United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2017
Recognizes the difficult challenges Black veterans faced when returning home after serving in the Armed Forces, their heroic military sacrifices, and their patriotism in fighting for equal rights and for the dignity of a people and a nation. Recognizes the need for the Department of Veterans Affairs to continue to work to eliminate any health and benefit disparities for minority veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2017
Global War on Terrorism War Memorial Act This bill allows the Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation to establish the National Global War on Terrorism Memorial as a commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia to commemorate and honor the members of the Armed Forces who served on active duty in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2017
Expanded Stalking Protections Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to broaden the definition of stalking to include conduct that causes a person's friend or co-worker to experience a reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2017
Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act This bill: (1) repeals certain provisions that require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military retired pay or who would be entitled to retired pay except for being under 60 years of age, (2) prohibits requiring repayment of certain amounts previously paid to SBP recipients in the form of a retired pay refund, and (3) requires (current law authorizes) the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay an annuity to a member's dependent children when there is no eligible surviving spouse. The Secretary concerned shall restore annuity eligibility to a surviving spouse who earlier agreed to transfer such eligibility to the surviving child or children of a member.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2017
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) gun violence is a public health issue; and (2) Congress should expand enforceable background checks for all commercial gun sales, improve the mental health system, and make gun trafficking and straw purchasing a federal crime.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2017
DREAMers, Immigrants, and Refugees (DIRe) Legal Aid Act This bill directs the Department of Justice to make grants to nonprofit legal services providers with immigration law expertise to provide immigration-related legal services and advice to an alien who: (1) is present in the United States as a lawful permanent resident; (2) has received a grant of deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, has been admitted as a refugee (or the alien's spouse or parent has been so admitted), or has been determined to be qualified for such admission; and (3) has been ordered removed, is in removal proceedings, or is at risk of being denied U.S. entry or admission. The Department of Homeland Security shall provide such aliens: (1) with provider contact information; and (2) if in detention, with an opportunity to arrange representation by such a provider. The Under Secretary for Science and Technology shall carry out a study on the outcomes for individuals in removal proceedings with legal representation compared to the outcomes for such individuals without legal representation.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2017
End Surprise Billing Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a critical access hospital or other hospital to comply, as a condition of participation in Medicare, with certain requirements related to billing for out-of-network services. With respect to an individual who has health benefits coverage and is seeking services, a hospital must provide notice as to: (1) whether the hospital, or any of the providers furnishing services to the individual at the hospital, is not within the health care provider network or otherwise a participating provider with respect to the individual's health care coverage; and (2) if so, the estimated out-of-pocket costs of the services to the individual. At least 24 hours prior to providing those services, the hospital must document that the individual: (1) has been provided with the required notice, and (2) consents to be furnished with the services and charged an amount approximate to the estimate provided. Otherwise, the hospital may not charge the individual more than the individual would have been required to pay if the services had been furnished by an in-network or participating provider. With respect to such an individual who is seeking same-day emergency services, a hospital may not charge more than the individual would be required to pay for such services furnished by an in-network or participating provider.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2017
Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research Act of 2017 or the Childhood Cancer STAR Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide support to collect the medical specimens and information of children, adolescents, and young adults with selected cancers that have the least effective treatments in order to achieve a better understanding of these cancers and the effects of treatment. The national childhood cancer registry is reauthorized through FY2022 and revised to authorize the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to award grants to state cancer registries to improve tracking of childhood cancers. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may: (1) support pilot programs to develop or study models for monitoring and caring for childhood cancer survivors throughout their lives, (2) establish a task force to develop and test standards for high-quality childhood cancer survivorship care, and (3) carry out a demonstration project to improve care coordination as childhood cancer survivors transition to adult care. HHS must convene a Workforce Development Collaborative on Medical and Psychosocial Care for Pediatric Cancer Survivors. The NIH may support research on: (1) outcomes for, and barriers faced by, pediatric cancer survivors within minority or medically underserved populations; and (2) follow-up care for pediatric cancer survivors, including research on the late effects of cancer treatment and long-term complications. The Government Accountability Office must make recommendations to address barriers to childhood cancer survivors obtaining and paying for adequate medical care.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2017
