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 · 5 December 2017
This bill makes all veterans enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system eligible for VA-provided dental services by removing certain dental service restrictions. The bill phases in eligibility over four years based upon existing eligibility, degree of service-connected disability or other disability, prisoner of war status, award of a Purple Heart, financial need, or VA health care eligibility.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2017
Workplace Action for a Growing Economy Act or the WAGE Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to award back pay and additional damages to any employee whose rights under the NLRA have been violated by an employer; impose penalties upon an employer for failing to post a notice of the rights of their employees under the NLRA; impose penalties upon an employer whose violations of the NLRA result in the discharge of an employee or other serious economic harm to the employee; provide civil remedies, including restraining orders, and a private right of action for violations of the NLRA; require the NLRB to issue an order requiring collective bargaining when a majority of valid ballots have been cast in favor of union representation; prevent the classification of employees as supervisors for the purpose of denying such employees the protections of the NLRA; and expedite the establishment of initial collective bargaining agreements. The bill empowers the NLRB to enforce its own orders without petitioning a court for enforcement.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2017
Stop Harmful and Abusive Telecommunications Expression Act of 2017 or the Stop HATE Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Commerce and the Department of Justice to report about the role of telecommunications in violent acts and the commission of crimes of hate against individuals or groups of individuals on the basis of race, gender and gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, color, or national origin. The report must analyze information about the use of telecommunications to advocate and encourage violent acts and the commission of crimes of hate, including: (1) the role that such telecommunications are playing in giving groups that advocate and commit such crimes a platform to spread their messages and to organize; (2) how such use and the role of telecommunications have changed with new forms of communication on the Internet and other electronic media; and (3) any recommendations, consistent with the First Amendment, necessary to address such use and such role of telecommunications.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2017
Bears Ears National Monument Expansion Act This bill expands the boundaries of the Bear Ears National Monument in Utah. The Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture USDA shall administer the lands under their jurisdictions within the expanded boundaries: (1) as part of the monument; and (2) in accordance with Presidential Proclamation 9558, dated December 28, 2016, which provided for establishment of the monument. Interior and USDA shall promptly carry out the proclamation's provisions, including the provisions requiring them to engage the Bear Ears Commission to: ensure the proper care and management of the objects identified; ensure that management decisions affecting the monument reflect tribal expertise and traditional and historical knowledge; and provide guidance and recommendations on the development and implementation of management plans and on management of the monument. The National Park Service shall administer Natural Bridges National Monument and those portions of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area that are within the expanded boundaries as part of the monument. Interior and USDA may acquire lands, waters, or interests in land that are located within the revised boundaries of the monument by donation, purchase, or exchange.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2017
Jobs for Tribes Act Indian Community Economic Enhancement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Native American Business Development, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 to establish duties for the Office of Native American Business Development. This bill amends the Buy Indian Act, including to require the Department of Health and Human Services to use Native American labor and purchase Native American industry products. This bill amends the Native American Programs Act of 1974 to permit the Bureau of Indian Affairs to provide financial assistance to certain Native American community development financial institutions. Native American Business Incubators Program Act The Department of the Interior must establish a grant program in the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development for establishing and operating business incubators that serve Native American communities. A business incubator is an organization that: (1) provides physical workspace and facilities resources to startups and established businesses, and (2) is designed to accelerate the growth and success of businesses through a variety of business support resources and services. Indigenous Peoples Exchange and Economic Cooperation Act The President must submit to Congress a strategy to promote and facilitate: (1) cross-investments between tribes and indigenous peoples in tribal businesses and commercial enterprises that involve indigenous peoples, and (2) the development of supply chains for U.S. entities that include products produced by tribes and indigenous peoples. The Department of State must provide assistance to countries in the Western Hemisphere in a manner that promotes and facilitates entrepreneurship among indigenous peoples.
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 · 29 November 2017
Exploring the Future of Work Act This bill directs the Department of Labor to arrange with the National Academies to study shifting workforce industry challenges and opportunities related to the displacement of U.S. workers due to technological innovation.
