United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Resettlement Accountability National Security Act of 2017 This bill prohibits the admission of alien refugees into the United States unless Congress passes a joint resolution giving the Department of Homeland Security authority to resume admitting them. The Government Accountability Office shall report on: (1) the national security impact of refugee admissions; and (2) specified costs of providing refugees with benefits under Medicare, Medicaid, disability insurance under title II of the Social Security Act, the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly the food stamp program), and low income rental housing assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to require any health care practitioner who is present when a child is born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion to: (1) exercise the same degree of care as reasonably provided to any other child born alive at the same gestational age, and (2) ensure that such child is immediately admitted to a hospital. The term "born alive" means the complete expulsion or extraction from his or her mother, at any stage of development, who after such expulsion or extraction breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut. Also, a health care practitioner or other employee who has knowledge of a failure to comply with these requirements must immediately report such failure to an appropriate law enforcement agency. An individual who violates the provisions of this bill is subject to a criminal fine, up to five years in prison, or both. An individual who commits an overt act that kills a child born alive is subject to criminal prosecution for murder. The bill bars the criminal prosecution of a mother of a child born alive for conspiracy to violate these provisions, for being an accessory after the fact, or for concealment of felony. A woman who undergoes an abortion or attempted abortion may file a civil action for damages against an individual who violates this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Safe Students Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to repeal provisions that prohibit the possession or discharge of a firearm in a school zone.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act This bill requires that the website of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) include a program inventory that identifies each program of the federal government for which there is more than $1 million in annual budget authority. For programs identified in such inventory for which there is more than $1 million and not more than $10 million in annual budget authority (smaller programs), the inventory must include: an identification of the program activities that are aggregated, disaggregated, or consolidated as part of identifying programs; for each such program activity, the amount of funding for the current fiscal year and the previous two fiscal years; an identification of the statutes that authorize the program and any major regulations specific to the program; a description of the individuals served by a program and beneficiaries who received financial assistance under a program for the most recent fiscal year; and links to any evaluation, assessment, or program performance reviews by the agency, an Inspector General, or the Government Accountability Office released during the preceding five years. For programs identified in such inventory for which there is more than $10 million in annual budget authority (larger programs), the inventory must include: an identification of the program activities that are aggregated, disaggregated, or consolidated as part of identifying programs; for each program activity, the amount of funding for the current fiscal year and the previous two fiscal years; an estimate of the amount of funding for the program; an identification of the statutes that authorize the program and any major regulations specific to the program; a description and estimate of the number of individuals served by a program and beneficiaries who received financial assistance under a program for the most recent fiscal year; a description of the federal employees who administer the program and other individuals whose salary is paid in full or in part by the federal government through a grant, contract, cooperative agreement, or another form of financial award or assistance; links to any evaluation, assessment, or program performance reviews by the agency, an Inspector General, or the Government Accountability Office released during the preceding five years; and financial and other information for each program activity required to be reported under the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. The OMB shall: (1) archive and preserve the information included in the program inventory; and (2) annually publish the total amount of undisbursed grant funding remaining in grant accounts for which the period of availability to the grantee has expired. The bill requires the OMB, by June 30, 2018, to: (1) prescribe guidance to implement this Act, and (2) issue guidance to assist agencies in identifying how the program activities used in budget or appropriations accounts correspond with programs identified in the program inventory required by this Act. The OMB may: (1) issue guidance to agencies to ensure that programs are presented at a similar level of detail across agencies and are not duplicative or overlapping; (2) exempt from the requirements of this Act, based on an analysis of the costs of implementation, agencies that are not required to have a chief financial officer and that have not more than $10 million in budget authority; and (3) extend the Act's implementation deadline by up to one year. Implementation of the requirements in this bill must be completed not later than June 30, 2019.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Encourage New Legalized Immigrants to Start Training Act or the ENLIST Act This bill authorizes the enlistment in the Armed Forces of aliens unlawfully present in the United States on December 31, 2012, who: (1) have been continuously present in the United States since such date; (2) were younger than 15 years of age when they initially entered the United States; and (3) are otherwise eligible for original enlistment in a regular component of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard. The Department of Homeland Security shall adjust the status of an alien enlisted under such authority to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence under provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act applicable to aliens who entered the United States prior to January 1, 1972. The bill rescinds such lawful permanent resident status if the alien is separated from the Armed Forces under other than honorable conditions before serving the term of enlistment.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
