United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2017
Recognizes the 69th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the celebration of Human Rights Day. Supports the ideals of human rights and reaffirms the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Encourages all nations to continue working towards freedom, peace, and security which can be achieved only through democracy, respect for human rights, and the rule of law.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2017
Adoption Information Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require family planning service projects or programs, as a condition of receiving certain grants or contracts, to assure the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that they will provide each person who inquires about their services with a pamphlet containing a comprehensive list of adoption centers in their state. The bill directs HHS to prepare, annually update, and distribute such pamphlets to such projects or programs.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2017
Clean Air Contingency Measures Act of 2017 This bill amends the Clean Air Act to specify that an area nonattainment plan may contain contingency measures, which are measures undertaken if an area fails to make reasonable progress towards or to attain a national primary ambient air quality standard, that may be implemented prior to the area failing.
United States · United States Congress · 29 November 2017
Exploring the Future of Work Act This bill directs the Department of Labor to arrange with the National Academies to study shifting workforce industry challenges and opportunities related to the displacement of U.S. workers due to technological innovation.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2017
Veterans Empowerment Act This bill restructures the delivery of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care through private non-VA providers. The Veterans Accountable Care Organization is established as a federally chartered corporation to permit veterans who are eligible for VA health care to choose to receive health care from private-sector providers. Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospital care, medical services, and other health care functions and personnel (excluding nursing home care and domiciliary care) are transferred to the organization. The bill establishes in the VHA the Veterans Health Insurance program to provide veterans with insurance coverage for both VA and private health care.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2017
Celebrates the 99th anniversary of Polish independence as an opportunity to remember the historic events and courageous individuals that brought about reconstitution of Poland's sovereignty. Honors the resolve and sacrifice of the people of Poland. Reaffirms the close bonds between Poland and the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2017
Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act of 2017 or the CLEAR Act of 2017 This bill reaffirms the existing inherent authority of states and localities to assist in the enforcement of immigration laws by detaining or transferring aliens to federal custody. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall provide the National Crime Information Center of the Department of Justice with information about aliens in violation of immigration laws. States and localities must provide DHS with specified information about such aliens. DHS shall: (1) provide grants to states and localities to assist them in enforcing immigration laws, (2) construct or acquire increased space for detention facilities, (3) take illegal aliens into custody within 48 hours after receiving a request from a state or locality, (4) establish a training manual for state and local law enforcement on the enforcement of immigration laws, and (5) continue and expand the Institutional Removal Program for identifying removable criminal aliens in federal and state correctional facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2017
Iranian Proxies Terrorist Sanctions Act of 2017 This bill directs the President to block the assets of foreign persons or entities and prohibit transactions with persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism with respect to As-Saib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) and Harakat Hizballah al-Nujaba (Nujaba) and foreign persons who are officials, agents, or affiliates of AAH or Nujaba. The Department of State shall annually establish and publish as part of its Annual Country Reports on Terrorism a global list of armed groups, militias, or proxy forces receiving logistical, military, or financial assistance from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) or from groups over which the IRGC exerts control or influence.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
Better Evaluation of Science and Technology Act or the BEST Act This bill requires a federal agency, to the extent it is making a decision based on science when issuing a rule, to use scientific information, technical procedures, methods, protocols, methodologies, or models in a manner that is consistent with the best available science and the intended use of the information, based on the weight of the scientific evidence. Each federal agency shall make available to the public: (1) all of its notices, determinations, findings, rules, consent agreements, and orders in connection with a rule; (2) a nontechnical summary of each risk evaluation conducted in connection with a rule; and (3) a list of the studies considered by the agency in carrying out each evaluation, along with the results of those studies.