Child Tax Credit Improvement Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the child tax credit, to: (1) allow taxpayers an increased $3,600 tax credit for each young child under the age of six (young child tax credit), subject to specified limitations based on adjusted gross income; (2) require the Department of the Treasury to establish a program to make advance payments of the young child tax credit; (3) modify the refundable portion of the child tax credit; and (4) require annual inflation adjustments for both the child tax credit and the young child tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Shift Back to Society Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Justice to establish a pilot program that awards matching grants to historically black colleges and universities to provide educational programs for eligible offenders to facilitate re-entry into the community. An eligible offender is a convicted criminal offender who has been released from incarceration for less than one year or who is scheduled to be released from incarceration within one year. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on the results of the pilot program.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) it is an indisputable fact that the Nazi regime targeted the Jewish people in its perpetration of the Holocaust, and (2) to deny or minimize that the Holocaust was an effort to eliminate the Jewish people is shameful. Calls on all executive branch entities, including the White House, to affirm that the Nazi regime targeted the Jewish people in the Holocaust.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Original Black History Month Resolution of 2017 Recognizes: (1) the significance of Black History Month as an important time to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of African-Americans in the nation's history, and (2) that the ethnic and racial diversity of the United States enriches and strengthens the nation. Encourages: (1) the continued celebration of this month to provide an opportunity for all peoples of the United States to learn more about the past and to better understand the experiences that have shaped the nation, and (2) states to include in their year-round educational curriculum the history and contributions of African-Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Original NAACP Resolution of 2017 Recognizes the 108th anniversary of the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Honors the NAACP for its work to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic rights of all persons.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Protect the National Security Council From Political Interference Act of 2017 This bill amends the National Security Act of 1947 to prohibit the President from designating any individual whose primary or predominant responsibility is political in nature to serve as a member of the National Security Council (NSC) or to regularly attend or participate in NSC meetings or meetings convened under the auspices of the NSC, including Principals Committee meetings. Organized under presidential memorandum, the Principals Committee is a cabinet-level senior interagency forum chaired by the National Security Advisor or the Homeland Security Advisor to consider policies that affect U.S. national security interests. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that no limitations should be imposed on the ability of the Director of National Intelligence or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or their designees, to attend any Principals Committee meeting convened under the auspices of the NSC or any other senior interagency meeting convened to consider policy issues that affect U.S. national security interests.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Employer Participation in Student Loan Assistance Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance to include payments of qualified education loans by an employer to either an employee or a lender.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Steel Industry Preservation Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend and modify the production tax credit for steel industry fuel. (Under current law, steel industry fuel is a fuel which is: (1) produced through a process of liquefying coal waste sludge and distributing it on coal, and (2) used as a feedstock for the manufacture of coke.) The bill modifies the tax credit for steel industry fuel to: extend the credit period and the placed-in-service date, revise the definition of "steel industry fuel" to allow blends of coal and petroleum coke or other coke feedstock in the fuel, set forth ownership requirements, and specify requirements for treating an owner as producing and selling steel industry fuel. A taxpayer that produces steel industry fuel may elect to accept an increased tax credit in lieu of certain deductions for expenses in connection with the production of steel industry fuel. The bill specifies the treatment of the credit for the purpose of the alternative minimum tax. It also exempts transactions related to steel industry fuel from rules that restrict deductions and other tax benefits for activities that are not engaged in for profit or that do not have economic substance.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend that the Postmaster General issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring the Buffalo Soldiers.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
Anwar Sadat Centennial Celebration Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Anwar Sadat in recognition of his achievements and heroic actions to attain comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
