United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require the Internal Revenue Service to disclose certain tax return information to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence or the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, upon receiving a written request from the chairman of the relevant committee. Any return or return information that can be associated with, or otherwise identify, a particular taxpayer may only be furnished to a congressional committee when it is sitting in closed executive session, unless the taxpayer consents in writing to the disclosure.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2017
Stop Foreign Donations Affecting Our Elections Act This bill amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit political committees from accepting any Internet credit card contribution unless: the individual or entity making the contribution is required, at the time of the contribution, to disclose the credit card's verification value; and the billing address associated with the card is located in the United States or, if the contribution comes from an individual U.S. citizen living outside of the United States, the individual gives the committee the U.S. mailing address he or she uses for voter registration. The person receiving an Internet credit card contribution shall forward it to the treasurer of the political committee within 10 days, together with the name and address of the contributor and the date of receipt. The treasurer shall keep an account of the contributor's name and address, together with the date and amount of the contribution.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2017
Servicemember Retirement Improvement Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow members of the Ready Reserve of a reserve component of the Armed Forces to make the maximum allowable contribution ($18,000 in 2017) to their Thrift Savings Plans (TSPs) without limiting the amount such members may contribute to a retirement plan based upon other employment. The bill also doubles the maximum allowable contribution amount to the TSPs of federal employees in the Ready Reserve who are not eligible to make contributions to any plan other than the TSP.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2017
State, Tribal, and Local Species Transparency and Recovery Act This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Department of the Interior or the Department of Commerce, as appropriate, to provide to affected states all data that is used as the basis of a determination on whether a species is an endangered species or a threatened species before making a determination. The appropriate department must use data submitted by a state, tribal, or county government in making such a determination.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2017
Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a center of excellence in the prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, and rehabilitation of health conditions relating to exposure to burn pits and other environmental exposures in Afghanistan or Iraq. The VA shall, in selecting the center's site, consider entities that: are equipped with the specialized equipment needed to study, diagnose, and treat health conditions relating to such exposure; have a track record of publishing information on post-deployment health exposures among veterans who served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom; have access to animal models and in vitro models of dust immunology and lung injury consistent with the injuries of members of the Armed Forces who served in support of such operations; and have expertise in allergy, immunology, and pulmonary diseases. The VA shall ensure that the center collaborates with the Department of Defense (DOD), institutions of higher education, and other appropriate public and private entities to: provide for dissemination within the VA of best practices for the treatment of such conditions and the training of health professionals, provide guidance for the VA and DOD health systems in determining the personnel required to provide quality health care for members of the Armed Forces and veterans with such conditions, establish, and oversee a program to train VA and DOD health professionals in the treatment of such conditions, facilitate advancements in the study of the short-term and long-term effects of such exposure, conduct basic science and translational research on such conditions for the purposes of understanding the etiology of such conditions and developing preventive interventions and new treatments, and provide medical treatment to veterans diagnosed with medical conditions specific to exposure to burn pits and other environmental exposures. The center shall have access to and make use of the data accumulated by the burn pits registry.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2017
Respect for Peace Corps Volunteers Act This bill amends the Peace Corps Act to allow the official seal or emblem and the name "Peace Corps" to be used on any death announcement, plaque, grave stone, or other grave marker of a former volunteer, officer, or employee of the Peace Corps.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2017
Battlefield Excellence through Superior Training Practices Act or the BEST Practices Act This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD), by no later than: (1) October 1, 2020, to complete the development, testing, and validation of human-based training methods for training members of the Armed Forces in the treatment of combat trauma injuries, with the goal of replacing live animal-based training methods; and (2) October 1, 2022, to use only use human-based training methods for such purposes. No animals may be used in such training after the latter date. DOD shall submit an annual report to Congress regarding the development and implementation of the human-based training methods.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2017
Energizing American Maritime Act This bill amends the Natural Gas Act to direct the Department of Energy to require a certain percentage of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) and crude oil exports be transported on vessels documented under U.S. law.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2017