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to review and report on the financial services industry requirements of China and the impact of these requirements on the national security, political, or economic interests of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2017 or the BURMA Act of 2017 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the government of Burma (Myanmar) should ensure the safe and voluntary return of displaced people and fully implement the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. The U.S. Executive Director of each international financial institution shall use U.S. influence to support only projects in Burma that do not partner or contract with or otherwise benefit any enterprise owned or controlled by the Burmese military. The United States may not supply security assistance or engage in military programs with the Burmese armed forces or security forces until the Department of Defense certifies that such armed forces have demonstrated significant progress in abiding by international human rights standards and are undertaking significant security sector reform. U.S. import restrictions on Burmese jadeite and rubies shall remain in effect until the President certifies that Burma has taken substantial measures to reform its gemstone industry. The President shall: (1) submit a list of each senior Burmese military or security official who has played a substantial role in the commission of human rights abuses or who has failed to investigate human rights abuses, and (2) exclude any such individual from U.S. entry. The President shall determine whether specified individuals should be included in the list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. The Department of State, Treasury, and the U.S. Agency for International Development shall jointly submit to Congress an assistance strategy to promote broad-based economic development in Burma.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2017
No Abortion Bonds Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose taxes on state, local, and tax credit bonds that are used to provide a facility owned or used (for any purpose) by an abortion provider for more than 30 days during a year in which interest is paid on the bond. An entity is not considered an abortion provider solely as a result of performing abortions if: (1) the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest; or (2) a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself. The Department of the Treasury may exempt certain hospitals from being considered an abortion provider by making the name of the hospital available on Treasury's public website.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2017
Fentanyl and Heroin Task Force Act This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to establish the Fentanyl and Heroin Inter-Agency Task Force: (1) to coordinate federal efforts to identify, target, and dismantle organizations that traffic fentanyl or heroin; (2) to identify sources of fentanyl and heroin production and distribution; and (3) to provide best practices, updated information, and support to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Gila River Indian Community Federal Rights-of-Way, Easements and Boundary Clarification Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to take into trust 3,400 acres of land in Arizona, known as the Lower Sonoran Lands, for the benefit of the Gila River Indian Community, a government composed of members of the Pima Tribe and the Maricopa Tribe. After the lands are taken into trust, they must be treated as part of the community's reservation. Gaming is prohibited on the land taken into trust. The bill establishes a fixed, permanent boundary for the reservation's northern boundary. The benefits realized by the community, its members, and allottees under this bill satisfy their claims against the United States in connection with alleged failures relating to: (1) establishing and documenting federal rights-of-way on the reservation; and (2) establishing, maintaining, and defending the northern boundary. The bill establishes, ratifies, documents, and confirms federal rights-of-way and easements within the reservation. Within six years, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) must publish a survey of each of the federal rights-of-way established under this bill. Upon completion of the surveys, the community and BIA may remove a federal right-of-way.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Affirms the Jewish people's historical connection to Jerusalem. Recognizes that the archaeological discoveries from the City of David, the site of ancient Jerusalem, present evidence of the millennia-old connection of Jerusalem to the Jewish people, and, by extension, to Christianity. Commends the government of Israel for protecting the freedoms of all faiths in Jerusalem including Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and ensuring their access to holy sites so that they may worship freely. Condemns efforts by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to delegitimize Israel through attempts to rewrite and deny Jerusalem's history. Encourages the United States to continue working with allies to prevent UNESCO from passing biased anti-Israel resolutions in the future.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
NIE on Iranian Proxy Forces Act This bill requires the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to produce a National Intelligence Estimate on Iranian support of proxy forces in Syria and Lebanon and the threat such support poses to Israel, other U.S. regional allies, and specified U.S. interests. Not later than 60 days after the National Intelligence Estimate is completed, the President shall provide to Congress a strategy to prevent Iran from expanding its power in Syria and Lebanon.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Access to Marketplace Insurance Act This bill requires health insurers to accept, on behalf of individuals enrolled in qualified health plans, cost-sharing payments made by certain third parties (e.g., state and federal government programs) and count such payments toward annual cost-sharing limitations. (Qualified health plans are eligible for subsidies and fulfill an individual's requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage.)
