United States · United States Congress · 19 January 2018
Pay Our Protectors Not Our Politicians Act of 2018 This bill provides FY2018 appropriations for military pay during any period in which interim or full-year appropriations for FY2018 are not in effect. The appropriations provided by this bill are available until the earlier of: (1) the enactment into law of specified appropriations legislation, or (2) January 1, 2019. The bill provides continuing appropriations for pay and allowances of: members of the Armed Forces, including reserve components, who perform active service; members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces who perform inactive-duty training; civilian personnel or contractors of the Department of Defense (and the Department of Homeland Security [DHS] in the case of the Coast Guard) who are providing support to members of the Armed Forces; and DHS employees who are performing national security activities. It also provides continuing appropriations for payments related to: death gratuities, funeral and burial expenses, authorized funeral travel and travel related to the dignified transfer of remains and unit memorial services, and the temporary continuation of a basic allowance of housing for dependents of members dying on active duty. The bill also prohibits Members of Congress from being paid when a government shutdown is in effect during the 116th and succeeding Congresses. During the 115th Congress, congressional pay must be withheld during a government shutdown and released at the end of the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2018
Securing Our Schools Act of 2018 This bill establishes a pilot program under which the Department of Justice may award one-year grants to local education agencies for the purpose of purchasing and installing devices that allow for the immediate notification of appropriate officials in case of emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2018
Defending U.S. Government Communications Act This bill prohibits federal agencies from procuring or obtaining, renewing or extending a contract to obtain or procure, or entering into a contract with an entity that uses any equipment, system, or service with telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system that is from Huawei Technologies Company, ZTE Corporation, or an entity reasonably believed to be owned or controlled by China.
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 2017
National Law Enforcement Museum Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins that are emblematic of the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington, DC, and the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers throughout the history of the United States. All sales of such coins shall include specified surcharges, which shall be distributed to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Inc., for educational and outreach programs and exhibits.
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 2017
Truth in Spending Act of 2017 This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to submit to the President, for inclusion in the President's annual budget submission, specified reports regarding the difference between the actual costs of direct spending legislation and the costs that were estimated by the Congressional Budget Office and the OMB. (Direct spending, also known as mandatory spending, is spending provided by laws other than appropriations Acts.) If the actual total cost of the direct spending legislation exceeds the estimated total cost, the report must also include proposed legislative language to eliminate the excess cost. Within seven days of receiving a report from the OMB, the President must submit to Congress any proposed legislative language included in the report. Congress must then consider the proposed legislation using specified expedited legislative procedures. The budgetary effects of legislation considered pursuant to this bill may not be entered on the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) scorecards maintained under the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2017
Curbing Realistic Exploitative Electronic Pedophilic Robots Act of 2017 or the CREEPER Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to broaden the prohibition on importation or transportation of obscene materials. Specifically, the bill makes it a crime to import, or knowingly use a common carrier or interactive computer service to transport in interstate or foreign commerce, a child sex doll.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2017
Recovering America's Wildlife Act This bill amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to direct the Department of the Treasury to transfer, beginning in FY2018, revenues from energy and mineral development on federal lands totaling $1.3 billion to the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Subaccount of the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Fund, to be available without further appropriation. The bill revises the requirements governing how the funds from the subaccount may be used, including by requiring funds to be used to develop, revise, and implement state wildlife conservation strategies. The bill expands the allowable uses of the subaccount, including by allowing funds to be used for managing invasive and nuisance species and for law enforcement activities that are directly related to the conservation of species of the greatest conservation need. Funds apportioned from the subaccount may not be conditioned upon the provision of public access to private lands, waters, or holdings. The bill specifies what types of funds and donations states may use to meet matching fund requirements. The bill revises the formula used to determine how funds are distributed to states.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2017
Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act This bill establishes a punitive article in the Uniform Code of Military Justice on domestic violence and aggravated domestic violence against an intimate partner. "Aggravated domestic violence" involves the use of a weapon, or force in a manner likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm. Military departments must submit to the Department of Justice the identity of each member of the Armed Forces who has been convicted of a domestic violence offense for inclusion in the national instant criminal background check system.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to temporarily permit tax-favored health savings accounts, Archer Medical Savings Accounts, health flexible spending arrangements, and health reimbursement arrangements to be used to purchase over-the-counter medicine that is not prescribed by a physician. The bill applies during the period beginning on January 1, 2018, and ending on December 31, 2019.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2017
Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2017 This bill requires the Social Security Administration (SSA) to make annual grants to each state's protection and advocacy system for the purpose of conducting reviews of representative payees under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program and the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program. The SSA must also conduct periodic onsite reviews of individual and organizational payees. The bill lessens certain monitoring requirements with respect to specified family members who are serving as representative payees. The bill provides for advance designation of representative payees. In general, an individual who has been convicted of a felony, or of an attempt or a conspiracy to commit a felony, may not serve as a representative payee. An individual who has a representative payee may not also serve as a representative payee. The SSA must report to specified congressional committees on certain issues related to representative payment with respect to SSI and OASDI benefits. The SSA must: (1) enter into agreements with each state for the purpose of sharing information to identify represented minor beneficiaries who are in foster care; and (2) determine the appropriate representative payee for any represented minor beneficiary who has entered foster care, exited foster care, or changed foster care placement in a given month. The bill modifies provisions related to overpayment liability with respect to a represented minor beneficiary in foster care. The Government Accountability Office must report to specified congressional committees on certain issues related to represented minor beneficiaries in foster care.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2017
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to continue to instruct Medicare contractors not to enforce requirements for direct physician supervision of outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2017
Congressional Accountability and Hush Fund Elimination Act This bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) to (1) prohibit the use of public funds for payments of awards and settlements resulting from violation of certain CAA rights and protections if the violation consists of sexual harassment or sexual assault, (2) prohibit an imposition of a nondisclosure agreement as a prerequisite for CAA procedures to consider the violation, and (3) permit an individual to publicize any information relating to such a prior award or settlement if it was conditioned on a nondisclosure agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 2017
Directs the Committee on House Administration to issue regulations requiring Members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives to complete a training program on workplace rights and responsibilities, including anti-discrimination and anti-harassment training, during each congressional session. Requires Members, officers, or employees to certify completion of such training within 90 days after a congressional session begins or within 90 days after beginning service during a session. (Sets forth a special rule requiring such training to be completed within 180 days after the beginning of the second session of the 115th Congress.) Directs the committee to issue regulations requiring that each House employing office post in a prominent location in its office and in each Member's congressional district office a statement of rights and protections provided to House employees under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, including procedures for responding to and adjudicating allegations of violations of such rights and protections.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Recognizes that: (1) access to hospitals and other health care providers for patients in rural areas is essential to the survival and success of communities, (2) strengthening access to hospitals and other health care providers for patients in rural areas makes Medicare more cost-effective and improves health outcomes for patients, and (3) rural health care providers are integral to the local economies and are one of the largest types of employers in rural areas. Celebrates the many dedicated medical professionals who work hard each day to deliver quality care to people living in rural areas.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2017
Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act of 2017 This bill amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) to: (1) repeal expired reductions in rates of duty for specified chemicals and other items; and (2) provide for duty suspensions and reductions through December 31, 2020, for specified chemicals and other items.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2017