FairTax Act of 2017 This bill is a tax reform proposal that imposes a national sales tax on the use or consumption in the United States of taxable property or services in lieu of the current income and corporate income tax, employment and self-employment taxes, and estate and gift taxes. The rate of the sales tax will be 23% in 2019, with adjustments to the rate in subsequent years. There are exemptions from the tax for used and intangible property, for property or services purchased for business, export, or investment purposes, and for state government functions. Under the bill, family members who are lawful U.S. residents receive a monthly sales tax rebate (Family Consumption Allowance) based upon criteria related to family size and poverty guidelines. The states have the responsibility for administering, collecting, and remitting the sales tax to the Treasury. Tax revenues are to be allocated among: (1) the general revenue, (2) the old-age and survivors insurance trust fund, (3) the disability insurance trust fund, (4) the hospital insurance trust fund, and (5) the federal supplementary medical insurance trust fund. No funding is authorized for the operations of the Internal Revenue Service after FY2021. Finally, the bill terminates the national sales tax if the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution (authorizing an income tax) is not repealed within seven years after the enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Disapproves of: (1) United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, adopted on December 23, 2016; and (2) President Obama and his administration's failure to veto such resolution. (The resolution reaffirms that settlements established by Israel in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, constitute a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to a two-state solution and comprehensive peace.) Calls for the U.S. government to oppose and veto Security Council resolutions that are one-sided and anti-Israel. Affirms the commitment of the House of Representatives: (1) to Israel, and (2) to work with future Presidents to strengthen the U.S. alliance with Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2016
Federal Immigration Law Compliance Act of 2016 or the FILCA of 2016 This bill prohibits an entity (including a university, a state political subdivision, or other person) that receives federal funds in a fiscal year from receiving additional federal funds in that fiscal year or the succeeding fiscal year if it fails to comply with a lawful request for information or detainment of an alien made by any federal immigration officer or employee. Unobligated federal funds made available to a non-compliant entity are rescinded. A state or political subdivision that complies with a detainer is deemed to be an agent of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has authority available to DHS to take actions to comply with the detainer, and shall not be liable for such actions. DHS may issue a detainer for an alien who is in federal, state, or local custody requesting: (1) all relevant information collected pertaining to such alien and notification of his or her future release, or (2) continued detention until DHS assumes custody. DHS may request from any entity that receives federal funds other immigration-related information pertaining to an alien that is not otherwise precluded from disclosure.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2016
Free Speech Fairness Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a tax-exempt organization to make certain statements related to a political campaign without losing its tax-exempt status. An organization may not lose its tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) or be deemed to have participated in, or intervened in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office, solely because of the content of any statement that: (1) is made in the ordinary course of the organization's regular and customary activities in carrying out its exempt purpose, and (2) results in the organization incurring not more than de minimis incremental expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2016
This joint resolution provides continuing FY2017 appropriations to federal agencies until the earlier of February 28, 2017, or the enactment of the applicable appropriations legislation. It is known as a continuing resolution (CR) and prevents a government shutdown that would otherwise occur when FY2017 begins on October 1, 2016, because the twelve FY2017 regular appropriations bills that fund the federal government have not been enacted. The resolution specifies the rates of operations for security and nonsecurity programs. It also includes several provisions that restrict or prohibit the use of funds for specified purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2016
Export Control Reform Act This bill requires all of the following items that are on the United States Munitions List and the import or export of which is controlled by the President under the Arms Export Control Act on the date of this bill's enactment to be transferred to the Commerce Control List of dual-use items in the Export Administration Regulations: non-automatic and semi-automatic firearms, including all rifles, carbines, pistols, revolvers, and shotguns; non-automatic and non-semi-automatic rifles, carbines, revolvers, or pistols of a caliber greater than .50 inches (12.7 mm) up to and including .72 inches (18.0 mm); ammunition for such firearms excluding caseless ammunition; silencers, mufflers, and sound and flash suppressors; rifle scopes; barrels, cylinders, receivers (frames), or complete breech mechanisms; and related components, parts, accessories, attachments, tooling, and equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2016
Recognizes and encourages the observance of Small Business Saturday. Supports efforts to: (1) encourage consumers to shop locally, and (2) increase awareness of the value of locally owned small businesses and their impact on the U.S. economy.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2016
Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools, and Nonprofits Act This bill postpones from December 1, 2016, until June 1, 2017, the effective date of a final rule of the Department of Labor revising income thresholds for determining overtime pay for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer ("white collar") employees exempt from regular minimum wage and overtime pay requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2016
Improving Transparency and Accuracy in Medicare Part D Spending Act This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit Medicare Prescription Drug Plan sponsors from retroactively reducing payment on clean claims submitted by pharmacies. (A "clean claim" is a Medicare claim that is free of defects such as incomplete documentation.)