Capital Access for Small Businesses and Jobs Act This bill amends the Federal Credit Union Act to allow a federal credit union, other than a low-income credit union, to receive payments on uninsured non-share accounts that: do not alter the cooperative nature of the credit union; are subordinate to all other claims against the credit union; are available to cover operating losses in excess of retained earnings and, to the extent so applied, will not be replenished; meet applicable requirements with respect to maturity; are subject to disclosure and consumer-protection requirements as determined by the National Credit Union Administration Board; are offered by a credit union that is sufficiently capitalized and well-managed; and are subject to such rules and regulations as the board may establish.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2017
American Food for American Schools Act of 2017 This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require school food authorities (SFAs) to request a waiver from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to purchase foreign commodities or products for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). SFAs may purchase foreign commodities or products without a waiver if the commodities or products are not produced or available domestically. (Under current law, Buy American provisions require SFAs to purchase, to the maximum extent practicable, domestic commodities or products for the NSLP. There are limited exceptions which permit the purchase of foreign products in circumstances when using domestic products is truly not practicable. If an SFA uses an exception, there is no requirement to request a waiver to purchase a foreign product or commodity, but the SFA must keep documentation justifying the exception.) USDA may not grant a waiver for an SFA to purchase foreign commodities or products unless: (1) the commodities or products are not produced domestically in sufficient amounts or of satisfactory quality, (2) the domestic commodities or products would be significantly higher in price than foreign commodities or products, and (3) the SFA agrees to make the waiver publicly available on its website and email a notification of the waiver to parents or guardians of students who will be served the foreign commodity or product purchased pursuant to the waiver.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2017
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 50,000 $5 coins, 400,000 $1 coins, and 750,000 half-dollar coins in recognition and celebration of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The coins shall be in the shape of a dome, and the design on the common reverse of the coins shall depict a basketball. Treasury shall hold a competition to determine the design of the common obverse of the coins, which shall be emblematic of the game of basketball. The bill requires all sales of such coins to include specified surcharges, which shall be paid by Treasury to the Hall to fund an endowment for increased operations and educational programming.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2017
Calls for the nullification of the final rule titled "Clean Water Rule: Definition of 'Waters of the United States,'" about the scope of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act). The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the rule on June 29, 2015.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2017
Repeal of the Authorization for Use of Military Force This bill declares that Congress finds that the Authorization for Use of Military Force (P.L. 107-40) has been used to justify an open-ended authorization for the use of military force and such an interpretation is inconsistent with the authority of Congress to declare war and make all laws for executing powers vested by the Constitution in the U.S. government. The bill repeals the Authorization for Use of Military Force, effective 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2017
This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to Edwin Cole "Ed" Bearss in recognition of his contributions to the preservation of American Civil War history and his continued efforts to bring our nation's history alive for new generations through his interpretive storytelling.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 2017
Reducing Barriers for Veterans Education Act of 2017 This bill makes an individual who is eligible for educational assistance under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance program eligible for assistance with the fees for applying to institutions of higher education (IHEs). The amount of such assistance payable to an individual shall be the lesser of: (1) the total application fees charged to the individual by the IHEs, or (2) $750.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 2017
Social Security Fairness Act of 2017 This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal the "government pension offset" and the "windfall elimination provision." Under current law, those provisions reduce OASDI benefits for individuals who receive a pension based on earnings in government employment that was not covered under the Social Security program.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
No Hero Left Untreated Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a one-year pilot program to provide access to magnetic EEG/EKG-guided resonance therapy to treat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, chronic pain, or opiate addiction. The VA shall: (1) carry out the program at up to two VA facilities, and (2) provide access to such therapy to more than 50 veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Taylor Force Act This bill prohibits certain assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 from being made available for the West Bank and Gaza unless the Department of State certifies that the Palestinian Authority: is taking steps to end acts of violence against U.S. and Israeli citizens perpetrated by individuals under its jurisdictional control, such as the March 2016 attack that killed former Army officer Taylor Force; is publicly condemning such acts of violence and is investigating, or cooperating in investigations of, such acts; and has terminated payments for acts of terrorism against U.S. and Israeli citizens to any individual who has been convicted and imprisoned for such acts, to any individual who died committing such acts, and to family members of such an individual.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Veterans Transplant Coverage Act of 2017 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 such procedure.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Dismemberment Abortion Ban Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to prohibit a physician from knowingly performing a dismemberment abortion. It provides a definition of the term "dismemberment abortion." A physician who performs a dismemberment abortion is subject to a criminal fine, up to two years in prison, or both, unless the dismemberment abortion was necessary to save the mother's life. A woman or a parent of a minor who undergoes a dismemberment abortion may file a civil action for damages against an individual who violates this bill. The legislation bars the criminal prosecution of a woman who undergoes a dismemberment abortion for conspiracy to violate the provisions of this bill, for being a principal or an accessory after the fact, or for concealing a dismemberment abortion.