United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2023
This resolution expresses support for the designation of a National Animal Rescue Day to create awareness for animal rescue programs throughout the year and address the challenge of pet overpopulation through continued spaying and neutering.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2023
Technology for Energy Security Act of 2023 This bill extends the energy investment tax credit for qualified fuel cell property for eight years. Under current law, an energy investment tax credit of up to 30% of the cost of qualified fuel cell property is available provided construction of the qualified fuel cell property begins on or before December 31, 2024. This bill extends the energy investment tax credit to include qualified fuel cell property where construction begins on or before December 31, 2032.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2023
Preventing Deep Fake Scams Act This bill establishes the Task Force on Artificial Intelligence in the Financial Services Sector. Members include representatives from the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration. The task force must report on (1) how banks and credit unions prevent fraud that utilizes artificial intelligence, (2) best practices for financial institutions to protect their customers, and (3) related legislative and regulatory recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2023
Opening Plans to Individuals and Offering New Services for Mental Health Act of 2023 or the OPTIONS Act of 2023 This bill allows a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) to provide up to $500 of mental health benefits before the annual deductible is met as part of its plan benefits and still be classified as an HDHP. Under current law, to be considered health savings account-eligible, an HDHP must have a deductible above a certain minimum threshold amount, which is adjusted annually. For 2024, a health plan's annual deductible must be at least $1,600 for self-only coverage and $3,200 for family coverage to qualify as an HDHP.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2023
Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act This bill expands special education and related services for children and youth who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafdisabled, blind, visually impaired, or deafblind. The bill establishes additional requirements for states to identify and evaluate children who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafdisabled, blind, visually impaired, or deafblind. A state's closure of a specialized school serving children who are blind or deaf shall count as a reduction of its financial support for special education and related services. The bill also authorizes support, including grants for training special education personnel, to be used in preparing individuals to become qualified teachers and early intervention specialists for children who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafdisabled, or deafblind. The bill 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 · 26 September 2023
This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to study the degree to which the Department of Defense is dependent on entities located in foreign countries for the procurement of end items (i.e., final products when assembled or completed and ready for issue, delivery, or deployment) and components (i.e., parts of end items or other components).
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2023
Enhancing Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Through Campus Planning Act This bill requires the Department of Education to encourage institutions of higher education to develop and implement evidence-based comprehensive campus mental health and suicide prevention plans.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2023
Government Shutdown Impact Report Act of 2023 This bill requires the Congressional Budget Office to submit daily reports to Congress when a government shutdown is in effect. The reports must include details regarding the costs and economic effects of the shutdown, including estimates of lost economic output, the decrease in gross domestic product for the quarter, assistance that the Small Business Administration was unable to provide, revenue that the National Park Service (NPS) lost due to the closure of NPS lands and historic sites, and revenue lost due to the effects on tourism and travel to and within the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2023
Protecting Student Athletes From Concussions Act This bill conditions each state's receipt of federal funds, beginning in FY2025, on the state's enforcement of specified minimum requirements for the prevention and treatment of concussions in school-sponsored athletics and activities. Each local educational agency must develop and implement a standard plan for concussion safety and management that includes (1) the education of students, parents, and school personnel about concussions; (2) specified supports for each student recovering from a concussion; and (3) best practices designed to ensure the uniformity of safety standards, treatment, and management. Each public school must post on school grounds and publish on the school website specified information about concussions. If any public school personnel suspects that a student has sustained a concussion during a school-sponsored activity, the student must be immediately removed from participation in that activity and prohibited from participating in school-sponsored athletic activities until the student submits a written release from a health care professional. Furthermore, the school personnel must report all available information regarding the injury to a concussion management team that will confirm and report details of the injury to the student's parents. The school's concussion management team shall consult with and make recommendations to relevant school personnel and the student to ensure that the student is receiving the appropriate academic supports.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2023
Student Loan Refinancing and Recalculation Act This bill provides for the refinancing or deferral of certain federal student loans. Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Education to establish a program to refinance the outstanding principal, interest, and late charges on federal student loans in order to give borrowers fixed interest rates equal to the 10-year Treasury note rate plus one percentage point. Further, the bill eliminates origination fees on the loans. In addition, the bill allows borrowers in medical, veterinary, or dental internship or residency programs to defer student loan payments until the completion of their programs. The bill also terminates interest capitalization for federal student loans.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2023
