United States · United States Congress · 11 January 2021
Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act This bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from awarding family planning grants to entities that perform abortions or provide funding to other entities that perform abortions. To receive a grant, an entity must certify it will refrain from those activities during the grant period. The bill provides exceptions for abortions (1) in cases of rape or incest; or (2) when the life of the woman is in danger due to a physical disorder, injury, or illness. It also exempts hospitals unless they provide funds to non-hospital entities that provide abortions. HHS must report annually on this prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2021
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 215 1st Avenue in Amory, Mississippi, as the "Command Sergeant Major Lawrence E. 'Rabbit' Kennedy Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2021
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 305 Highway 15 North in Pontotoc, Mississippi, as the "Lance Corporal Marc Lucas Tucker Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2021
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 500 West Main Street, Suite 102 in Tupelo, Mississippi, as the "Colonel Carlyle 'Smitty' Harris Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2021
Women's Public Health and Safety Act This bill allows a state to exclude from participation in the state's Medicaid program a provider that performs an abortion, unless (1) the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or (2) the woman suffers from a physical issue that would place her in danger of death unless an abortion is performed. Under current law, a state plan for medical assistance must provide that any individual eligible for medical assistance may obtain required services from any provider qualified to perform them.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2021
Social Security Fairness Act of 2021 This bill repeals provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other benefits, such as a pension from a state or local government. The bill eliminates the government pension offset , which in various instances reduces Social Security survivors' benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also receive government pensions of their own. The bill also eliminates the windfall elimination provision , which in some instances reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who also receive a pension or disability benefit from an employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes. These changes are effective for benefits payable after December 2021.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2021
Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act This bill establishes a federal statutory framework to regulate the carry or possession of concealed firearms across state lines. Specifically, an individual who is eligible to carry a concealed firearm in one state may carry or possess a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in another state that allows its residents to carry concealed firearms. It sets forth requirements for the lawful concealed carry across state lines. The bill preempts most state and local laws related to concealed carry and establishes a private right of action for a person adversely affected by interference with a concealed-carry right established by this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2021
Protecting Life in Crisis Act This bill specifies that federal funds allocated for COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) response efforts may not, in general, be used for abortions. Current law generally prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions through language included in appropriations bills, such as the Hyde Amendment. The bill also restricts the use of federal tax credits or other federal funding for health insurance coverage if the coverage includes abortions.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2020
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that (1) the relief measures to address COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) were required, (2) additional relief measures are required, and (3) further efforts to address COVID-19 must include measures and reforms to help Congress restore the federal government's long-term fiscal health once the pandemic ends and the economy regains its strength.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2020
Restoring Faith in Our Elections Act This bill requires individuals who are registering to vote in a federal election to provide their full Social Security number on the voter registration application. Currently, applicants must provide their driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number. Further, states must use Social Security numbers to verify the identification of each individual who casts a ballot in a federal election.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2020
Holding Providers Harmless From Medicare Cuts During COVID-19 Act of 2020 This bill temporarily increases payments to providers under Medicare medical services. Specifically, the bill provides an additional payment for certain services in 2021 and 2022 if the otherwise applicable payment is less than what it would have been in 2020. The bill applies to services that are payable under the physician fee schedule, excluding specified outpatient evaluation and management services.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2020
Rural Broadband Expansion Act of 2020 This bill authorizes a recipient of amounts from the Coronavirus Relief Fund to use such amounts to expand or improve infrastructure in rural areas for the provision of broadband internet access service. The Department of the Treasury makes payments from the Coronavirus Relief Fund to states, tribal governments, and local governments for costs related to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2020
Women's Public Health and Safety Act This bill allows a state to exclude from participation in the state's Medicaid program a provider that performs an abortion, unless (1) the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or (2) the woman suffers from a physical issue that would place her in danger of death unless an abortion is performed. (Under current law, a state plan for medical assistance must provide that any individual eligible for medical assistance may obtain required services from any provider qualified to perform them.)
