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![Official portrait of Rep. Hice, Jody B. [R-GA-10]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h001071_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
1,216 records where Rep. Hice, Jody B. [R-GA-10] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2017
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 430 Main Street in Clermont, Georgia, as the "Zachary Addington Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Immigration in the National Interest Act of 2017 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: eliminate the diversity visa program; replace the current employment visa system with a skills-based point system; revise the worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants, including by eliminating certain family-based immigration preferences; establish a 50,000 annual limit for refugees given permanent resident status; create a nonimmigrant visa for parents of U.S. citizen children who are at least 21 years old; and establish a new visa for immigrants seeking to enter the United States to engage in a new commercial enterprise. The bill prohibits an alien from being be naturalized if his or her sponsor has not repaid the federal government for any means-tested public benefits received by the alien during the five-year period beginning on the date the alien was lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Federal Firearms Licensee Protection Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to modify provisions related to theft of firearms. Under current law, it is unlawful to steal a firearm from a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer, or from their business premises. This bill broadens the scope of unlawful conduct to also prohibit stealing a firearm from a gun range that rents firearms or a shooting club. Additionally, the bill modifies criminal penalties for an offense: to increase from 10 to 20 years the maximum prison term, and to create a 3- or 5-year mandatory minimum prison term for an offense that occurs during the commission of a burglary or robbery. Finally, an attempt to commit an offense is subject to the same penalties as a substantive offense.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2017
Community Health Investment, Modernization, and Excellence Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to extend through FY2022 and make appropriations for enhanced funding for the community health centers program.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2017
Presidential Allowance Modernization Act of 2017 This bill amends the Former Presidents Act of 1958 to revise provisions governing the compensation provided to a former President. Each former President shall receive from the United States: (1) an annuity of $200,000 per year; and (2) a monetary allowance of $500,000 per year for five years beginning six months after the expiration of his or her term, $350,000 per year for the next five years, and $250,000 per year thereafter. Such annuity and allowance shall be increased each year by the same percentage as Social Security benefits. Such allowance shall be reduced by the amount the former President's earned income exceeds $400,000. The bill: (1) limits the office staff provided for each former President to not more than 13 individuals, and (2) requires that suitable office space for a former President be provided on a reimbursable basis. The bill increases and provides for cost-of-living adjustments to the monetary allowance for surviving spouses of former Presidents.
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
Military Sexual Assault Victims Empowerment Act or the Military SAVE Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), through the Office of Community Care, to carry out a three-year pilot program of hospital care and medical services for eligible veterans at non-VA health care providers to treat physical and psychological injuries or illnesses that, in the judgment of a VA mental health professional, resulted from sexual assault or battery or sexual harassment while the veteran was serving on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training. The program shall be carried out at not more than five locations, at least one of which shall be a rural location, based upon criteria including: (1) distance from a military installation, (2) city size, and (3) rates of sexual assault and rape. An eligible veteran may elect to participate in the pilot program. The VA may not restrict a participant's ability to choose the non-VA health care provider. The bill: (1) sets forth payment provisions for current and new non-VA providers, and (2) provides for program data collection and analysis.
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
End Taxpayer Funded Cell Phones Act of 2017 This bill prohibits a provider of commercial mobile service or commercial mobile data service from receiving universal service support through the Lifeline program, which provides subsidies for discounts on monthly telephone or broadband service to qualifying low-income consumers. For 2018, telecommunications carriers must contribute to the universal service fund based on mobile service support provided in 2017. The amounts collected for mobile services must be used for deficit reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Save Local Business Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide that a person may be considered a joint employer in relation to an employee only if such person directly, actually, and immediately, and not in a limited and routine manner, exercises significant control over the essential terms and conditions of employment (including hiring employees, discharging employees, determining individual employee rates of pay and benefits, day-to-day supervision of employees, assigning individual work schedules, positions, and tasks, and administering employee discipline).
