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.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2019
Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support Act of 2019 or the Autism CARES Act of 2019 This bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and revises several programs and activities relating to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Among other things, the bill reauthorizes provisions relating to (1) expanded ASD research at the National Institutes of Health; (2) ASD education, early detection, and intervention activities supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration; and (3) the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee. The bill also generally revises the scope of such programs and activities to encompass ASD individuals of all ages, rather than only youth.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2019
Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019 This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies regarding prices for drugs covered under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Current law prohibits the CMS from doing so.) The CMS must take certain factors into account during negotiations, including the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the drug, the financial burden on patients, and unmet patient needs. If the CMS is unable to negotiate the price of a drug, such drug is subject to competitive licensing in order to further its sale under Medicare, notwithstanding existing government-granted exclusivities. Additionally, for one year after a drug is provided under a competitive license, such drug is also subject to specified price limitations; if the drug is not offered at such prices, the drug is subject to additional licensing that furthers its sale under any federal program (e.g., Medicaid).
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2019
Global Health, Empowerment and Rights Act This bill establishes that a foreign nongovernmental organization shall not be disqualified from receiving certain U.S. international development assistance solely because the organization provides medical services using non-U.S. government funds if the medical services are legal in both the United States and the country in which they are being provided. Such foreign organizations shall not be subject to requirements relating to their use of non-U.S. funds for advocacy or lobbying activities, other than those that apply to U.S. nongovernmental organizations. Current U.S. policy prohibits various foreign assistance from going to a foreign nongovernmental organization unless it agrees to not perform or actively promote abortions.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2019
Prohibiting Unauthorized Military Action in Venezuela Act This bill prohibits funds made available to federal departments or agencies from being used to introduce the Armed Forces of the United States into hostilities with Venezuela, except pursuant to (1) a declaration of war, (2) a specific statutory authorization that meets the requirements of the War Powers Resolution and is enacted after the enactment of this bill, or (3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States or the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2019
Uighur Intervention and Global Humanitarian Unified Response Act of 2019 or the UIGHUR Act of 2019 This bill imposes sourcing restrictions and export controls related to China's mass detention of the Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim Turkic ethnic group in Xinjiang province. Executive agencies shall not procure goods or services from foreign persons who in the last three years substantially facilitated or knowingly assisted such mass detention. When procuring goods or services from U.S. persons, executive agencies shall provide adverse consideration to awarding contracts to those involved with such mass detention, and assess the availability of other sources. The President may waive these restrictions for national security or national interest purposes. The Department of Commerce shall deny applications to export to China various technologies, including those related to artificial intelligence or biometrics, unless the applicant certifies that the technology will not be knowingly used to facilitate the mass detention of Turkic Muslims. The Department of State shall ensure that certain U.S. diplomatic facilities in China can provide services in the Uyghur language. The State Department shall establish a website for reporting harassment or surveillance of persons in the United States by Chinese representatives or agents, and procedures for sharing such reports with law enforcement agencies. This bill directs various agencies to report on specified topics, including China's development of technologies related to mass detection and surveillance.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2019
Safeguard American Food Exports Act of 2019 This bill prohibits the knowing sale or transport of equines (i.e., horses or other members of the horse family) or equine parts for human consumption.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2019
Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2019 This bill provides for coverage of marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services under Medicare. It also excludes such services from the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system, and authorizes marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors to develop discharge plans for post-hospital services.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2019
Never Again Education Act This bill creates the Holocaust Education Assistance Program Fund for the Department of Education (ED) to (1) award grants to eligible entities to carry out Holocaust education programs, and (2) conduct periodic regional workshops to provide teachers with technical assistance on how to incorporate Holocaust education within state and local education standards. The fund may accept donations and in-kind contributions. ED shall (1) create and maintain a Holocaust education program website containing resources for middle grades and high schools; and (2) establish the Holocaust Education Advisory Board to advise on developing application criteria for the fund's grants, to advise on content for the Holocaust education program website, and to lead efforts to solicit donations for the fund.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2019
Miners Pension Protection Act This bill transfers certain funds to provide pension benefits for retired coal miners who have been affected by issues such as coal company bankruptcies. The Department of the Treasury must transfer additional funds to the 1974 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Pension Plan to pay pension benefits required under that plan if the annual limit on transfers under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 exceeds the amount required to be transferred for existing obligations of the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund. The bill also increases the annual limit on transfers from $490 million to $750 million. The bill also allows in-service distributions under a pension plan or governmental section 457(b) plan at age 59-1/2 (currently age 62).