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2017
Gold Star Family Support and Installation Access Act of 2017 This bill directs the appropriate military department to issue a standardized Gold Star Installation Access Card to the widow and dependent children of a deceased member of the Armed Forces to allow them to gain unescorted access to military installations to attend memorial events, visit gravesites, and obtain on-installation services and benefits. The Department of Defense shall prescribe regulations to provide that a surviving spouse of a deceased member, regardless of martial status, who has guardianship of dependent children of the deceased member, is entitled to use commissary stores and MWR retail facilities to the same extent and on the same basis as the unremarried spouse of a member of the uniformed services.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
Amends Rule XIV (Order and Priority of Business) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require (on the first legislative day of each month) a reading of the names of members of the Armed Forces who died in the previous month as a result of combat. Prohibits the Speaker of the House from reading the name of any such member if any family member informs the Speaker that he or she does not wish to have the name of that individual read.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2017
Recognizes: (1) the sacrifices, commitment to human rights, and legal and moral case for self-determination of the residents of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq; and (2) that such residents have the freedom to decide without outside coercion. Calls on the international community and domestic institutions to recognize such right.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2017
CBO Show Your Work Act This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to make available to Congress and the public each fiscal model, policy model, and data preparation routine that the CBO uses to estimate the costs and other fiscal, social, or economic effects of legislation. For each estimate of the costs and other fiscal effects of legislation, the CBO must also disclose, in a manner sufficient to permit replication by individuals not employed by the CBO, the data, programs, models, assumptions, and other details of the computations used to prepare the estimate. For data that is not required to be disclosed, the CBO must make available to Congress and the public: a complete list of all data variables for the data; descriptive statistics for all data variables for the data, to the extent that the descriptive statistics do not violate the rule against disclosure; a reference to the statute requiring that the data not be disclosed; and contact information for the individual or entity who has unrestricted access to the data.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2017
Expresses support for the designation of National Kinship Care Month. Honors the commitment and dedication of kinship caregivers and advocates. Encourages Congress to implement policies to improve the lives of vulnerable children and families.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2017
Legal Workforce Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish an employment eligibility verification system (EEVS), patterned after the E-Verify system. An employer shall attest, during the verification period and under penalty of perjury, that the employer has verified that an individual is not an unauthorized alien. An individual shall attest that he or she is a U.S. citizen or national, a lawful permanent resident, or an alien authorized to work in the United States. The bill establishes a phased-in EEVS participation deadline for different categories of employers, including agricultural employers. The bill requires reverification of certain groups of workers who have not been verified under E-verify. An employer may voluntarily reverify employees. Employment recruitment and referral are included within the scope of EEVS. The bill sets forth provisions regarding: (1) an employer utilizing a good faith defense, (2) preemption of state or local law, (3) employer penalties, and (4) worker remedies for EEVS errors. DHS shall establish programs to: (1) block the use of misused social security numbers, (2) suspend or limit the use of social security account numbers of identity fraud victims, and (3) permit parents or legal guardians to suspend or limit the use of a minor's social security account number or other identifying information. DHS shall establish at least two Identity Authentication Employment Eligibility Verification pilot programs using distinct technologies to provide employers with identity authentication and employment verification of enrolled new employees.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 2017
Free File Permanence Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to continue to operate the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Free File Program. The program must work with state government agencies to enhance and expand the use of the program, while continuing to: provide free commercial-type online individual income tax preparation and electronic filing services to the lowest 70% of taxpayers by income; provide all taxpayers (regardless of income) with a basic, online electronic fillable forms utility; and work with the private sector to provide the free tax preparation and electronic filing services. Treasury must work with the private sector through the program to identify and implement innovative new program features to improve and simplify the taxpayer's experience with completing and filing individual income tax returns. The IRS and members of the tax software and electronic industry involved in the program must support and promote improvements within the program by mutually testing, piloting, and offering innovative solutions to: simplify the tax system, reduce compliance and reporting burdens, increase tax return accuracy through financial data authentication, strengthen the tax system against fraud through cybersecurity collaboration, avoid duplication, and maximize the use of electronic technology. The Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee must report annually to Congress regarding the program, including website statistics, cybersecurity standards, demographic information, marketing and education efforts, simplifications and innovations, and state and local participation.