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 · 28 November 2017
Veteran Entrepreneurs Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business-related tax credit of up to $400,000 for 25% of the franchise fees paid or incurred by an eligible veteran for the purchase of a franchise. The bill reduces the amount of such credit if the veteran does not own 100% of the stock or capital or profits interest of the franchisee. An "eligible veteran" is a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service; was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable; and who pays or incurs a franchise fee in connection with a franchise agreement with a franchisor. The veteran may elect to transfer the credit to an eligible franchisor in exchange for a discount in the franchise fee commensurate with the value of the credit. The Small Business Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs must provide information about the tax credit allowed by this bill to veterans service organizations and veteran advocacy groups.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2017
Chronic Wasting Disease Management Act This bill requires the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-Wildlife Services to support state and tribal efforts to address chronic wasting disease. The transmissible disease afflicts deer, elk, and moose populations. The agency must make grants to research centers to support efforts to expand and accelerate applied research on the disease. Land management agencies of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior must work cooperatively with states in researching the disease and implementing state response plans to reduce the spread and prevalence of the disease.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2017
Member and Employee Training and Oversight On Congress Act or the ME TOO Congress Act This bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) to revise procedures for reporting, investigating, and resolving allegations of legislative branch employees that their rights and protections under the CAA, such as protections against sexual harassment and discrimination, have been violated.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2017
This bill nullifies a rule finalized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on November 13, 2017, that modifies payment under Medicare for certain drugs purchased through the 340B discount program.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2017
Improving Oversight of Women Veterans' Care Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report to Congress annually on the access of women veterans to gender-specific medical care (mammograms, maternity care, and gynecological care) provided by contracting non-VA medical providers. Each VA medical facility must report quarterly to the VA on the facility's compliance with the environment of care standards for women veterans, which are standards intended to protect the privacy, safety, and dignity of women veterans when they receive medical care. The VA must report to Congress with a plan to strengthen such standards.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2017
Veteran Treatment Court Coordination Act of 2017 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that veterans treatment courts are a successful program aimed at helping veterans charged with non-violent crimes receive the help and the benefits to which they are entitled. The Department of Justice (DOJ) shall establish a Veteran Treatment Court Program to provide assistance to state circuit court systems that have adopted or filed a notice of intent to establish such a program. The DOJ program shall include veterans treatment court grant programs carried out pursuant to laws establishing other incarceration alternatives programs.
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 · 8 November 2017
National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2017 This bill amends the National Sea Grant College Program Act to reauthorize through FY2023 the National Sea Grant College Program. The bill requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to award Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowships. Currently, NOAA has discretion in awarding such fellowships. Those fellowships support the placement of graduate students in fields related to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources in positions with the executive and legislative branches. NOAA must establish priorities for the use of donations given for the National Sea Grant Program. An agency may appoint a recipient of a Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship to a federal position within five years after such recipient successfully completes a fellowship. The bill authorizes through FY2023 grants for university research on: (1) the biology, prevention, and control of aquatic nonnative species; (2) oyster diseases, oyster restoration, and oyster-related human health risks; (3) the biology, prevention, and forecasting of harmful algal blooms; and (4) sustainable aquaculture techniques and technologies. The bill also authorizes through FY2023 grants for: (1) fishery extension activities conducted by sea grant colleges or sea grant institutes to enhance existing core program funding; and (2) priority issues identified in the National Sea Grant Program's strategic plan.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2017
Sugar Policy Modernization Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 and other agricultural laws to modify the Department of Agriculture (USDA) sugar program. The bill modifies the sugar program to: reduce the rates for price support loans to processors of domestically grown sugarcane and sugar beets; require USDA to recover the net cost of the program from domestic sugar processors; extend through 2019 and then terminate the Feedstock Flexibility Program under which USDA purchases surplus sugar from domestic processors for resale to ethanol producers; extend through 2020 and then repeal the flexible marketing allotments which limit the amount of sugar that domestic processing companies may sell for domestic human use; require USDA to administer the program to provide adequate supplies of sugar at reasonable prices; require USDA to adjust sugar tariff-rate quota imports to achieve specified ratios of sugar stocks to total sugar use; and allow the transfer of quotas between countries.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2017
Building Our Largest Dementia Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act or the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to award cooperative agreements to state and local health departments to expand activities related to Alzheimer's disease, including activities involving early detection, support for caregivers, and public awareness.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2017
Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2017 This bill modifies various provisions of federal firearms laws. Among other things, it does the following: prohibits certain firearm transfers between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check; and requires states to implement plans to improve the submission of mental health and criminal history records to the national instant criminal background check system.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2017
Buy Smarter and Save Act of 2017 This bill requires the President to establish, and federal agencies to implement, annual government-wide goals for agencies to reduce the number of contracts for the procurement of common goods and services, increase spend under management, and use category management to produce savings. "Category Management" is a business practice for reducing duplication in contracting, more effectively leveraging the buying power of the federal government, and promoting the use of best-in-class solutions and practices throughout the government. "Spend under management" is the number equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (1) the total spending on preferred government-wide contract vehicles by (2) the total spending on all government-wide contract vehicles.