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2017
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that a special counsel should be appointed by the Department of Justice to investigate: then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch directing Comey to refer to the investigation into the handling of classified data and use of an unauthorized email server by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as a matter, rather than a criminal investigation; Comey's leaks to Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman regarding conversations between Lynch and President Trump and how the leaked information was released to lead to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller; the propriety and consequence of immunity deals given to Cheryl Mills, Heather Samuelson, John Bentel, and potentially others by the FBI during the criminal investigation into Clinton's conduct; Comey's decision to usurp Lynch's authority in announcing that criminal charges would not be brought against Clinton regarding her use of a private email server and handling of classified information; Comey's knowledge and impressions of any ex-parte conversation between Lynch and former President Bill Clinton on June 27, 2016, at a Phoenix airport on a private jet; Comey's knowledge of the company Fusion GPS and its creation of a dossier on Donald Trump; any potential leaks by Comey to author Michael Schmidt dating back to 1993; Comey's knowledge of the purchase of a majority stake in Uranium One by Rosatom; Comey's refusal to investigate Hillary Clinton regarding selling access to the Department of State through Clinton Foundation donations, Huma Abedin's dual employment at such entities simultaneously, or utilization of the State Department to further paid speaking opportunities for her husband; any collusion between Comey and Robert Mueller; whether Comey had any knowledge of efforts made by any federal agency to monitor communications of then-candidate Donald Trump, to assess Comey's knowledge about the unmasking of individuals on Donald Trump's campaign team, transition team, or both, to assess the role that former National Security Adviser Susan Rice played in the unmasking of such individuals, or to reveal the purpose served by unmasking any individuals serving on the staff of Donald Trump; and whether Comey had any knowledge of the dissemination of unredacted information to various intelligence agencies and of any attempts to use surveillance of Donald Trump to damage the credibility of his campaign, presidency, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2017
Resolves that Congress calls a convention for proposing amendments under Article V of the U.S. Constitution in accordance with the Compact for a Balanced Budget, effective after Congress receives certification that at least three-fourths of the states are members of the Compact and have applied for a convention for proposing amendments under Article V of the U.S. Constitution. Resolves that Congress refers the Balanced Budget Amendment to the state legislatures for ratification after Congress receives a certified copy of the Amendment showing that a convention for proposing amendments under Article V has approved and proposed for ratification the Amendment that is defined by the Compact and meets specified criteria, including prohibiting outlays from exceeding receipts unless the excess is financed by debt issued using specified procedures requiring approval by a majority of state legislatures.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2017
Stop Waste in Government Contracting Act of 2017 This bill requires executive agencies to use competitive procedures for procurement contracts valued at $10 million or more, with a national security exception. The Inspector General of the General Services Administration must report to Congress: on updating the Federal Procurement Data System and data stored on it during the preceding 10-year period, identifying any issues of each agency relating to the use of such system that may have affected the reliability of data stored on it, detailing which data is potentially unreliable, and including recommendations for improving the system.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Hunting, Education, and Recreational Development Act or the HEARD Act This bill authorizes the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to dispose of federal lands under their respective jurisdictions by offering them for sale or exchange to units of local government in accordance with this bill. The bill prescribes requirements for disposition of the gross proceeds of the sales of lands under this bill, including that: 15% be paid to the state where the sale takes place to be used to supplement the education of students in kindergarten through grade 12, to supplement public support of institutions of public higher education, and to supplement state agricultural and natural resource agencies; and 10% of such proceeds be deposited in a special account to be created in the Treasury which may be used for the acquisition of recreational beneficial lands and interests (providing an opportunity for hunting, recreational fishing, recreational shooting, recreational off-highway vehicles, or other recreational purposes, or to achieve better management of public lands through consolidation of federal ownership).