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2020
BUILDER Act of 2020 or the Building United States Infrastructure through Limited Delays and Efficient Reviews Act of 2020 This bill revises the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, including by establishing procedures for determining the level of review needed for proposed agency actions.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2020
Keep America Secure Act This bill provides for a two-year reauthorization of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) activities for FY2021-FY2022. Specifically, the bill sets forth provisions to address management reform and accountability, including the establishment of an Office of Biometric Identity Management within the Management Directorate of DHS; intelligence and information sharing, including requiring annual assessments of the terrorist threat to the homeland; cybersecurity, including the establishment of a Cybersecurity Advisory Committee within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; border and visa security, including directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to hire specified numbers of agents and authorizing an immigration advisory program to assist air carriers and security employees at foreign airports with review of traveler information during the processing of U.S.-bound flights; transportation security, including requiring the Transportation Security Administration to establish a task force to analyze emerging and potential future threats and requiring DHS to prioritize the research and facilitation of next generation technologies to detect explosives in the nation's surface transportation systems; emergency preparedness, response, and recovery, including modifying specified grant programs and reauthorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); and pandemic preparedness, including establishing a medical countermeasures program to facilitate personnel readiness and protection for DHS employees and working animals and individuals in its care and custody, in the event of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosives attack, naturally occurring disease outbreak, or pandemic, and to support DHS mission continuity.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2020
Holding Rioters Accountable Act of 2020 This bill permits the Department of Justice (DOJ) to withhold certain funding from an office of a state or local prosecutor, district attorney, or state attorney general if DOJ determines the office abused prosecutorial discretion by failing to prosecute crimes arising from riots or destructive protest activities.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2020
This resolution expresses support for those unjustly imprisoned in Russia, including Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed. The resolution calls for the release of Trevor Reed and calls on Russia to respect his universally recognized human rights.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2020
This resolution: finds the 2020 presidential elections in Belarus to be undemocratic; expresses support for the people of Belarus in their pursuit of democracy and human rights; calls on Belarus to cease human rights violations and violence against demonstrators; and urges the United States and the European Union to respond to the events in Belarus, including through targeted sanctions.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2020
Bringing Enhanced Treatments and Therapies to ESRD Recipients Kidney Care Act or the BETTER Kidney Care Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a demonstration program for Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Under the program, renal dialysis facilities, kidney disease specialists, physician practices, and other health care practitioners may form an organization that partners with certain health care entities to provide integrated care to beneficiaries with ESRD. Such care must include all covered Medicare benefits as well as transition services for transplantations, palliative care, and hospice. Each organization must have a minimum number or percentage of participating beneficiaries (350 or 60% of beneficiaries served at the organization's facilities) and must also comply with certain fiscal, governance, and quality of care requirements. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office must study certain data that is reported to the CMS regarding pediatric dialysis care, as well as the effects of race-based corrections to a specified kidney function test on referrals of ESRD patients for transplant evaluations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2020
This resolution supports the announcements of (1) the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain, and (2) the suspension of Israeli actions to apply sovereignty in parts of the West Bank. Further, it calls on each of these countries to encourage greater people-to-people normalization, and it calls on other Arab and Muslim countries to establish full relations with Israel. It also reaffirms the House of Representatives' support for a negotiated, two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 18 August 2020
Integrity of Our Elections Act This bill prohibits an election official from mailing a ballot for a federal election to an individual unless the election official certifies that the individual is eligible to vote.
United States · United States Congress · 14 August 2020
Chinese Research Funds Accounting Act This bill directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study on federal funding made available to entities located in China or majority owned or controlled by the Chinese Communist Party for research in the five years prior to enactment of this bill. Not later than 120 days after the enactment of this bill, the GAO shall brief Congress on the data that is available with respect to federal funding made available to such entities for research.