Honoring World War I Memorials Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to make grants to rehabilitate World War I memorials. Grant priority shall be given to memorials listed on the National Register of Historic Places and then to memorials listed on a state register of historic places.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to review and report on the financial services industry requirements of China and the impact of these requirements on the national security, political, or economic interests of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
Protecting Home Oxygen & Medical Equipment Access Act of 2017 or the Protecting HOME Access Act of 2017 This bill: (1) requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to delay by one year the full implementation of new Medicare payment rates for durable medical equipment, and (2) revises a Medicare budget-neutrality requirement related to oxygen. Under current law, the CMS may establish separate payment classes under Medicare for items of oxygen and related equipment only if doing so does not result in increased program expenditures. The bill provides an exception to this budget-neutrality requirement with respect to such items that are included in a competitive acquisition program.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2017 or the BURMA Act of 2017 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the government of Burma (Myanmar) should ensure the safe and voluntary return of displaced people and fully implement the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. The U.S. Executive Director of each international financial institution shall use U.S. influence to support only projects in Burma that do not partner or contract with or otherwise benefit any enterprise owned or controlled by the Burmese military. The United States may not supply security assistance or engage in military programs with the Burmese armed forces or security forces until the Department of Defense certifies that such armed forces have demonstrated significant progress in abiding by international human rights standards and are undertaking significant security sector reform. U.S. import restrictions on Burmese jadeite and rubies shall remain in effect until the President certifies that Burma has taken substantial measures to reform its gemstone industry. The President shall: (1) submit a list of each senior Burmese military or security official who has played a substantial role in the commission of human rights abuses or who has failed to investigate human rights abuses, and (2) exclude any such individual from U.S. entry. The President shall determine whether specified individuals should be included in the list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. The Department of State, Treasury, and the U.S. Agency for International Development shall jointly submit to Congress an assistance strategy to promote broad-based economic development in Burma.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce tax rates and modify policies, credits, and deductions for individuals and businesses. With respect to individuals, the bill: replaces the seven existing tax brackets (10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%, and 39.6%) with four brackets (12%, 25%, 35%, and 39.6%), increases the standard deduction, repeals the deduction for personal exemptions, establishes a 25% maximum rate on the business income of individuals, increases the child tax credit and establishes a new family tax credit, repeals the overall limitation on certain itemized deductions, limits the mortgage interest deduction for debt incurred after November 2, 2017, to mortgages of up to $500,000 (currently $1 million), repeals the deduction for state and local income or sales taxes not paid or accrued in a trade or business, repeals the deduction for medical expenses, consolidates and repeals several education-related deductions and credits, repeals the alternative minimum tax, and repeals the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes in six years. For businesses, the bill: reduces the corporate tax rate from a maximum of 35% to a flat 20% rate (25% for personal services corporations), allows increased expensing of the costs of certain property, limits the deductibility of net interest expenses to 30% of the business's adjusted taxable income, repeals the work opportunity tax credit, terminates the exclusion for interest on private activity bonds, modifies or repeals various energy-related deductions and credits, modifies the taxation of foreign income, and imposes an excise tax on certain payments from domestic corporations to related foreign corporations. The bill also repeals or modifies several additional credits and deductions for individuals and businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2017
This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to pay, to a provider that furnishes a hematopoietic stem cell transplant, an adjusted Medicare payment consistent with the Medicare payment methodology for kidney-acquisition costs outlined in regulation. Under the applicable regulation, kidney-acquisition costs are treated apart from the prospective payment rate for inpatient operating costs, and payment is adjusted to compensate the hospital for certain reasonable expenses. "Hematopoietic stem cell transplant" means the infusion of allogeneic hematopoietic cells (including bone marrow, peripheral blood stem cells, and cord-blood units, but excluding embryonic stem cells) that are: (1) not more than minimally manipulated; and (2) intended to reestablish hematopoietic function in an individual whose blood marrow or immune system is damaged, defective, or adversely affective by a congenital disorder.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2017