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Ensuring Quality in the Unemployment Insurance Program (EQUIP) Act This bill allows states to enact unemployment compensation laws that require an applicant for unemployment compensation, before receiving any such compensation, to: (1) complete a substance abuse risk assessment, and (2) test negative for controlled substances within one week after the results of such assessment if determined to be high-risk. It prescribes retesting requirements and payment suspensions for applicants who test positive.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2017
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1436) to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2017
Responsible Path to Full Obamacare Repeal Act This bill repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective at the beginning of FY2019. Provisions of law amended by those Acts are restored.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
President John F. Kennedy Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 silver coins in commemoration of President John F. Kennedy. The bill requires all sales of such coins to include a surcharge of $10 per coin, which shall be paid by Treasury to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation to support the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2017
This bill requires a federal agency to conduct an annual survey of its employees to assess leadership practices and employee satisfaction. Unless doing so would jeopardize national security, the results of the survey must be posted on the website of the agency.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Recognizes the life and accomplishments of Liu Xiaobo. Calls for the Chinese government to release his wife and allow her to settle in a place or country of her own choosing.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Refund Rights for Taxpayers Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend the statute of limitations for making a claim for a credit or refund for the overpayment of any tax, and (2) shorten the statute of limitations for a collection after the assessment of any tax. (Under current law, the statute of limitations for making a claim for a credit or refund is three years from the time the return was filed or two years from the time the tax was paid, whichever period expires later. If no return was filed by the taxpayer, the limit is two years from the time the tax was paid.) The bill extends this limit to seven years from the later of the time the return was filed or the tax was paid or, if no return was filed, seven years from the time the tax was paid. With respect to the statute of limitations for a collection after the assessment of any tax, the bill decreases the limit from 10 years to 7 years after the assessment of the tax.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2017
Condemns violence against religious minorities in the People's Republic of China and any actions that limit their free expression and practice of faith. Reaffirms the U.S. commitment to promoting religious freedom and tolerance around the world and helping to provide protection and relief to religious minorities facing persecution and violence. Calls on the Chinese government to uphold the Chinese Constitution in addition to the internationally recognized human right to freedom from religious persecution and to end all forms of violence and discrimination against religious minorities. Urges the President to take appropriate actions to promote religious freedom of religious minorities in China, using the powers provided under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Inspector General Access Act of 2017 This bill amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to eliminate a provision of such Act that requires referral of allegations of misconduct involving Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys, investigators, or law enforcement personnel to the DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility (thus allowing the DOJ Inspector General to investigate such allegations).
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Streamlining Environmental Approvals Act of 2017 or the SEA Act of 2017 This bill amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to: (1) limit the scope of the moratorium on taking and importing marine mammals and marine mammal products, and (2) revise the requirements for obtaining an authorization for incidentally taking by harassment marine mammals (incidental harassment authorizations or IHAs). Harassment is an act of pursuit, torment or annoyance which has the potential to either: (1) injure a marine mammal in the wild; or (2) disturb a marine mammal by causing disruption of behavioral patterns, such as migration or breeding. The bill: (1) allows persons who are not U.S. citizens to make requests to obtain IHAs, (2) eliminates the requirement that the taking occur within a specific geographic region, and (3) permits more than a small number of marine mammals to be taken. Monitoring requirements under an IHA must be efficient and practical. Additionally, the bill eliminates a requirement that IHAs prescribe reporting requirements. Any condition imposed by an IHA for minimizing adverse impacts on marine mammals may not result in more than a minor change to the activity and may not alter the activity's basic design, location, scope, duration, or timing. The bill establishes a process and deadlines for approving or denying IHAs, including a process for extending IHAs. Any taking of a marine mammal in compliance with an IHA is exempt from the prohibitions on takings under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Hearing Protection Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code: (1) to remove silencers from the list of firearms subject to regulation under the National Firearms Act (NFA), and (2) to specify that a person who lawfully acquires or possesses a silencer under provisions of the federal criminal code meets the registration and licensing requirements of the NFA. Additionally, the bill amends the federal criminal code: to preempt state or local laws that tax or regulate firearm silencers, to exclude a muffler or silencer from the list of firearms subject to regulation, to eliminate mandatory minimum prison terms for a crime of violence or drug trafficking offense in which a defendant uses or carries a firearm equipped with a silencer, and to permit active and retired law enforcement officers to carry a concealed silencer.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2017