United States · United States Congress · 7 August 2020
Fighting Emerging Narcotics Through Additional Nations to Yield Lasting Results Act or the FENTANYL Results Act This bill creates two programs, establishes a reporting requirement, and otherwise modifies provisions to facilitate global cooperation against synthetic drug trafficking. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of State to establish a program to provide capacity-building assistance for law enforcement agencies of specified countries to identify, track, and detect certain synthetic drugs (e.g., fentanyl). The State Department must also carry out an international exchange program for drug demand reduction experts to provide educational and professional development on demand-reduction matters relating to the illicit use of narcotics and other drugs. The bill requires the State Department to include new sections in its annual international narcotics control strategy report that contain (1) an assessment of the countries likely involved in the trafficking of synthetic opioids; and (2) policies of responding to new psychoactive substances. The bill also expands the definition of major illicit drug producing country to include countries that produce synthetic drugs. Under current law, foreign assistance may be withheld from such countries.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2020
Equal Opportunity First Amendment Act This bill requires states and local governments to enforce orders limiting public gatherings under emergency declarations equally. Specifically, the bill (1) prohibits states and units of local government that issue orders that limit gatherings to a certain number of people pursuant to a national emergency or similar state emergency declaration from discriminating in the enforcement of such order, in the case of persons who are exercising a right protected under the First Amendment; and (2) authorizes a private right of action in U.S. district court by a person who is harmed by a violation of this provision.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2020
This resolution offers sincere thanks and appreciation for the nation's law enforcement officers. It also recognizes the sacrifices of law enforcement officers and rejects efforts to defund and dismantle law enforcement agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2020
Helping Open Properties Endeavor Act of 2020 or the HOPE Act of 2020 This bill establishes an equity facility in the Department of the Treasury to assist commercial mortgage borrowers. Specifically, Treasury must guarantee the purchase by financial institutions of certain equity instruments backed by a commercial mortgage. The bill defines commercial mortgage as a mortgage loan secured by an interest in real property owned for rental income. Borrowers with reduced revenues from their commercial property may qualify for an amount not to exceed 10% of the outstanding amount owed on their commercial mortgage. The bill sets forth eligibility requirements for borrowers, as well as requirements for the equity instruments, including rates, fees, repayment, and the rights of purchasers.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2020
Taiwan Invasion Prevention Act This bill authorizes the President to use the Armed Forces to defend Taiwan against a direct attack by China's military, a taking of Taiwan's territory by China, or a threat that endangers the lives of civilians in Taiwan or members of Taiwan's military. The bill also directs the Department of Defense to convene an annual regional security dialogue with Taiwan and other partners to improve U.S. security relationships with countries in the Western Pacific. (Taiwan is self-governing, but China considers it a renegade province.)
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2020
Eliminating the Provider Relief Fund Tax Penalties Act of 2020 This bill excludes from gross income, for income tax purposes, any grant or other assistance provided by the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or the CARES Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2020
This resolution states that Hong Kong's loss of judicial and political autonomy renders individuals residing in the United States vulnerable to a Chinese-controlled judicial system. The resolution urges the United States to suspend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong until the reestablishment of Hong Kong's judicial independence can be certified.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2020
This bill requires the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and any affiliates thereof to return any amounts received under the Paycheck Protection Program established to support small businesses in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2020
Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act This bill modifies loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program established to support small businesses in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Specifically, the bill provides for automatic forgiveness of a paycheck protection loan that is not more than $150,000 if the recipient submits a one-page form. Such form must allow a recipient to submit specified demographc and expenditure information, and certain individuals (e.g., the President, the Vice President, or the head of an executive department) are not eligible for such forgiveness. Further, the bill prohibits any enforcement or other action against a lender relating to loan origination, forgiveness, or guarantee based on the lender's reliance on certifications or documentation submitted by a loan applicant or recipient.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2020
Reinforcing Utility Restoration After Losses (RURAL) Act This bill provides authority and funding for the Department of Agriculture to establish a loan program for certain rural utility service providers (e.g., electric, telecommunications, or waste disposal service providers) to replace specified losses during a federally declared disaster or emergency. During such a disaster or emergency, interest on the loan shall not accrue, and repayment of principal shall not be required. Borrowers may qualify for partial loan forgiveness if certain requirements are met. The bill also establishes and provides funding for a Rural Utility Bridge Loan Fund to implement the program.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2020
