United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Redistricting Reform Act of 2017 This bill prohibits a state that has been redistricted after an apportionment of Members of the House of Representatives based on the results of the census from being redistricted again until after the next apportionment, unless the state is ordered by a court to conduct redistricting in order to comply with the Constitution or the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Redistricting must be conducted in accordance with a plan established by a state independent redistricting commission or, if such a plan is not established, in accordance with a redistricting plan established by a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. This bill sets forth provisions relating to: (1) the establishment and procedures of state independent redistricting commissions, including requirements for commissions to hold their meetings in public and maintain a public website; (2) the development and publication of preliminary redistricting plans; (3) the establishment of a redistricting plan by a three-judge panel and redistricting conducted under a federal court order; and (4) Election Assistance Commission payments to states for carrying out redistricting. This bill authorizes the Department of Justice to bring a civil action to enforce this bill. The action must be given expedited consideration.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists to supervise cardiac, intensive cardiac, and pulmonary rehabilitation programs.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2017 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 (a progressive neurodegenerative disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord). Under current law, individuals must wait five months after becoming disabled before their disability insurance benefit payments can begin.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
ACO Assignment Improvement Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish additional requirements for assigning Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries to accountable care organizations (ACOs) under the Medicare shared savings program. Under current law, the program enables ACOs to receive payments for savings stemming from care coordination and management. The bill requires the basis for assignment to reflect beneficiaries' utilization of not only primary care services provided by ACO physicians, but also those provided by other ACO practitioners. Other ACO practitioners include physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, certified nurse-midwives, clinical social workers, clinical psychologists, and registered dieticians or nutrition professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act This bill amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to require a state to identify, evaluate, and provide special education and related services to children who have visual or hearing disabilities (or both) and also are, or may be, classified in another disability category. A state must ensure that it has enough qualified personnel to serve children who have such disabilities and that a full continuum of alternative placements is available to meet the needs of disabled children for special education and related services. The individualized education program for each child that is either (or both) visually or hearing impaired must include specified components and must provide the child with instruction that meets the child's unique learning needs. Similarly, the individualized family service plan for an infant or toddler with a hearing disability must include specified components. A state's closure of a special school serving deaf or blind children shall count as a reduction of its financial support for special education and related services for purposes of the prohibition against reducing state financial support for such services from one fiscal year to the next. The bill also: (1) authorizes grants for training special education personnel, to be used in preparing individuals to become qualified teachers and early intervention specialists for children with hearing disabilities; and (2) establishes within the Department of Education the Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and Educational Excellence to better support students with visual disabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Equality for All Resolution of 2017 Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals are valuable, contributing members of society who deserve equal treatment under the law. Declares that: (1) discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is a serious problem; (2) existing federal protections are inadequate to ensure nondiscrimination; and (3) Congress should pass legislation that prohibits such discrimination in areas including credit, employment, education, federally funded programs, housing, jury service, and public accommodations. Encourages states to prohibit such discrimination and to reject laws that undermine nondiscrimination protections.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2017
Weekend Voting Act This bill amends the Revised Statutes of the United States to change the timing for regularly scheduled elections for the House of Representatives, Senate, and electors of the President and Vice President to the first Saturday and Sunday after the first Friday in November. Each state shall by law establish the hours of operation for polling places. This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the holding of elections over a weekend should be carried out in a manner which does not interfere with religious practices and should result in cost savings to the taxpayer.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2017
Biennial Budgeting and Enhanced Oversight Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Congressional Budget Impoundment and Control Act of 1974, and the Rules of the House of Representatives to change the process for the President's budget submission, congressional budget resolutions, appropriations bills, and government strategic and performance plans from the current annual process to a biennial process, in which a biennium is the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. The House Budget Committee must use the second session of each Congress to study issues with long-term budgetary and economic implications. The bill creates a point of order in the House and Senate against authorizations of appropriations that do not include specific authorizations covering at least each fiscal year in one or more bienniums.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2017
Calls upon: (1) the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, other elements of the Department of Defense and the federal government, and all foreign governments to intensify efforts to investigate, recover, identify and account for all missing and unaccounted-for U.S. personnel; and (2) all foreign governments with information on missing U.S. personnel, or with missing U.S. personnel within their territories, to cooperate fully with the U.S. government to provide the fullest possible accounting for all missing U.S. personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2017
