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
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 · 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
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
Economic Development Act for Distressed Zones of 2019 This bill provides various tax credits related to economically distressed zones and establishes a procedure for state and local governments to apply for such zone designation. Specifically, the bill provides credits to taxpayers in an economically distressed zone based on the amount of (1) wages paid by an employer to employees, (2) depreciation and amortization allowances for business property, and (3) trade or business payments made for purchases of services or property. The bill also allows state and local governments to apply for a population census tract under their ambit to be designated as an economically distressed zone
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2019
Puerto Rico Insurance Excise Tax Exemption Act of 201 9 This bill exempts from the foreign insurer excise tax certain insurance policies, indemnity bonds, annuity contracts, or reinsurance policies issued by partnerships or corporations created or organized under the laws of a U.S. territory or possession. The exemption applies unless any of the covered hazards, risks, losses, or liabilities are also covered by a reinsurance policy issued by a foreign insurer or reinsurer other than the partnership or corporation.
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
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 · 28 February 2019
This bill requires states with a voter registration requirement to make same-day voter registration available at the polling place on any day voting is permitted.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2019
Stop Foreign Donations Affecting Our Elections Act This bill requires political committees, when accepting a credit card contribution over the internet, to collect the credit card's verification value. The card's billing address must be in the United States unless the contributor is a U.S. citizen living outside of the United States, in which case the contributor must provide his or her voter registration address.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2019
Medicare for All Act of 2019 This bill establishes a national health insurance program that is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Among other requirements, the program must (1) cover all U.S. residents; (2) provide for automatic enrollment of individuals upon birth or residency in the United States; and (3) cover items and services that are medically necessary or appropriate to maintain health or to diagnose, treat, or rehabilitate a health condition, including hospital services, prescription drugs, mental health and substance abuse treatment, dental and vision services, and long-term care. The bill prohibits cost-sharing (e.g., deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments) and other charges for covered services. Additionally, private health insurers and employers may only offer coverage that is supplemental to, and not duplicative of, benefits provided under the program. Health insurance exchanges and specified federal health programs terminate upon program implementation. However, the program does not affect coverage provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Indian Health Service. The bill also establishes a series of implementing provisions relating to (1) health care provider participation; (2) HHS administration; and (3) payments and costs, including the requirement that HHS negotiate prices for prescription drugs. Individuals who are age 18 or younger, age 55 or older, or already enrolled in Medicare may enroll in the program starting one year after enactment of this bill; other individuals may buy into the program at this time. The program must be fully implemented two years after enactment.
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
Health Insurance Tax Relief Act of 2019 This bill delays reimposition of the annual fee on health insurers until 2022. Under current law, the annual fee for a health insurer is calculated based on the insurer's share of total premiums from the preceding year. The fee is suspended for 2019 (i.e., there is no fee based on premiums from 2018); reimposition is scheduled for 2020.
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
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
Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act This bill withdraws 1,006,545 acres of federal lands in Arizona, including any land or interest in land acquired by the United States after enactment of this bill, from entry, appropriation, and disposal under the public land laws; location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and operation of the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws and mineral materials laws.
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
Medicare Buy-In and Health Care Stabilization Act of 2019 This bill establishes a Medicare buy-in option for certain qualifying individuals and makes a series of other changes relating to health care costs. Specifically, the bill allows individuals aged 50 to 64 to enroll in Medicare if such individuals would otherwise qualify for Medicare at the age of 65. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must determine enrollment periods and set premiums for the buy-in option established under the bill, in accordance with specified requirements. The CMS must also award grants to states and nonprofit organizations for outreach and enrollment activities relating to the buy-in option. The bill also (1) establishes a supplemental option under Medicare to cover cost-sharing for beneficiaries; (2) repeals provisions that prohibit the CMS from negotiating the prices of prescription drugs; and (3) establishes an individual market reinsurance program relating to coverage of high-cost individuals, as specified.
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
Ensuring Medicaid Provides Opportunities for Widespread Equity, Resources, and Care Act or the EMPOWER Care Act This bill extends funding through FY2023 for the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program and otherwise revises the program. (Under this program, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may award grants to state Medicaid programs to assist states in increasing the use of home and community care for long-term care and decreasing the use of institutional care.)