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
Preparing Homeless Youth for Education and Employment Act This bill amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to allow grants awarded through the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program to be used for providing in-person dropout prevention services and college and career counseling services.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2017
Parity in Animal Cruelty Enforcement Act or the PACE Act This bill amends the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit the sponsoring or exhibiting of animal fights involving live birds (such as cockfights). Under current law, the fights are unlawful only if they take place in states or U.S. territories or possessions that have banned it.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2017
Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2017 This bill requires departments and agencies identified in the Chief Financial Officers Act to submit annually to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Congress a plan for identifying and addressing policy questions relevant to the programs, policies, and regulations of such departments and agencies.The plan must include: (1) a list of policy-relevant questions for developing evidence to support policymaking, and (2) a list of data for facilitating the use of evidence in policymaking. The OMB shall consolidate such plans into a unified evidence building plan. The bill establishes an Interagency Council on Evaluation Policy to assist the OMB in supporting government-wide evaluation activities and policies. The bill defines "evaluation" to mean an assessment using systematic data collection and analysis of one or more programs, policies, and organizations intended to assess their effectiveness and efficiency. Each department or agency shall designate a Chief Evaluation Officer to coordinate evidence-building activities and an official with statistical expertise to advise on statistical policy, techniques, and procedures. The OMB shall establish an Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building to advise on expanding access to and use of federal data for evidence building. Open, Public, Electronic, and Necessary Government Data Act or the OPEN Government Data Act This bill requires open government data assets to be published as machine-readable data. Each agency shall: (1) develop and maintain a comprehensive data inventory for all data assets created by or collected by the agency, and (2) designate a Chief Data Officer who shall be responsible for lifecycle data management and other specified functions. The bill establishes in the OMB a Chief Data Officer Council for establishing government-wide best practices for the use, protection, dissemination, and generation of data and for promoting data sharing agreements among agencies. Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2017 This bill codifies provisions relating to confidential information protection and statistical efficiency.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2017
Security and Financial Empowerment Act of 2017 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 does the following: requires employers to provide up to 30 days of safe leave in a 12-month period; and prohibits states from imposing additional restrictions on eligibility for unemployment compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2017
Upward Mobility Enhancement Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the exclusion for educational assistance programs, to increase the maximum amount of employer-provided educational assistance that may be excluded from the gross income of an employee. The bill: (1) specifies that the exclusion applies only to the first $11,500 of educational assistance furnished to an individual during a calendar year, in the case of assistance for education below the graduate level; and (2) requires the dollar amount to be adjusted for inflation after 2017. (Under current law, the exclusion applies only to the first $5,250 of educational assistance furnished to an individual during a calendar year and is not adjusted for inflation.)