Russia Sanctions Review Act of 2017 This bill provides that the following executive orders, as in effect on January 1, 2017, and any sanctions imposed pursuant to such orders, shall remain in effect: (1) Executive Order 13694 (relating to blocking property of certain persons engaging in significant malicious cyber-enabled activities); (2) Executive Orders 13660, 13661, and 13662 (relating to blocking property of certain persons contributing to the situation in Ukraine); and (3) Executive Order 13685 (relating to blocking property of certain persons and prohibiting certain transactions with respect to the Crimea region of Ukraine). Before taking any action to waive or otherwise limit the application of sanctions with respect to the Russian Federation, the President shall submit to specified congressional committees a report that: (1) describes the proposed action; and (2) certifies that the Russian government has ceased ordering or supporting acts intended to undermine Ukraine's peace, security, stability,sovereignty, or territorial integrity and has ceased cyber attacks against the U.S. government and U.S. persons and entities. During the 120-day period following a report's submission: (1) the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs shall review such report and certification, and (2) the President may not take action to waive or otherwise limit the application of such sanctions. The President may not take action to waive or otherwise limit the application of sanctions with respect to the Russian Federation: (1) for 12 days after the date of passage by both Houses of Congress of a congressional joint resolution disapproving such action, (2) for 10 days after the the President vetoes such joint resolution, and (3) if such joint resolution is enacted as provided for by this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2017
Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act of 2017 or the STOP Act of 2017 This bill amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to make the Postmaster General the consignee (i.e., the entity financially responsible for the receipt of a shipment) for merchandise, excluding documents, imported through the mail into the United States. The Postmaster General must designate licensed customs brokers to file required documents or information for such shipments. The bill amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to impose a customs user fee on postal shipments or any other item valued at $2,000 or less arriving at an international mail facility. The bill amends the Trade Act of 2002 to direct the Department of the Treasury to require the Postmaster General to provide for the advanced electronic transmission to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection of certain information for all postal shipments made by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), including postal shipments it receives from foreign postal operators. The Postmaster General: shall be liable for civil penalties for postal shipment violations committed by a foreign postal operator or the USPS; may be directly or indirectly responsible for discrepancies resulting from omissions made or false information provided by a foreign postal operator or the USPS; and shall ensure that all costs and penalties associated with complying with this bill are recouped from foreign shippers, foreign postal operators, or U.S. ultimate consignees.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2017
Concrete Masonry Products Research, Education, and Promotion Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Commerce to issue orders applicable to U.S. manufacturers of concrete masonry products. Any such order must provide for the establishment of a Concrete Masonry Products Board to carry out a program of generic promotion, research, and education regarding concrete masonry products. An order must also provide that assessments be paid by concrete masonry product manufacturers for concrete masonry products manufactured and marketed in the United States. At least 50% of the assessments paid by a manufacturer must be used to support research, education, and generic promotion programs and projects in support of the geographic region of the manufacturer. During the 60-day period preceding the proposed effective date of an order, Commerce shall conduct a referendum for order approval among manufacturers. The bill allows petition and review of an order, and order enforcement through U.S. district courts. The bill requires a study and a report by: (1) the Government Accountability Office on how the board spends assessments collected, the impact of board activities, and other matters relating to the demand for concrete masonry products; and (2) Commerce on the appropriateness and effectiveness of applying the commodity check-off program model to a nonagricultural industry.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2017
National Heritage Area Act of 2017 This bill establishes a National Heritage Areas System to recognize certain areas of the United States that tell nationally significant stories and to conserve, enhance, and interpret the areas' natural, historic, scenic, and cultural resources that illustrate significant aspects of U.S. heritage. Through such system, the Department of the Interior may provide technical and financial assistance to local coordinating entities to support the establishment, development, and continuity of such areas. The system shall be comprised of: such areas designated by Congress under this bill; such areas designated after enactment of this bill, unless the law designating the area exempts it from inclusion in the system; and 49 specified areas; and any other national heritage areas designated before this bill's enactment. National heritage areas shall not be considered to be units of the National Park System. Interior shall: (1) undertake studies as directed by Congress to assess the feasibility of designating proposed national heritage areas, (2) approve or disapprove the management plan prepared by the local coordinating entity for an area, and (3) evaluate the accomplishments of an area every 10 years after its designation and submit a recommendation on whether federal funding for such area should be continued, reduced, or eliminated. The bill: (1) specifies the criteria that Interior shall apply to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating proposed national heritage areas, and (2) states that the designation of an area shall be by federal statute and contingent on the prior completion of a management plan and an affirmative determination by Interior that the area meets such criteria.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2017
Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2017 This bill waives Medicare coinsurance requirements with respect to colorectal cancer screening tests, regardless of the code billed for a resulting diagnosis or procedure.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2017
Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2017 This bill allows federal employees to substitute any available paid leave for any leave without pay for either the birth of a child or the placement of a child for adoption or foster care. It makes available for any of the 12 weeks of leave an employee is entitled to for such purposes: (1) six administrative weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth or placement involved, and (2) any accumulated annual or sick leave. The Office of Personnel Management may promulgate regulations to increase the amount of paid parental leave available to such an employee to a total of 12 administrative workweeks. Such regulations must consider certain factors, including benefit and cost to the federal government. The bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to allow the same substitution for covered congressional employees, Government Accountability Office (GAO) employees, and Library of Congress employees. Service in the National Guard or the Reserves by employees of the executive branch, Congress, the GAO, or the Library of Congress shall count as service for purposes of determining eligibility to take or substitute leave as allowed under this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2017
Directs the Department of Justice to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of any of its documents, records, memos, correspondence, or other communications that refer or relate to: (1) any criminal or counterintelligence investigation targeting President Donald J. Trump, National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Carter Page, Roger Stone, or any employee of the Executive Office of the President (EOP); (2) any investment by any foreign government or agent of a foreign government in any entity owned in whole or in part by President Trump; (3) President Trump's proposal to maintain an interest in his business holdings, while turning over day-to-day operations of those interests to his sons; (4) President Trump's plan to donate the profits of any foreign government's use of his hotels to the Treasury; (5) the Foreign Emoluments Clause in the U.S. Constitution as it may pertain to President Trump or any EOP employee; and (6) select federal statutes governing conflicts of interest as they may pertain to President Trump or any EOP employee.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2017
Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to extend through FY2022 support for nursing workforce programs and grants. Eligibility for advanced nursing education grants is expanded to include education programs for clinical nurse leaders and all combined registered nurse and graduate degree programs. (Clinical nurse leaders are advanced generalist clinicians who apply research and coordinate care in order to improve outcomes for patients.) To be eligible for these grants, clinical nurse specialist programs must provide registered nurses with full-time clinical nurse specialist education that qualifies the nurses to provide a full range of care. Programs for loan repayment and scholarships for nurses, loans for nursing faculty, and geriatric care education are extended through FY2022. Grants for increasing nursing workforce diversity are also extended through FY2022. Nurse education, practice, and quality grants are extended through FY2022 and eligibility is expanded to include nurse-managed health clinics. Grants for nursing career ladder programs are expanded to: (1) promote career advancement for individuals to become registered nurses or advanced education nurses; and (2) support internships and residency programs to encourage mentoring and the development of specialties.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2017
Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2017 This bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop and maintain a voluntary registry of firefighters to collect history and occupational information that can be linked to existing data in state cancer registries. The registry must be used to improve monitoring of cancer among firefighters and to collect and publish epidemiological information regarding cancer 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) develop a strategy to maximize participation in the registry; (2) develop guidance for states and firefighting agencies regarding the registry; (3) encourage inclusion in the registry of data on minority, female, and volunteer firefighters; and (4) seek feedback on the registry from nonfederal experts. The CDC must develop a process for making registry data available for research without a fee if findings or publications from the research are made public or available to stakeholders.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2017
Supply Our Soldiers Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Defense to provide for a program under which postal benefits are provided to a member of the Armed Forces who is on active duty and who is either: (1) serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, or another hostile fire area designated as eligible for hazardous duty pay; or (2) hospitalized at a military medical facility as a result of such service. The postal benefits shall be in the form of coupons, vouchers, or other evidence of credit to use for postal-free mailings. The benefits program shall apply during FY2016-FY2021.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2017
Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act or the FAMILY Act This bill establishes the Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave within the Social Security Administration (SSA). The bill entitles every individual to a family and medical leave insurance (FMLI) benefit payment for each month beginning on the first day of the month in which the individual meets the criteria specified below and ending 365 days later (benefit period), not to exceed 60 qualified caregiving days per period. An individual qualifies for such a benefit payment if such individual: is insured for disability insurance benefits under the Social Security Act at the time an application is filed; has earned income from employment during the 12 months before filing it; and was engaged in qualified caregiving (any activity for which the individual would be entitled to leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993), or anticipates being so engaged, during the 90-day period before the application is filed or within 30 days after. The bill prescribes a formula for determination of an individual's monthly benefit, as well as for the maximum and minimum amounts. An FMLI benefit payment shall be coordinated with any periodic benefits received under a state or local temporary disability insurance or family leave program. The bill prescribes criteria that make an individual ineligible for an FMLI benefit payment and specifies prohibited acts by an employer and penalties for violations. The bill establishes the Federal Family and Medical Leave Insurance Trust Fund. FMLI benefit payments shall be made only from this fund. No amounts from the Social Security Trust Funds or appropriated to the SSA to administer Social Security programs may be used for FMLI benefits or administration. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on every individual and employer, all self-employment income, and every railroad employee, employee representative, or railroad employer to finance the Federal Family and Medical Leave Insurance Trust Fund for FMLI benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2017
Lymphedema Treatment Act This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover certain lymphedema compression treatment items as durable medical equipment under Medicare. (Lymphedema is a condition of localized fluid retention and tissue swelling that is caused when the lymphatic system is damaged or blocked.)