Postal Service Reform Act of 2017 TITLE I--POSTAL SERVICE BENEFITS REFORM This bill requires the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish a Postal Service Health Benefits Program within the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program to offer health benefits plans for U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employees, annuitant retirees, and their families at rates that reflect the cost of benefits provided solely to the USPS risk pool. Medicare-eligible postal retirees and family members are automatically enrolled in part A (Hospital Insurance) and part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for Aged and Disabled) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Each plan must provide Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) prescription drug benefits through an employer group waiver plan. Postal retirees not previously enrolled in Medicare will be transitioned automatically into Medicare part B. The USPS's annual prefunding payments to the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund must be recomputed each year based on economic and actuarial methods to liquidate 100% of the USPS's actuarial liability by September 30, 2055. The bill modifies the prefunding schedule established under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. The OPM must use postal-specific demographic and economic assumptions in its valuations of the USPS's Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) pension accounts. Under CSRS and FERS, any projected USPS funding surpluses shall be returned to the USPS through amortized annual installments. TITLE II--POSTAL SERVICE OPERATIONS REFORM This title reduces from nine to five the number of governors serving on the USPS Board of Governors with the Postmaster General and the Deputy Postmaster General. The USPS's power shall be vested in the governors and carried out by the Postmaster General consistent with the strategic direction and pricing and product strategy approved by the governors. The Postmaster General may delegate authority, but the bill removes the board's authority to delegate authority to the Postmaster General. The USPS must transfer funds to the Department of State to coordinate and negotiate international postal rates and delivery services. The USPS must provide mail delivery other than door delivery (with a preference for centralized delivery) for new delivery points unless a new delivery point is built or established within a block of existing primarily door delivery points. It must also begin converting to centralized delivery, curbside delivery, or sidewalk delivery for existing: (1) business delivery points, and (2) residential delivery points with postal patrons' consent. This title: (1) revises the Postal Regulatory Commission's (PRC's) standards for establishing or revising rates or classifications for first-class mail, standard mail, or other market-dominant products; (2) repeals a rate preference that currently allows certain political committees to send third-class mail at the nonprofit organization rate; and (3) increases by 1 cent the postage rate for first-class stamps by reinstating 50% of the exigent rate surcharge for first-class mail and other market-dominant products that was in effect on April 9, 2016. The USPS may establish a program to provide property and services on behalf of state, local, or tribal governments for noncommercial products and services, and a program to provide property and services to other executive agencies and the Government Publishing Office, but only if such property and services provide a reasonable contribution to the institutional costs of the USPS. In determining whether to close or consolidate a post office, the USPS must: (1) consider the availability of broadband Internet service and commercial mobile service in a geographic area, and (2) conduct a nonbinding survey to allow postal patrons to indicate their preferences among alternative postal service options. The USPS is prohibited from offering postage-evidencing products or services that do not comply with regulations applicable to private companies. The PRC must complete the initial review of the system for regulating rates and classes for market-dominant products such that a final rule for a revised or reapproved system is issued by May 1, 2018. TITLE III--POSTAL SERVICE PERSONNEL A Chief Innovation Officer is established to: (1) maximize USPS revenues, (2) utilize emerging information technologies, and (3) update an innovation strategy for postal and nonpostal products and services. The President must appoint an Inspector General of the Postal Community to consolidate the currently separate USPS and PRC inspectors general. The right to appeal adverse personnel actions to the Merit Systems Protection Board is extended to USPS or inspector general employees who are not represented by a bargaining representative. TITLE IV--POSTAL CONTRACTING REFORM The USPS and the PRC must: (1) issue policies on contracting officer delegations of authority for postal contracts, (2) publish noncompetitive contract awards that exceed specified dollar amounts, (3) require contracting officers and decision-makers to disclose personal and business relationships that would cause questions regarding their impartiality, and (4) establish procedures for the ethics counsel to review conflict of interest disclosures to determine whether a contracting officer's participation would violate ethical conduct standards. The USPS or the PRC may void postal contracts if: (1) there is a criminal conviction (from which no further appeal may be taken) for bribery or a conflict of interest relating to the contract, or (2) the contractor fails to make required disclosures.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH Woman) Act of 2017 This bill requires the federal government: (1) to ensure coverage for abortion care in public health insurance programs including Medicaid, Medicare, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); (2) as an employer or health plan sponsor, to ensure coverage for abortion care for participants and beneficiaries; and (3) as a provider of health services, to ensure that abortion care is made available to individuals who are eligible to receive services. The federal government may not prohibit, restrict, or otherwise inhibit insurance coverage of abortion care by state or local governments or by private health plans. State and local governments may not prohibit, restrict, or otherwise inhibit insurance coverage of abortion care by private health plans.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