This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make payments to a timber harvesting business or timber hauling business that, as a result of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, experienced a loss of not less than 10% in gross revenue during the period beginning on January 1, 2020, and ending on July 31, 2020, as compared to its gross revenue during the same period in 2019. The amount of a payment made to an eligible entity shall be equal to 10% of the gross revenue of the business during the period beginning on January 1, 2019, and ending on July 31, 2019. USDA shall make such a payment only to a business that certifies that the payment will be used only for operating expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2020
Edith Shorougian Senior Victims of Fraud Compensation Act This bill adds a new source of revenue for the Crime Victims Fund and expands the allowable use of victim compensation grant funds. Specifically, the bill directs any monetary payment made to the federal government as a fine or penalty under a deferred prosecution agreement, non-prosecution agreement, or other settlement agreement in relation to an alleged criminal act to be deposited into the fund. Additionally, the bill allows victim compensation grant funds to be used to compensate elderly victims for property loss resulting from financial fraud, abuse, or exploitation. Currently, victim compensation grant funds may not be used to compensation for property loss (with limited exceptions). An elderly victim is a victim who is at least 60 years of age.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2020
This bill provides statutory authority for a June 26, 2020, executive order directing various agencies to take actions related to protecting monuments, memorials, and statues from vandalism, such as ordering the Department of Justice to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of cases involving vandalism of a monument, government property, or religious property.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2020
Drug-Free Communities Pandemic Relief Act This bill authorizes the Drug-Free Communities Support Program, subject to certain limitations, to waive matching funds requirements applicable to certain grants for reducing substance use among youth. Before waiving these requirements, the program must determine that a grantee is unable to raise funds because of the COVID-19 (i.e. coronavirus disease 2019) emergency. Currently, the Office of National Drug Control Policy administers this program, and community coalitions that receive the grants must match a specified percentage of the federal award amount with nonfederal funds, including in-kind contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2020
Hong Kong Autonomy Act This bill imposes sanctions on foreign individuals and entities that materially contribute to China's failure to preserve Hong Kong's autonomy. Hong Kong is part of China but has a largely separate legal and economic system with protections for civil rights such as freedom of speech. This arrangement is enshrined in (1) the Joint Declaration, a 1984 treaty pertaining to the United Kingdom's transfer of Hong Kong's sovereignty to China; and (2) the Basic Law, Hong Kong's constitutional document. The Department of State shall report annually to Congress information about (1) foreign individuals and entities that materially contributed to China's failure to comply with the Joint Declaration or the Basic Law; and (2) foreign financial institutions that knowingly conducted a significant transaction with such identified individuals and entities. An individual, entity, or financial institution may be excluded from this report for various reasons, such as to protect an intelligence source. The President shall impose property-blocking sanctions on an individual or entity named in a report, and visa-blocking sanctions on a named individual. The President shall impose various sanctions on a financial institution named in a report, such as prohibiting the institution from receiving loans from a U.S. financial institution. The President may waive or terminate the imposition of sanctions under this bill. Congress may override such a waiver or termination by passing a joint resolution of disapproval.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2020
This bill authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT) to award maritime career training grants to institutions of higher education and postsecondary vocational institutions for the purpose of developing, offering, or improving educational or career training programs for American workers related to the maritime workforce. Each awarded grant may not exceed $20 million. DOT must award grants based on a determination of the merits of the grant proposal submitted by the institution of higher education or postsecondary vocational institution to develop, offer, or improve maritime educational or career training programs to be made available to workers; an evaluation of the likely employment opportunities available to workers who complete a maritime educational or career training program that the institution proposes to develop, offer, or improve; an evaluation of prior demand for training programs by workers in the community served by the institution, as well as the availability and capacity of existing maritime training programs to meet future demand for training programs; and any prior designation of the institution as a Center of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2020
Direct Interstate Retail Exemption for Certain Transactions Act or the DIRECT Act This bill allows meat and poultry products inspected by State Meat and Poultry Inspection programs to be sold by retail stores, restaurants, or similar retail-type establishments over the internet and shipped by a carrier in commerce (other than for export to a foreign country), provided the meat and poultry products so inspected are shipped directly to household consumers and in normal retail quantities. (Under the inspection programs, the Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service allows states that meet certain requirements to inspect meat and poultry. The state-inspected products are currently limited to intrastate commerce, unless a state opts into a separate Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program.)
