United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2018
Recognizes the Islamic faith as one of the great world religions. Acknowledges the onset of Ramadan and expresses deepest respect to Muslims in the United States and throughout the world on this significant occasion.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2018
Affirms that the Brooke rule (a benchmark for measuring housing affordability) is essential for ensuring affordable rents for families receiving federal rental assistance. Rejects the Trump Administration's "Making Affordable Housing Work Again" proposal and other efforts to undermine such rule.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2018
The Solitary Confinement Study and Reform Act of 2018 This bill establishes the National Solitary Confinement Study and Reform Commission: (1) to study the impact of solitary confinement in correctional facilities on governments, communities, and social institutions; (2) to report findings; and (3) to recommend national standards to reduce the use of solitary confinement. The bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to publish national standards to reduce solitary confinement in correctional facilities. The Bureau of Prisons must comply with the national standards immediately. A state or local government must certify compliance with the national standards to be eligible for DOJ-administered grant program funding to construct, maintain, or operate correctional facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2018
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that compensation of public school teachers should be comparable to other college graduates with years in the workforce where the teachers are employed.
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 · 27 April 2018
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Awareness Month. (PCOS is caused by a hormone imbalance. Symptoms can include infertility, weight gain, excess hair growth, and acne.) Recognizes the need for further research, improved treatment and care options, and a cure for PCOS. Acknowledges the struggles affecting all women and girls afflicted with PCOS.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2018
Gus Schumacher Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Reauthorization Act of 2018 This bill reauthorizes and modifies the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive grant program. The program supports projects to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables among low-income consumers participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) by providing incentives at the point of purchase. The bill renames the program the Gus Schumacher Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive program and modifies requirements regarding the nonfederal share, application criteria, and the priorities for awarding grants. The bill also requires USDA to establish a Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Program Training, Evaluation, and Information Center to assist grant recipients.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2018
Special Counsel Transparency Act of 2018 This bill establishes reporting requirements with respect to a special counsel appointed under Department of Justice (DOJ) regulations. Specifically, it establishes these requirements: a special counsel must report periodically on the status of an investigation; a special counsel who is removed from office must report on the status of an investigation, as of the date of dismissal; and DOJ must report on the status of an investigation following the removal of a special counsel.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2018
Stephen Michael Gleason Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Stephen Michael Gleason.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2018
Expresses support for: (1) the goals and values of the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the Fair Housing Act and the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, and (2) activities to celebrate the historical milestones represented by such anniversaries.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2018
Correct the Census Count Act This bill requires the Department of Commerce, beginning with the 2020 decennial census, to attribute to an individual who is incarcerated in a correctional center as of the date on which such census is taken such individual's last place of residence before incarceration.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2018
Recognizes the significance of Equal Pay Day to illustrate the disparity between wages paid to men and women, and its impact on women, families, and the nation.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2018
Student Non-Discrimination Act of 2018 This bill prohibits discrimination, under a federally assisted program, against public school students on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or that of their associates. The bill authorizes federal departments and agencies to terminate the educational assistance of recipients found to be violating this prohibition. An aggrieved individual may assert a violation of this bill in a judicial proceeding and recover reasonable attorney's fees.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2018
Strengthening Our Investment in Land Stewardship Act or the SOIL Stewardship Act This bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to reauthorize and modify Department of Agriculture conservation programs, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program. The bill addresses requirements for the programs relating to: enrollment and funding levels, the length and renewal process for contracts, payment rates, payment limitations, coordinating the application and enrollment processes for the two programs, set-asides and the enrollment process for beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers, soil health and carbon storage, and wildlife conservation and organic production.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
Global Food Security Reauthorization Act of 2018 This bill amends the Global Food Security Act of 2016 to revise policy objectives and to: (1) extend through FY2021 the program to carry out those portions of the global food security strategy that relate to the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development, and (2) expand requirements for reporting by the President regarding strategy implementation. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended to extend through FY2021 the assistance program for international disaster relief and rehabilitation, including the set-aside for the emergency food security program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
Original NAACP Resolution of 2018 Recognizes the 109th anniversary of the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Honors the NAACP for its work to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic rights of all persons.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