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Security and Fairness Enhancement for America Act of 2017 or the SAFE for America Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the diversity immigrant program.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Nuclear Family Priority Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate parents from the definition of "immediate relatives" with respect to those aliens not subject to worldwide immigration levels or numerical limitations. Existing family-sponsored immigrant categories are replaced with a single preference allocation for spouses and children of permanent resident aliens. This bill: (1) reduces the number of, and revises the calculation for, fiscal year family-sponsored immigrant entrants; and (2) establishes a nonimmigrant visa category for an alien who is a parent of a U.S. citizen at least 21 years old.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
VA Health Center Management Stability and Improvement Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop and implement a plan to hire a director for each VA medical center without a permanent director. Hiring priority shall be given to medical centers that have not had a permanent director for the longest periods.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Shauna Hill Post 9/11 Education Benefits Transferability Act This bill authorizes the reassignment a veteran's or Armed Forces member's Post-9/11 education benefits to another eligible dependent in cases where the original designated beneficiary dies without having used all of such benefits. Such provision shall apply to deaths occurring on or after August 1, 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Veterans To Enhance Studies Through Accessibility Act or the Veterans TEST Accessibility Act This bill permits veterans to get reimbursed under the Post-9/11 educational assistance program for an approved licensing, certification, or national test at a pro-rated amount based on such test's actual cost. (Current law requires that veterans be charged a whole month of entitlement to pay for any such test.) The bill provides that a national test that evaluates prior learning and knowledge and provides an opportunity for course credit at an institution of higher learning shall be eligible for such reimbursement.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Medicare Mental Health Access Act This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand the definition of "physician," for purposes of the Medicare program, to include a clinical psychologist with respect to the furnishing of qualified psychologist services.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2017 This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the five-month waiting period for disability insurance benefits for individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a progressive neurodegenerative disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord). Under current law, individuals must wait five months after becoming disabled before their disability insurance benefit payments can begin.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
Discouraging Frivolous Lawsuits Act This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise requirements concerning citizen suits. Litigation costs (including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees) must be awarded to the prevailing party, thus the bill removes a court's discretion to award the fees. A prevailing party is defined as the party that prevails on more than half of the claims at issue. The bill repeals the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deny or restrict the use of any area as a disposal site for dredged or fill material when the discharge of those materials would have an unacceptable adverse effect on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas, wildlife, or recreational areas. Current law requires compensatory mitigation to replace the loss of aquatic resource functions in a watershed when a permit to discharge dredged or fill materials into navigable waters has unavoidable impacts on aquatic resources. This bill prohibits government entities from carrying out compensatory mitigation in excess of existing regulatory requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2017
FDA Deeming Authority Clarification Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to: (1) revise premarket review and reporting requirements for products newly deemed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be tobacco products; and (2) grant the FDA the authority to regulate vapor products, which include products that produce vapor with nicotine (e.g., e-cigarettes) and nicotine intended to be used with such a product (e.g., nicotine cartridges). A product is not subject to premarket review by the FDA if it is marketed before it is deemed a tobacco product. The bill delays deadlines for reports to the FDA on products similar to a marketed product that are introduced to market less than 21 months after that type of product is deemed a tobacco product. The bill grants the FDA regulatory authority over vapor products that is in addition to the FDA's existing authority to regulate vapor products as tobacco products. Provisions of the FFDCA applicable to tobacco product components also apply to vapor product batteries. The FDA must establish standards for vapor product batteries. Vapor products first marketed not later than 24 months after enactment of this bill are not subject to premarket review or reporting requirements based on changes to the product's battery to conform to standards. Vapor products may not be advertised in publications, except publications with adult readership. Vapor products may be sold only face-to-face, through vending machines in facilities where only adults are permitted, or by mail order. Vapor products must be labeled with their nicotine content and specified phrases. Retailers of vapor products must register with the FDA.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2017
Military Hunger Prevention Act This bill excludes the value of a housing allowance for a member of a uniformed service from any income, assets, or resources calculation for determining eligibility for any federal program issuing benefits for nutrition assistance (including the family subsistence supplemental allowance program).