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2016
Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2016 This bill directs the Department of State to provide assistance to entities taking specified criminal and judicial actions against individuals who are suspected of committing genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes in Iraq since January 2014 or in Syria since March 2011. The State Department shall encourage foreign governments to identify and prosecute individuals who are suspected of committing such crimes, including members of foreign terrorist organizations operating in Iraq or Syria. The Department of Justice shall review existing criminal statutes concerning genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes to determine: the extent to which U.S. courts have jurisdiction over such crimes where the perpetrators or victims are U.S. nationals, residents, or persons present in a U.S. territory; current statutes that would apply to such conduct and whether additional statutory authorities are necessary; and the extent to which the absence of criminal statutes defining the crimes or granting jurisdiction impede their prosecution in U.S. courts. The State Department shall identify: threats of persecution, genocide, crimes against humanity, and forced migration against members of Iraqi or Syrian religious or ethnic groups with respect to whom the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has committed such crimes in Iraq or Syria since January 2014 or who are members of other persecuted religious or ethnic groups; humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs of these individuals; and assistance provided by the United States, the U.N., and other entities, including faith-based entities. The Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1990 is amended to: include as a category for U.S. refugee determinations aliens who are or were nationals and residents of Iraq or Syria and who share common characteristics that identify them as targets of persecution on account of religion or membership in an ethnic minority in such foreign states, include in such category aliens who are or were nationals and residents of Iraq or Syria and who are members of a religious or ethnic community against which genocide has been committed or that has otherwise been identified as a persecuted group, and extend such Act's coverage to refugee applications submitted before October 1, 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2016
Authorizes the Speaker of the House of Representatives to initiate or intervene in civil actions in a federal court of competent jurisdiction to seek appropriate relief regarding the failure of the President, any department or agency head, or any other executive branch officer or employee to act in a manner consistent with that official's duties with respect to the implementation of provisions of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016, or any related provision, regarding the relinquishment of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's responsibility with respect to Internet domain name system functions. The Speaker shall notify the House of any decision to initiate or intervene in any such civil action. The House's Office of the General Counsel, at the direction of the Speaker, shall represent the House in any such civil action and may employ the services of outside counsel and other experts. The chair of the Committee on House Administration shall publish in the Congressional Record a statement setting forth the aggregate amounts expended by the Office on outside counsel and other experts for each calendar quarter.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2016
Prohibiting Future Ransom Payments to Iran Act This bill declares that it shall be the policy of the U.S. government not to pay ransom or release prisoners for the purpose of securing the release of U.S. citizens taken hostage abroad. The U.S. government is prohibited from providing promissory notes (including currency) issued by the U.S. government or by a foreign government to the government of Iran. The conduct of a transaction or payment in connection with a claim settlement agreement brought before the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal (established on January 19, 1981) may be made only: (1) on a case-by-case basis pursuant to a specific license by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, and (2) in a manner that does not contradict such promissory note prohibition. The President must publish a list of such transactions or payments. Such promissory note prohibition and licensing requirement shall remain in effect until the President certifies that: (1) a preliminary or final rule providing for Iran's designation as a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern has been rescinded, and (2) the Department of State has removed Iran from the list of countries that have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism. The President shall: (1) submit, every 180 days for 3 years, a report that evaluates each outstanding claim before the tribunal; and (2) provide notice prior to conducting a transaction or payment from the U.S. government to the government of Iran in connection with a claim settlement agreement. Nothing in this bill shall: (1) apply to activities subject to the non-covert intelligence reporting requirements under title V of the National Security Act of 1947, or (2) be construed to authorize any U.S. government payment to the government of Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Taxpayers Before Insurers Act This bill rescinds specified departmental management funds from the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) unless HHS deposits into the Treasury specified funds derived from contributions collected under the Transitional Reinsurance Program. The rescission is required unless HHS deposits into the Treasury: (1) $2 billion for each of calendar years 2014 and 2015 within 45 days of enactment of this bill, and (2) $1 billion for 2016 by March 1, 2017. (The Transitional Reinsurance Program was created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [PPACA] to stabilize premiums in the individual health insurance market by partially reimbursing insurers for high-cost enrollees. Health insurance issuers and certain group health plans make contributions to the program, and reinsurance payments are made to issuers for enrollees in certain individual market plans with claim costs within a specified level. Portions of the reinsurance contributions are allocated for the reinsurance payment pool, administrative expenses, and the Treasury.)
