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![Official portrait of Rep. Esty, Elizabeth H. [D-CT-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/e000293_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
1,222 records where Rep. Esty, Elizabeth H. [D-CT-5] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Expresses support for the designation of National Obesity Care Week. Encourages open communication to break barriers of misunderstanding and stigma regarding obesity and to improve the lives of individuals affected by obesity and their families.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Workforce Development Tax Credit Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business-related tax credit for: (1) 50% of wages (up to $2,000) paid to an apprenticeship employee during an apprenticeship period, and (2) 40% of wages (up to $6,000) paid to such an employee during a post-apprenticeship period. The bill defines "apprenticeship employee" as any employee employed by an employer pursuant to an apprentice agreement registered with the Office of Apprenticeship of the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor or a recognized state apprenticeship agency.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for the rehabilitation of buildings and historic structures, to: (1) allow an increased 30% credit, up to $750,000, for projects with rehabilitation expenditures not exceeding $3.75 million, for which no credit was allowed in either of the two prior taxable years (smaller projects); (2) allow the transfer of tax credit amounts for smaller projects; (3) treat a building as substantially rehabilitated if rehabilitation expenditures exceed the greater of 50% of the adjusted basis of the building or $5,000 (currently, the greater of the adjusted basis of the building or $5,000); (4) reduce the required basis adjustment from 100% of the credit to 50% of the amount of the credit; and (5) limit the application of disqualified lease rules to tax-exempt use property.
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
This bill requires the Federal Railroad Administration or the Federal Transit Authority: (1) within 10 days after beginning a safety audit of a railroad or rail transit agency, to notify specified congressional committees and each Member of Congress representing a state through which such agency operates service; and (2) within 90 days after completing such audit, to report the results to such committees and Members.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2017
New Markets Tax Credit Extension Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the new markets tax credit, (2) provide for an inflation adjustment to the limitation amount for such credit after 2016, and (3) allow an offset against the alternative minimum tax for such credit (determined with respect to qualified equity investments initially made after 2016).
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2017
North American Wetlands Conservation Extension Act This bill amends the North American Wetlands Conservation Act to extend the authorization for the Department of the Interior to carry out certain wetlands conservation projects through FY2022.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2017
Technologies for Energy Security Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend and modify the tax credits for residential energy efficient property and investments in energy property. The bill modifies the tax credit for residential energy efficient property to extend through 2021 the credits for expenditures for fuel cell property, small wind energy property, and geothermal heat pump property. For each extended credit, the bill phases out the current credit rate of 30% of expenditures by reducing it to 26% or 22%, depending on the date that the property is placed in service. The bill extends the tax credit for investments in energy property for the following property with construction that begins before January 1, 2022: fiber-optic solar energy property, fuel cell property, microturbine property, combined heat and power system property, small wind energy property, and thermal energy property. The bill phases out the current credit rate of 30% for investments in fuel cell property, small wind energy property, and fiber-optic solar energy property by reducing it to 26% or 22%, depending on the date that the property is placed in service.
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
Expresses support for efforts to build on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by ensuring that individuals have access to a public health insurance option.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2017
Supports the goals and ideals of Engineers Week to increase understanding of, and interest in, engineering and technology careers. Recognizes that engineering education is a critical component of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education.
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
Youth Access to American Jobs Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Education to award grants to 10 eligible entities (partnerships among a local educational agency (LEA), a community college, and a state apprentice program or a joint-labor management training program) to carry out a program for students to: enroll in and complete science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses, STEM-focused career and technical education courses, and other courses during grades 11 and 12 at a high school served by the LEA that prepares them for community college; enroll in a course of study related to a high-growth skills industry, an in-demand industry or occupation, the manufacturing field, or other vocational or career and technical education field at a community college upon graduating from such high school; and enroll, for a two-year period, in the eligible entity's state apprenticeship program or the joint-labor management training program upon receiving an associate's degree from such community college.