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2019
Health Benefits for Miners Act of 2019 This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to transfer additional funds to provide health benefits for retired coal miners. The bill adds miners affected by 2018 coal company bankruptcies to the group whose retiree health benefits are taken into account in determining the amount that Treasury must transfer under current law to the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2019
Rebuild America's Schools Act of 2019 This bill provides financial assistance in FY2020-FY2029 for long-term improvements to public school facilities by allocating funds to states for school improvements, awarding need-based grants to local education agencies, and restoring school infrastructure tax credit bonds. The bill specifies allowable uses of grant funds, including making major repairs of public school facilities and making public school facilities accessible to disabled individuals. The bill requires local education agencies to adopt certain green practices (environmental standards) and use products made in the United States (Buy America). The Department of Education must establish a clearinghouse to disseminate information to assist schools in initiating, developing, and financing energy efficiency projects, distributed generation projects, and energy retrofitting projects. The bill increases funding through FY2023 for the Impact Aid Construction program under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2019
Medicare Mental Health Access Act This bill expands the definition of "physician," for purposes of the Medicare program, to include a clinical psychologist with respect to the furnishing of qualified psychologist services.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2019
Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver Act or the WILD Act This bill reauthorizes and revises several wildlife conservation programs, establishes requirements for invasive species management, and requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to establish certain prize competitions. Specifically, the bill reauthorizes through FY2023 (1) the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program; and (2) accounts under the Multinational Species Conservation Fund for the protection of African elephants, Asian elephants, rhinoceros, tigers, and great apes. The bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and revises the Marine Turtle Conservation Fund, including to expand the fund to include funding for the conservation of tortoises and freshwater turtles. In addition, the bill requires certain federal agencies to (1) control and manage invasive species, and (2) develop strategic plans for implementing invasive species programs designed to achieve substantive annual net reductions of invasive species populations or infested acreage on land or water. Finally, the USFWS must establish Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prizes to encourage technological innovation with the potential to advance the mission of the USFWS with respect to the prevention of wildlife poaching and trafficking, promotion of wildlife conservation, management of invasive species, protection of endangered species, and nonlethal management of human-wildlife conflicts.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2019
This joint resolution directs the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities in or affecting Yemen within 30 days unless Congress authorizes a later withdrawal date, issues a declaration of war, or specifically authorizes the use of the Armed Forces. Prohibited activites include providing in-flight fueling for non-U.S. aircraft conducting missions as part of the conflict in Yemen. This joint resolution shall not affect any military operations directed at Al Qaeda. The President must submit to Congress, within 90 days, reports assessing the risks that would be posed (1) if the United States were to cease supporting operations with respect to the conflict in Yemen, and (2) if Saudi Arabia were to cease sharing Yemen-related intelligence with the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2019
Bears Ears Expansion And Respect for Sovereignty Act This bill expands the boundaries of the Bears 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, that provided for the establishment of the monument. Interior and USDA shall promptly carry out the proclamation's provisions, including the provisions requiring them to engage the Bears 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 the Natural Bridges National Monument and those portions of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area that are within the expanded boundaries of the monument. Interior and USDA may acquire any land, water, 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 January 2019
Bird-Safe Buildings Act of 2019 This bill requires each public building constructed, acquired, or of which more than 50% of the facade is substantially altered by the General Services Administration (GSA) to meet the following standards: at least 90% of the exposed facade material from ground level to 40 feet shall not be composed of glass or shall be composed of glass which employs any combination of the methods of modification described in this bill; at least 60% of the exposed facade material above 40 feet shall meet such modified glass standard; there shall not be any transparent passageways or corners; all glass adjacent to atria or courtyards containing water features, plants, and other materials attractive to birds shall meet the standard; and outside lighting shall be appropriately shielded and minimized subject to security and other mission related requirements. The GSA must (1) ensure that actual bird mortality is monitored at each public building; and (2) reduce exterior building and site lighting for each public building, where practicable and consistent with the requirements for outside lighting. The bill exempts from these requirements buildings and sites listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, the White House and its grounds, the Supreme Court building and its grounds, and the U.S. Capitol and its related buildings and grounds.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2019
Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2019 This bill orders the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl, in recognition of his acts of valor during World War II. The U.S. Mint may strike and sell duplicates in bronze.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2019
Esther Martinez Native American Languages Programs Reauthorization Act This bill revises a grant program administered by the Administration for Native Americans at the Department of Health and Human Services to preserve Native American languages. The minimum number of enrollees in educational programs funded by grants is reduced from 10 to 5 enrollees in Native American language nests, which provide instruction through the use of a Native American language for children under the age of 7 and their parents. For survival schools, which are programs striving for fluency in a Native American language and proficiency in other academic fields, the minimum number of enrollees is reduced from 15 to 10. The bill increases the maximum duration of grants. The program is reauthorized through FY2024.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2019