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
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. Before the offering of lands for sale or exchange, states or the unit of local government in whose jurisdiction the lands are located may elect to obtain any such lands for local public purposes pursuant to the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. Interior or USDA, as appropriate, shall retain the elected lands for conveyance to such states or unit of local government in accordance with that Act. 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 · 14 July 2016
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Second Amendment protects the individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense and that such right is fully applicable to the states.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2016
Veterans Transplant Coverage Act of 2016 This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) provide for an operation on a live donor to carry out a transplant procedure for an eligible veteran notwithstanding that the live donor may not be eligible for VA health care, and (2) provide for such an operation at a VA or a non-VA facility. The VA shall furnish to such a donor any care or services that may be required before and after conducting with such procedure.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2016
GAO Mandates Revision Act of 2016 This bill eliminates provisions that require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to: review reported legislation that requires financial audits of nonfederal entities receiving federal awards; evaluate the extent to which premium levels for Medicare supplemental policies reflect reductions in coinsurance for hospital outpatient services made by the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for Aged and Disabled) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSAct); report on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) pilot program under the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013 for alternative resolution for major disaster assistance disputes involving amounts of at least $1 million; and conduct a biennial satisfaction survey of recipients of transportation intelligence reports under the Department of Homeland Security's transportation security information sharing plan. The GAO must report annually (currently, every 60 days) on its oversight of the Troubled Asset Relief Program under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is amended to terminate the GAO's annual reporting after 2020, but require GAO reports in 2022 and 2024, about the effectiveness of disclosures relating to conflict minerals originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or adjoining countries on the rate of sexual- and gender-based violence and the promotion of peace and security in such areas. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 is amended to extend until December 31, 2023, the GAO's deadline for updating a report under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with an analysis of how the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has addressed GAO recommendations for the implementation of payment for oral-only ESRD (end-stage renal disease)-related drugs in the bundled prospective payment system under SSAct title XVIII provisions regarding Medicare coverage for ESRD patients. The Public Health Service Act is amended to transfer from the GAO to HHS the responsibility to provide information, personnel, and administrative assistance to the review panel that consults with HHS about applications for demonstration grants that HHS awards to states for the development of alternatives to tort litigation for resolving disputes over injuries allegedly caused by health care providers or organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2016
Taking Responsibility Using Secured Technologies Act of 2016 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should have any security clearance she holds revoked and should be denied access to classified information unless she earns the legal right to such access, and (2) any of her colleagues who demonstrated extreme carelessness in their handling of classified information should no longer have access to that information. The bill prohibits granting a security clearance to, and requires revocation of the security clearance of, any federal officer or employee who has exercised extreme carelessness in the handling of classified information. The bill also amends a provision of the federal criminal code that subjects to criminal penalties anyone entrusted with, or having lawful possession or control of, national defense information who, through gross negligence, permits that information to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed. The bill explicitly states that "gross negligence," for these purposes, includes extreme or reckless carelessness.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2016
Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act This bill prohibits a sanctuary jurisdiction from receiving grants under certain Economic Development Assistance Programs and the Community Development Block Grant Program. A sanctuary jurisdiction is a state or political subdivision that has a statute, policy, or practice in effect that prohibits or restricts: (1) information sharing about an individual's immigration status, or (2) compliance with a lawfully issued detainer request or notification of release request. A state or political subdivision that complies with a detainer is deemed to be an agent of the Department of Homeland Security and is authorized to take actions to comply with the detainer. The bill limits the liability of a state or political subdivision, or an officer or employee of such state or political subdivision, for actions in compliance with the detainer.
United States · United States Congress · 6 July 2016
Stop Abusing the Presidential Plane Act This bill prohibits an aircraft under the jurisdiction of a military department that is available for the President's use from being used to transport a candidate for federal office to an event promoting the candidate's election campaign. This prohibition does not apply to the use of an aircraft to transport the President or Vice President to an event promoting the President's or Vice President's re-election campaign.