This joint resolution nullifies the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission entitled "Restoring Internet Freedom." The rule published on February 22, 2018: (1) restores the classification of broadband Internet access service as a lightly-regulated "information service"; (2) reinstates private mobile service classification of mobile broadband Internet access service; (3) requires Internet service providers to disclose information about their network management practices, performance characteristics, and commercial terms of service; and (4) eliminates the Internet Conduct Standard and the bright-line rules.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the taxation of the foreign-source income of domestic corporations, to: eliminate an exemption for certain returns from tangible investments made overseas, eliminate deductions for a domestic corporation's foreign-derived intangible income and global intangible low-taxed income, repeal a provision that excludes foreign oil and gas extraction income from the tested income of a controlled foreign corporation, limit the tax deduction for the interest expenses of a U.S. corporation that is a member of a financial reporting group (i.e., a group that prepares consolidated financial statements according to generally accepted accounting principles or international financial reporting standards), modify the rules for the taxation of inverted corporations (U.S. corporations that acquire foreign companies to reincorporate in a foreign jurisdiction with income tax rates lower than the United States), and treat certain foreign corporations managed and controlled primarily in the United States as domestic corporations for tax purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
Original Black History Month Resolution of 2018 Recognizes the significance of Black History Month as an important time to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of African Americans in the nation's history, and encourages the continued celebration of this month to provide an opportunity for all peoples of the United States to learn more about the past and to better understand the experiences that have shaped the nation.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2018
Assault Weapons Ban of 2018 This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). The prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is: (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model. Additionally, the bill does not prohibit, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD: importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties. The bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD. Newly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture. The legislation amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to require law enforcement agencies to be notified when a prohibited person attempts to purchase a grandfathered SAW. It also amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to allow a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2018
Healthy Food Financing Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2018 This bill amends the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to reauthorize and modify the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. The initiative authorizes the Department of Agriculture to provide financial and technical assistance to food retailers, farmers markets, cooperatives, and other entities for projects to improve access to healthy food in underserved communities. The purposes of the initiative include: improving access to, and expanding the supply of, healthy food in low-income, underserved communities; creating and preserving quality jobs and businesses; revitalizing distressed rural, urban, and small town economies; supporting the development of local and regional food systems; increasing the distribution of locally produced agricultural products; and strengthening farm-to-consumer relationships.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2018
Election Security Act This bill directs the Election Assistance Commission to establish grant programs to support (1) states' compliance with certain voting system security requirements, including the use of voting systems that require individual paper ballots marked by hand; (2) states' audits of federal election results (i.e., manual counts of paper ballots); and (3) research and development directed at improving the security and reliability of election infrastructure. The bill also (1) requires the President to develop a national strategy to protect against attacks on U.S. democratic institutions, and (2) establishes the National Commission to Protect U.S. Democratic Institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2018
Recognizes the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers strike. Honors the perseverance of the members of Union Local 1733 and the contribution of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in resolving the labor dispute.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2018
Collaborative Water and Soil Enhancement Act of 2018 This bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to establish requirements for Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs regarding: (1) nutrient and soil health management, and (2) source water protection. In carrying out the Conservation Stewardship Program and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, USDA must: enroll at least five million acres annually in watersheds where nutrient delivery to hypoxic (low oxygen) zones is highest; encourage water quality or water quantity practices that protect source waters for drinking water (including protecting against public health threats) while also benefitting agricultural producers; collaborate with community water systems and state technical committees to identify local priority areas for the protection of source waters for drinking water; offer increased incentives and higher cost-share rates for water quality or water quantity practices that result in benefits that primarily occur outside of the land on which the practices are implemented; and reserve at least 10% of the funds or acres available for the programs to target the most effective practices for improving the quality or quantity of source water. USDA must also provide a streamlined certification process for third-party technical service providers that have certain certifications from the American Society of Agronomy.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2018
Honors the memory of Echol Cole, Robert Walker, and all the Memphis sanitation workers who struggled for economic justice and human dignity. Honors and remembers the extraordinary moral leadership of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Calls upon and encourages all Americans to remember all those who struggle for justice and to dedicate themselves to realizing the dream of Dr. King.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 2018
This bill requires the Joint Committee on the Library to enter into an agreement to obtain a statue of Shirley Chisholm. The committee may authorize the Architect of the Capitol to enter into the agreement as well as related contracts. The committee shall place the statue in a suitable permanent location in the U.S. Capitol.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