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2017
Regulatory Improvement Act of 2017 This bill establishes in the legislative branch the Regulatory Improvement Commission to make recommendations and propose legislation for modification, consolidation, or repeal of regulations that have been finalized not later than 10 years before the establishment of the commission for the purpose of reducing compliance costs, encouraging growth and innovation, improving competitiveness, and protecting public safety. The commission must give priority to such regulations that: (1) impose disproportionately high costs on a small entity, (2) create substantial recurring paperwork burdens or transaction costs, or (3) could be made more effective while reducing regulatory costs. The bill sets forth reporting requirements for the commission and procedures for congressional consideration of commission reports, recommendations, and proposed legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2017
Alice Paul Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make arrangements for the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of Alice Paul to recognize her role in the women's suffrage movement and in advancing equal rights for women. The medal shall be presented jointly to representatives of the Alice Paul Institute and the Sewall-Belmont House.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2017
Newborn Care Improvement Act This bill allows the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide the newborn child of a woman veteran who is receiving VA maternity care with post-delivery care services for 42 days after the child's birth if the veteran delivered the child in a VA facility or another facility with which VA has a contract for such services. (Currently, such care may not be provided for more than 7 days.)
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2017
Pet and Women Safety Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to broaden the definition of stalking to include conduct that causes a person to experience a reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury to his or her pet. Additionally, an interstate violation of a protection order includes interstate travel with the intent to violate a protection order against a pet that is included within the scope of the protection order. The bill specifies the applicable criminal penalty—a prison term of up to five years, a fine, or both—for a person who commits an interstate violation of a protection order against a pet. With respect to a defendant who commits a domestic violence offense or an interstate violation of a protection order, mandatory restitution in the "full amount of victim's losses" includes costs incurred for veterinary services related to the pet. The bill directs the Department of Agriculture to award grants for shelter and housing assistance and support services for domestic violence victims with pets. Finally, it expresses the sense of Congress that states should include, in domestic violence protection orders, protections against violence or threats against a person's pet.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2017
Global War on Terrorism War Memorial Act This bill allows the Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation to establish the National Global War on Terrorism Memorial as a commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia to commemorate and honor the members of the Armed Forces who served on active duty in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2017
Vietnam Helicopter Crew Monument Act This bill directs the Department of the Army to place in Arlington National Cemetery a monument honoring helicopter pilots and crew members who were killed while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era, subject to an agreement with the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association under which the association shall pay all site preparation, construction, installation, and maintenance costs for the memorial. The Army shall remove the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association Memorial Tree and place the monument where the tree stood.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2017
Sgt. Brandon Ketchum Never Again Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), upon the request of a veteran who is enrolled in the VA health care system and entitled to in-patient psychiatric care, to furnish such veteran with in-patient psychiatric care 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.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2017
Freedom of Religion Act of 2017 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide that an alien may not be denied U.S. entry, reentry, or admission, or any other immigration benefit because of the alien's religion or lack of religious beliefs. Nothing in this bill shall be construed to affect immigration law authority when exercised on a case-by-case basis with respect to an individual who a consular officer, an immigration officer, the Justice Department, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, or the President determines may pose a threat to U.S. national security.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2017
Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act This bill: (1) repeals certain provisions that require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military retired pay or who would be entitled to retired pay except for being under 60 years of age, (2) prohibits requiring repayment of certain amounts previously paid to SBP recipients in the form of a retired pay refund, and (3) requires (current law authorizes) the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay an annuity to a member's dependent children when there is no eligible surviving spouse. The Secretary concerned shall restore annuity eligibility to a surviving spouse who earlier agreed to transfer such eligibility to the surviving child or children of a member.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2017
