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![Official portrait of Rep. Kilmer, Derek [D-WA-6]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/k000381_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
3,712 records where Rep. Kilmer, Derek [D-WA-6] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2019
Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys Act This bill establishes the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys within the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Office of the Staff Director to make a systematic study of the conditions affecting black men and boys.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2019
This resolution expresses support for increased U.S. efforts to combat malnutrition among women and children and acknowledges the contributions of the U.S. Agency for International Development in addressing global nutritional needs.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2019
Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019 or the SAFE Banking Act of 2019 This bill generally prohibits a federal banking regulator from penalizing a depository institution for providing banking services to a legitimate marijuana-related business. Specifically, the bill prohibits a federal banking regulator from (1) terminating or limiting the deposit insurance or share insurance of a depository institution solely because the institution provides financial services to a legitimate marijuana-related business; (2) prohibiting or otherwise discouraging a depository institution from offering financial services to such a business; (3) recommending, incentivizing, or encouraging a depository institution not to offer financial services to an account holder solely because the account holder is affiliated with such a business; (4) taking any adverse or corrective supervisory action on a loan made to a person solely because the person either owns such a business or owns real estate or equipment leased or sold to such a business; or (5) penalizing a depository institution for processing or collecting payments for such a business. As specified by the bill, a depository institution shall not, under federal law, be liable or subject to forfeiture for providing a loan or other financial services to a legitimate marijuana-related business.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2019
Abuse of the Pardon Prevention Act This bill requires the Department of Justice to submit to Congress all investigative materials related to an offense for which the President pardons an individual if the offense arises from an investigation in which the President, or a relative of the President, is a target, subject, or witness.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2019
Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019 This bill modifies and reauthorizes through FY2024 programs and activities under the Violence Against Women Act that seek to prevent and respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. Among other things, the bill also authorizes new programs, makes changes to federal firearms laws, and establishes new protections to promote housing stability and economic security for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2019
National POW/MIA Flag Act The bill changes the days on which the POW/MIA flag is required to be displayed at specified locations to all days on which the U.S. flag is displayed. (Current law requires the POW/MIA flag to be displayed only on Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and Veterans Day.)
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2019
Kittens In Traumatic Testing Ends Now Act of 2019 or the KITTEN Act of 2019 This bill prohibits the Department of Agriculture from using cats in experiments that may cause pain or stress, unless the pain or stress is a result of a physical exam or training program.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2019
Daylight Act This bill allows states to observe daylight savings time year-round. (States may already choose to observe standard time year-round.)
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2019
National Nurse Act of 2019 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to designate the Chief Nurse Officer of the Public Health Service as the National Nurse for Public Health. The position includes the authority to (1) provide leadership and coordination of Public Health Service nursing professional affairs for the Office of the Surgeon General and other agencies of the Public Health Service, (2) conduct outreach and education, and (3) provide guidance and leadership for activities that will increase public safety and emergency preparedness. The National Nurse for Public Health must (1) participate in identification of national health priorities, (2) encourage volunteerism of nurses and strengthen the relationship between government agencies and health-related national organizations, and (3) promote the dissemination of evidence-based practice in educating the public on health promotion and disease prevention activities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2019
Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services Act of 2019 or the 911 SAVES Act This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget, by 30 days after the bill's enactment, to categorize public safety telecommunicators as a protective service occupation under the Standard Occupational Classification System.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2019
Reproductive Rights are Human Rights Act of 2019 This bill directs the Department of State to include in its annual reports on human rights in countries receiving U.S. development and security assistance a discussion of the status of reproductive rights in each country, including whether a country has adopted and enforced policies to (1) promote access to contraception and accurate family planning information, (2) provide services to ensure safe and healthy pregnancy and childbirth, (3) expand or restrict access to safe abortion services, (4) prevent maternal deaths, and (5) prevent and treat sexually transmitted diseases. For each country, the reports shall also contain (1) data related to maternal deaths, and (2) a description of the nature and extent of discrimination and violence against women and girls in health care settings and the relevant government's response to such actions.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2019
Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2019 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 · 6 March 2019
Botanical Sciences and Native Plant Materials Research, Restoration, and Promotion Act This bill directs the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and other appropriate entities to support a program of intramural and extramural botanical science research to support the land management responsibilities of the Department of the Interior. Interior may hire additional personnel to augment its expertise in the botanical sciences. Interior's land management agencies and the Forest Service shall give preference to using locally adapted native plant materials when undertaking land management activities on lands under their respective jurisdictions. Specified federal agencies shall collaborate regarding land use responsibility when undertaking specified activities, including the development of genetically appropriate seed, related to native plant materials. The bill authorizes the BLM to undertake specified activities for the development and use of native plant materials, including the protection of rare plants on public lands. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation shall ensure that a program of activities which is focused on conservation and protection of native plants is incorporated into its existing programs and activities.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2019
