United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2025 This bill directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to complete, within 12 months, an audit of the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve banks. In addition, the bill allows the GAO to audit the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve banks with respect to (1) international financial transactions; (2) deliberations, decisions, or actions on monetary policy matters; (3) transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee; and (4) discussions or communications among Federal Reserve officers, board members, and employees regarding any of these matters.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act This bill establishes requirements for the degree of care a health care practitioner must provide in the case of a child born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion. Specifically, a health care practitioner who is present must (1) exercise the same degree of care as would reasonably be provided to any other child born alive at the same gestational age, and (2) ensure the child is immediately admitted to a hospital. Additionally, a health care practitioner or other employee who has knowledge of a failure to comply with the degree-of-care requirements must immediately report such failure to law enforcement. A health care practitioner who fails to provide the required degree of care, or a health care practitioner or other employee who fails to report such failure, is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. An individual who intentionally kills or attempts to kill a child born alive is subject to prosecution for murder. The bill bars the criminal prosecution of a mother of a child born alive under this bill and allows her to bring a civil action against a health care practitioner or other employee for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
TCJA Permanency Act This bill makes permanent multiple federal tax provisions enacted in 2017 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The bill makes permanent the individual tax rates of 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%; increased standard deduction; personal exemption allowance repeal; exclusion from income of student loans discharged due to death or disability; qualified business income tax deduction (199A tax deduction); allowance of ABLE account contributions in excess of the annual gift tax exclusion amount; base estate and gift tax exclusion amount of $10 million (adjusted annually); and alternative minimum tax exemption and phaseout amounts for noncorporate taxpayers. The bill makes permanent the child tax credit amounts of $2,000 per child and $500 for dependents, the $200,000 phaseout threshold ($400,000 for joint filers), and the refundable portion of the tax credit. The bill expands the expenses eligible for tax-free withdrawals from qualified tuition plans (529 plans) to include additional expenses associated with homeschool and elementary and secondary schools (e.g., instructional materials, tutoring, test and enrollment fees, and educational therapies). The bill permanently eliminates certain miscellaneous itemized deductions and makes permanent the state and local tax deduction limit of $10,000 ($5,000 for married individuals filing separately), mortgage interest tax deduction limit of $750,000 ($375,000 for married individuals filing separately), limit on the deduction of cash charitable contributions to 60% of a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income, and certain limits on casualty loss tax deductions. The bill also permanently eliminates the exclusion from income for employer-reimbursed bicycle commuting expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act This bill imposes sanctions against foreign persons (individuals and entities) who assist the International Criminal Court (ICC) in investigating, arresting, detaining, or prosecuting certain individuals. The bill categorizes as protected persons (1) any U.S. individual, U.S. entity, or person in the United States, unless the United States is a state party to the Rome Statute of the ICC and provides formal consent to ICC jurisdiction; and (2) any foreign person that is a citizen or lawful resident of a U.S. ally that is not a state party to the Rome Statute or has not consented to ICC jurisdiction. If the ICC attempts to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute a protected person, the President must impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions against the foreign persons that engaged in or materially assisted in such actions, as well as against foreign persons owned by, controlled by, or acting on behalf of such foreign persons. The President must also apply visa-blocking sanctions to the immediate family members of those sanctioned. Upon enactment, the bill rescinds all funds appropriated for the ICC and prohibits the subsequent use of appropriated funds for the ICC.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act or the SAVE Act This bill requires individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Specifically, the bill prohibits states from accepting and processing an application to register to vote in a federal election unless the applicant presents documentary proof of U.S. citizenship. The bill specifies what documents are considered acceptable proof of U.S. citizenship, such as identification that complies with the REAL ID Act of 2005 that indicates U.S. citizenship. Further, the bill (1) prohibits states from registering an individual to vote in a federal election unless, at the time the individual applies to register to vote, the individual provides documentary proof of U.S. citizenship; and (2) requires states to establish an alternative process under which an applicant may submit other evidence to demonstrate U.S. citizenship. Each state must take affirmative steps on an ongoing basis to ensure that only U.S. citizens are registered to vote, which shall include establishing a program to identify individuals who are not U.S. citizens using information supplied by certain sources. Additionally, states must remove noncitizens from their official lists of eligible voters. The bill allows for a private right of action against an election official who registers an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship. The bill establishes criminal penalties for certain offenses, including registering an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2025
Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025 This bill generally prohibits school athletic programs from allowing individuals whose biological sex at birth was male to participate in programs that are for women or girls. Specifically, the bill provides that it is a violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 for federally funded education programs or activities to operate, sponsor, or facilitate athletic programs or activities that allow individuals of the male sex to participate in programs or activities that are designated for women or girls. (Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs or activities, including in public elementary and secondary schools and in colleges and universities.) Under the bill, sex is based on an individual's reproductive biology and genetics at birth. The bill does not prohibit male individuals from training or practicing with programs or activities for women or girls as long as such training or practice does not deprive any female of corresponding opportunities or benefits. The Government Accountability Office must report on the benefits for women or girls in single-sex sports that would be lost as a result of male participation. In particular, the report must document the negative psychological, developmental, participatory, and sociological effects of male participation on girls.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2024
Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act The bill creates a joint interagency task force to facilitate agency collaboration on efforts to respond to Chinese state-sponsored cyber actors, including Volt Typhoon. The task force shall be established and led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), an agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The task force shall facilitate collaboration and coordination among the Sector Risk Management Agencies (SRMAs) specified in the President's National Security Memorandum- 22 (e.g., the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Agriculture) to detect, analyze, and respond to Chinese state-sponsored cyber actors by ensuring that such agencies’ actions are aligned and mutually reinforcing. The bill directs DHS, CISA, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and specified SRMAs to provide the task force with analysis, inspections, audits, and other relevant information that is necessary for the task force to carry out its responsibilities. The production and use of information must comply with all applicable statutes, regulations, and executive orders, and task force members must have appropriate security clearances to access classified information. The task force must provide annual reports and briefings to Congress detailing its assessment of cyber threats and recommendations to improve the detection and mitigation of the cybersecurity threat posed by Chinese state-sponsored cyber actors. The first report must be provided no later than 540 days after the establishment of the task force, and additional reports must be provided annually thereafter for six years.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2024
Research Security and Accountability in DHS Act This bill requires the Science and Technology Directorate in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a DHS policy for safeguarding research and development from unauthorized access or disclosures of sensitive information in related acquisitions. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office must report on the compliance of DHS with a 2021 presidential memorandum and related guidance that required certain disclosures about government-funded research and development (e.g., conflicts of interest involving foreign governments).
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2024
Strategic Homeland Intelligence and Enforcement Legislation to Defend against the CCP Act or the SHIELD Against CCP Act This bill establishes within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a working group to assess and improve efforts to address security threats posed to the United States by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The threats to be addressed are terrorist, cybersecurity, border and port security, and transportation security threats. The working group must examine and report on DHS efforts to counter such threats from the CCP and identify gaps in DHS activities to respond to these threats. The working group must account for the DHS resources dedicated to countering such threats, build upon existing evaluations, and avoid unnecessary duplication. The bill requires DHS to provide Congress with annual reports and briefings on the activities of the working group. Further, the bill directs DHS to research and develop technologies and techniques for enhancing DHS's security and situational awareness relating to the threats posed by the CCP. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to report to Congress on the bill's implementation. The bill’s provisions sunset seven years after the date of the working group’s establishment.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2024
This resolution expresses support for the designation of 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 · 10 September 2024
This resolution recognizes and celebrates (1) the Scarboro 85 as the first group of African American students to integrate public schools in the Southeast region following the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education , and (2) the role of the Scarboro 85 in leading the desegregation movement in the Southeast region.
United States · United States Congress · 16 August 2024
This bill designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 300 Macedonia Lane in Knoxville, Tennessee, as the "Reverend Harold Middlebrook Post Office Building".
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2024
Freedom from Unfair Gun Taxes Act of 2024 This bill prohibits states or localities from imposing a levy or collecting an excise tax on the sale of a firearm, ammunition, or any part or component thereof, by a manufacture or retailer.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2024
This resolution directs the Department of Homeland Security to provide the House of Representatives with certain documents and information about the July 13, 2024, attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump, such as those relating to U.S. Secret Service protection for former President Trump’s campaign in Butler, Pennsylvania.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2024
This resolution congratulates the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Volunteers baseball program for its win in the 2024 College World Series and for winning the first baseball national title in the program's history.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2024
Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act of 2024 This bill prohibits the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from using appropriated funds to procure a battery produced by certain Chinese entities. This prohibition begins on October 1, 2027. The bill allows DHS to waive the prohibition if DHS assesses in the affirmative all of the following: the batteries to be procured do not pose a risk to U.S. national security, data, or infrastructure; the entity that produced such batteries does not satisfy the criteria for listing under Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (i.e., designation as a Chinese military company) or Public Law 117-78 (i.e., goods produced using forced labor in China, especially the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region); and there is no available alternative to procure batteries that are of similar or better cost and quality and that are produced by an entity not specified in this bill. DHS may also waive the prohibition upon a determination that the batteries to be procured are for the sole purpose of research, evaluation, training, testing, or analysis. The bill requires DHS to notify Congress within 15 days after granting a waiver under this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2024