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 · 19 October 2017
Protect Access to Birth Control Act This bill nullifies interim final rules issued by the Department of Labor, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Health and Human Services that allow employers with religious or moral objections to be exempt from the requirement in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to cover contraceptive services without cost-sharing.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2017
Career Advancement through New Skills Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for employers that is equal to 25% of the qualified education and training expenses paid or incurred for employees. The expenses taken into account for the credit may not exceed $5,000 with respect to any employee for any taxable year. "Qualified education and training expenses" must be for a program specifically designed to maintain or improve skills of the employee which are necessary or useful either: (1) in the employee's current position with the employer, or (2) in another position with the employer to which the employer reasonably anticipates the employee may transfer. The credit does not apply to expenses for education or training programs that are provided by the employer or by certain family members or business partners of the employer.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2017
American Apprenticeship Act This bill directs the Department of Labor to make grants to assist states to pay for the cost of carrying out projects that defray the cost of instruction associated with pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs, as those terms are defined by this bill. A state must use grant funds to defray the costs of tuition and fees, textbooks, equipment, curriculum development, and other required educational materials. Labor shall: (1) identify in-demand occupations that lack the use of apprenticeships, (2) analyze the use of the apprenticeship model in those occupations, and (3) report on such analysis to states and Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2017
Honest Ads Act This bill expands source disclosure requirements for political advertisements by (1) establishing that paid internet and paid digital communications may qualify as “public communications” or “electioneering communications” that may be subject to such requirements, and (2) imposing additional requirements relating to the form of such source disclosures and the information contained within. The bill also requires certain online platform companies to maintain publicly available records about qualified political advertisements that have been purchased on their platforms.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Financial Stability Act of 2010 to require the Financial Stability Oversight Council, in determining whether a nonbank financial company shall be designated as systemically important and consequently be supervised by the Federal Reserve Board and subject to prudential standards, to consider the appropriateness of imposing such standards as opposed to other forms of regulation to mitigate identified risks to U.S. financial stability. Every five years, the council must, upon request by a nonbank financial company, reevaluate such a determination and hold a vote on whether to rescind it. The bill revises procedural requirements related to council determinations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2017 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 · 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
Community-Based Independence for Seniors Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish a Community-Based Institutional Special Needs Plan demonstration program through which up to five eligible Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations shall provide home and community-based care to eligible Medicare beneficiaries. For purposes of the demonstration program, an eligible Medicare beneficiary is ineligible for Medicaid and unable to perform two or more activities of daily living. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shall establish payment rates for eligible MA plans under the demonstration program. Such payment rates are capped but shall be in addition to payments otherwise made to MA organizations with respect to such plans. The CMS shall also: (1) help to educate eligible Medicare beneficiaries on the availability of the program, and (2) provide for program evaluation by an independent third party.
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 · 11 October 2017
This bill amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to revise the quorum requirement for the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States to require the lesser of three members or the number of members holding office on the board (currently, at least three members) for there to be a quorum.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Access to Marketplace Insurance Act This bill requires health insurers to accept, on behalf of individuals enrolled in qualified health plans, cost-sharing payments made by certain third parties (e.g., state and federal government programs) and count such payments toward annual cost-sharing limitations. (Qualified health plans are eligible for subsidies and fulfill an individual's requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage.)
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2017
Veterans Education Disaster Assistance Act This bill increases Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Post-9/11 educational assistance for veterans pursuing a course of education at an institute of higher education that is closed for at least four weeks because of natural disasters and who pursue such course, or an alternative course, solely by distance learning. The duration of monthly stipends is extended from four months to the shorter of four months or the period necessary to complete the quarter, semester, term, or academic period during the institute's closure. Such stipend is increased from 50% to the full amount that a veteran would be entitled to if pursuing such course of at an institution of higher education. An additional lump sum is made available for books and other educational costs made necessary by such distance learning.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2017
Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a trigger crank, a bump-fire device, or any part, combination of parts, component, device, attachment, or accessory that is designed or functions to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle but not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a machine gun. The bill does not prohibit, with respect to such firearm accessories, the importation or manufacture for, sale or transfer to, or possession by a federal, state, or local government. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish detention standards for each facility at which aliens in DHS custody are detained. Such standards shall provide for at least the level of detainee protections described in the American Bar Association's Civil Immigration Detention Standards. A detained individual who is injured as a result of a violation of such standards may file a claim in U.S. district court. The bill: (1) provides for facility oversight and transparency, (2) phases out the use of private detention facilities and jails for such aliens, and (3) revises procedures for detaining aliens.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