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 621 Kansas Avenue in Atchison, Kansas, as the "Amelia Earhart Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2017
Dialysis Patient Access to Integrated-care, Empowerment, Nephrologists, Treatment, and Services Demonstration Act of 2017 or the Dialysis PATIENTS Demonstration Act of 2017 This bill establishes a demonstration program for the provision of integrated care to Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Under the voluntary program, eligible participating providers may form organizations to offer ESRD integrated care models and serve as medical homes for program-eligible beneficiaries. Such a model: (1) shall cover medical and hospital services, other than hospice care, under Medicare; (2) must include benefits for transition into transplantation, palliative care, or hospice; and (3) may cover prescription drug benefits. An organization must offer at least one open network model but may also offer one or more preferred network models. An organization shall return savings achieved under the models to program-eligible beneficiaries. A beneficiary shall have the opportunity to: (1) opt out of the program, (2) make an assignment change into an open network model offered by a different organization, or (3) elect a preferred network model. The bill establishes requirements regarding: (1) benefits for program-eligible beneficiaries who are also eligible for Medicaid benefits, (2) program quality and reporting, (2) ESRD integrated care strategy, (3) program operation and scope, (4) beneficiary notification, and (5) payment. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission must, before 2025, submit to Congress an interim report on the program.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2017
School Milk Nutrition Act of 2017 This bill revises the requirements for milk provided by the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and other Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs. The bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to permit schools participating in the NSLP to offer students low-fat and fat-free milk, including low-fat flavored milk containing no more than 150 calories per 8-ounce serving. For students who cannot consume fluid milk because of a medical or other dietary need, schools may offer a nondairy beverage that is: (1) nutritionally equivalent to low-fat and fat-free milk; and (2) meets USDA nutritional standards, including fortification of calcium, protein, vitamin A, vitamin D, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, riboflavin, and vitamin B-12. (Under current law, the substitute is only required to include fortification of calcium, protein, vitamin A, and vitamin D to levels found in cow's milk.) In establishing national school nutritional standards, USDA must provide that containers of all beverages sold in schools have the same maximum volume. USDA must also: (1) report to Congress on recent trends in fluid milk consumption in schools; (2) carry out a pilot program to test and demonstrate strategies by which schools can increase the consumption of fluid milk; and (3) make lactose-free milk with an extended shelf life available to schools. If available evidence indicates that woman and children participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) typically consume fewer than the number of daily servings of dairy recommended in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, USDA must ensure that women have access to reduced fat milk for themselves and their children upon request.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2017
USS Indianapolis Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the House of Representatives and the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design to the crew of the USS Indianapolis, in recognition of their perseverance, bravery, and service. Following the award of the gold medal, it shall be given to the Indiana War Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, where it will be displayed and made available for research. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the Indiana War Memorial Museum should make the gold medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at other locations and events associated with the USS Indianapolis.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2017
This bill provides that the Department of Veterans Affairs per diem payment calculation for an entity receiving homeless veterans shelter grants for a homeless veteran who has care of a minor dependent while receiving services from such entity shall be the sum of the daily cost of care for the veteran plus, for each minor dependent, an amount that equals 50% of the veteran's daily cost of care.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Securing All Livestock Equitably Act of 2017 or the SALE Act of 2017 This bill amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to require all livestock purchased by a dealer in cash sales and all inventories of, or receivables or proceeds from, such livestock to be held by the dealer in a trust until all unpaid cash sellers of the livestock have been paid. The bill exempts from the requirement any dealer whose average annual purchases of livestock do not exceed $500,000.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