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2020
Mount Rushmore Protection Act This bill prohibits the use of any federal funds to alter, change, destroy, or remove any name, face, or other feature on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2020
Just and Unifying Solutions To Invigorate Communities Everywhere Act of 2020 or the JUSTICE Act This bill addresses policies and issues regarding policing practices and law enforcement accountability. The bill funds state and local grants, incentivizes state and local reporting on the use of certain policing practices, creates new federal offenses for certain misconduct, establishes a commission to study the conditions affecting Black men and boys, and establishes best practices and training requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2020
This resolution condemns the violence, riots, and looting in the United States; recognizes that these violent acts do not diminish the rights of other Americans to peacefully protest; and expresses that those responsible for these violent acts should be held criminally responsible.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2020
PPP Access for Rural Hospitals Act This bill includes within the Paycheck Protection Program, established to support small businesses in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019), certain rural hospitals or hospitals serving low-income patients that are designated as critical care hospitals.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2020
Foreign Influence Transparency Act This bill addresses foreign influence in higher education and in certain other academic, religious, and artistic pursuits. Current law exempts from foreign agent registration requirements a person engaging in activities in furtherance of religious, scholastic, academic, or scientific pursuits or of the fine arts. The bill specifies that this exemption applies only to those activities that do not promote the political agenda of a foreign government. Under current law, an institution of higher education is required to disclose to the Department of Education a gift or contract that is from a foreign source and is valued at $250,000 or more, considered alone or in combination with all other gifts from or contracts with a foreign source. The bill instead requires the institution to disclose such a gift or contract that is valued at $50,000 or more. An institution must include in its disclosure report the contents of any such contract and make the contents available for public disclosure.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2020
No Bailouts for Illegal Aliens Act This bill withholds funding authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) from any state or municipality that provides relief payments through a program targeted exclusively to individuals who are believed to be unlawfully present in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2020
No Pay for Proxy Voting Act This bill requires that one day's pay be withheld from the compensation of a Representative and deposited into an escrow account for distribution on the last day of the Congress for each day that a Representative uses a designated proxy to cast a vote or record their presence in the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 2020
Rural Broadband Acceleration Act This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to modify the framework for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction, and it establishes a deadline for the FCC to create broadband service maps.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2020
COVID-19 Accountability Act This bill authorizes sanctions in relation to the Chinese government's response to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak. It also increases the research tax credit and imposes requirements related to the acquisition of items for the Strategic National Stockpile. The President shall periodically certify to Congress that the Chinese government (1) is cooperating with efforts related to the COVID-19 outbreak, (2) has prohibited wet markets, and (3) has released and dropped all charges for anyone involved in protests in Hong Kong related to COVID-19. If the President cannot make such a certification, the President may (1) impose sanctions on Chinese government officials, entities owned or controlled by the Chinese government, and individuals affiliated with such entities; or (2) prohibit Chinese nationals from obtaining student visas (i.e., F and M visas) or exchange visitor visas (i.e., J visas). With respect to the research tax credit, the bill increases the alternative simplified credit from 14% to 20% of qualified research expenses above a certain threshold. The Department of Health and Human Services generally may not purchase personal protective equipment, critical medical supplies, or certain fabric products not produced in the United States for the Strategic National Stockpile. However, this restriction shall not apply if (1) there is not a sufficient amount of U.S.-produced items available at U.S. market prices when needed, or (2) the purchase is worth less than $150,000.
![Official portrait of Rep. Guest, Michael [R-MS-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000591_200.jpg)