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 2019
Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act This bill requires the Department of Labor to address workplace violence in the health care and social service sectors. Specifically, Labor must promulgate an occupational safety and health standard that requires certain employers in the health care and social service sectors, as well as employers in sectors that conduct activities similar to the activities in the health care and social service sectors, to develop and implement a comprehensive plan for protecting health care workers, social service workers, and other personnel from workplace violence. In addition, those employers must investigate workplace violence incidents, risks, or hazards as soon as practicable; provide training and education to employees who may be exposed to workplace violence hazards and risks; meet record keeping requirements; and prohibit acts of discrimination or retaliation against employees for reporting workplace violence incidents, threats, or concerns.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 2019
This concurrent resolution declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over the air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2019
Higher Education Dream Act of 2019 This bill prohibits institutions of higher education that receive federal student aid from discriminating or taking adverse action against Dreamer students (i.e., students who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status) based on their immigration status, including charging out-of-state tuition to students who would qualify as residents of the state. The bill also makes Dreamer students eligible for federal financial aid. The bill prohibits the use or publication of certain identifiable information related to such students, subject to civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2019
Assault Weapons Ban of 2019 This bill makes it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). The prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model. The bill also exempts from the prohibition the following, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD: importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties. The bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD. Newly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture. The bill requires law enforcement agencies to be notified when a prohibited person attempts to purchase a grandfathered SAW. It also allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2019
State Public Option Act This bill allows residents who are not already eligible for Medicaid and not concurrently enrolled in other health insurance coverage to buy into a state Medicaid plan beginning January 1, 2020, at the option of the state. State Medicaid programs may set premiums and cost-sharing requirements for such coverage in accordance with specified limitations. The bill also (1) provides the enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) to every state that expands Medicaid coverage for individuals who are newly eligible under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, regardless of when such expansion takes place; and (2) requires state Medicaid programs to cover comprehensive reproductive health care services, including abortion services.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2019
Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2019 This bill addresses extreme risk protection order laws. Extreme risk protection order laws, or red flag laws, generally allow certain individuals (e.g., law enforcement officers or family members) to petition a court for a temporary order that prohibits an at-risk individual from purchasing and possessing firearms. First, the bill establishes a grant program to help states and Indian tribes implement extreme risk protection order laws and carry out related activities. Local governments and other entities may also receive grants to carry out certain activities, such as raising public awareness of extreme risk protection order laws. Further, grant recipients must use a specified portion of funds to provide training for law enforcement. In addition, the bill expands the categories of persons who are prohibited from receiving, possessing, shipping, or transporting a firearm or ammunition to include persons who are subject to an extreme risk protection order.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2019
Bureau of Reclamation Transparency Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to publish, and update every two years, an Asset Management Report. The report must describe the Bureau of Reclamation's efforts to (1) maintain in a reliable manner its reserved works (e.g., buildings, structures, facilities, or equipment); and (2) standardize and streamline data reporting and processes across regions and areas for the purpose of maintaining reserved works. The report must include (1) an assessment of major repair and rehabilitation needs for reserved works, and (2) an itemized and prioritized list of major repair and rehabilitation needs of individual facilities. Interior must coordinate with the nonfederal entities responsible for the operation and maintenance of Reclamation facilities, known as transferred works, in developing reporting requirements for their major repair and rehabilitation needs.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2019
Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act This bill establishes the National Park Service and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund into which, through FY2024, there shall be deposited an amount equal to 50% of all energy development revenues due to the federal government from oil, gas, coal, or alternative or renewable energy development on federal lands and waters. Deposited amounts must not exceed $1.3 billion for any fiscal year. From such amounts 80% shall be allocated to the National Park Service for high-priority deferred maintenance projects, ensuring parity between transportation and nontransportation projects; 10% shall be for the national wildlife refuge system maintenance backlog; 5% shall be for the public access and recreation backlog on public lands; and 5% shall be for school construction and deferred maintenance backlogs. The Department of the Interior must submit to Congress, with the President's annual budget submission, a list of projects receiving allocations from the fund and a description of each such project. Interior, and other specified agencies, may accept cash or in-kind donations that advance efforts to reduce maintenance backlogs and encourage public-private partnerships.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2019