Stop Campus Hazing Act This bill requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in federal student aid programs to report hazing incidents. Specifically, the bill requires each IHE to disclose hazing incidents that were reported to campus security authorities or local police agencies in its annual security report. The bill defines the term hazing to mean any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a person against a student (regardless of that student's willingness to participate), that (1) is connected with an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in, an organization (e.g., a club, athletic team, fraternity, or sorority); and (2) causes or is likely to contribute to a substantial risk, above the reasonable risk encountered in the course of participation in the IHE or the organization, of physical injury, mental harm, or degradation. In addition, each IHE must develop and distribute as part of its annual security report a statement of policy regarding the following: (1) a comprehensive program to prevent hazing, which must include information on hazing awareness and hazing prevention; and (2) the IHE's current campus policies on hazing, which must include procedures that comply with specified collection and reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2023
Vote by Mail Tracking Act This bill requires mail-in ballots to (1) contain a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) barcode that enables tracking of each individual ballot, (2) satisfy USPS requirements for ballot envelope design and machinable letters, and (3) include the official election mail logo.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2023
Youth Lead Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2028 National Institute of Food and Agriculture grants to the Girl Scouts of the USA, the Boy Scouts of America, the National 4–H Council, and the National FFA Organization. These grants must be used to establish pilot projects to expand the programs carried out by the organizations in rural areas and small towns.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2023
Pay Our Military Act This bill provides continuing appropriations for military pay for any period during which interim or full-year appropriations for FY2024 are not in effect (i.e., a government shutdown). Specifically, the bill provides FY2024 continuing appropriations for the pay and allowances of (1) members of the Armed Forces, including reserve components, who perform active service or inactive-duty training during the period; and (2) civilian employees and contractors of the Department of Defense (and the Department of Homeland Security in the case of the Coast Guard when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Department of the Navy) who are providing support to such members of the Armed Forces. If a government shutdown occurs, the bill provides the continuing appropriations until the earlier of (1) the enactment into law of specified appropriations legislation, or (2) January 1, 2025.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2023
Pay Our Troops Act This bill provides continuing appropriations for military pay for any period during which interim or full-year appropriations for FY2024 are not in effect (i.e., a government shutdown). Specifically, the bill provides FY2024 continuing appropriations for the pay and allowances of (1) members of the Armed Forces, including reserve components, who perform active service during the period; and (2) civilian employees and contractors of the Department of Defense (and the Department of Homeland Security in the case of the Coast Guard when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Department of the Navy) who are providing support to such members of the Armed Forces. If a government shutdown occurs, the bill provides the continuing appropriations until the earlier of (1) the enactment into law of specified appropriations legislation, or (2) January 1, 2025.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2023
Venezuelans Overcoming Interference and Corruption in Elections Act or the VOICE Act This bill requires the President to impose sanctions on any foreign persons who prevent opposition candidates from participating in the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election. Specifically, the President must impose sanctions on any foreign persons (including Venezuelan officials) who prevent opposition candidates from participating in, or who materially assist in preventing opposition candidates from participating in, the 2024 Venezuelan presidential elections. Sanctions include asset blocking, inadmissibility into the United States, and visa revocation. The President may waive sanctions based on a determination that such a waiver is in the national interest of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2023
This resolution designates an annual Gold Star Families Remembrance Week and recognizes the sacrifices made by veterans' families and the families of members of the Armed Forces who made the ultimate sacrifice in order to defend freedom and protect the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2023
World Language Education Assistance Program Act or the World LEAP Act This bill requires the Department of Education to award competitive grants to local educational agencies to establish and carry out new, or improve existing, world language or dual language programs.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2023
Helping Ensure Access to Local TeleHealth Act of 2023 or the HEALTH Act of 2023 This bill modifies requirements relating to Medicare coverage of telehealth services, including services that are furnished by federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and rural health clinics (RHCs). Specifically, the bill expands coverage to include audio-only telehealth services. It also permanently allows FQHCs and RHCs to serve as the distant site (i.e., the location of the health care practitioner) for telehealth services and excludes such services from certain geographic restrictions. Payment must be made in the same manner as for non-telehealth services, rather than in accordance with a separate methodology determined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2023
This resolution recognizes the need for screening and treating low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular events such as heart attacks or strokes. The resolution also encourages all individuals in the United States to know their LDL-C number. High levels of LDL-C increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2023
Global WASH in Healthcare Facilities Act of 2023 This bill requires the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement an action plan to increase global access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in healthcare facilities. USAID shall develop and submit to Congress such an action plan to (1) increase access to safe water in healthcare facilities; (2) enable handwashing at all points of care; (3) provide for the safe segregation, treatment, and disposal of healthcare and human waste; and (4) promote WASH behavior change.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2023
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1077 River Road, Suite 1, in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, as the "Susan C. Barnhart Post Office."