United States · United States Congress · 6 July 2016
Sarah's Law This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require the detention of an alien: (1) who was not inspected and admitted into the United States, who held a revoked nonimmigrant visa (or other nonimmigrant admission document), or who is deportable for failing to maintain nonimmigrant status; and (2) who has been charged in the United States with a crime that resulted in the death or serious bodily injury of another person. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shall make reasonable efforts to: obtain information about the identity of any victims of the crimes for which such alien was charged or convicted; and provide the victim, or a parent, guardian, spouse, or closest living relative of a deceased victim, with information about such alien, including name, date of birth, nationality, immigration status, criminal history, and a description of any related removal efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 6 July 2016
Recognizes on behalf of the United States the dedicated service and ultimate sacrifice of the 11 African-American soldiers of the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion of the United States Army who were massacred in Wereth, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge on December 17, 1944. Calls on the Senate Armed Services Committee to correct the omission in the 1949 report of its subcommittee and appropriately recognize the Wereth 11.
United States · United States Congress · 5 July 2016
Sarah's Law This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require the detention of an alien: (1) who was not inspected and admitted into the United States, who held a revoked nonimmigrant visa (or other nonimmigrant admission document), or who is deportable for failing to maintain nonimmigrant status; and (2) who has been charged in the United States with a crime that resulted in the death or serious bodily injury of another person. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shall make reasonable efforts to: obtain information about the identity of any victims of the crimes for which such alien was charged or convicted; and provide the victim, or a parent, guardian, spouse, or closest living relative of a deceased victim, with information about such alien, including name, date of birth, nationality, immigration status, criminal history, and a description of any related removal efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 5 July 2016
This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to Larry Doby in recognition of his achievements and contributions to American major league athletics, civil rights, and the Armed Forces during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 2016
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2886 Sandy Plains Road in Marietta, Georgia, as the "Marine Lance Corporal Squire 'Skip' Wells Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2016
Agency Accountability Act of 2016 This bill requires any agency that receives a fee, fine, penalty, or proceeds from a settlement to deposit the amount in the general fund of the Treasury. The funds may not be used unless the funding is provided in advance in an appropriations bill. Any amounts deposited during the fiscal year in which this bill is enacted may not be obligated during the fiscal year and must be used for deficit reduction. The bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require offsetting receipts and collections to be treated as revenue. (Offsetting receipts and collections are funds collected by agencies from other government accounts or from the public in businesslike or market-oriented transactions. Under current law, the collections are treated as negative budget authority and outlays rather than revenue and may be used to offset spending for budget enforcement purposes.) The requirements of the bill do not apply to the U.S. Postal Service or the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the USPTO must submit annually to Congress a report describing any fee, fine, penalty, or proceeds from a settlement collected by the USPTO during the previous year.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2016
This bill redesignates as the "Nancy Reagan Memorial Park" the Gravelly Point Park located along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Arlington County, Virginia.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2016
This bill prohibits U.S. agency funds from being used until the earlier of the enactment date of an Act authorizing FY2017 appropriations for military activities of the Department of Defense (DOD) or January 1, 2017, for the transfer or release to or within the United States, its territories, or possessions or to any foreign country or entity of an individual detained at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. "Individual detained at Guantanamo" means an individual located at Guantanamo as of October 1, 2009, who: (1) is not a U.S. national or a member of the Armed Forces, and (2) is in the custody or under the control of DOD or otherwise detained at Guantanamo.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2016
Student Privacy Protection and Safety Act of 2016 This bill invalidates the Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students, dated May 13, 2016, that was issued by the Department of Justice and the Department of Education to provide guidance to schools receiving federal financial assistance about the treatment of transgender students under the prohibitions against sex discrimination in title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The invalidation applies until superseded by an Act of Congress that directs federal departments to issue guidance on transgender issues.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2016
Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016 This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in appointing air traffic controllers, to give preferential consideration to qualified individuals maintaining 52 consecutive weeks of experience involving the active separation of air traffic after receipt of an air traffic certification or facility rating within 5 years of application while serving at an FAA air traffic control facility, a civilian or military air traffic control facility of the Department of Defense, or a tower operating under contract with the FAA. The FAA shall consider additional applicants by referring an approximately equal number of employees for appointment among two applicant pools. The number referred from each group shall not differ by more than 10%. Pool one shall consist of applicants who: have successfully completed air traffic controller training and graduated from an institution participating in the Collegiate Training Initiative program and have received an appropriate recommendation or endorsement from such institution, are eligible for a veterans recruitment appointment and provide a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty within 120 days of the announcement closing, are veterans eligible for veterans' benefits who maintain aviation experience obtained in the course of the individual's military experience, or are preference eligible veterans. Pool two shall consist of applicants who apply under a vacancy announcement recruiting from all U.S. citizens. The FAA: (1) may not use a biographical assessment when hiring, (2) must provide an individual who applied in response to a specified 2014 vacancy announcement and was disqualified as the result of a biographical assessment an opportunity to reapply under the revised hiring practices, and (3) must waive any maximum age limit for such reapplying applicants who met such requirement when they applied under such announcement. Otherwise, the maximum age limit for an original appointment as an air traffic controller under this bill shall be 35 years of age. The FAA shall consider directly notifying secondary schools and institutes of higher learning of a vacancy announcement for pool one applicants.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2016
No Bailouts for State, Territory, and Local Governments Act This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to purchase or guarantee obligations of, issue lines of credit to, or provide direct or indirect grants-in-aid to any state (defined to include the District of Columbia and any U.S. territory or possession), municipal, local, or county government that, on or after January 1, 2013, has filed for bankruptcy, has defaulted on its obligations, is at risk of defaulting, or is likely to default, without such federal assistance, if such purchase, guarantee, extension of credit, or grant is made to assist the government in: (1) avoiding defaulting on the payment of principal or interest due on an obligation of the government, or (2) curing such a default. The Departrment of the Treasury is prohibited from using general fund revenues or borrowed funds to purchase or guarantee, for the same purposes, any asset or obligation of any such state, municipal, local, or county government. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is prohibited from: (1) providing or extending to, or authorizing with respect to, such a state, municipal, local, or county government, or other entity with taxing authority or bonding authority, for the same purposes, any funds, loan guarantees, credits, or any other financial instrument or other authority, including bond purchases; or (2) otherwise assisting such a government entity, for the same purposes, under any Board authority. Such prohibitions shall not apply to federal assistance provided in response to a natural disaster.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2016
Supports designation of National Foster Care Month, and recognizes it as an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges that children face in the foster-care system.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2016
Regulatory Integrity Act of 2016 This bill directs each executive agency to make publicly available on the agency website or in the rule making docket on Regulations.gov a list of each pending agency regulatory action, the date the agency began to develop or consider the action, its status, an estimate of the date it will be final and in effect, a brief description of such action, and each public communication about the action issued by the agency, including the date of the communication, its intended audience, the method of communication, and a copy of the original communication. Each agency shall publish the information required within 24 hours after such communication is issued and maintain the public availability of such information for at least 5 years after the action is finalized. Any public communication issued by an agency that refers to a pending agency regulatory action: shall specify whether the agency is considering alternatives and accepting comments; shall expressly disclose that the agency is the source of the information to the intended recipients; and may not solicit support for or promote the action nor include statements of aggrandizement for the agency, any federal employee, or the action.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2016
Criminal Alien Deportation Enforcement Act of 2016 This bill amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to prohibit financial assistance to a foreign country that refuses or unreasonably delays the acceptance of an alien who: (1) is a citizen, subject, national, or resident of such country; and (2) has received a final order of removal from the United States. A country shall be deemed to have refused or unreasonably delayed acceptance of an alien if it does not accept such alien within 90 days of receiving an authorized repatriation request. The Department of Homeland Security shall submit a report to Congress every three months that: (1) lists the countries that refuse or unreasonably delay repatriation; and (2) includes the total number of aliens who were refused repatriation, organized by country, detention status, and criminal status. A listed country shall be subject to U.S. entry and financial assistance prohibitions unless it issues appropriate travel documents: (1) within 100 days after such report's submission for aliens convicted of a crime committed in the United States, and (2) within 200 days after such report's submission for all other aliens. A victim (or an immediate family member thereof) of a crime committed by any alien who has been issued a final order of removal shall have standing in federal district court to enforce entry and financial prohibitions. The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended to: (1) discontinue granting visas to a subject, national, or resident of a listed country unless the country has issued the appropriate travel documents pursuant to this bill; and (2) grant standing to enforce such provision in federal district court to a victim (or an immediate family member thereof) of a crime committed by any alien who has been issued a final order of removal.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2016
Food and Fuel Consumer Protection Act of 2016 This bill amends the Clean Air Act by revising the renewable fuel program, which requires transportation fuel to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuel. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must cap the total volume of ethanol blended into the transportation fuel supply at 9.7% of projected gasoline demand as determined by the Energy Information Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2016