75th Anniversary of the End of World War II Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 coins, 500,000 $1 coins, and 750,000 half-dollar coins in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. The coins shall be emblematic of the sacrifices made by millions of people of the United States 75 years ago in bringing an end to World War II. The design on each coin shall represent the World War II Victory Medal, which was awarded to all 16 million U.S. military personnel who served from December 7, 1941, to December 31, 1946. The bill requires all sales of such coins include specified surcharges, which shall be paid by Treasury to the congressionally designated National WWII Museum to fund its educational mission of telling the story of the U.S. experience in World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2017 This bill directs the President to establish a five-year strategy to accelerate progress toward ending preventable child and maternal deaths within a generation and ensure healthy and productive lives for women and children. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) shall: (1) identify target countries with the greatest need and the highest burden of preventable child and maternal deaths, and (2) designate a current USAID employee serving in the Senior Executive Service or at the level of a Deputy Assistant Administrator or higher to serve concurrently as the Senior Coordinator for Child and Maternal Survival.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2017
Simplifying Technical Aspects Regarding Seasonality Act of 2017 or the STARS Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude seasonal employees from the definition of "full-time employee" for purposes of the employer mandate to provide employees with minimum essential health care coverage. The bill defines a "seasonal employee" as an employee who is employed in a position for which the customary annual employment is not more than six months and which requires performing labor or services that are ordinarily performed at certain seasons or periods of the year.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Expansion Act This bill amends the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 to increase the number of states that may participate in two-year Medicaid demonstration programs that improve access to community mental health services. It also extends the two-year term for existing state demonstration programs by one year.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
This bill provides that the prohibition against converting property acquired or developed by a state with financial assistance under the Land and Water Conservation Fund to a use other than public outdoor recreation without the approval of the Department of the Interior shall not apply to Lake Afton Park in Sedgwick County, Kansas.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Air Ambulance Quality and Accountability Act This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to modify standards and payment for air-ambulance services under the Medicare Program. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall establish minimum standards that must be met by air-ambulance suppliers and providers as a condition of their participation in Medicare. These standards must address: (1) scope of practice, training, and clinical capability; (2) medical equipment and vehicle attributes; (3) documentation; (4) medical direction and oversight; (5) reporting of specified events; (6) patient safety and infection control; (7) clinical quality-management and performance-improvement programs; and (8) particular populations. An air-ambulance provider or supplier that is accredited by an HHS-approved organization shall be deemed to be in compliance with these standards. HHS must establish an air-ambulance quality-reporting and performance program under which Medicare payment is determined according to a specified performance-based formula. Performance measures shall address patient safety, clinical quality, and over-triage. An air-ambulance provider or supplier must, subject to suspension of payment under Medicare, annually submit specified cost data to HHS. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission shall report to Congress on whether changes should be made with regard to reimbursement of air-ambulance providers and suppliers under Medicare.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Save American Workers Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to change the definition of "full-time employee" for purposes of the employer mandate to provide minimum essential health care coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act from an employee who is employed on average at least 30 hours of service a week to an employee who is employed on average at least 40 hours of service a week.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2017
Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage Family Caregivers Act of 2017 or the RAISE Family Caregivers Act This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and make publicly available a National Family Caregiving Strategy that identifies recommended actions for recognizing and supporting family caregivers in a manner that reflects their diverse needs. HHS shall convene a Family Caregiving Advisory Council to advise the department on recognizing and supporting family caregivers. The council shall terminate after five years.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2017
Comprehensive Operations, Sustainability, and Transport Act of 2017 This bill modifies Medicare payment rules and reporting requirements with respect to ground-ambulance services.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2017
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the application of Medicare competitive acquisition rates to complex, rehabilitative, manual wheelchairs and accessories. (A competitive bidding program has replaced the use of established fee schedule amounts to determine payments under Medicare for certain durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs.)
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2017
Recognizes the importance of accreditation of cancer programs by the American College of Surgeons to ensure patient access to high quality, comprehensive cancer care.