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2017
Mental Health Care Provider Retention Act of 2017 This bill allows an individual who has been diagnosed with a mental health condition and who is transitioning from receiving treatment from the Department of Defense to receiving treatment from in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to elect to continue receiving treatment from such individual's DOD mental health provider. Such individual shall receive the same level of priority as members of the Armed Forces at the facility at which the individual has elected to continue treatment. The VA shall reimburse DOD for rendered services that otherwise would have been furnished by the VA. If the DOD mental health care provider departs the facility at which the covered individual is receiving treatment, such individual may elect to obtain the services of: (1) a different mental health care provider at the same facility, or (2) a VA mental health care provider.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2017
Biennial Budgeting and Enhanced Oversight Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Congressional Budget Impoundment and Control Act of 1974, and the Rules of the House of Representatives to change the process for the President's budget submission, congressional budget resolutions, appropriations bills, and government strategic and performance plans from the current annual process to a biennial process, in which a biennium is the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. The House Budget Committee must use the second session of each Congress to study issues with long-term budgetary and economic implications. The bill creates a point of order in the House and Senate against authorizations of appropriations that do not include specific authorizations covering at least each fiscal year in one or more bienniums.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2017
Calls upon: (1) the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, other elements of the Department of Defense and the federal government, and all foreign governments to intensify efforts to investigate, recover, identify and account for all missing and unaccounted-for U.S. personnel; and (2) all foreign governments with information on missing U.S. personnel, or with missing U.S. personnel within their territories, to cooperate fully with the U.S. government to provide the fullest possible accounting for all missing U.S. personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2017
Veteran Prescription Continuity Act This bill amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 to direct the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish an individual who is transitioning from Department of Defense (DOD)- to VA-furnished medical treatment any pharmaceutical agent not included in the joint uniform formulary if a DOD health care provider determines that the pharmaceutical agent is critical for the transition. The VA shall furnish an individual with such pharmaceutical agent: (1) beginning when the individual enrolls in the VA health care system, and (2) ending when a DOD health care provider determines that the individual does not require the pharmaceutical agent.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2017
Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act of 2017 or the STOP Act of 2017 This bill amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to make the Postmaster General the consignee (i.e., the entity financially responsible for the receipt of a shipment) for merchandise, excluding documents, imported through the mail into the United States. The Postmaster General must designate licensed customs brokers to file required documents or information for such shipments. The bill amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to impose a customs user fee on postal shipments or any other item valued at $2,000 or less arriving at an international mail facility. The bill amends the Trade Act of 2002 to direct the Department of the Treasury to require the Postmaster General to provide for the advanced electronic transmission to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection of certain information for all postal shipments made by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), including postal shipments it receives from foreign postal operators. The Postmaster General: shall be liable for civil penalties for postal shipment violations committed by a foreign postal operator or the USPS; may be directly or indirectly responsible for discrepancies resulting from omissions made or false information provided by a foreign postal operator or the USPS; and shall ensure that all costs and penalties associated with complying with this bill are recouped from foreign shippers, foreign postal operators, or U.S. ultimate consignees.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2017
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 · 14 February 2017
Fairness in Firearm Testing Act This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to make a video recording of its entire process of examining and testing an item to determine whether it is a firearm (and if so, the type of firearm) or ammunition. The bill bars the ATF from editing or erasing any such recording. The ATF must make a digital video disc containing a copy of the recording available to: (1) a person requesting a copy who claims an ownership interest in such item, and (2) a defendant in a criminal proceeding involving such item. An item which the ATF has determined is a firearm or ammunition shall not be admissible as evidence unless: (1) the ATF has complied with the requirements of this bill to make its digital video disc available, or (2) such compliance has been waived in writing by the person against whom the item is offered as evidence.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2017
Responsibility in Federal Contracting Act This bill requires that the locally prevailing wage paid to various classes of laborers and mechanics working under federally-financed or federally-assisted contracts for construction, alteration, and repair of public buildings or public works (Davis-Bacon Act) be determined by the Department of Labor (as under current law), but acting through the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), using surveys carried out by BLS that use proper random statistical sampling techniques.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2017