Israel Security Assistance Support Act This bill specifies that no federal funds may be used to withhold, halt, reverse, or cancel the delivery of defense articles or defense services to Israel. Also, no funds may be used to pay the salary of any Department of Defense (DOD) or Department of State employee who acts to limit defense deliveries to Israel. Additionally, DOD and the State Department shall ensure prompt delivery of all defense articles and services expected to be delivered to Israel in FY2024 and FY2025. Unobligated funds for operation and maintenance for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, diplomatic programs for the Office of the Secretary of State, and the National Security Council may not be spent until each office certifies to Congress that any withheld defense articles or services are delivered to Israel. DOD and the State Department must obligate any remaining funds for assistance to Israel. DOD and the State Department must periodically report to Congress on defense articles and services provided to Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2024
BIOSECURE Act This bill prohibits entities that receive federal funds from using biotechnology that is from a company associated with a foreign adversary. Specifically, federal agencies and recipients of federal funds (e.g., grantees) may not procure or use any biotechnology equipment or service that is from a biotechnology company of concern and may not contract with any entities that do so. A biotechnology company of concern is an entity that is under the control of a foreign adversary and that poses a risk to national security based on its research or multiomic data collection (e.g., collection of genomic information). The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must, in coordination with the Department of Defense (DOD) and other specified agencies, develop a list of prohibited companies; the list must include five particular companies, as specified in the bill. OMB and DOD may approve waivers of these restrictions on an as-needed basis, which are valid for up to one year and may be extended once for an additional 180 days. In addition, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence must report on the national security risks posed by (1) multiomic data collection by foreign adversaries in connection with biotechnology equipment or services, and (2) biotechnology companies that have such data.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2024
This resolution acknowledges the dangers and challenges faced by law enforcement officers, condemns the Biden Administration's border policies, urges leaders to encourage and support law enforcement officers, and recognizes and sympathizes with law enforcement officers for the stress they face.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2024
Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act This bill imposes sanctions against foreign persons (individuals and entities) who assist the International Criminal Court (ICC) in investigating, arresting, detaining, or prosecuting certain individuals. The bill categorizes as protected persons (1) any U.S. individual, U.S. entity, or person in the United States, unless the United States is a state party to the Rome Statute of the ICC and provides formal consent to ICC jurisdiction; and (2) any foreign person that is a citizen or lawful resident of a U.S. ally that is not a state party to the Rome Statute or has not consented to ICC jurisdiction. If the ICC attempts to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute a protected person, the President must impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions against the foreign persons that engaged in or materially assisted in such actions, as well as against foreign persons owned by, controlled by, or acting on behalf of such foreign persons. The President must also apply visa-blocking sanctions to the immediate family members of those sanctioned. Upon enactment, the bill rescinds all funds appropriated for the ICC and prohibits the subsequent use of appropriated funds for the ICC.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2024
Stop the Baseline Bloat Act of 2024 This bill changes the assumptions that the Congressional Budget Office uses to calculate the baseline for discretionary spending. (A baseline is a projection of federal spending and receipts during a fiscal year under current law.) Specifically, the bill changes the assumptions used for the discretionary spending baseline to exclude (1) resources designated as an emergency requirement, and (2) resources provided in supplemental appropriations laws.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2024
Ammunition Supply Chain Act This bill requires the Department of the Army to report to Congress on the U.S. supply chain for smokeless gunpowder, including nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, and acid production, essential to ammunition manufacturing.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2024
21st Century Peace through Strength Act This bill establishes law on various foreign policy matters. For example, the bill requires the President to impose property-blocking sanctions on foreign persons (i.e., individuals and entities) associated with transnational criminal organizations that traffic fentanyl; authorizes the President to seize and transfer certain Russian sovereign assets to fund Ukrainian war compensation or reconstruction; prohibits entities in the United States from distributing, updating, or maintaining a website or application operated by ByteDance, Ltd., TikTok, or certain other entities; prohibits data brokers from providing personally identifiable sensitive data of U.S. persons to foreign adversary countries; imposes property-, docking-, and visa-blocking sanctions on foreign persons operating ports, ships, and refineries supporting Iranian petroleum exports; imposes property- and visa-blocking sanctions on foreign persons supporting Iranian missile programs and on certain Iranian leaders; imposes property-blocking sanctions on foreign states providing material support to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad; requires the United States to regulate exports of certain foreign-produced items related to Iran; extends the authority of the President to impose sanctions on foreign persons using human shields; imposes property- and visa-blocking sanctions on foreign persons involved in the trafficking of captagon; requires U.S. financial institutions to close certain accounts related to Iranian leaders and the Department of the Treasury to seek the closure of such accounts in foreign financial institutions; and prohibits U.S. financial institutions from opening or maintaining certain accounts with Chinese financial institutions that support Iranian petroleum exports.