Expresses support and respect for Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations. Censures and condemns President Trump for his derogatory statements about Haiti and other countries at the January 11, 2018, White House meeting and calls on him to retract and apologize for such remarks.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2018
Marijuana Justice Act of 2018 This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act: to remove marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinols from schedule I; and to eliminate criminal penalties for an individual who imports, exports, manufactures, distributes, or possesses with intent to distribute marijuana. It prohibits and reduces certain federal funds for a state without a statute legalizing marijuana, if the Bureau of Justice Assistance determines that such a state has a disproportionate arrest rate or disproportionate incarceration rate for marijuana offenses. The bill directs federal courts to expunge convictions for marijuana use or possession. Finally, it establishes in the Treasury the Community Reinvestment Fund. Amounts in the fund may be used by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to establish a grant program to reinvest in communities most affected by the war on drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2018
Healthy Fields and Farm Economies Act This bill reauthorizes and modifies the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977, which provides the Department of Agriculture (USDA) with strategic assessment and planning authority for the conservation, protection, and enhancement of soil, water, and related natural resources. The bill authorizes USDA to establish a conservation effects assessment project to: quantify the environmental and economic effects of conservation practices, develop the science base for managing the agricultural landscape for environmental quality and sustainable productive capacity, and improve the efficacy of conservation practices and programs by evaluating conservation effects. USDA must establish a goals and assessment process for conservation programs that includes: the identification of natural resource and environmental objectives, outcomes, and results for the programs; assessments of the resulting changes in the status and conditions of natural resources and the environment; and a monitoring and evaluation process for the programs and initiatives. In implementing the monitoring and evaluation process, USDA must use certain funds provided for conservation programs and establish a National Technical Committee. USDA may enter into cooperative agreements with government agencies, universities and colleges, and nongovernmental organizations to assist in implementing the monitoring and evaluation process. The bill also sets forth reporting requirements regarding the progress conservation programs have made in achieving the objectives and outcomes.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2017
Gun Violence Research Act of 2017 This bill amends the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, with respect to the prohibition on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) using funds to advocate or promote gun control. The bill declares that this prohibition does not restrict HHS funding for research on mental health, gun violence, and how they intersect. The Surgeon General must report annually on the effects of gun violence on public health, including mental health, and the status of actions taken to address those effects. HHS must report on the effects of gun violence on public health in minority communities.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2017
Workplace Action for a Growing Economy Act or the WAGE Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to award back pay and additional damages to any employee whose rights under the NLRA have been violated by an employer; impose penalties upon an employer for failing to post a notice of the rights of their employees under the NLRA; impose penalties upon an employer whose violations of the NLRA result in the discharge of an employee or other serious economic harm to the employee; provide civil remedies, including restraining orders, and a private right of action for violations of the NLRA; require the NLRB to issue an order requiring collective bargaining when a majority of valid ballots have been cast in favor of union representation; prevent the classification of employees as supervisors for the purpose of denying such employees the protections of the NLRA; and expedite the establishment of initial collective bargaining agreements. The bill empowers the NLRB to enforce its own orders without petitioning a court for enforcement.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2017
Condemns slave auctions of migrants and refugees in Libya. Calls on the government of Libya to: investigate the existence of slave auctions and forced labor involving migrants and refugees; hold smugglers, traffickers, detention center guards, and anyone else involved accountable; manage migration flows in a humane manner; end the violent and inhumane conditions of official migrant detention centers; and register asylum seekers swiftly and process their refugee claims fairly. Calls on the United Nations (U.N.) to investigate allegations of forced labor in Libya, encourage Libya to allow the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights to regularly monitor and publicly report on the situation of refugees and migrants in Libya, and impose sanctions against Libya if the country fails to end forced labor. Calls on the African Union to conduct its own investigation, work to assist migrants in Libya who wish to return home, and impose sanctions against Libya if the forced labor does not end. Calls on the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to use funds appropriated for: (1) humanitarian assistance for migrants and refugees in detention centers in Libya, and (2) the development of a holistic strategy for Libya to address the political and security situation that includes issues related to migrants and refugees in detention centers. Calls on the President to ensure that the State Department and the USAID are adequately staffed.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2017
Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Labor to update the salary threshold applicable to bona fide executive, administrative, and professional employees for purposes of determining eligibility for overtime pay. The bill adopts rulemaking promulgated by Labor in 2016 that established the threshold for exempting such employees from overtime requirements at the 40th percentile of earnings for full-time salaried employees in the lowest-wage census region. The bill also requires updates to the threshold amount every three years.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2017
Protection of Social Security Benefits Restoration Act This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the application of, and repeal authority for, administrative offsets to Social Security, railroad retirement, and black lung benefits. (An administrative offset is the withholding of funds payable by or held by the United States to satisfy a debt.)