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
Complete America's Great Trails Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for the fair market value of any National Scenic Trail conservation contribution. The Department of the Interior must study and report on the efficacy of such tax credit in completing, extending, and increasing the number of National Scenic Trails and the feasibility and cost of making such credit refundable and transferable.
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
Veteran Urgent Access to Mental Healthcare Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish to former members of the Armed Forces: (1) an initial mental health assessment; and (2) the mental health care services required to treat the member's urgent mental health care needs, including risk of suicide or harming others. A former member of the Armed Forces is an individual who: served in the active military, naval, or air service, was discharged or released under a condition less than honorable (except a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge), has applied for a character of service determination that has not yet been made, and is not otherwise eligible to enroll in the VA health care system by reason of such discharge or release; or while serving in the Armed Forces, was deployed in a theater of combat operations or an area at a time during which hostilities occurred in that area, participated in or experienced such combat operations or hostilities, or was the victim of a physical assault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment. The VA may provide such mental health care services at a non-VA facility if: (1) the receipt of mental health care services by an individual in VA facilities would be clinically inadvisable, or (2) VA facilities are not capable of furnishing such mental health care services to that individual economically because of geographical inaccessibility. The VA shall seek to enter into a contract with an independent nongovernmental entity to study the effect combat service has had on suicide rates and serious mental health issues among veterans.
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
This bill provides eligibility for beneficiary travel through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to a veteran whose travel to a specialized outpatient or residential program at a VA facility is in connection with treatment or care for military sexual trauma.
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
Saracini Aviation Safety Act of 2017 This bill requires the Federal Aviation Administration to issue an order to require: (1) the installation of secondary barriers, other than the cockpit door, to prevent access to the flight deck of each covered aircraft; (2) such barriers on the aircraft with a cockpit door to remain locked while the aircraft is in flight and the cockpit door separating the flight deck and the passenger area is open; and (3) such barriers on the aircraft without a cockpit door to remain locked as determined by the pilot in command. "Covered aircraft" is defined as a commercial aircraft: (1) equipped with more than 75 passenger seats, and (2) with a maximum gross takeoff weight of more than 75,000 pounds.
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
Flood Insurance Integrity Act of 2017 This bill directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review every four years the rate tables established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for implementing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and determine whether: (1) the chargeable premium rates for flood insurance coverage are actuarially sound, based on standard actuarial practices used in the private sector; and (2) such chargeable premium rates are sufficient to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of NFIP. The bill also directs the GAO to review annually the process for establishing and updating flood insurance rate maps and determine the degree of accuracy of the mapping process.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2017
Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to terminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). Under PPACA, the IPAB is tasked with developing proposals to reduce the per capita rate of growth in Medicare spending.
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 · 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
Expresses support for the designation of National Cancer Prevention Day.
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
Child Tax Credit Improvement Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the child tax credit, to: (1) allow taxpayers an increased $3,600 tax credit for each young child under the age of six (young child tax credit), subject to specified limitations based on adjusted gross income; (2) require the Department of the Treasury to establish a program to make advance payments of the young child tax credit; (3) modify the refundable portion of the child tax credit; and (4) require annual inflation adjustments for both the child tax credit and the young child tax credit.
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
EAC Reauthorization Act of 2017 This bill amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to: (1) reauthorize the Election Assistance Commission through FY2022, (2) authorize funding to states for FY2018 for security upgrades to voter registration lists and processes and waive the 5% match requirement for these funds, (3) require each state to furnish to the commission such information as the commission may request for the purposes of conducting any post-election surveys of the states with respect to the administration of a regularly scheduled general election, and (4) require the National Institute of Standards and Technology to report on its use of funds transferred from the commission. The commission shall carry out an assessment: (1) of whether the voting systems available for use in the elections for federal office to be held in 2018 are adequate to meet the demands of such elections, and (2) of the security and effectiveness of the commission's information technology systems. The commission shall carry out a review of the effectiveness and efficiency of the state-based administrative complaint procedures established and maintained under such Act for the investigation and resolution of allegations of violations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Appalachian Communities Health Emergency Act or ACHE Act This bill requires the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to conduct or support studies on the health impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining on individuals in the surrounding communities. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), upon receiving the results of these studies, must determine whether such mining presents any health risks to individuals in those communities. This bill applies to surface coal mining that uses blasting with explosives in the steep slope regions of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia. The bill prohibits authorization for any mountaintop removal coal mining project or expansion under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) or the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 unless HHS determines that such mining does not present any health risk to individuals in the surrounding communities. The bill requires monitoring of air, water, and soil for pollution, including noise pollution, until HHS makes its determination. HHS must publish pollution monitoring results. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement of the Department of the Interior must assess a one-time fee upon such mining projects, sufficient to cover the federal cost of the studies and pollution monitoring required by this bill.