This joint resolution eliminates the time limit for ratification of the equal rights amendment (prohibits discrimination on account of sex) proposed to the states in House Joint Resolution 208 of the 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972. The amendment shall be part of the Constitution whenever ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Statue of Liberty Values Act of 2017 or the SOLVE Act of 2017 This bill states that: (1) beginning on January 27, 2017, Executive Order 13769, entitled "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States," is null and void, shall have no force and effect, and may not be implemented or enforced; and (2) no federal funds may be used to implement or enforce any of the policy changes set forth in such order. Among the order's major provisions are restrictions on the entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants from seven countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) and additional limitations on refugee admissions to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to 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; modify the small wine producer tax credit to increase the amount of the credit, expand the producers that are covered, and specify an adjustment for hard cider; modify the alcohol content limitations that apply to certain wines for tax purposes; specify definitions for "mead" and "low alcohol by volume wine;" modify requirements for records, statements, and returns for certain breweries; and permit the transfer of beer between bonded facilities without payment of tax. 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.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Tobacco Excise Tax and Parity Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the taxation of tobacco products, to: increase or equalize excise taxes on small cigars, cigarettes, pipe tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, large cigars, and smokeless tobacco; impose an excise tax on smokeless tobacco sold in discrete single-use units; tax other tobacco products at a level equivalent to the tax rate for cigarettes on an estimated per use basis; provide for annual inflation adjustments for excise tax rates on cigarettes and tobacco products; restrict the sale, lease, export, import, or delivery of tobacco production machines to persons lawfully engaged in: (1) the sale, lease, export, import, or delivery of such machines; (2) the manufacture or packaging of tobacco products or processed tobacco; or (3) the application of unique identification markings onto tobacco products or processed tobacco packages; specify marking and labeling requirements; require manufacturers, sellers, or importers of tobacco production machines to obtain permits; establish new criminal offenses relating to the licensing and distribution of tobacco products or processed tobacco; increase the civil penalty for tobacco-related infractions; and allow sharing of tax return information with government officials for the administration of laws relating to tobacco products and processed tobacco. The bill also: (1) requires the Department of the Treasury to coordinate with other government officials in addressing tobacco tax evasion and conducting other enforcement activities, (2) amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose a civil penalty for the importation of tobacco products and cigarette papers and tubes by fraudulent means, and (3) provides for the enforcement of this bill in Indian tribal areas.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Bring Jobs Home Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) grant business taxpayers a tax credit for up to 20% of insourcing expenses incurred for eliminating a business located outside the United States and relocating it within the United States, and (2) deny a tax deduction for outsourcing expenses incurred in relocating a U.S. business outside the United States. The bill requires an increase in the taxpayer's employment of full-time employees in the United States in order to claim the tax credit for insourcing expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Expanded & Improved Medicare for All Act This bill establishes the Medicare for All Program to provide all individuals residing in the United States and U.S. territories with free health care that includes all medically necessary care, such as primary care and prevention, dietary and nutritional therapies, prescription drugs, emergency care, long-term care, mental health services, dental services, and vision care. Only public or nonprofit institutions may participate. Nonprofit health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that deliver care in their own facilities may participate. Patients may choose from participating physicians and institutions. Health insurers may not sell health insurance that duplicates the benefits provided under this bill. Insurers may sell benefits that are not medically necessary, such as cosmetic surgery benefits. The bill sets forth methods to pay institutional providers and health professionals for services. Financial incentives between HMOs and physicians based on utilization are prohibited. The program is funded: (1) from existing sources of government revenues for health care, (2) by increasing personal income taxes on the top 5% of income earners, (3) by instituting a progressive excise tax on payroll and self-employment income, (4) by instituting a tax on unearned income, and (5) by instituting a tax on stock and bond transactions. Amounts that would have been appropriated for federal public health care programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), are transferred and appropriated to carry out this bill. The program must give employment transition benefits and first priority in retraining and job placement to individuals whose jobs are eliminated due to reduced clerical and administrative work under this bill. The Department of Health and Human Services must create a confidential electronic patient record system. The bill establishes a National Board of Universal Quality and Access to provide advice on quality, access, and affordability. The Indian Health Service must be integrated into the program after five years. Congress must evaluate the continued independence of Department of Veterans Affairs health programs.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment declaring that women shall have equal rights in the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction. The amendment prohibits the United States or any state from denying or abridging equal rights under the law on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