Veterans Health Nurse Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to publish and submit to Congress an annual report regarding efforts to recruit, hire, and retain Veterans Health Administration nurses. Such report shall include details regarding: (1) efforts to recruit, hire, and retain nurses at each VA medical facility, (2) VA resources provided for such efforts, and (3) recommendations for appropriate legislation. The Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1995 is amended to restore the annual Educational Assistance Program reporting requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2017
Innovative Stormwater Infrastructure Act of 2017 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide grants to eligible higher education institutions and research institutions to establish and maintain between three and five centers of excellence for innovative stormwater control infrastructure, which is any green stormwater management technique that: (1) uses natural systems or engineered systems that mimic natural processes to infiltrate, evapotranspire, or capture stormwater; and (2) preserves, enhances, or mimics natural hydrology to protect or restore water quality. One of the centers must be the national electronic clearinghouse center and operate a website and a public database on the infrastructure. In addition, the EPA must provide grants to state, tribal, or local governments or entities that manage stormwater, drinking water resources, or wastewater resources for innovative stormwater control infrastructure projects. The EPA must ensure that: (1) EPA's Office of Water, Office of Enforcement and Compliance, Office of Research and Development, and Office of Policy promote the use of the infrastructure in, and coordinate the integration of, permitting programs, planning efforts, research, technical assistance, and funding guidance; and (2) the Office of Water supports establishing innovative financing mechanisms in the implementation of the infrastructure. The EPA must: (1) direct each EPA regional office to promote and integrate the use of the infrastructure within the region, and (2) promote sharing information about the infrastructure approaches. The EPA must establish the innovative stormwater control infrastructure portfolio standard of voluntary, measurable goals to increase the percentage of annual water managed by entities that use the infrastructure.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
AFG and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017 This bill amends the the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to: (1) repeal the expiration dates of, and to reauthorize through FY2023, the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) Program, the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants (FPSG) Program, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant (SAFER) Program; and (2) authorize the use of AFG Program grants, instead of SAFER Program grants, to provide specialized training to first responders on how to recognize and properly intervene with individuals with mental illness. The SAFER Program is revised to permit the use of grants to change the status of part-time or paid-on-call firefighters to full-time firefighters. The United States Fire Administration (USFA) may develop and make widely available an electronic, online training course for members of the fire and emergency response community on matters related to the administration of AFG, FPSG, and SAFER grants. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shall ensure that any such training is: (1) tailored to the financial and time constraints of members of the fire and emergency response community; and (2) accessible to all individuals in the career, combination, paid-on-call, and volunteer fire and emergency response community. The USFA shall develop and implement a grant monitoring and oversight framework to mitigate and minimize risks of fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement relating to such grants programs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
Accountability for Quality VA Healthcare Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a two-year pilot program to enhance the physical security of VA medical facilities. The VA shall periodically update its Planning and Activating Community Based Outpatient Clinics handbook to reflect current policies and clarify the responsibilities of VA leasing project personnel. The VA shall: (1) strengthen its medical facility inspection process; and (2) monitor women veterans' access to gender-specific care services under community care contracts, including appointment scheduling and completion times. The VA shall: (1) clarify measures for medical appointment wait times in a manner that reduces the likelihood of misinterpretation, (2) ensure that "patient indicated date" (the earliest date the patient needs to be seen) is clearly defined for purposes of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) scheduling and related training documents, (3) improve recruitment and retention of scheduling staff and require facilities to routinely assess scheduling and resource needs, and (4) improve telephone access at its medical facilities. The VA shall conduct evaluations of the VHA's organizational structure and the Veterans Integrated Service Networks (regional VA health care administrative areas).
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2017
Veterans Opioid Abuse Prevention Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to enter into a memorandum of understanding with a national network of state-based prescription drug monitoring programs under which VA health care providers shall query such network to support the safe and effective prescribing of controlled substances to patients who: (1) receive a prescription for a controlled substance for a period of 90 days or longer, and (2) are not receiving palliative care or enrolled in hospice care. Under such memorandum of understanding, VA health care providers practicing in: (1) a participating state shall query such network in accordance with the agreement between that state's prescription drug monitoring program and such network, and (2) a nonparticipating state shall query the network through the drug monitoring program of the closest participating state.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Animal Emergency Planning Act of 2017 This bill amends the Animal Welfare Act to require research facilities, dealers, exhibitors, intermediate handlers, and carriers (covered persons) to develop, document, and follow a contingency plan to provide for the humane handling, treatment, transportation, housing, and care of their animals in the event of an emergency or disaster. The plan must: identify situations that the covered person might experience that would trigger the need to implement the measures identified in the plan; outline tasks to be carried out in response to emergencies or disasters; establish a chain of command and identify the individuals responsible for fulfilling the tasks; and address how response and recovery will be handled in terms of materials, resources, and training needed. Covered persons must review their plan at least annually, train personnel in their roles and responsibilities as outlined in the plan, and provide training when the plan changes.
![Official portrait of Rep. Kilmer, Derek [D-WA-6]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/k000381_200.jpg)