Stop Handouts to Unauthorized Taxpayers Act of 2017 or the SHUT Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny the refundable portion of the child tax credit to individuals unless they include their Social Security number on their tax return or otherwise demonstrate that they are authorized to be employed in the United States. The bill prohibits the Department of the Treasury or any delegate of Treasury from issuing an individual taxpayer identification number unless the supporting documentary evidence is submitted to a Treasury employee.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2017
This joint resolution prohibits the issuance of a letter of offer with respect to any of the following proposed sales to the government of Kenya, as described in the certification Transmittal No. 16-79 sent to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act on January 19, 2017: twelve Air Tractor AT-802L; two AT-504 trainer aircraft; and weapons package, technical support, and program management.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2017
Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2017 This bill waives Medicare coinsurance requirements with respect to colorectal cancer screening tests, regardless of the code billed for a resulting diagnosis or procedure.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2017
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to enter into an agreement or a contract with each state home to pay for adult day health care for a veteran eligible for, but not receiving, nursing home care. The veteran must need such care specifically for a service-connected disability or the veteran must have a service-connected disability rated 70% or more. Payment under each agreement or contract between the VA and a state home must equal 65% of the payment that the VA would otherwise pay to the state home if the veteran were receiving nursing home care.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2017
English Language Unity Act of 2017 This bill establishes English as the official language of the United States. Naturalization ceremonies and official functions of the U.S. government, subject to exceptions, must be conducted in English. The bill declares that all citizens should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of U.S. laws. A person injured by a violation of this bill may obtain relief, including a declaratory judgment, in a civil action. English language requirements and workplace policies, whether in the public or private sector, shall be presumptively consistent with U.S. laws. Any ambiguity in U.S. laws shall be resolved in accordance with the rights retained by the people and the powers reserved to states under the Bill of Rights. The Department of Homeland Security shall issue a proposed rule for uniform testing of the English language ability of candidates for naturalization based upon the principles that: (1) all citizens should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United States; and (2) any exceptions to this standard should be limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asylum.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2017
This bill declares that any presidential action to prevent a federal agency from filling or creating federal civilian employee positions shall have no force or effect with respect to any Department of Defense civilian position at, or in support of, any facility: (1) at which depot-level maintenance and repair is carried out, or (2) designated as a center for industrial and technical excellence.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2017
This bill exempts Department of Defense (DOD) civilian positions with salaries paid out of a working-capital fund from any furlough order issued as a result of a lapse in discretionary appropriations for DOD.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2017
Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2017 This bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop and maintain a voluntary registry of firefighters to collect history and occupational information that can be linked to existing data in state cancer registries. The registry must be used to improve monitoring of cancer among firefighters and to collect and publish epidemiological information regarding cancer among firefighters. The CDC should seek to include specified information in the registry, including the number and type of fire incidents attended by an individual. To collect information for the registry, the CDC may incorporate questions into existing public health surveys, questionnaires, and other databases. The CDC must: (1) develop a strategy to maximize participation in the registry; (2) develop guidance for states and firefighting agencies regarding the registry; (3) encourage inclusion in the registry of data on minority, female, and volunteer firefighters; and (4) seek feedback on the registry from nonfederal experts. The CDC must develop a process for making registry data available for research without a fee if findings or publications from the research are made public or available to stakeholders.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2017
Veteran Urgent Access to Mental Healthcare Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish to former members of the Armed Forces: (1) an initial mental health assessment; and (2) the mental health care services required to treat the member's urgent mental health care needs, including risk of suicide or harming others. A former member of the Armed Forces is an individual who: served in the active military, naval, or air service, was discharged or released under a condition less than honorable (except a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge), has applied for a character of service determination that has not yet been made, and is not otherwise eligible to enroll in the VA health care system by reason of such discharge or release; or while serving in the Armed Forces, was deployed in a theater of combat operations or an area at a time during which hostilities occurred in that area, participated in or experienced such combat operations or hostilities, or was the victim of a physical assault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment. The VA may provide such mental health care services at a non-VA facility if: (1) the receipt of mental health care services by an individual in VA facilities would be clinically inadvisable, or (2) VA facilities are not capable of furnishing such mental health care services to that individual economically because of geographical inaccessibility. The VA shall seek to enter into a contract with an independent nongovernmental entity to study the effect combat service has had on suicide rates and serious mental health issues among veterans.
![Official portrait of Rep. Jones, Walter B., Jr. [R-NC-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/j000255_200.jpg)