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.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Global Health, Empowerment, and Rights Act or the HER Act This bill states that foreign nongovernmental organizations shall not be ineligible for U.S. international development assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 solely on the basis of health or medical services provided by such organizations with non-U.S. government funds if such services do not violate the laws of the country in which they are being provided and would not violate U.S. federal law if provided in the United States. Such organizations also shall not be subject to requirements relating to the use of non-U.S. government funds for advocacy and lobbying activities other than those that apply to U.S. nongovernmental organizations receiving such assistance under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act of 2017 This bill requires federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to collect, compile, and submit data to the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) on the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers. The BJS must report to Congress and publish such data. DOJ must reduce by 10% the allocation of funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program for a state or local government that fails to substantially comply.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Government By the People Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to establish a program for small individual donations to campaigns for public office and make other changes to campaign finance law. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) individual taxpayers a refundable tax credit of 50% of qualified congressional House campaign contributions (i.e., cash contributions by an individual to a candidate for the House of Representatives or a political committee established and maintained by a national political party, to be known as "My Voice Federal" contributions); and (2) individual taxpayers to designate a portion of any overpayment of tax as a contribution to the Freedom From Influence Fund. The Government by the People Oversight Commission, established by this bill, shall establish a voucher pilot program to provide voters with a $50 "My Voice Voucher" for making campaign contributions. The bill amends the FECA to establish a 6-1 matching program for small dollar contributions (up to $150) to a candidate for public office and sets forth eligibility, certification, and expenditure requirements for candidates. The bill permits unlimited coordinated party expenditures from small donor sources on behalf of publicly financed House candidates. The bill requires disclosure by all bundlers of bundled contributions (i.e., the practice of combining several small campaign contributions into one large contribution to avoid exceeding the limit on contributions), not just registered lobbyists. The bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to expand the access of candidates for public office to broadcasting.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2017
Kari's Law Act of 2017 This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit businesses from manufacturing or importing for use in the United States, or selling or leasing in the United States, a multi-line telephone system unless it is pre-configured to allow users to directly initiate a call to 9-1-1 (without dialing any additional digit, code, prefix, or post-fix, including any trunk-access code such as the digit "9") from any station equipped with dialing facilities. Businesses are prohibited from installing, managing, or operating multi-line telephone systems without such a direct 9-1-1 call configuration. Businesses installing, managing, or operating such systems for use in the United States must configure the systems to provide a notification to a central location at the facility where the system is installed, or to another person or organization regardless of location, if the system is able to be so configured without an improvement to the hardware or software.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2017
Safeguard our Elections and Combat Unlawful Interference in Our Democracy Act or the SECURE Our Democracy Act This bill directs the Department of State to submit within 120 days a list of each foreign person that: (1) was at any time since January 1, 2015, involved in actions to unlawfully access, disrupt, misappropriate, influence, or alter information related to U.S. political parties, federal election candidates, or the administration of federal elections; or (2) worked or acted as an agent or instrumentality of, or on behalf of, or that was otherwise associated with, such foreign person. The unclassified portion of such list shall be made available to the public and published in the Federal Register. A listed alien shall be ineligible to receive a U.S. entry visa, and any current visa shall be revoked. Such prohibitions shall also apply to an alien who is an official of, an agent or instrumentality of, or working or acting on behalf of, a listed foreign entity or government if such alien knowingly authorized, conspired to commit, was responsible for, engaged in, or otherwise assisted or facilitated such prohibited actions. The President, through the Department of the Treasury, shall: (1) freeze and prohibit a listed foreign person's transactions in property and property interests that are in the United States or controlled a U.S. person, and (2) require each financial institution that is a U.S. person and has within its possession or control such property or property interests to certify that it has frozen all such assets.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2017
National Infrastructure Development Bank Act of 2017 This bill establishes the National Infrastructure Development Bank as a wholly owned government corporation. The bank's board of directors shall be responsible for monitoring and overseeing energy, environmental, telecommunications, and transportation infrastructure projects. The board is authorized to: (1) make loans and loan guarantees to assist in the financing an infrastructure project, (2) issue public benefit bonds and provide financing to infrastructure projects, and (3) pay an interest subsidy to the issuer of American Infrastructure Bonds. The bank shall establish a risk management committee, which shall: (1) create financial, credit, and operational risk management guidelines; (2) set guidelines to ensure diversification of lending activities by geographic region and infrastructure project type; (3) create conforming standards for financial assistance; (4) monitor financial, credit, and operational exposure; (5) provide financial recommendations to the board; and (6) ensure that the aggregate amount of interest subsidies provided for such bonds in a given calendar year