Educators Expense Deduction Modernization Act This bill modifies the tax deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers to (1) increase from $250 to $500 the annual limit on the expenses that may be deducted, and (2) require the limit to be adjusted for inflation after 2019.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2019
Transformation to Competitive Employment Act This bill addresses employment standards for individuals with disabilities. The bill directs the Department of Labor to award grants to states and certain eligible entities to assist them in transforming their business and program models to support individuals with disabilities by operating competitive integrated employment businesses, assisting disabled individuals in finding and retaining work in such employment, and providing integrated employment and integrated community participation and wraparound services for such individuals. The bill prohibits the issuance of new special certificates that allow payment of subminimum wages to disabled individuals and phases out existing certificates over a six year period. The bill directs the Office of Disability Employment of Labor to award grants to provide technical assistance to employers transitioning from special certificates to competitive integrated employment for disabled individuals. Labor must contract with a nonprofit entity to conduct an evaluation of the impact of the transitioning requirements of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2019
Social Security 2100 Act This bill increases various Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) benefits and related taxes. The bill increases the primary insurance amount (e.g., the amount a Social Security beneficiary receives if the beneficiary begins receiving benefits at normal retirement age) by increasing the percentage of the beneficiary's average indexed monthly earnings used to calculate the amount. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shall publish a Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers, which the Social Security Administration (SSA) shall use to calculate cost-of-living adjustments to benefits. Currently, the SSA uses a price index for wage earners to make such adjustments. The bill increases the minimum benefit amount for individuals who worked for more than 10 years by creating an alternative minimum benefit. A qualifying beneficiary shall receive that alternative minimum if it is higher than the standard calculated benefit amount. The bill increases the income threshold that a beneficiary must reach before Social Security benefits are taxable. Increased benefits from this bill shall not count as income when determining an individual's eligibility or benefit amounts for (1) Medicaid, (2) the Children's Health Insurance Program, or (3) the Supplemental Security Income program. Income above $400,000 shall be included when calculating Social Security benefits and taxes. The bill also increases rates for the payroll and self-employment taxes that fund OASDI. The bill establishes the Social Security Trust Fund, which replaces the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2019
This joint resolution eliminates the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on sex. The amendment was 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 2019
Paycheck Fairness Act This bill addresses wage discrimination on the basis of sex. It amends equal pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to (1) restrict the use of the bona fide factor defense to wage discrimination claims, (2) enhance nonretaliation prohibitions, (3) make it unlawful to require an employee to sign a contract or waiver prohibiting the employee from disclosing information about the employee's wages, and (4) increase civil penalties for violations of equal pay provisions. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs shall train EEOC employees and other affected parties on wage discrimination. The bill directs the Department of Labor to: (1) establish and carry out a grant program for negotiation skills training for girls and women, (2) conduct studies to eliminate pay disparities between men and women, and (3) make available information on wage discrimination to assist the public in understanding and addressing such discrimination. The Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace is established for an employer who has made a substantial effort to eliminate pay disparities between men and women. The bill requires the EEOC to issue regulations for collecting from employers compensation and other employment data according to the sex, race, and national origin of employees for use in enforcing laws prohibiting pay discrimination.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2019
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 · 28 January 2019
This bill prohibits making funds, resources, or fees available to any federal agency to implement or enforce Executive Order 13780 and Presidential Proclamation 9645, which suspended individuals from several countries of concern, including Chad, Iran, and Libya, from entering the United States. The Proclamation also provided for enhanced U.S. vetting capacities.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2019
Promoting Access to Diabetic Shoes Act This bill allows a nurse practitioner or physician assistant to fulfill documentation requirements for coverage, under Medicare, of special shoes for diabetic individuals. Under current law, such requirements may be satisfied only by a physician.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2019
Fairness for Federal Contractors Act of 2019 This bill appropriates funding to provide compensation to certain employees of contractors who lost pay or leave due to the lapse in appropriations that began on December 22, 2018. Each agency subject to such lapse shall adjust the price of any contract for which the contractor was ordered to suspend, delay, or stop work as a result of the lapse. The agency shall compensate the contractor for reasonable costs incurred to (1) provide compensation, at an employee's standard rate of compensation, to any employee who was furloughed or laid off, or who was not working, who experienced a reduction of hours, or who experienced a reduction in compensation, as a result of the lapse, for the period of the lapse; or (2) restore paid leave taken by any employee during the lapse, if the contractor required employees to use paid leave as a result of the lapse. The maximum amount of weekly compensation of an employee for which an adjustment may be made may not exceed the lesser of the employee's actual weekly compensation or $1,400.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2019
Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 201 9 This bill repeals the excise tax on employer-sponsored health care coverage for which there is an excess benefit (high-cost plans). The repeal applies to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2019
Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019 This bill imposes a fee on the carbon content of fuels, including crude oil, natural gas, coal, or any other product derived from those fuels that will be used so as to emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The fee is imposed on the producers or importers of the fuels and is equal to the greenhouse gas content of the fuel multiplied by the carbon fee rate. The rate begins at $15 in 2019, increases by $10 each year, and is subject to further adjustments based on the progress in meeting specified emissions reduction targets. The bill also imposes a specified fee on fluorinated greenhouse gases. The bill includes exemptions for fuels used for agricultural or nonemitting purposes, exemptions for fuels used by the Armed Forces, rebates for facilities that capture and sequester carbon dioxide, and border adjustment provisions that require certain fees or refunds for carbon-intensive products that are exported or imported. The fees must be deposited into a Carbon Dividend Trust Fund and used for administrative expenses and dividend payments to U.S. citizens or lawful residents. The fees must be decommissioned when emissions levels and monthly dividend payments fall below specified levels. The bill also suspends certain regulations that limit greenhouse gas emissions. The suspensions expire if the emissions targets established by this bill are not reached after a specified time period.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2019
Federal Worker Childcare Protection Act of 2019 This bill provides for the reimbursement of childcare expenses of federal employees who are furloughed or working without pay during the lapse in appropriations that began on or about December 22, 2018. The reimbursements are provided (1) subject to appropriations, and (2) if the employee can provide documentation to the General Services Administration in the form of a receipt from a childcare provider.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2019
Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act or the PACT Act This bill revises and expands criminal provisions with respect to animal crushing. It retains existing criminal offenses that prohibit knowingly creating or distributing an animal crush video using interstate commerce. The bill also adds a new provision to criminalize an intentional act of animal crushing. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to seven years, or both. It provides additional exceptions for conduct, or a video of conduct, including conduct that is (1) medical or scientific research, (2) necessary to protect the life or property of a person, (3) performed as part of euthanizing an animal, or (4) unintentional.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2019
Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 2019 This bill makes it illegal to possess, buy, or sell shark fins or any product containing shark fins, except for certain dogfish fins. A person may possess a shark fin that was lawfully taken consistent with a license or permit under certain circumstances. Penalties are imposed for violations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2019
Make Identifiable Criminal Rounds Obvious Act or the MICRO Act This bill requires certain semiautomatic pistols to be capable of microstamping ammunition. A pistol is capable of microstamping ammunition if (1) the characters that identify the make, model, and serial number of the pistol are etched into the breech face and firing pin of the pistol; and (2) these characters are copied onto the cartridge case of the ammunition when the pistol fires such ammunition. Specifically, the bill prohibits a federal firearms licensee (e.g., a gun dealer) from manufacturing, importing, or transferring a semiautomatic pistol that is not capable of microstamping ammunition. Violators are subject to fines. The bill also makes it unlawful for any person to remove, obliterate, or alter the microstamped code or microstamping capability of a firearm that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Violators are subject to fines and suspension or revocation of any firearms license.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2019
Next Generation Votes Act This bill prohibits a state from refusing to accept an individual's application to register to vote in federal elections on the grounds that the individual is under 18 years of age, so long as the individual is at least 16 years of age.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2019
2020 Census Improving Data and Enhanced Accuracy Act or the 2020 Census IDEA Act This bill prohibits the Department of Commerce, in the 2020 decennial census and each decennial census thereafter, from (1) implementing any major operational design feature that has not been researched, studied, and tested for at least three years before the date on which the applicable census occurs; or (2) including on the questionnaire for the census any subject, type of information, or question that was not submitted to Congress. The Government Accountability Office must certify to Congress that the subjects, types of information, and questions to be included in a decennial census have been adequately researched, studied, and tested to the same degree as in previous decennial censuses.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2019
U.S. Senator Joseph D. Tydings Memorial Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2019 or the PAST Act This bill addresses the practice of soring horses. The soring of horses includes various actions taken on horses' limbs to produce higher gaits that may cause pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness. Specifically, the bill expands soring regulation and enforcement at horse shows, exhibitions, sales, and auctions, including by establishing a new system for inspecting horses for soring. In addition, the bill increases penalties for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2019
Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act of 2019 This bill establishes new requirements and restrictions with respect to the sale, purchase, shipment, and transport of ammunition. Among other things, the bill does the following: requires an ammunition dealer to be licensed; requires ammunition sales to be conducted in person; and requires a licensed ammunition importer, manufacturer, or dealer to report on bulk sales of ammunition.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2019
Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to take a series of actions relating to palliative-care training. Specifically, HHS must provide support for Palliative Care and Hospice Education Centers. The centers must improve the training of health professionals in palliative care and establish traineeships for individuals preparing for advanced-education nursing degrees, social-work degrees, or advanced degrees in physician-assistant studies in palliative care. HHS may provide support to medical schools, teaching hospitals, and graduate medical-education programs for training physicians who plan to teach palliative medicine. HHS must (1) provide Palliative Medicine and Hospice Academic Career Awards to individuals to promote their career development, (2) support entities that operate a Palliative Care and Hospice Education Center, (3) support individuals in specified fields who are pursuing an advanced degree in palliative care or related fields, and (4) award grants to nursing programs to train individuals in providing palliative care. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality must provide for a national education and awareness campaign to inform patients, families, and health professionals about the benefits of palliative care. The National Institutes of Health must expand national research programs in palliative care.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2019
21st Century President Act This bill revises the definition of "immediate family" for purposes of a criminal offense involving a threat to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm on a former President or a member of the immediate family of a former President. Specifically, it replaces gender-specific references to a former President's "wife" and "widow" with gender-neutral terms "spouse" and "surviving spouse."