Holding SSA Employees Accountable Act This bill prohibits employees of the Social Security Administration who are convicted of certain offenses related to their official duties from further participating in federal annuity programs.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2017
Federal Acquisition Savings Act of 2017 This bill requires: (1) each executive agency to consider equipment rental in any cost-effectiveness analysis for equipment acquisition; and (2) the Government Accountability Office, within two years after enactment of this bill, to report on agency decisions to acquire equipment by lease or purchase.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2017
Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017 This bill amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to direct the Department of Energy (DOE) to initiate a program to consolidate and temporarily store commercial spent nuclear fuel during the development, construction, and operation of a permanent nuclear waste repository. The bill addresses federal land withdrawal and related management issues, including the permanent withdrawal of specific federal land for repository use by DOE, updating the Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing process and conditions for the repository, and limiting activities relating to developing a separate defense waste repository used for storing high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel derived from the atomic energy defense activities of DOE. DOE may enter into agreements to provide benefits to state, local, and Tribal governments that might host or be affected by facilities related to storing nuclear waste. The bill revises the method by which DOE funds its nuclear waste management activities though the collection and usage of the Nuclear Waste Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2017
Condemns the persecution of Christians around the world. Calls on: (1) discriminatory regimes to cease their persecution of Christians and religious minorities, and (2) the President and the heads of the governments of all democratic countries to uphold the right to religious freedom and condemn the persecution of Christians.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2017
Freedom from Union Stalking Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act to declare that nothing in such Act shall be construed to preempt a law of any state, territory, or the District of Columbia that prohibits, criminalizes, or creates a civil cause of action for stalking, cyberstalking, or harassment.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2017
Freedom from Union Identity Theft Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act to declare that nothing in such Act shall be construed to preempt a law of any state, territory, or the District of Columbia that prohibits, criminalizes, or creates a civil cause of action for identity theft or the release of an individual's personally identifiable information.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Justin Smith Morrill Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Justin Smith Morrill, a United States Senator from Vermont, for his lasting contributions to higher education opportunity for all Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Reform Act of 2017 This bill amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to modify the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) work requirements that apply to able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs). The bill modifies the work requirements to: terminate the authority of the Department of Agriculture to waive the requirements, upon the request of a state agency, for individuals residing in an area that has an unemployment rate of over 10% or does not have a sufficient number of jobs to provide employment for the individuals; shorten from three months to one month the time limit for receiving benefits in a three-year period without meeting the requirements; decrease from 15% to 5% the portion of ABAWDs that a state may exempt from the requirements; allow participation in a supervised job search to satisfy the requirements; require states receiving SNAP funds to provide ABAWDs with opportunities to participate in a work program, a workfare program, or a supervised job search; and reduce SNAP allotments for states that fail to comply with requirements regarding eligibility disqualifications. The bill also modifies the congressional declaration of policy to specify that the purpose of SNAP is to increase employment, to encourage healthy marriage, and to promote prosperous self-sufficiency (maintaining an income above the poverty level without services and benefits from the federal government).
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
This bill allows a Member of Congress to carry a concealed handgun for any lawful purpose anywhere in the United States, except on the grounds of the White House, wherever the U.S. Secret Service is prohibiting the possession of a firearm, or on an air carrier (unless the Member has successfully completed the federal flight deck officer training program), provided that such Member: is carrying the photographic identification issued by a chamber of Congress that identifies him or her as a Member; has been issued a license or permit to carry a concealed handgun by a state or the United States Capitol Police; and is not otherwise prohibited under federal law from transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm. The Chief of the U.S. Capitol Police is authorized to issue such a license or permit. The Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account and the House of Representatives' Members' Representational Allowance may be used to pay for a a Member's participation in the federal flight deck officer training program, which the Department of Homeland Security must make available.