does not exceed 28% of interest payable under all such bonds. The board shall approve criteria established by the bank's executive committee for determining project eligibility for financial assistance. The bill sets forth criteria to be considered by the board for each type of infrastructure project. The executive committee shall conduct an analysis that considers the economic, environmental, and social benefits and costs of each project under consideration, prioritizing projects that contribute to economic growth, lead to job creation, and are of regional or national significance. Financial assistance for an infrastructure project: (1) shall be repayable from dedicated revenue sources that also secure the infrastructure project obligations, and (2) shall not exceed 50% of reasonably anticipated project costs. Bank bonds shall be exempt from state or local government taxation. Assisted projects must comply with wage rate, domestic content, and buy American statutes. The board shall establish an American Infrastructure Bond program. The bill establishes the National Infrastructure Development Bank Trust Fund into which an amount equal to the tax receipts attributable to interest payable under such bonds is to be appropriated.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
This bill amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to make permanent the authorization for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. No less than 1.5% of the annual authorized funding amount or $10 million, whichever is greater, shall be used for projects that secure recreational public access to existing federal public land for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand Medicare coverage to include eyeglasses, hearing aids, and dental care.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
Military Spouse Job Continuity Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces (military spouse) who moves with such member to another state under a permanent change of station order a tax credit for up to $500 of qualified relicensing costs incurred by such spouse. The bill defines "qualified relicensing costs" as costs for a state license or certification to engage in the profession that such military spouse engaged in while residing in the former state.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2017 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) eliminate the per-country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, and (2) increase the per-country numerical limitation for family-based immigrants from 7% to 15% of the total number of family-sponsored visas. The Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 is amended to eliminate the provision requiring the reduction of annual Chinese immigrant visas to offset status adjustments under such Act. The bill establishes a transition period during which a percentage of employment-based second and third preference (EB-2 and EB-3) immigrant visas are reserved as follows: for FY2017, 15% of such visas are allotted to natives of countries other than the two countries with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2011; for FY2018, 10% of such visas are allotted in each category to natives of countries other than the two with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2012; and for FY2019, 10% of such visas are allotted in each category to natives of countries other than the two with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2015. During the transition period, not more than 25% of the total number of the reserved EB-2 and EB-3 visas shall be allotted to natives of a single country. For FY2015-FY2017, not more than 85% of the unreserved EB-2 and EB-3 visas shall be allotted to natives of a single country. Amendments made by this bill shall apply beginning in FY2017.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
Enlisted Legal Assistance Act This bill requires the Secretary of the military department concerned to provide personal civil legal assistance to: an active duty member of the Armed Forces in pay grades E-1 through E-5 and his or her dependents; and a survivor who was a dependent of the member at the time of the member's death, except that survivor eligibility shall be determined pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
Early Intervention for Veterans and their Families Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a three-year pilot program with community partners (private nonprofit organizations) to provide intensive community care coordination and supportive services to disabled veteran families who lack access to direct wellness services provided by the VA or other entities. Such services may include: care coordination and case management services; outreach services; assistance in obtaining VA benefits, including vocational and rehabilitation counseling, employment and training service, educational assistance, and health care services; assistance in obtaining and coordinating the provision of other public benefits provided by government agencies or community partners, including marriage counseling, services for children, suicide prevention, substance abuse awareness and treatment, mental health awareness and treatment, financial counseling, anger management counseling, domestic violence awareness and prevention, employment assistance, transportation services, child care, housing counseling, preparing and updating family care plans, development of strategies for living with a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury, and accessing emergency financial assistance through philanthropic efforts; and direct services that are necessary to improve the well-being and address the needs of the disabled veteran families but that are otherwise unavailable through existing public or private programs.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to revise regulations about consumer confidence reports in order to increase their effectiveness and understandability. Currently, each community water system must mail their customers an annual consumer confidence report that provides information about local drinking water quality.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
Supports a uniform adoption process of children from foster care. Promotes the enactment by all states of the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children to ensure more children in the United States are placed in safe, loving, and permanent homes.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
