United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2018
Manage our Wolves Act This bill addresses the protection of the gray wolf ( Canis lupus ) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Specifically, the Department of the Interior must issue a rule to remove the gray wolf in the contiguous 48 states from the list of endangered or threatened species and reinstate a rule that removed the gray wolf in the Western Great Lakes region from the list. The bill exempts those rules from judicial review as well as a rule that removed the gray wolf in Wyoming from the list.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2018
Access to Capital Creates Economic Strength and Supports Rural America Act or the ACCESS Rural America Act This bill increases the shareholder registration threshold for issuers receiving support through federal universal service support mechanisms, which provide communication services to underserved areas.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2018
Recognizes the cultural and historical significance of the Hmong New Year. Expresses respect for Hmong Americans celebrating this occasion. Wishes Hmong Americans and all individuals who observe this holiday a happy new year.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2018
Everyday Philanthropist Act This bill allows employers to offer certain employees a tax-advantaged flexible giving account as a fringe benefit. Flexible giving accounts allow employees to set aside up to $5,000 of their annual pretax earnings to make tax-deductible charitable contributions without having to itemize tax deductions.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2018
AG and Legal Workforce Act This bill establishes a new H-2C nonimmigrant visa for aliens coming temporarily to the United States to perform agricultural labor or services. In addition, the bill (1) directs the Department of Homeland Security to create an electronic employment-eligibility confirmation system modeled after the E-Verify system, and (2) mandates the use of such a system by employers.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2018
Puerto Rico Admission Act of 2018 This bill establishes a process to enable the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico to be admitted into the Union as a state.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2018
Puerto Rico Economic Empowerment Act of 2018 This bill provides for various support for Puerto Rico, including by (1) establishing tax benefits for Puerto Rico, such as a tax credit for employment payroll taxes and an expansion of the child tax credit; (2) relaxing certain requirements related to Small Business Administration loan programs for certain Puerto Rico businesses; (3) prioritizing the transfer of surplus U.S. government property to qualified Puerto Rico businesses; and (4) establishing the Federal and State Technology Partnership Program in Puerto Rico.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2018
Recognizes that the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and all federal law enforcement agencies have a duty to uphold the Constitution and to protect the United States without any partisan or ideological inclination affecting their important work. Calls on DOJ to appoint a special counsel to investigate specified concerns.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2018
Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2018 This bill requires the House of Representatives and the Senate to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the U.S. merchant mariners of World War II, in recognition of their service during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2018
Maritime Border Security Review Act This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to submit to Congress a maritime border (i.e., the transit zone and the borders and territorial waters of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) threat analysis. The report must identify and describe current and potential terrorism and criminal threats from individuals and groups seeking to enter the United States through the maritime border and improvements needed at U.S. seaports and at the maritime border. In preparing the threat analysis, DHS must consider and examine factors such as technology needs and challenges, the geographic challenges of the maritime border, and the impact of recent natural disasters on border security activities.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2018
Promoting Flood Risk Mitigation Act This bill directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study to assess: (1) the efficacy of practices or programs under which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides assistance to state and local governments to acquire flood-damaged properties (buyout practices), and (2) ways to streamline the buyout practices. The study must consider and analyze certain factors, such as current and future trends regarding repetitive loss structures that are insured under the National Flood Insurance Program and constraints on buyout practices. The GAO shall submit to specified congressional committees and FEMA a report on the buyout practices study and the feasibility of FEMA establishing an alternative buyout program.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2018
Housing Choice Voucher Mobility Demonstration Act of 2018 This bill authorizes the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to implement a mobility demonstration program to enable public housing agencies (PHAs) to administer housing-choice rental-assistance vouchers in a manner designed to: (1) encourage low-income families receiving such assistance to move to lower-poverty areas, and (2) expand access to opportunity areas. HUD shall require PHAs applying to participate in the program to submit a specified Regional Housing Mobility Plan.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2018
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2650 North Doctor Martin Luther King Drive in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the "Vel R. Phillips Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2018
This bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise the vote percentage amounts below which a company may exclude, from its proxy materials, resubmission of a shareholder proposal that previously failed passage. (Shareholder proposals previously included in the issuer's proxy materials may be excluded by the company from subsequent proxy materials if the proposal received less than a specified percentage of the vote the last time it was included. The percentage varies depending upon the number of times the proposal has been submitted previously.)