Fair COLA for Seniors Act This bill bases cost-of-living adjustments on a price index that tracks the spending patterns of older consumers for specified benefits under the Civil Service Retirement System, the Federal Employees Retirement System, military retirement and survivor benefit programs, the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits program, and other specified veterans benefits programs.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2019
American Family Act of 2019 This bill modifies the child tax credit to (1) make the credit fully refundable, (2) increase the amount of the credit and allow an additional credit for children who are under six years of age, (3) require the amount of the credit to be adjusted annually for inflation, and (4) require the Department of the Treasury to establish a program for making advance payments of the credit on a monthly basis.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2019
Resident Education Deferred Interest Act or the REDI Act This bill makes student loan borrowers eligible for interest-free deferment on loans under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program if the borrowers are serving in medical or dental internships or residency programs.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2019
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 200 Israel Road Southeast in Tumwater, Washington, as the "Eva G. Hewitt Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2019
Ending the Monopoly of Power Over Workplace harassment through Education and Reporting Act or the EMPOWER Act This bill addresses policies and procedures related to claims of workplace harassment. Specifically, the bill makes it an unlawful practice (with exceptions regarding certain settlement or separation agreements) for an employer to (1) enter into a contract with an employee or applicant, as a condition of employment, promotion, compensation, benefits, or change in employment status or contractual relationship, if that contract contains a nondisparagement or nondisclosure clause that covers workplace harassment; and (2) enforce, or attempt to enforce, a nondisparagement clause or nondisclosure clause that covers workplace harassment. Under the bill, an employee or applicant retains any right they would otherwise have had to report a concern about workplace harassment to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and other specified agencies, regardless of whether they have signed a nondisparagement or nondisclosure clause. Employees or applicants also retain the right to pursue legal action regardless of signing such clauses. The bill sets forth (1) enforcement powers of the EEOC and other entities, and the jurisdiction of U.S. courts, regarding workplace harassment; and (2) the applicable procedures and remedies for employees' claims. The EEOC must (1) establish a confidential tip-line that supplements its process for submitting a charge of discrimination, and (2) provide for the development and dissemination of workplace training programs and information regarding workplace harassment. The bill modifies the tax treatment of expenses and payments related to workplace harassment and employment discrimination.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2019
This resolution honors Gibraltar's contribution to advancing U.S. security interests in the Mediterranean region and expresses support for the people of Gibraltar.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2019
Improving Access to Mental Health Act This bill increases the Medicare reimbursement rate for clinical social worker services. The bill excludes clinical social worker services from the prospective payment system in which predetermined amounts form the basis for payment under Medicare. Additionally, the bill alters the definition of clinical social worker services as it relates to Medicare. Under current law, such services (1) include services performed for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses, and (2) exclude services furnished to an inpatient of a skilled nursing facility as a condition of the facility's participation in the Medicare program. The bill repeals these provisions and instead specifies that such services include certain types of health behavior assessment and intervention.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2019
Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2019 This bill expands Medicare coverage of intensive behavioral therapy for obesity. Specifically, the bill allows coverage for therapy that is provided by (1) a physician who is not a primary care physician; or (2) other health care providers (e.g., physician assistants and nurse practitioners) and approved counseling programs, if provided upon a referral from, and in coordination with, a physician or primary care practitioner. Currently, such therapy is covered only if provided by a primary care practitioner. The bill also allows coverage under Medicare's prescription drug benefit of drugs used for the treatment of obesity or for weight loss management for individuals who are overweight.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2019
Medicare Hearing Aid Coverage Act of 2019 This bill expands Medicare coverage to include hearing aids and related examinations. The Government Accountability Office must study programs that provide assistance for hearing aids and related examinations for individuals with hearing loss.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2019
Federal Employee Paid Leave Act This bill provides paid family leave for certain federal employees in all instances covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, which currently only guarantees unpaid leave for such instances. Specifically, the bill requires that the 12 weeks of administrative leave to which certain federal employees are entitled for family care be paid leave. This applies to all federal employees in the competitive service (all civilian positions in the executive branch, all positions in the legislative and judicial branches, and all positions in the government of the District of Columbia), congressional employees, Government Accountability Office employees, employees who are members of the National Guard or Reserves, and certain Transportation Security Administration employees. The Office of Personnel Management is authorized to increase the amount of paid parental leave available to such employees to a total of 16 administrative work weeks.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2019
Marriage Access for People with Special Abilities Act or the MAPSA Act This bill excludes a spouse's income and resources when determining eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and disregards marital status when calculating the SSI benefit amount, for an adult who has a diagnosed intellectual or developmental disability. (SSI is a federal income supplement program designed to help aged, blind, and disabled individuals with limited income and resources meet basic needs.)