Promote Startups Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the maximum tax deduction for business start-up expenditures from $5,000 to $15,000 and to increase the deduction for the organizational expenditures of corporations from $5,000 to $10,000. The bill also increases the ceilings for such expenditures over which the amount of the tax deduction is reduced.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
Promote Workforce Development for the Advancement of Manufacturers Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow manufacturing employers located in the United States a business-related tax credit for the manufacturing training expenses of their employees. The definition of "manufacturing training expenses" includes related course work, certification testing, and essential skill acquisition.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
Raising Accountability to Improve School Excellence Act This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to: (1) require a charter school grant application to include additional information and assurances related to oversight of authorizing activity by a public chartering agency; and (2) expand grant selection criteria and priorities to include consideration of the number of times a state entity has applied for, and been denied, such a grant.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
GEAR UP for Counseling This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase requirements for grant recipients under the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP). Specifically, it requires state and partnership GEAR UP grantees to also provide academic and mental health counseling services to participating students. The bill reauthorizes GEAR UP for FY2018-FY2023.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
Encourage our Educators Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify provisions of the teacher loan forgiveness program. Specifically, the legislation reduces from five to three years the period of service a full-time teacher must complete consecutively to be eligible for forgiveness under the Federal Family Education Loan or Direct Loan program. It also increases from $5,000 to $17,500 the amount of available loan forgiveness for an elementary or secondary school teacher in any subject. (Currently, forgiveness up to $17,500 is only available for a full-time secondary school math or science teacher or for a special education teacher.) The bill eliminates the prohibition on counting the same qualifying service for both the teacher and the public service loan forgiveness programs.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
Early Pell Promise Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Department of Education to carry out a program of grants to state educational agencies under which a student who is in eighth grade and is eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act may be provided a commitment to receive a Federal Pell Grant early in the student's academic career. Pursuant to such a commitment, the student shall receive a Pell Grant during the first two years of attendance at an institution of higher education (IHE) as an undergraduate if the student: files the FAFSA form during the senior year of secondary school and the succeeding year, and enrolls at the IHE not later than three years after receiving a secondary school diploma or after release from the Armed Forces. A student may not receive the early Pell Grant for a succeeding year if the expected family contribution for either year is more than twice the threshold amount for Pell Grant eligibility for that year.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2017
Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act of 2017 This bill requires the President and Vice President to submit to Congress and the Office of Government Ethics a disclosure of financial interests. Among the contents of such disclosure, the President and Vice President shall: (1) include a detailed description of each financial interest of the President and Vice President, the spouse of the President and Vice President, or a minor child of the President and Vice President; and (2) include the tax returns filed by or on behalf of the President and Vice President for the three most recent taxable years. The President, the Vice President, the spouse of the President or Vice President, and any minor child of the President or Vice President must divest any financial interest posing a potential conflict of interest by transferring such interest to a qualified blind trust. Within a reasonable period of time after such financial interest is transferred to a qualified blind trust, the trustee of such trust shall: (1) sell the financial interest; and (2) use the proceeds from the sale of the financial interest to purchase conflict-free holdings. The Office of Government Ethics shall submit to Congress, the President, and the Vice President an annual report regarding the financial interests of such officials, their spouses, and any of their minor children. The Attorney General, the attorney general of any state, or any person aggrieved by a violation of divestiture requirements posing a potential conflict of interest may seek declaratory or injunctive relief if: (1) the Office of Government Ethics is unable to issue a report indicating whether the President or Vice President is in substantial compliance with such divestiture requirements; or (2) there is probable cause to believe the President or the Vice President has not complied with such requirements. The bill amends the federal criminal code to require the recusal of presidential appointees from decisions affecting the financial holdings of a President or the spouse of a President. Prohibitions pertaining to contracts entered into by Members of Congress are extended to contracts by the President or Vice President. The bill amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require the disclosure of tax returns by the incumbent President and presidential nominees of a major political party for the three most recent taxable years. The bill declares the sense of Congress that a violation of the divestiture requirements of this bill or the Ethics in Government in Government Act of 1978 by the President or the Vice President would constitute a high crime or misdemeanor.
![Official portrait of Rep. Lawrence, Brenda L. [D-MI-14]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000581_200.jpg)