manufactured in the United States. The National Science Foundation must award grants to study, test, and develop accessible voter-verified paper ballot voting and best practices to enhance the accessibility of such voting for individuals with disabilities, for voters whose primary language is not English, and for voters with difficulties in literacy. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must award grants to states to (1) replace certain voting systems, carry out voting system security improvements, and implement and model best practices for ballot design, ballot instructions, and the testing of ballots; and (2) conduct risk-limiting audits. The bill provides for information sharing with states regarding threats to election infrastructure. The Department of Homeland Security must issue a national strategy to protect against cyberattacks, influence operations, disinformation campaigns, and other activities that could undermine the security and integrity of democratic institutions. The EAC must provide for the testing of voting system hardware and software and decertify such technology that does not meet guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2019
Asylum Seeker Protection Act This bill prohibits the use of funds to implement or enforce the Migrant Protection Protocols announced on December 20, 2018. (The protocol generally requires that aliens who are not clearly admissible arriving by land along the U.S.-Mexico border be returned to Mexico while their immigration proceedings are pending, rather than remain in the United States. The protocol applies to aliens seeking asylum but who have been assessed not to be more likely than not to face persecution or torture in Mexico.)
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2019
Student Borrower Bankruptcy Relief Act of 2019 This bill permits a borrower to discharge in bankruptcy a nonprofit, government, or private student loan, or an obligation to repay an educational benefit, scholarship, or stipend.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2019
Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Healthcare Services Act This bill prohibits advertisements that create the false impression that (1) a person or organization provides abortion services when they do not, or (2) they do not provide such services when they do. Abortion services include (1) surgical and non-surgical procedures to terminate pregnancy, or (2) providing referrals for such procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2019
Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2019 This bill requires states to direct their local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish policies that prevent and prohibit conduct, including bullying and harassment, that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to (1) limit students' ability to participate in, or benefit from, school programs; or (2) create a hostile or abusive educational environment that adversely affects students' education. LEAs shall also provide (1) students, parents, and educational professionals with annual notice of the conduct prohibited in their disciplinary policies; (2) students and parents with grievance procedures that target such conduct; and (3) the public with annual data on the incidence and frequency of that conduct at the school and LEA level. The Department of Education must conduct, and report on, an independent biennial evaluation of programs and policies to combat bullying and harassment in elementary and secondary schools. The National Center for Education Statistics shall collect state data to determine the incidence and frequency of the conduct prohibited by LEA disciplinary policies.
![Official portrait of Rep. DeFazio, Peter A. [D-OR-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/d000191_200.jpg)