Working to Integrate Networks Guaranteeing Member Access Now Act or the WINGMAN Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide an accredited, permanent congressional employee with read-only remote access to the electronic Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) claims records system of a represented veteran, regardless of whether the employee is acting under a power of attorney executed by the veteran. The VA shall ensure that access does not allow the employee to modify system data. An employee must complete the VA certification process required of agents or attorneys in order to have system access. Each Member of Congress who elects to have an employee participate in the system shall bear the certification cost, which shall be paid from the Member's representational allowance. Information access by an employee shall be deemed: (1) a covered disclosure requiring prior consent, with specified exceptions; and (2) a permitted disclosure relating to the privacy of individually identifiable health information. The VA may not recognize an employee for purposes of preparation, presentation, and prosecution of VA claims by reason of such system access. "Accredited, permanent congressional employee" means an employee of a Member of Congress who assists constituents with issues regarding federal departments or agencies. "Electronic VBA claims records system" means the VA system that provides claim status information, including information about medical records, compensation and pension exams records, rating decisions, a statement of the case and a supplementary statement of the case, a notice of disagreement, and Form-9.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
Criminal Alien Detention and Removal Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to require: (1) the supervised release of an individual following imprisonment for a felony conviction, and (2) the deportation of a deportable alien who is sentenced to supervised release. Current law allows, but generally does not require: (1) the supervised release of an individual following imprisonment, whether for a felony or misdemeanor conviction; and (2) the deportation of a deportable alien as a condition of supervised release.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
Interior Immigration Enforcement Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide that an alien who is 18 or older, knowingly lacks lawful immigration status, and is present in the United States shall be fined and/or imprisoned for not more than six months for the first such offense and for not more than two years for a subsequent offense.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
Zero Tolerance for Illegal Entry Act This bill directs the Department of Justice to require U.S. attorneys to prosecute to the fullest extent offenses involving improper entry by an alien or reentry of a removed alien.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2016
Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from requiring a tax-exempt organization to include in annual returns the name, address, or other identifying information of any contributor. The bill includes exceptions for: (1) required disclosures regarding prohibited tax shelter transactions; and (2) contributions by the organization's officers, directors, or five highest compensated employees (including compensation paid by related organizations).
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2016
Protecting Veterans' Educational Choice Act of 2016 This bill requires Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) counselors who provide specified educational or vocational counseling services to provide a requesting veteran or member of the Armed Forces with information about the articulation agreements (agreements governing the transferability of credits toward meeting specific degree or program requirements) of each institution of higher learning in which the individual is interested. The VA shall provide a veteran who is certified as eligible for VA educational assistance with information on education counseling services and articulation agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2016
Firearm Due Process Protection Act This bill amends the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act to establish a 60-day time limit for the Department of Justice to make a final disposition of a request to correct a record in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. With respect to violations of that limit, the bill establishes a private right to action.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2016
This joint resolution disapproves the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to "Interpretation of the 'Advice' Exemption in Section 203(c) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act." The joint resolution declares that such rule shall have no force or effect. (Under section 203 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, an employer must report any agreement or arrangement with a third party consultant to persuade employees as to their collective bargaining rights or to obtain certain information concerning the activities of employees or a labor organization in connection with a labor dispute involving the employer. The consultant, also, is required to report concerning such an agreement or arrangement with an employer. Statutory exceptions to these reporting requirements are set forth in LMRDA section 203[c], which provides, in part, that employers and consultants are not required to file a report by reason of the consultant's giving or agreeing to give "advice" to the employer.)
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2016
End Executive Overreach Act This bill prohibits, until January 21, 2017, the use of federal funds, fees, or resources to implement an executive order issued on or after the enactment of this bill. The bill prohibits any agency, until such date, from making or finalizing: a major rule (a rule that is likely to result in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more); a rule that may raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in Executive Order 12866 (which requires that significant regulatory actions be submitted for review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget); or a rule that may create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency.
![Official portrait of Rep. Hice, Jody B. [R-GA-10]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h001071_200.jpg)