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2018
Expresses support for the designation of Great Lakes Week and commits to ensuring that the Great Lakes are preserved and protected through programs such as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2018
Wholesome Healthy Original Lactic Excellence Making Intelligent Literate Kids Act or the WHOLE MILK Act This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to allow schools participating in the National School Lunch Program to serve unflavored whole milk.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2018
Flooded Homeowner Financial Relief Act of 2018 This bill exempts certain property from the National Flood Insurance Program's mandatory purchase requirement. Specifically, a flood-hazard-area property that is part of a binding agreement for open-space conversion under an approved buy-out program shall be exempt from the requirement to purchase flood insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2018
Celebrates the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel. Encourages equitable treatment of Israel in international fora and the diplomatic recognition of Israel from governments worldwide. Reiterates support for a negotiated Israeli-Palestinian settlement leading to a two-state solution.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2018
Give Useful Information to Define Effective Compliance Act or the GUIDE Compliance Act This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to require certain procedures for guidance issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2018
Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs Act of 2018 or the SIREN Act of 2018 This bill reauthorizes through FY2022 and revises the Rural Emergency Medical Service Training and Equipment Assistance Program, which is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2018
Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy Act or the DRIVE-Safe Act This bill directs the Department of Transportation to issue regulations relating to an apprenticeship program for licensed commercial motor vehicle drivers under the age of 21.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2018
Support Technology and Research for Our Nation's Growth and Economic Resilience Patents Act of 2018 or the STRONGER Patents Act of 2018 This bill makes several changes to the patent law, including the procedures that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office uses to conduct administrative patent validity reviews.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2018
Agricultural Certainty for Reporting Emissions Act This bill amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to exempt air emissions from animal waste at a farm from specified release notification requirements, recordkeeping requirements, and associated penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2018
Financial Product Safety Commission Act of 2018 This bill removes the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from the Federal Reserve System, converts the bureau into an independent commission, and modifies its leadership structure.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2018
Protecting Children from Identity Theft Act This bill requires the Social Security Administration (SSA) to develop a database to facilitate the verification of consumer information upon request by a certified financial institution. Such verification shall be provided only with the consumer's consent and in connection with a credit transaction. Users of the database shall pay system costs as determined by the SSA.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2018
United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018 This bill extends Military Financing Program grants for Israel through FY2023. The Department of Defense shall conduct a joint assessment with Israel regarding: (1) precision guided munitions needed by Israel in a sustained armed confrontation with Hezbollah and other armed groups and terrorist organizations, and (2) related U.S. assistance and resupply planning. The President may utilize the Special Defense Acquisition Fund to transfer precision guided munitions and related defense articles and services to reserve stocks for Israel. Authorities for loan guarantees and the war reserves stockpile for Israel are extended through FY2023. The Department of Homeland Security shall establish a seven-year grant program with Israel to support: (1) cybersecurity research and development, and (2) commercialization of cybersecurity technology. The U.S. Agency for International Development may enter into memoranda of understanding with Israel to advance common goals on energy, agriculture and food security, democracy, economic growth, education, and health. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shall continue to work with the Israel Space Agency to pursue peaceful space exploration and science initiatives. The President may enter into a cooperative project agreement with Israel to carry out research and joint production of defense articles and services to detect and destroy unmanned aerial vehicles (i.e., drones) that threaten the United States or Israel. The bill states that it is U.S. policy to ensure that Israel maintains its qualitative military edge.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2018
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Economic Exclusion Act This bill expands sanctions against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The President shall report to Congress regarding: foreign and domestic supply chains that significantly aid the IRGC; Iranian state-owned entities that provide support to terrorist entities, including Mahan Air; and foreign persons owned or controlled by the IRGC, including companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange or companies with a value in excess of $100 million. The bill states that it is U.S. policy to prevent Iran's membership in the World Trade Organization and similar international bodies as long as Iran remains a state sponsor of terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2018
Public Company Registration Threshold Act This bill revises the shareholder and assets thresholds at which registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission is required.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2018
Reserve Component Benefits Parity Act of 2018 This bill makes reserve component members who are deployed to support pre-planned operations of a combatant command eligible for: (1) non-reduction in pay while serving in the uniformed services or National Guard, (2) consideration of active duty service to reduce the age for retired pay ; and (3) the high-deployment allowance for lengthy or numerous deployments and frequent mobilizations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2018
Stopping Overdoses of Fentanyl Analogues Act This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to add certain fentanyl analogues to schedule I. A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that: has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2018
Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from requiring a tax-exempt organization to include in annual returns the name, address, or other identifying information of any contributor. The bill includes exceptions for: (1) required disclosures regarding prohibited tax shelter transactions; and (2) contributions by the organization's officers, directors, or five highest compensated employees (including compensation paid by related organizations).