S tability and Democracy for Ukraine Act or the STAND for Ukraine Act This bill states that it is U.S. policy to assist the government of Ukraine in restoring its sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to reverse and deter Russian aggression in Ukraine. The bill prohibits: (1) a federal agency from taking any action or extending any assistance that recognizes Russian sovereignty over Crimea, its airspace, or its territorial waters; and (2) the Government Publishing Office from printing any document indicating Crimea as part of the Russian Federation (Russia). U.S. sanctions provided for in Executive Order 13685 (blocking property of certain persons and prohibiting certain transactions with respect to the Crimea region of Ukraine) shall remain in effect until the President certifies to Congress that Ukraine's sovereignty over Crimea has been restored. The Support for the Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy, and Economic Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014 is amended to authorize the President to block and prohibit a foreign person's transactions of property or property interests that are U.S.-sited or controlled by a U.S. person if the foreign person has knowingly: (1) violated Executive Orders 13685 or Executive Orders 13360 or 13661(blocking property of persons contributing to the situation in Ukraine), or (2) facilitated deceptive or structured transactions for, or on behalf of, any person subject to U.S. sanctions against Russia. The President is authorized to impose similar sanctions against a foreign person: (1) who is responsible for, or complicit in, the commission of serious human rights abuses in any territory occupied or controlled by Russia; or (2) has materially assisted, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, such a person or is controlled by such a person. The President shall: (1) use U.S. influence to seek North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) adoption of a policy that opposes the transfer of defense articles and services to Russia while Russia occupies the territory of Ukraine or of a NATO member, and (2) direct appropriate U.S. agencies to monitor and identify transfers by NATO members of defense articles and services that are contrary to U.S policy. The Department of State shall develop and implement a strategy to respond to Russian-supported disinformation and propaganda efforts against persons in countries bordering Russia.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2017
Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research Act of 2017 or the Childhood Cancer STAR Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide support to collect the medical specimens and information of children, adolescents, and young adults with selected cancers that have the least effective treatments in order to achieve a better understanding of these cancers and the effects of treatment. The national childhood cancer registry is reauthorized through FY2022 and revised to authorize the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to award grants to state cancer registries to improve tracking of childhood cancers. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may: (1) support pilot programs to develop or study models for monitoring and caring for childhood cancer survivors throughout their lives, (2) establish a task force to develop and test standards for high-quality childhood cancer survivorship care, and (3) carry out a demonstration project to improve care coordination as childhood cancer survivors transition to adult care. HHS must convene a Workforce Development Collaborative on Medical and Psychosocial Care for Pediatric Cancer Survivors. The NIH may support research on: (1) outcomes for, and barriers faced by, pediatric cancer survivors within minority or medically underserved populations; and (2) follow-up care for pediatric cancer survivors, including research on the late effects of cancer treatment and long-term complications. The Government Accountability Office must make recommendations to address barriers to childhood cancer survivors obtaining and paying for adequate medical care.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2017
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. An "opportunity fund" is 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. Investments in opportunity zones or opportunity funds 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 · 2 February 2017
Expand American Educational Opportunity Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to replace the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning tax credits with a modified American Opportunity Tax Credit that: (1) allows an income tax credit of up to $2,500 of the qualified tuition and related expenses of a student who is carrying at least one half of a normal course load, (2) allows a lifetime dollar limitation for the credit of $15,000 for all taxable years, and (3) increases the refundable portion of the credit to a maximum of $1,500. The bill allows an exclusion from gross income of any amount received as a Federal Pell Grant.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2017
Declares that the House of Representatives commits to: (1) working with U.S. allies that signed the Paris Agreement on climate change, and (2) taking meaningful action to ensure that the President does not issue an executive order to withdraw from such agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2017 This bill repeals existing caps on Medicare payment for certain outpatient physical-therapy services and speech-language pathology services. Under current law, annual payment for such services is capped at $1,980 in 2017, with specified percentage increases to that limit in subsequent years.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Affordability for Constant and Continual Education to Enhance Student Success Act or the All-Year ACCESS Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase from one to two the number of Pell Grants an eligible student may receive in a single award year (i.e., it restores year-round Pell Grants). A student's total amount of Pell Grants must not exceed 150% of the maximum Pell Grant for that award year. Also, any period during which a student receives an additional Pell Grant counts toward that student's lifetime Pell Grant eligibility period.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) it is an indisputable fact that the Nazi regime targeted the Jewish people in its perpetration of the Holocaust, and (2) to deny or minimize that the Holocaust was an effort to eliminate the Jewish people is shameful. Calls on all executive branch entities, including the White House, to affirm that the Nazi regime targeted the Jewish people in the Holocaust.