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Congressional Personal Safety Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to allow a Member of Congress who is carrying a valid Member identification document and who is not otherwise prohibited from transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm to carry a firearm for any lawful purpose: (1) in any state; and (2) in the Capitol Buildings, other than the U.S. Capitol, and on the Capitol Grounds.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Congressional Self-Defense Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to allow a Member of Congress who is carrying a valid Member identification document and who is not otherwise prohibited from transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm to carry a concealed firearm for any lawful purpose: (1) in the U.S. Capitol only as authorized by regulations issued by the Capitol Police Board; and (2) anywhere else in the United States, except where the U.S. Secret Service is protecting the President or Vice President and prohibiting the possession of a firearm.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
This bill amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office, upon receiving a request from Congress, to determine if legislation would reduce spending outside of the 10-year budget window through the use of preventive health and preventive health services.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
DC Personal Protection Reciprocity Act This bill declares that the prohibitions of the District of Columbia Official Code against carrying a pistol within Washington, DC either openly or concealed without a license under DC law shall not apply to an individual who is: not prohibited by federal law from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm; carrying a valid license or permit for a concealed firearm issued under the law of a state; and carrying a valid identification document containing the individual's photograph. The Metropolitan Police Department, upon application by a person with a bona fide residence or place of business within the United States and a license to carry a concealed pistol under the law of any state or local government, shall issue that person a license to carry a concealed pistol within DC for up to two years from its date of issue, regardless of the applicant's reason for applying for the license. The bill repeals the condition on the permission for a non-DC resident who lives in a state that does not require a license to carry a concealed pistol to apply to the department for a license to carry one within DC for up to two years. The condition repealed states that the non-resident may apply for a license to carry a concealed weapon only if the non-resident meets the same reasons and requirements a person must meet who has a bona fide residence or place of business in DC. The department shall enter into reciprocity agreements with each other state that requires such an agreement in order to grant recognition to a license to carry a concealed firearm issued by that state.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2017
Gigabit Opportunity Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the designation of qualified gigabit opportunity zones in low-income communities and to provide tax incentives for investments in the zones. Governors may submit nominations for a limited number of qualified gigabit opportunity zones in low-income communities to the Department of the Treasury for certification and designation. Governors must give particular consideration to areas that: are facing obstacles to economic development due to a lack of geographic broadband coverage or speed; are the focus of mutually reinforcing state, local, or private economic development initiatives; are poised for economic growth that requires access to high speed broadband for commercial purposes; and represent the areas of a state where such service would result in the highest return on investment. For eligible taxpayers that sell certain broadband services, the bill allows: (1) deferrals, reductions, or exemptions from taxes on capital gains invested in certain property used to provide broadband services in a zone (depending on how long the property is held), and (2) immediate expensing of the costs of the property. The bill also allows tax-exempt private activity bonds to be used for certain broadband projects in the zones. Within one year of enactment of this bill, the Federal Communications Commission must publish a Uniform Model Broadband Deployment Act containing laws for the state regulation of the deployment of broadband services. Qualified zones must adopt either the Act or laws comparable to the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2017
Expresses support for the designation of a National Day of Personal Reflection and Repentance.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Employee Rights Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act to: (1) make it an unlawful labor practice for a labor organization to interfere (currently, restrain or coerce) with the rights of employees to organize and collectively bargain; (2) require union recertification after a turnover in the workforce exceeding 50% of the bargaining unit; (3) require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to give 14 days advance notice before a hearing investigating an election petition; and (4) require an employer to provide the NLRB with a list consisting only of employee names and addresses of all eligible voters within seven days after an NLRB determination of the appropriate bargaining unit or an agreement on eligible voters. The bill: (1) grants union and nonunion employees the right to vote by secret ballot on whether to ratify a collective bargaining agreement or engage in a strike, (2) prohibits the use of union dues for any purpose not directly related to collective bargaining, (3) prohibits a strike without the consent of a majority of all represented employees determined by secret ballot, and (4) prohibits the use or threat of force or violence to obtain the right to represent employees. .