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2018
Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018 or the STOP School Violence Act of 2018 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to revise and reauthorize through FY2028 the Secure Our Schools grant program. This grant program provides grants to states, local governments, and Indian tribes to improve security, including the placement and use of metal detectors and other deterrent measures, at schools and on school grounds.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure that if it creates a presumption of service connection between the occurrence of a disease and exposure to a herbicide agent while serving in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era at a military base in Thailand, such presumption shall also apply to exposure to a herbicide agent while serving in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era at any military base in Thailand without regard to where on the base the veteran was located or what military job specialty the veteran performed. The VA may provide to any spina bifida-affected child of a veteran who served on active duty in Thailand beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, and who was exposed to a herbicide agent during such service, the same health care, vocational training and rehabilitation, and monetary allowance required to be paid to a similarly affected child of a Vietnam veteran.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
Codifying Useful Regulatory Definitions Act or the CURD Act This bills amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish a definition for natural cheese.
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 2017
Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to require any health care practitioner who is present when a child is born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion to: (1) exercise the same degree of care as reasonably provided to any other child born alive at the same gestational age, and (2) ensure that such child is immediately admitted to a hospital. The term "born alive" means the complete expulsion or extraction from his or her mother, at any stage of development, who after such expulsion or extraction breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut. Also, a health care practitioner or other employee who has knowledge of a failure to comply with these requirements must immediately report such failure to an appropriate law enforcement agency. An individual who violates the provisions of this bill is subject to a criminal fine, up to five years in prison, or both. An individual who commits an overt act that kills a child born alive is subject to criminal prosecution for murder. The bill bars the criminal prosecution of a mother of a child born alive for conspiracy to violate these provisions, for being an accessory after the fact, or for concealment of felony. A woman who undergoes an abortion or attempted abortion may file a civil action for damages against an individual who violates this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2017
Organic Farmers Access Act This bill amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act and the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 to expand the eligibility of organic farmers for assistance under Department of Agriculture (USDA) rural development grant and loan programs. The bill authorizes additional assistance for certified organic farms and certified organic handling operations under USDA programs that provide: (1) rural business development grants, (2) loans and loan guarantees for locally or regionally produced agricultural food products, and (3) value-added agricultural product market development grants.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2017
Curbing Realistic Exploitative Electronic Pedophilic Robots Act of 2017 or the CREEPER Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to broaden the prohibition on importation or transportation of obscene materials. Specifically, the bill makes it a crime to import, or knowingly use a common carrier or interactive computer service to transport in interstate or foreign commerce, a child sex doll.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2017
Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) of 2017 This bill imposes criminal penalties on anyone who knowingly or knowingly attempts to: (1) perform an abortion knowing that the abortion is sought based on the sex or gender of the child, (2) use force or the threat of force to coerce a sex-selection abortion, (3) solicit or accept funds for the performance of such an abortion, or (4) transport a woman into the United States or across a state line for the purpose of obtaining such an abortion. The bill authorizes civil actions by: (1) fathers, or maternal grandparents if the mother is an unemancipated minor, of unborn children who are the subject of a prohibited sex-selection abortion; or (2) women upon whom an abortion has been performed or attempted with a knowing or attempted use of force or threat of force to coerce a sex-selection abortion. The bill also authorizes injunctive relief to prevent an abortion provider from performing or attempting further such abortions. Violations of this bill are deemed to be prohibited discrimination under title VI (Federally Assisted Programs) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Medical and mental health professionals must report known or suspected violations to law enforcement authorities. A woman having such an abortion may not be prosecuted or held civilly liable. Courts must make such orders as necessary to protect the anonymity of any woman upon whom an abortion has been performed or attempted if she does not give her written consent to such disclosure. In the absence of such consent, any party, other than a public official, who brings an action must use a pseudonym.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2017
Comprehensive Regulatory Review Act This bill amends the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 to expand the required comprehensive review of financial regulatory requirements. Specifically, the review must be completed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the National Credit Union Administration, in addition to (as required under current law) the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Federal Reserve Board. The review must be performed at least every 7, rather than 10, years. After performing the review, a regulator must consider tailoring regulations to limit specified burdens. The bill specifies information and criteria the CFPB must use when conducting its review.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2017
Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2017 This bill requires the Social Security Administration (SSA) to make annual grants to each state's protection and advocacy system for the purpose of conducting reviews of representative payees under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program and the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program. The SSA must also conduct periodic onsite reviews of individual and organizational payees. The bill lessens certain monitoring requirements with respect to specified family members who are serving as representative payees. The bill provides for advance designation of representative payees. In general, an individual who has been convicted of a felony, or of an attempt or a conspiracy to commit a felony, may not serve as a representative payee. An individual who has a representative payee may not also serve as a representative payee. The SSA must report to specified congressional committees on certain issues related to representative payment with respect to SSI and OASDI benefits. The SSA must: (1) enter into agreements with each state for the purpose of sharing information to identify represented minor beneficiaries who are in foster care; and (2) determine the appropriate representative payee for any represented minor beneficiary who has entered foster care, exited foster care, or changed foster care placement in a given month. The bill modifies provisions related to overpayment liability with respect to a represented minor beneficiary in foster care. The Government Accountability Office must report to specified congressional committees on certain issues related to represented minor beneficiaries in foster care.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2017
Advancing Medical Resident Training in Community Hospitals Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise payment rules for graduate medical education (GME) costs with respect to a hospital that establishes a new medical residency training program. With respect to a hospital that has not entered into a GME affiliation agreement, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shall establish the hospital's full-time equivalent (FTE) resident amount only after determining that the hospital's medical residency training program trains more than 1.0 FTE resident in a cost reporting period. In the case of a hospital with an approved FTE resident amount based on the training of no more than 1.0 FTE resident in a cost reporting period before October 1, 1997, or 3.0 FTE residents in a cost reporting period after that date, the CMS shall provide the hospital an opportunity to have its FTE resident amount reestablished when the hospital begins training FTE residents in excess of the applicable threshold. Current law limits the number, subject to the application of certain adjustments, of FTE residents a hospital may have in allopathic and osteopathic medicine for purposes of Medicare payment. The bill specifies that the CMS shall determine a hospital's limitation adjustment only after determining that the hospital's medical residency training program trains more than 1.0 FTE residents in a cost reporting period. In the case of a hospital with a limitation adjustment based on the training of no more than 1.0 FTE resident in a cost reporting period before October 1, 1997, or 3.0 FTE residents in a cost reporting period after that date, the CMS shall provide the hospital an opportunity to have its adjustment re-determined when the hospital begins training FTE residents in excess of the applicable threshold.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2017
International Insurance Standards Act of 2017 This bill prohibits parties representing the federal government in an international insurance agreement from agreeing to any standard unless it is consistent with existing federal and state laws. The parties must coordinate with state insurance regulators. Congress has the power to review and disapprove by joint resolution any such agreement. The bill amends the Federal Insurance Office Act of 2010 to modify requirements for a covered international agreement entered into by the Department of the Treasury's Federal Insurance Office. Such an agreement must only apply on a prospective basis. Congress has the power to review and disapprove by joint resolution any covered agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2017
This joint resolution nullifies the rule finalized by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on November 17, 2017, regarding payday, vehicle title, and other high-cost installment loans.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2017
CFPB Pay Fairness Act of 2017 This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to require Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees to be compensated according to the General Schedule pay scale for federal employees.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2017
Settlement Tax Deductions are Over for Predators Act or the STOP Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny a trade or business expense deduction for any amount paid or incurred on account of a judgment or settlement originating from, or to require the non-disclosure of or otherwise prevent, a claim or accusation of sexual abuse or sexual harassment (including unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature).
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2017
Hometown Heroes Relief Act of 2017 This bill reauthorizes through FY2022 and revises the Rural Emergency Medical Service Training and Equipment Assistance Program.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2017
Forgotten Families Recovery Act of 2017 This bill requires the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to consider the treatment and recovery of addicted minors, as well as individuals responsible for caring for dependent minors who are at risk of entering foster care, when determining priority substance use disorder prevention needs of regional and national significance.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2017
This bill amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to require specified funds to be used for grants to recipients of permanent supportive housing grants for homeless persons to provide supportive services, including case management services, to residents of such housing.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2017
Providing Rural Equity, Parity, and Reinvestment in Education Act or the PREPARE Act This bill amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 with respect to within-state funding allocations. States are required to reserve up to 15% (currently, 10%) of their grant funds for innovative career and technical education (CTE) activities in rural areas and in areas with high percentages and high numbers of CTE concentrators or participants. A "CTE concentrator" at the (1) secondary school level, is a student served by an eligible recipient who has completed three or more CTE courses or completed at least two courses in a single CTE program or program of study; or (2) postsecondary level, is a student enrolled in an eligible recipient who has earned at least 12 cumulative credits within a CTE program or program of study, or completed such a program if it encompasses fewer than 12 credits or the equivalent in total. A "CTE participant" is an individual who completes at least one course or earns at least one credit in a CTE program or program of study of an eligible recipient.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2017
Fab Lab Classroom Modernization Act This bill authorizes the Department of Education to award grants for FY2019-FY2023 to states for local educational agencies to purchase digital-fabrication laboratory equipment or to provide professional development related to incorporating a digital-fabrication laboratory into the curriculum. A digital-fabrication laboratory is a high-technology workspace that includes equipment such as three-dimensional printers and laser engravers.