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2019
Gun Violence Prevention Research Act of 2019 This bill authorizes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct or support research on firearms safety or gun violence prevention.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2019
American Dream Employment Act of 201 9 This bill permits the compensation of congressional employees who have been issued employment authorization documents under the Department of Homeland Security Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. The program enables many unlawfully present aliens who came to the United States as children to be granted deferred action (a type of relief from removal which does not confer immigration status) and work authorization.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2019
Haitian Educational Empowerment Act of 2019 This bill directs the Department of State to establish a scholarship program for eligible Haitian students who were enrolled as full-time or part-time students in a Haitian or U.S. university or institution of higher education and whose studies were interrupted as a result of the January 12, 2010, earthquake or the October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew. A Haitian student who receives such a scholarship shall return to Haiti for at least two years upon completion of an undergraduate or graduate degree. The State Department may make grants to institutions of higher education that have enrolled a significant number of Haitian students who were enrolled in a Haitian university at the time of such earthquake or hurricane. Such grants shall be used to provide social and educational support services.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2019
Report and Educate About Campus Hazing Act or the REACH Act This bill addresses hazing incidents that involve students attending an institution of higher education (IHE). Hazing means an intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a student, or a former student, of an IHE against another student, that (1) is connected with an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in, an organization that is affiliated with the IHE; and (2) contributes to a substantial risk of physical injury, mental harm, or degradation or causes physical injury, mental harm or personal degradation. Specifically, an IHE must disclose hazing incidents that were reported to campus security authorities or local police agencies in its annual security report. In addition, each IHE must provide students with an educational program on hazing that includes information on hazing awareness, hazing prevention, and the IHE's policies on hazing.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2019
Immediate Financial Relief for Federal Employees Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to provide interest-free loans to federal and District of Columbia government employees affected by a government shutdown and to notify the individual's employer.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2019
Automatic Voter Registration Act This bill requires state motor vehicle authorities, upon receiving specified identifying information regarding an individual requesting services, to transmit the information to the state election office. The state election office shall then notify the individual that the individual shall be automatically registered to vote in federal elections in the state unless the individual declines to be registered to vote, does not meet voter registration eligibility requirements, or is already registered to vote. A state may only use such information regarding an individual's citizenship status for determining whether the individual is eligible to vote in federal elections.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2019
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Postal Service should restore mail delivery service standards to those of July 1, 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2019
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that compensation of public school teachers should be comparable to that of other college graduates with years in the workforce where the teachers are employed.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2019
Raise the Wage Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the federal minimum wage for regular employees over a 7-year period, for tipped employees, and for newly hired employees who are less than 20 years old. The bill sets forth a schedule of annual increases in the federal minimum wage for individuals with disabilities. The Department of Labor shall no longer issue special certificates for the payment of subminimum wages to such individuals after the final wage increase under this bill for such individuals takes effect. Labor shall provide, upon request, technical assistance and information to employers to: (1) help them transition their practices to comply with wage increases and other requirements under this bill for individuals with disabilities, and (2) ensure continuing employment opportunities for such individuals. The bill eliminates the separate minimum wage requirements for tipped, newly hired, and disabled employees. After a specified period, these employees shall be paid the same minimum wage as regular employees. Labor must publish any increase in the minimum wage in the Federal Register and on its website 60 days before it takes effect.