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
Employer Participation in Student Loan Assistance Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance to include payments of qualified education loans by an employer to either an employee or a lender.
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
Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH Woman) Act of 2017 This bill requires the federal government: (1) to ensure coverage for abortion care in public health insurance programs including Medicaid, Medicare, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); (2) as an employer or health plan sponsor, to ensure coverage for abortion care for participants and beneficiaries; and (3) as a provider of health services, to ensure that abortion care is made available to individuals who are eligible to receive services. The federal government may not prohibit, restrict, or otherwise inhibit insurance coverage of abortion care by state or local governments or by private health plans. State and local governments may not prohibit, restrict, or otherwise inhibit insurance coverage of abortion care by private health plans.
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 · 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
Ensuring Access to Quality Complex Rehabilitation Technology Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish a separate Medicare benefit category for complex rehabilitation technology (CRT) items that: (1) are designed or configured to meet an individual's unique needs and capacities; (2) are primarily used to serve a medical or functional purpose; and (3) require certain services to ensure appropriate design, configuration, and use. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shall designate CRT items and establish eligibility criteria with respect to such items, in accordance with specified exclusions and other requirements. The CMS must also establish: (1) a payment system applicable to CRT items, subject to clinical conditions and other specified requirements; (2) quality standards for suppliers of CRT items; and (3) a formal process for the submission of certain CRT code-set modification requests by stakeholder groups. If specified requirements are met, Medicare payment must be made for the replacement of a CRT item (or item part), without regard to certain continuous-use or useful-lifetime restrictions applicable to items of durable medical equipment. In addition, Medicare payment may be made for the temporary rental of a CRT item if such an item owned by a qualified enrollee is undergoing necessary repairs.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment providing that: (1) the rights protected by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only; (2) artificial entities (such as corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities established by the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state) shall have no rights under the Constitution and are subject to regulation by the people, through federal, state, or local law; and (3) the privileges of such artificial entities shall not be construed to be inherent or inalienable. The amendment requires federal, state, and local government to: (1) regulate, limit, or prohibit contributions and expenditures, including a candidate's own contributions and expenditures, to ensure that all citizens, regardless of their economic status, have access to the political process and that no person gains, as a result of that person's money, substantially more access or ability to influence the election of any candidate for public office or any ballot measure; and (2) require that any permissible contributions and expenditures be publicly disclosed. The judiciary is prohibited from construing the spending of money to influence elections to be speech under the First Amendment.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax treatment of certain alcoholic beverages, to: exclude the aging period from the production period for beer, wine, or distilled spirits for purposes of determining whether a taxpayer can expense, rather than capitalize, interest costs paid or incurred during the production period; reduce excise tax rates on beer and distilled spirits; modify the small wine producer tax credit to increase the amount of the credit, expand the producers that are covered, and specify an adjustment for hard cider; modify the alcohol content limitations that apply to certain wines for tax purposes; specify definitions for "mead" and "low alcohol by volume wine;" modify requirements for records, statements, and returns for certain breweries; and permit the transfer of beer between bonded facilities without payment of tax. The Department of the Treasury must amend applicable regulations with respect to the use of wholesome products suitable for human consumption in the production of fermented beverages.
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.