Funding for Aviation Screeners and Threat Elimination Restoration Act or the FASTER Act This bill repeals the requirement that a portion of aviation security service fees collected from passengers be credited as offsetting receipts and deposited in the general fund of the Treasury and instead requires such fees to be deposited into a separate account in the Treasury for expenditure only to pay the costs of activities and services for which the fee is imposed.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2019
Native American Suicide Prevention Act of 2019 This bill requires a state or state-designated entity that receives support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for development and implementation of a statewide youth suicide early intervention and prevention strategy to agree to collaborate with each of the state's federally recognized Indian tribes, tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, and Native Hawaiian health care systems regarding the strategy.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2019
Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act or the FAMILY Act This bill establishes the Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave within the Social Security Administration. The bill entitles every individual to a family and medical leave insurance (FMLI) benefit payment for a specified benefit period and prescribes a formula for determining the individual's monthly benefit amount, An FMLI benefit payment shall be coordinated with any periodic benefits received under a state or local temporary disability insurance or family leave program. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on employers, employees, and self-employed individuals to fund FMLI benefits. It also establishes the Federal Family and Medical Leave Insurance Trust Fund to hold tax revenues.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2019
Reining in Irresponsible Decorating Expenses Act This bill requires certain federal employees to notify Congress at least 30 days before spending more than $5,000 to furnish or redecorate their offices. The bill applies to individuals who are (1) the head of a federal agency, or (2) occupy a position in the federal government that requires confirmation by the Senate. The notice must include (1) a justification and explanation for the expenditure, and (2) an overview of the current state of agency affairs. Individuals who fail to comply with the notice requirement must repay the Treasury for the expenditures that exceed $5,000.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2019
Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2019 This bill modifies the tax treatment of certain alcoholic beverages to exclude the aging period from the production period for beer, wine, or distilled spirits for purposes of determining whether a taxpayer can expense, rather than capitalize, interest costs paid or incurred during the production period; reduce excise tax rates on beer and distilled spirits; permit the transfer of beer between bonded facilities without payment of tax; increase the amount of the small wine producer tax credit and expand the categories of producers covered by such credit; allow an adjustment to the producer credit for hard cider; and modify the alcohol content limitations that apply to certain wines for tax purposes. The Department of the Treasury must amend applicable regulations with respect to the use of wholesome products suitable for human consumption in the production of fermented beverages. The bill also increases funding for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2019
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act This bill requires the Federal Labor Relations Authority to determine whether a state substantially provides public safety officers or employees the right to form and join a labor organization; recognition by public safety employers of the employees' labor organization, agreement to bargain with the organization, and reduction of any agreements to writing in a contract or memorandum of understanding; the right to bargain over hours, wages, and terms and conditions of employment; and binding interest arbitration to resolve an impasse in collective bargaining negotiations. The bill makes the authority responsible for (1) determining the appropriateness of units for labor representation; (2) supervising elections; (3) conducting hearings and resolving complaints of unfair labor practices; and (4) protecting the right of employees to form, join, or assist any labor organization, or to refrain from doing so. An employer, public safety officer, or labor organization may not engage in a lockout, sickout, work slowdown, strike, or any other organized job action that will measurably disrupt the delivery of emergency services and is designed to compel an employer, public safety officer, or labor organization to agree to the terms of a proposed contract.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2019
Rights for Transportation Security Officers Act of 2019 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the personnel system used by the Transpotation Security Administration (TSA) provides insufficient benefits and workplace protections for its workforce and such personnel should be provided protections and benefits under the civil service system applicable to all federal employees. Among other things, the bill eliminates personnel authorities of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Transportation governing the conditions of employment for TSA employees, thus making TSA employees subject to the personnel management system applicable to other federal employees; sets forth transition rules that protect the pay rates and other rights of TSA employees; requires DHS to consult with the labor organization certified by the Federal Labor Relations Authority to carry out the conversion of such positions; and does not affect the prohibitions against disloyalty and asserting the right to strike against the federal government.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2019
Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act This bill prohibits the Bureau of Land Management from administering an oil and gas leasing, development, production, and transportation program in and from the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2019
This resolution (1) strongly opposes President Trump's ban on transgender members of the Armed Forces, (2) rejects the scientific and medical claims upon which it is based, and (3) strongly urges the Department of Defense to not reinstate the ban and to maintain an inclusive policy allowing qualified transgender Americans to enlist and serve in the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2019
Transit Worker and Pedestrian Protection Act This bill requires grant recipients under the public transportation safety program who operate a fixed route bus service to (1) develop a risk reduction program for bus operations to improve safety by reducing the number and rates of accidents, injuries, assaults on bus operators, and fatalities; (2) submit the program to the Department of Transportation (DOT) for review and approval; and (3) implement the approved program. DOT shall require grant recipients who operate a rail fixed guideway public transportation system that is not subject to regulation by the Federal Railroad Administration to (1) develop a risk reduction program for assaults on rail workers to improve safety by reducing the number and severity of assaults on such workers; (2) submit the program to DOT for review and approval; and (3) implement the approved program. A grant recipient shall report to DOT any information on each assault on a transit worker for inclusion in the National Transit Database.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2019
This bill repeals the authority of the President to divert certain resources of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during national emergencies. Specifically, the bill repeals the President's authority to (1) terminate or defer civil works projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that are not essential to the national defense; and (2) apply the resources of the Corps' civil works program to civil works, military construction, and civil defense projects that are essential to the national defense.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2019
Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019 This bill provides continuing appropriations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund if an appropriations bill for the FAA has not been enacted before a fiscal year begins or a joint resolution making continuing appropriations for the FAA is not in effect. The bill provides appropriations at the rate of operations that was provided for the prior fiscal year to continue programs, projects, and activities for which funds were provided in the preceding fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2019
Mental Health Services for Students Act of 2019 This bill provides specific statutory authority for the Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) State Educational Agency Grant Program that is administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The program supports school-based mental health services, including screening, treatment, and outreach programs.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2019
VA Employee Fairness Act of 2019 This bill repeals provisions excluding any matter or question concerning professional conduct or competence; peer review; or the establishment, determination, or adjustment of employee compensation from the applicability of collective bargaining rights for Veterans Health Administration employees.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2019
This resolution expresses support for the designation of DIPG Awareness Day. (DIPG is diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a terminal childhood brain cancer.) It also encourages public and private sources of research funding to elevate their consideration of the mortality rate of a type of cancer as well as the life years lost as factors considered during the grant application process.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2019
National Heritage Area Act of 2019 This bill establishes a National Heritage Areas System to recognize certain areas of the United States that tell nationally significant stories and to conserve, enhance, and interpret the areas' natural, historic, scenic, and cultural resources that illustrate significant aspects of U.S. heritage. Through such system, the Department of the Interior may provide technical and financial assistance to local coordinating entities to support the establishment, development, and continuity of such areas. The system shall be comprised of such areas designated by Congress under this bill; such areas designated after enactment of this bill, unless the law designating the area exempts it from inclusion in the system; 49 specified areas; and any other national heritage areas designated before this bill's enactment. National heritage areas shall not be considered to be units of the National Park System. Interior shall (1) undertake studies as directed by Congress to assess the feasibility of designating proposed national heritage areas; (2) approve or disapprove the management plan prepared by the local coordinating entity for an area; and (3) evaluate the accomplishments of an area every 10 years after its designation and submit a recommendation on whether federal funding for such area should be continued, reduced, or eliminated.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2019
Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019 This bill increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from 7% of the total number of such visas available that year to 15%, and eliminates the 7% cap for employment-based immigrant visas. It also removes an offset that reduced the number of visas for individuals from China. The bill also establishes transition rules for employment-based visas from FY2020-FY2022, by reserving a percentage of EB-2 (workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability), EB-3 (skilled and other workers), and EB-5 (investors) visas for individuals not from the two countries with the largest number of recipients of such visas. Of the unreserved visas, not more than 85% shall be allotted to immigrants from any single country.