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act This bill establishes the Pension Rehabilitation Administration within the Department of the Treasury and a related trust fund to make loans to certain multiemployer defined benefit pension plans. To receive a loan, a plan must be either in critical and declining status (including any plan with respect to which a suspension of benefits has been approved) or insolvent, if the plan became insolvent after December 16, 2014, and has not been terminated. Treasury must issue bonds to fund the loan program and transfer amounts equal to the proceeds to the trust fund established by this bill. The Pension Rehabilitation Administration may use the funds, without a further appropriation, to make loans, pay principal and interest on the bonds, or for administrative and operating expenses. The bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to allow the sponsor of a multiemployer pension plan that is applying for a loan under this bill to also apply to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) for financial assistance if, after receiving the loan, the plan will still become (or remain) insolvent within the 30-year period beginning on the date of the loan. The bill also appropriates to the PBGC the funds that are necessary to provide the financial assistance required by this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Go to High School, Go to College Act of 2017 This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Department of Education to carry out (from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2023) a program awarding Early College Federal Pell Grants to students to support their enrollment in, and completion of, postsecondary courses offered through early college high schools. Students who would be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant if not for their enrollment in secondary school are deemed eligible for an Early College Federal Pell Grant upon their completion of a full-time postsecondary semester or its equivalent. Students may receive Early College Federal Pell Grants in an amount equal to the cost of not more than four full-time postsecondary semesters or the equivalent while enrolled in postsecondary courses offered by an early college high school. Early College Federal Pell Grants shall count toward the 12-semester, or equivalent, limit on a student's receipt of Federal Pell Grants.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2017
Impeaches President Donald J. Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors. Sets forth articles of impeachment for offenses related to: obstruction of justice, violation of the foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution, violation of the domestic emoluments clause of the Constitution, abuse of power by undermining the independence of the federal judiciary and the rule of law, and undermining freedom of the press.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2017
This bill nullifies a rule finalized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on November 13, 2017, that modifies payment under Medicare for certain drugs purchased through the 340B discount program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2017
Fallen Warrior Battlefield Cross Memorial Act This bill states that the Department of Veterans Affairs may not prohibit the display of a Battlefield Cross in any national cemetery. "Battlefield Cross" means a memorial monument in honor of fallen members of the Armed Forces that may include a replica of an inverted rifle, boots, helmets, and identification tag.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2017
Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2017 This bill modifies various provisions of federal firearms laws. Among other things, it does the following: prohibits certain firearm transfers between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check; and requires states to implement plans to improve the submission of mental health and criminal history records to the national instant criminal background check system.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2017
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the people of the United States stand in solidarity with the people of Haiti and support efforts to help Haiti recover and develop into a prosperous democracy; (2) Haiti has not recovered from the natural and man-made disasters that prompted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to designate Haiti as a temporary protected status (TPS) country; (3) DHS should extend Haiti's TPS designation; (4) the Department of State should urge the United Nations to fulfill its pledge to treat and eliminate cholera, improve long-term access to clean water and sanitation, and assist victims; and (5) a prosperous and democratic Haiti will be better positioned to provide opportunities for its citizens, address crises, meet its obligations, and advance shared U.S.-Haiti interests and values.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2017
Congressional Sexual Harassment Training Act This bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to require each employing office under the Act to ensure that its covered employees enroll in the Office of Compliance's program of education that informs employees of the rights provided under the Act against sexual harassment: (1) within 60 days after first becoming an employee; (2) for existing employees, within 90 days after enactment of this bill; and (3) every two years.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2017
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the people of the United States stand in solidarity with the people of Haiti and support efforts to help Haiti recover and develop into a prosperous democracy; (2) Haiti has not recovered from the natural and man-made disasters that prompted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to designate Haiti as a temporary protected status (TPS) country; (3) DHS should extend Haiti's TPS designation; (4) the Department of State should urge the United Nations to fulfill its pledge to treat and eliminate cholera, improve long-term access to clean water and sanitation, and assist victims; and (5) a prosperous and democratic Haiti will be better positioned to provide opportunities for its citizens, address crises, meet its obligations, and advance shared U.S.-Haiti interests and values.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2017
State Public Option Act This bill allows residents not already eligible for Medicaid who are not concurrently enrolled in other health insurance coverage to buy into a state Medicaid plan beginning January 1, 2018. The bill makes such buy-in coverage eligible for premium subsidies and reduced cost sharing under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shall develop standardized, state-level metrics of access to, and satisfaction with, providers for individuals enrolled in state Medicaid plans. Primary care services furnished under Medicaid by certain providers must be paid at a rate that is not less than the rate under Medicare part B. Beginning in FY2019, the Department of Health and Human Services may award grants to states for the purpose of improving access to services for individuals enrolled in state Medicaid plans. The bill provides the enhanced federal medical assistance percentage to every state that expands Medicaid coverage for individuals who are newly eligible under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, regardless of when such expansion takes place.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2017
Comprehensive Student Achievement Information Act of 2017 This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify consumer information disclosure requirements related to completion or graduation rates. Currently, an institution that participates in federal student aid programs must disclose the completion or graduation rate of first-time, full-time, certificate- or degree-seeking undergraduate students. This bill expands disclosure requirements to also include the completion or graduation rates of non-first time and half-time certificate- or degree-seeking undergraduate students. The bill also sets forth new time periods for calculating the completion or graduation rates for programs of study that are less than four years.