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Protect the National Security Council From Political Interference Act of 2017 This bill amends the National Security Act of 1947 to prohibit the President from designating any individual whose primary or predominant responsibility is political in nature to serve as a member of the National Security Council (NSC) or to regularly attend or participate in NSC meetings or meetings convened under the auspices of the NSC, including Principals Committee meetings. Organized under presidential memorandum, the Principals Committee is a cabinet-level senior interagency forum chaired by the National Security Advisor or the Homeland Security Advisor to consider policies that affect U.S. national security interests. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that no limitations should be imposed on the ability of the Director of National Intelligence or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or their designees, to attend any Principals Committee meeting convened under the auspices of the NSC or any other senior interagency meeting convened to consider policy issues that affect U.S. national security interests.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Ensuring Sound Military and Intelligence Advice Act of 2017 This bill amends the National Security Act of 1947 to require the President to designate the Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as regular attendees of the meetings of the National Security Council (NSC), or of any body of the NSC (including the Principals Committee), if any individual whose responsibilities are primarily political is designated as a regular attendee of such meetings.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
Anwar Sadat Centennial Celebration Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Anwar Sadat in recognition of his achievements and heroic actions to attain comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
This joint resolution eliminates the time limit for ratification of the equal rights amendment (prohibits discrimination on account of sex) proposed to the states in House Joint Resolution 208 of the 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972. The amendment shall be part of the Constitution whenever ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
Federal Adjustment of Income Rates Act or the FAIR Act This bill increases the rates of basic pay for federal employees under the statutory pay systems (relating to the General Schedule, the U.S. Foreign Service, and the Veterans Health Administration) and for prevailing rate employees by 2% for calendar year 2018 and FY2018, respectively. The percentage adjustment for locality-based comparability payments for calendar year 2018 shall be an increase of 1.2%.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Statue of Liberty Values Act of 2017 or the SOLVE Act of 2017 This bill states that: (1) beginning on January 27, 2017, Executive Order 13769, entitled "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States," is null and void, shall have no force and effect, and may not be implemented or enforced; and (2) no federal funds may be used to implement or enforce any of the policy changes set forth in such order. Among the order's major provisions are restrictions on the entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants from seven countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) and additional limitations on refugee admissions to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Expresses support for the designation of DIPG Awareness Day. ("DIPG" is diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a terminal childhood brain cancer.) Encourages the National Cancer Institute and other research funders to elevate their consideration of the mortality rate of a type of cancer as well as the life years lost as factors considered during the grant application process.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
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 · 27 January 2017
John Tanner Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act This bill prohibits a state that has been redistricted after an apportionment from being redistricted again until after the next apportionment of Representatives, unless the state is ordered by a court to conduct such a subsequent redistricting in order to: (1) comply with the U.S. Constitution, or (2) enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Such redistricting shall be conducted through a plan developed by the independent redistricting commission established in the state, or if such plan is not enacted into law, the redistricting plan selected by the state's highest court or developed by a U.S. district court. The bill prescribes requirements for: (1) establishment of a state independent redistricting commission (including provisions for holding each of its meetings in public and maintaining a public Internet site); (2) development of a redistricting plan (including soliciting and considering public comments) and its submission to the state legislature (with public notice of plans at least seven days prior to such submission); (3) selection of a plan, under specified conditions, by the state's highest court or the U.S. district court for the district in which the capital of the state is located; (4) special rules for redistricting conducted under a federal court order; and (5) Election Assistance Commission payments to states for carrying out redistricting.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2017
Small Business and Community Investments Expansion Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to authorize a Federal Home Loan Bank to make a long-term secured advance for the purpose of providing funds to a community development financial institution. Additionally, the bill expands eligible collateral, in the case of a community development financial institution, to include secured loans or securities representing a whole interest in secured loans.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
This bill declares that the memorandum titled "Presidential Memorandum Regarding the Hiring Freeze" published on January 23, 2017, or any other substantially similar memorandum, executive order, or other action by the President to prevent a department or agent of the federal government from filing vacant federal civilian employee positions or creating new such positions, shall have no force or effect with respect to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
![Official portrait of Rep. Delaney, John K. [D-MD-6]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/d000620_200.jpg)