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 · 1 August 2017
Local Coverage Determination Clarification Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the process by which Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) issue and reconsider local coverage determinations (LCDs) that: (1) are new, (2) restrict or substantively revise existing LCDs, or (3) are otherwise specified in regulation. (MACs are private insurers that process Medicare claims within specified geographic areas.) Before such an LCD may take effect, the MAC issuing the determination must, with respect to each geographic area to which the determination applies: publish online a proposed version of the determination and other specified, related information; convene one or more public meetings to review the draft determination, receive comments, and secure the advice of an expert panel; post online a record of the minutes from each such meeting; provide a period for submission of written public comments; and post online specified information related to the rationale for the final determination. Upon the filing of an applicable request by an interested party with regard to the reconsideration of a specified LCD, the MAC that issued the determination shall: provide specified information related to whether the determination failed to correctly apply qualifying relevant evidence, exceeds the scope of its intended purpose, fails to apply as intended, or is otherwise erroneous; preserve the determination, modify the determination, or rescind the determination in part; and make publicly available a written description of such action. An interested party may appeal a reconsideration decision to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The CMS shall appoint a Medicare Reviews and Appeals Ombudsman to carry out specified duties with regard to LCDs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Endangered Species Transparency and Reasonableness Act This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) to require the Department of the Interior or the Department of Commerce, as appropriate, to make publicly available on the Internet, subject to privacy or administrative limitations, the best scientific and commercial data available that are the bases for the determination of whether a species is an endangered species or a threatened species, including each proposed regulation for the listing of a species.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Healthcare Outcomes Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to replace the existing methodology for calculating Medicare payment adjustments for subsection (d) hospitals based on outcomes in readmissions and complications with a new methodology based on value-based outcomes in those and other areas. (In general, a "subsection (d) hospital" is an acute care hospital that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system.) Specifically, the bill: (1) establishes a methodology for determining a hospital's financial impact attributable to complications, readmissions, return emergency room visits, and post-acute care episode expenditures; and (2) requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to select methodologies for identifying potentially avoidable outcomes in those categories. Subject to both a ceiling and a floor, among other specified refinements, a hospital's payment adjustment factor for an applicable prospective period shall be based on the ratio of that financial impact to the aggregate amount of standardized payments made to the hospital with respect to that period. The CMS must ensure budget neutrality with respect to application of the payment adjustment factor across all subsection (d) hospitals. The CMS shall regularly report to hospitals and to the public on each hospital's performance with regard to potentially avoidable outcomes.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Every Prescription Conveyed Securely Act This bill generally requires, with specified exceptions, electronic prescribing under the Medicare prescription drug benefit with respect to covered drugs that are controlled substances.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act This bill aligns federal privacy standards for substance use disorder patient records more closely with standards under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Social Security Debt Recovery Act of 2017 This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to specify that the amount of any overpayment of OASDI benefits to an individual, and any obligation of the individual to repay such overpayment, shall be determined solely under the OASDI program. Therefore, such overpayment shall not otherwise be subject to garnishment or to the operation of any bankruptcy or insolvency law.
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 · 28 July 2017
Rightsizing Pension Premiums Act of 2017 This bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to: (1) modify the formula that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) uses to calculate the funded percentage of single-employer pension plans, and (2) reduce single-employer PBGC premiums for pension plans that are sponsored by certain small employers or have specified PBGC funded percentages. The bill also prohibits the budget effects of provisions that change PBGC premiums from being counted for the purposes of determining budget points of order for legislation in the House or the Senate. (The PBGC is a federal agency that insures the benefits of private sector, defined benefit pension plans. The PBGC is financed by insurance premiums paid by sponsors of the plans, investment income, assets from pension plans taken over by the PBGC, and recoveries from the companies formerly responsible for the plans.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Diaper Need Awareness Week. (Diaper need is a shortage of diapers for infants and toddlers that can affect the well-being of children and their families.) Expresses gratitude for those who operate or support diaper banks and distribution programs, and encourages people to donate generously to such organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Modernization of Medical Records Access for Veterans Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out in at least one Veterans Integrated Services Network a pilot program for at least a 12-month period during which veterans enrolled in the VA's patient enrollment system will use a portable medical records storage system to store and share with VA health care providers and community health care providers records of their individual medical histories. The VA shall seek to enter into a contract, using competitive procedures, with an appropriate entity to furnish such storage system. The bill specifies system requirements, including: (1) the capability to store at least four gigabytes of electronic health records on a physical device no larger than a credit card, and (2) the capability to be used by substantially all electronic health records systems certified by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT on or before January 1, 2017.
![Official portrait of Rep. Jenkins, Lynn [R-KS-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/j000290_200.jpg)