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Border Security for America Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) construct and operate infrastructure and technology to deter and detect illegal border activity in high traffic areas, (2) deploy the most practical and effective technology to achieve situational awareness and operational control of the border, (3) deploy additional capabilities to specified border sectors or regions, (4) submit a plan for evaluating and using independent verification and validation resources for border security technology, (5) establish a National Border Security Advisory Committee, (6) submit a southern border threat analysis, (7) implement the Border Security Deployment Program, (8) establish a biometric exit data system, and (9) begin eradicating the carrizo cane plant and any salt cedar along the Rio Grande River. The bill provides for: (1) U.S. Border Patrol personnel increases and infrastructure improvements, including forward base upgrades along the southern border; and (2) National Guard and Department of Defense border assistance. The bill: (1) prohibits federal agency restrictions on U.S. Customs and Border Protection activities on federal land within 100 miles of the border, (2) requires increases in immigration and law enforcement personnel and agricultural specialists, (3) authorizes appropriations for specified immigration purposes, and (4) requires electronic passport screening and biometric matching at airports of entry. The Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 is amended to provide for hiring flexibility. Operation Stonegarden is established as a DHS program to provide border security grants. This bill authorizes DHS to construct new ports of entry along the northern and southern borders.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Downwinders Compensation Act of 2017 This bill amends the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to expand eligibility for restitution relating to atmospheric nuclear testing to individuals who were present, during the periods of testing, in any part of Clark County, Nevada, or any part of any county in Arizona that has a part north of the Grand Canyon.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Jerusalem's Enhanced and Secure Accommodations Act of 2017 This bill authorizes the Department of State to establish a permanent residence for the U.S. Ambassador to Israel in Jerusalem. Such residence may be located at the U.S. Consulate or at a different location in Jerusalem, as the State Department determines appropriate.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Modernization of Medical Records Access for Veterans Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out in at least one Veterans Integrated Services Network a pilot program for at least a 12-month period during which veterans enrolled in the VA's patient enrollment system will use a portable medical records storage system to store and share with VA health care providers and community health care providers records of their individual medical histories. The VA shall seek to enter into a contract, using competitive procedures, with an appropriate entity to furnish such storage system. The bill specifies system requirements, including: (1) the capability to store at least four gigabytes of electronic health records on a physical device no larger than a credit card, and (2) the capability to be used by substantially all electronic health records systems certified by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT on or before January 1, 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Canadian Snowbird Visa Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize the Department of Homeland Security to admit into the United States as a nonimmigrant visitor for a period not to exceed 240 days during any single 365-day period a Canadian citizen who: (1) is at least 50 years old, (2) maintains a Canadian residence and owns a U.S. residence or has rented a U.S. accommodation for the duration of such stay, (3) is not inadmissible or deportable, (4) will not engage in employment or labor for hire in the United States other than for a non U.S.-based person or entity by whom the Canadian citizen was employed in Canada or for whom the Canadian citizen performed services in Canada, and (5) will not seek any form of assistance or benefit under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. The spouse of such person may be admitted under the same terms except that he or she is not required to separately satisfy the residence/housing requirements. The bill grants a person so admitted nonresident alien tax status.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Protecting Adopted Children Act This bill expands the requirements that states must meet in order to receive adoption and legal guardianship incentive payments. Specifically, states must establish minimum training requirements for prospective adoptive parents and guardians. In addition, states must provide pre- and post-adoption services to families adopting, or obtaining legal guardianship of, children in foster care. Those services must address the specific mental health needs of adopted children, children to be adopted, and their families.
![Official portrait of Rep. Franks, Trent [R-AZ-8]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/f000448_200.jpg)