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2017
Lessening Regulatory Costs and Establishing a Federal Regulatory Budget Act of 2017 This bill requires federal agencies to: (1) designate regulatory reform officers to oversee reduction, cost control, planning, review, and termination of regulatory programs; and (2) establish task forces to recommend, within a five-year period, the repeal or amendment of regulations that eliminate or inhibit jobs, impose costs exceeding benefits, create inconsistency, interfere with regulatory reform, are inconsistent with Paperwork Reduction Act guidelines, were made to implement executive orders or presidential directives subsequently rescinded or modified, or are outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective. Any new incremental cost of a new significant regulatory action must be offset by the elimination of existing costs associated with at least two prior regulatory actions. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) must set a net amount of incremental costs allowed for each agency in issuing new significant regulatory actions and repealing regulatory actions for the each fiscal year. If an agency does not exhaust all the incremental cost allowance for a fiscal year, that remaining balance may be included in the incremental allowance for the subsequent fiscal year. Before proposing a significant regulatory action during FY2018, an agency must identify at least two regulatory actions for repeal. Total incremental cost of all such new significant regulatory actions and any repealed regulatory action must be: (1) no greater than zero, or (2) consistent with an OMB waiver. Agencies must submit an annual regulatory plan to the OMB about: (1) the costs of proposed or finalized regulations, and (2) the economic effects and the net effect on jobs considered when drafting significant regulatory actions. The bill prohibits issuance of a significant regulatory action if it was not included in the most recent version of the published unified agenda of regulations under development or review, unless it was approved by the OMB.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2017
Representation Fairness Restoration Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act to replace the current legal standard for determining the appropriateness of a collective bargaining unit. Under a 2011 ruling by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Specialty Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center of Mobile , the NLRB must approve a requested bargaining unit unless an employer can show that an overwhelming community of interest exists between the requested unit and some other portion of the workforce, thus allowing the formation of smaller bargaining units (i.e., micro-bargaining units). This bill requires the NLRB to determine a unit appropriate for collective bargaining if it consists of employees who share a sufficient community of interest and sets forth factors for the NLRB to consider in determining whether employees share a sufficient community of interest.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2017
Veterans Increased Choice for Transplanted Organs and Recovery Act of 2017 or the VICTOR Act of 2017 This bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to include among veterans eligible to receive hospital care and medical services through agreements with the Department of Defense, the Indian Health Service, federally-qualified health centers, or health care providers that participate in the Medicare program a veteran who: (1) requires an organ transplant, (2) lives more than 100 miles from a Department of Veterans Affairs transplant center, and (3) is seeking such care and services related to a required organ transplant at a transplant center that is located within 100 miles of such veteran's residence and operated by such an entity.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2017
Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow's Needs Act of 2017 This bill amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to make it one of the purposes of the Act to provide financial and technical assistance to the states for the promotion of hunting and recreational shooting. The bill also prescribes a formula for the allocation of funds apportioned to a state that may be used for any activity or project to recruit or retain hunters and recreational shooters. In addition to other uses authorized under this bill, amounts apportioned to the states from any taxes on pistols, revolvers, bows, and arrows may be used for hunter recruitment and recreational shooter recruitment. The funds apportioned to a state for wildlife restoration management may be used for related public relations. If a state has not used all of the tax revenues apportioned to it for firearm and bow hunter education and safety program grants, it may use its remaining apportioned funds for the enhancement of hunter recruitment and recreational shooter recruitment. Up to $5 million of the revenues covered into the wildlife restoration fund in the Treasury from any tax imposed for a fiscal year on the sale of certain bows, arrows, and archery equipment shall be available to the Department of the Interior exclusively for making hunter recruitment and recreational shooter recruitment grants that promote a national hunting and shooting sport recruitment program, including related communication and outreach activities.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2017
Huntington's Disease Parity Act of 2017 This bill amends title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to waive, for individuals diagnosed with Huntington's Disease, the 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage. Current law generally applies this waiting period to individuals deemed eligible for OASDI benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2017
Protecting Officers of the Law In Civilian Establishments Act of 2017 or the POLICE Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to modify the restriction on possessing a firearm or other dangerous weapon in a federal facility. Specifically, the prohibition does not apply to the lawful carrying of agency-issued firearms and dangerous weapons by a uniformed law enforcement officer in certain publicly accessible federal facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2017
Taking Account of Bureaucrats' Spending Act of 2017 or the TABS Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to eliminate provisions that fund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) using transfers from the earnings of the Federal Reserve System. The transfers under current law permit the CFPB to be funded outside of the annual appropriations process, and this bill brings the CFPB into the regular process.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2017
American Legion 100th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue commemorative coins in recognition and celebration of the 100th anniversary of the American Legion. Surcharges received from the sale of these coins shall be paid to the American Legion for costs related to promoting the importance of: (1) caring for those who have served, and those who are still serving, in the Armed Forces; and (2) maintaining patriotic values, strong families, and assistance for at-risk children.