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2019
Child Care Workforce and Facilities Act of 2019 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to provide states and tribal entities with grants to increase access to licensed child care services. The grants may be used to develop and expand the child care workforce or child care facilities in locations with insufficient available child care. Specifically, grants cover 50% of the cost of programs to support the education and training of caregivers or projects to build, expand, or renovate child care facilities in these areas.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2019
Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act of 2019 This bill declares that nothing in the McCarran-Ferguson Act modifies, impairs, or supersedes the operation of antitrust laws with respect to the business of health insurance, including the business of dental insurance. This declaration does not apply to a contract, combination, or conspiracy to (1) collect, compile, or disseminate historical loss data; (2) determine a loss development factor for historical loss data; (3) perform actuarial services if the collaboration does not involve a restraint of trade; or (4) develop or disseminate a standard insurance policy form if adherence to the form is not required. Prohibitions against unfair methods of competition apply to the business of health insurance without regard to whether the business is for profit.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2019
State Health Care Premium Reduction Act This bill establishes the Improve Health Insurance Affordability Fund. States must use allocated funds to (1) issue reinsurance payments to health insurers (i.e., reimbursements to protect insurers against exceedingly high claims) for individual health insurance coverage, or (2) provide other assistance to reduce out-of-pocket costs (e.g., copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles) for qualified health plans offered in the individual market. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must distribute funding to states in accordance with a specified methodology.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2019
Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act or the FAIR Act This bill prohibits a predispute arbitration agreement from being valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of an employment, consumer, antitrust, or civil rights dispute.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2019
Security And Financial Empowerment Act of 2019 or the SAFE Act of 2019 This bill sets forth various provisions to promote the safety and security of survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Among other things, the bill requires employers to provide up to 30 days of safe leave in a 12-month period for employees to seek medical attention, obtain certain services and counseling, participate in safety planning, and take legal action; and prohibits states from imposing additional restrictions on eligibility for unemployment compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2019
Do No Harm Act This bill prohibits the application of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) to specified federal laws or the implementation of such laws. Currently, RFRA prohibits the government from substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest when using the least restrictive means. Under the bill, RFRA is inapplicable to laws or the implementation of laws that protect against discrimination or the promotion of equal opportunity (e.g., the Civil Rights Act of 1964); require employers to provide wages, other compensation, or benefits, including leave; protect collective activity in the workplace; protect against child labor, abuse, or exploitation; or provide for access to, information about, referrals for, provision of, or coverage for, any health care item or service. The bill prevents RFRA from being used to deny (1) goods or services the government has contracted, granted, or made an agreement to provide to a beneficiary; or (2) a person's full and equal enjoyment of a government-provided good, service, benefit, facility, privilege, advantage, or accommodation. In order for a person to assert a RFRA claim or defense in a judicial proceeding, the government must be a party to the proceeding.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2019
Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of one Congressional Gold Medal to Katherine Johnson, in recognition of her service to the United States as a mathematician; one Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Christine Darden, for her service to the United States as an aeronautical engineer; two Congressional Gold Medals in commemoration of the lives of Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, in recognition of their service to the United States during the Space Race; and one Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of all the women who served as computers, mathematicians, and engineers at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) between the 1930s and the 1970s.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2019
Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2019 This bill prohibits a person from transporting a horse in interstate commerce in a motor vehicle (except a vehicle operated exclusively on rail or rails) containing two or more levels stacked on top of one another. The bill prescribes civil penalties for knowing violations of such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2019
ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2019 This bill eliminates the five-month waiting period for disability benefits under the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program 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 may begin.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2019
Big Cat Public Safety Act This bill revises requirements governing the trade of big cats (i.e., species of lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, or cougar or any hybrid of such species). Specifically, it revises restrictions on the possession and exhibition of big cats, including to restrict direct contact between the public and big cats.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2019
Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act This bill requires private health insurance plans to cover diagnosis and treatment services for congenital anomalies and birth defects, such as reconstructive services and prosthetics. Coverage must include services that functionally improve, repair, or restore any body part that is medically necessary for normal bodily functions or appearance, as determined by the treating physician.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2019
Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2019 This bill revises the requirements for calculating Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) benefits. Specifically, the bill increases the minimum SNAP benefit and requires that benefits be calculated using a low-cost food plan (i.e., the diet required to feed a family of four); directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to determine the requirements for the low-cost food plan; requires USDA to make adjustments to the plan to account for household size, changes in the cost of the diet, and the costs of food in specified areas; revises the amounts authorized for nutrition assistance block grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa and requires that the amounts be modified based on adjustments to the low-cost food plan; modifies the requirements for calculating household income to determine SNAP eligibility by authorizing a standard medical expense deduction for households containing an elderly or disabled member and eliminating the cap on the deduction for excess shelter expenses; and revises eligibility requirements under SNAP for certain students enrolled in institutions of higher education.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2019
Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act This bill includes veterans who participated in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands between January 1, 1977, and December 31, 1980, as radiation-exposed veterans for purposes of the Department of Veterans Affairs presumption of service-connection for specified cancers. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific diseases diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2019
Vietnam Human Rights Act This bill amends various reporting requirements related to foreign assistance and human rights. It also authorizes various aid programs related to Vietnam. In its annual reports to Congress on human rights in foreign countries and U.S. security assistance programs, the Department of State shall include assessments of online freedom of expression in each country, including efforts by governments to censor information, punish individuals for their speech, and monitor communications. The State Department's annual report on human rights in Vietnam shall include information regarding the country's progress in various areas, including with respect to ending torture and violence against religious groups and returning property improperly confiscated by the Vietnamese government. The bill authorizes the State Department to establish programs to (1) monitor and halt sex trafficking of women from Vietnam and other Asian countries, and (2) address Vietnam's growing sex-ratio disparity. It authorizes the President to provide assistance for ethnic minority groups in Vietnam affected by human rights violations and directs the State Department to report on such efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2019
Responsible Additions and Increases to Sustain Employee Health Benefits Act of 201 9 This bill modifies the tax exclusion for distributions from health flexible spending arrangements provided to employees under a cafeteria plan to (1) increase the annual limit on employee salary reduction contributions to $5,000, with an additional $500 for each additional employee dependent above two dependents that has not been taken into account by another person for the year; (2) revise the adjustment for inflation after 2020; and (3) allow a carryforward into the next year for unused amounts in such plans.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2019
Digital Global Access Policy Act of 2019 or the Digital GAP Act This bill directs the Department of State to advance U.S. policy to promote public and private investments in secure Internet infrastructure and increase Internet access around the world. The U.S. Agency for International Development and the Peace Corps shall also make efforts to advance such policy. The President shall report to Congress about U.S. efforts to implement the policy, including government efforts to provide technical and regulatory assistance to developing countries and close the gender gap in Internet access.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2019
Advancing Medical Resident Training in Community Hospitals Act of 2019 This bill revises payment rules under Medicare for graduate medical education (GME) costs with respect to a hospital that establishes a new medical residency training program. If a hospital has not entered into a GME affiliation agreement, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must establish the hospital's full-time equivalent (FTE) resident amount only after determining that the hospital's medical residency training program trains more than 1.0 FTE resident in a cost reporting period. If a hospital has an approved FTE resident amount that is based on other specified thresholds, the CMS must give the hospital the opportunity to have the amount reestablished when the hospital begins training FTE residents in excess of the applicable threshold. The bill also establishes similar thresholds for new determinations of certain adjustments to hospital payment limitations regarding FTE residents in allopathic and osteopathic medicine; a hospital that has an adjustment has the opportunity to have it redetermined once the applicable threshold is exceeded.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2019
Child Care for Working Families Act This bill provides funds and otherwise revises certain child care and early learning programs for low- to moderate-income families. Specifically, the bill provides funds for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program and reestablishes it as a child care and development assistance program. It also allocates program funds for states to provide services and support to infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities. Further, it revises the program to require each state to, among other things create a tiered and transparent system for measuring the quality of child care providers, which must include evidence-based standards and payment rates that are based on a certain cost estimation model; assure that copayments are based on a sliding scale and that no family receiving assistance pays more than 7% of their household income on child care; and use quality child care amounts for certain activities, such as improving the supply of child care providers who provide care to infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities (e.g., professional development). It also provides funds and establishes grants for states to create preschool programs for low- to moderate-income children between the ages of three and five years. Finally, the Department of Health and Human Services must make grants to Head Start agencies to (1) provide children with access to full-school-year and full-school-day services, (2) provide access to additional service hours for migrant and seasonal agencies, or (3) enhance the quality of existing services.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2019
Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019 This bill establishes new criteria for determining which states and political subdivisions must obtain preclearance before changes to voting practices in these areas may take effect. (Preclearance is the process of receiving preapproval from the Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before making legal changes that would affect voting rights.) A state and all of its political subdivisions shall be subject to preclearance of voting practice changes for a 10-year period if (1) 15 or more voting rights violations occurred in the state during the previous 25 years; or (2) 10 or more violations occurred during the previous 25 years, at least one of which was committed by the state itself. A political subdivision as a separate unit shall also be subject to preclearance for a 10-year period if three or more voting rights violations occurred there during the previous 25 years. A state or political subdivision that obtains a declaratory judgment that it has not used a voting practice to deny or abridge the right to vote shall be exempt from preclearance. The bill specifies practices that all jurisdictions must preclear before implementing. The bill expands the circumstances under which (1) a court may retain the authority to preclear voting changes made by a state or political subdivision, or (2) the Department of Justice may assign election observers. States and political subdivisions must notify the public of changes to voting practices. The bill revises the circumstances under which a court must grant preliminary injunctive relief in a challenge to voting practices.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2019
Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act This bill funds through FY2090 the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. Additionally, the bill modifies the Victim Compensation Fund (VCF): to allow claims to be filed until October 2089, to require VCF policies and procedures to be reassessed at least once every five years (currently, at least once annually), to require claimants to be paid for the amount by which a claim was reduced on the basis of insufficient funding, to remove the cap on noneconomic damages in certain circumstances, and to adjust the annual limit on economic loss compensation for inflation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2019
Corey Adams Searchlight Act This bill directs the Department of Justice to establish a national communications network—the Green Alert communications network—to support regional and local search efforts for missing veterans. The Green Alert communications network must operate in coordination with the AMBER Alert communications network (i.e., the communications network that supports search efforts for abducted children).
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2019
Medicaid Reentry Act This bill allows Medicaid payment for medical services furnished to an incarcerated individual during the 30-day period preceding the individual's release.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 2019
This joint resolution terminates the national emergency related to the U.S.-Mexico border, declared by the President on February 15, 2019.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 2019
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment providing that the rights protected by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only. Artificial entities, such as corporations, shall have no rights under the Constitution and are subject to regulation. The amendment requires federal, state, and local government to (1) regulate, limit, or prohibit election contributions and expenditures, including a candidate's own contributions and expenditures; and (2) require that any permissible contributions and expenditures be publicly disclosed. The judiciary is prohibited from construing the spending of money to influence elections to be speech under the First Amendment, and the amendment shall not be construed to abridge the freedom of the press.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 2019
Coastal Communities Adaptation Act This bill provides assistance to coastal states and communities to help them adapt to climate change and extreme weather. Specifically, it revises the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program. For example, the bill requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology to award research and development grants under the program for the purpose of improving the resilience and responsiveness of buildings, structures, and lifelines to windstorms. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration must award capitalization grants to each coastal state for the purpose of establishing a community resilience revolving fund. In turn, states must provide financial assistance to municipalities or state agencies for preventing, managing, mitigating, or adapting to coastal hazards related to climate change. The Department of Commerce may carry out a program to award prizes to stimulate innovation to advance coastal risk reduction and resilience measures. The National Science Foundation must support research to improve (1) the resilience of buildings, structures, and lifelines to windstorms; and (2) the responsiveness of buildings, structures, and lifelines after a windstorm. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) must promote the adoption of windstorm preparedness and mitigation measures for manufactured HUD code housing units. The U.S. Postal Service must issue a Built to Last stamp as a semipostal stamp. The proceeds from the stamp must be deposited in the Built to Last Stamp Fund established by this bill for shoreline risk and climate change adaptation.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 2019
This resolution calls for the international community to demand that North Korea dismantle its labor camp system and for North Korea to cease human rights abuses and release political prisoners.