United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2020
Energy Security Cooperation with Allied Partners in Europe Act of 2019 This bill establishes and modifies provisions related to U.S. international energy strategy. Applications to export natural gas to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries, Japan, and certain other countries shall be granted on an expedited basis without modification or delay. The Department of State shall report to Congress on a strategy to enhance the energy security of NATO member countries and increase U.S. energy exports to such countries.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2020
Saving Rural Hospitals from Closure Act This bill modifies requirements for the Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment Program during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). The program provides Medicare payments in advance to eligible providers experiencing claims or cash flow disruptions, such as during national emergencies; the program was specifically expanded in response to COVID-19 to encompass more types of providers, subject to certain recoupment and repayment provisions. The bill allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to forgive repayment, extend the recoupment timeline, and lower applicable interest rates for hospitals experiencing significant financial hardship (e.g., impending bankruptcy).
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2020
This resolution supports the designation of National Women's Suffrage Month. It also celebrates the 100th anniversary of the passage and ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which provided for women's suffrage.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2020
This bill allows employers a payroll tax credit for 50% of the sum of qualified employee protection expenses, qualified workplace reconfiguration expenses, and qualified workplace technology expenses paid for each calendar quarter. The bill defines qualified employee protection expenses as the cost of testing employees for COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019), equipment to protect employees from COVID-19, and cleaning products or services for preventing the spread of COVID-19; qualified workplace reconfiguration expenses as amounts paid to design and reconfigure retail space, work areas, break areas, or other employee or customer areas for the primary purpose of preventing the spread of COVID-19, and such design and reconfiguration is completed pursuant to a plan in place before March 13, 2020, and completed before January 1, 2021; and qualified workplace technology expenses as amounts paid for technology systems that employees or customers use for the primary purpose of preventing the spread of COVID-19 and limiting physical contact, and is acquired after March 12, 2020, and placed in service before January 1, 2021.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2020
Coronavirus Economic Relief for Transportation Services Act This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to provide grants and other forms of emergency assistance to certain providers of transportation services that have experienced a significant revenue loss as a direct or indirect result of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Treasury must ensure equal access to the assistance for small, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses. As a condition of receipt of assistance, Treasury must require that a provider of transportation services agree to (1) use the funds, on a priority basis, to maintain through December 31, 2020, pay, paid administrative leave, and benefits to all employees after making any adjustments required for retirement or voluntary employee separation; and (2) recall or rehire any employee laid off, furloughed, or terminated because of reduced service as a result of COVID-19, to the extent warranted by increased service levels.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 2020
Flexible Financing for Rural America Act of 2020 This bill allows rural utility service providers to submit to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) a request to adjust the interest rate or modify the terms of certain loans. The request shall include a report summarizing how the adjustment or modification will assist the borrower in providing critical utility services to a rural community. Specifically, on receipt of a request, USDA must adjust the interest rate on the loan to match certain interest rates in effect when the bill is enacted for obligations of comparable maturity to the term remaining on the loan (or a higher rate requested by the borrower), and make modifications to the loan terms as necessary to address changes in the financial position of the borrower due to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency and to promote the financial sustainability of the borrower. In carrying out the adjustments or modifications, USDA shall not impose or collect any fee from, or impose any penalty on, a borrower. The bill also provides funding to implement the adjustments and modifications.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2020
Coastal and Inland Ports and Terminals Commerce Improvement Act This bill directs the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) of the Department of Transportation to provide grants to the owners or operators of certain inland and small coastal port and terminal facilities, and for infrastructure improvements, equipment purchases, and capital investments at such facilities. Eligible facilities include piers, wharves, docks, terminals, and similar structures used principally for the movement of goods, including areas of land, water, or areas in proximity to such structure that are necessary for the movement of goods, located at a port, to and from which the average annual tonnage of cargo for the immediately preceding three calendar years from the time an application is submitted is less than 8 million short tons as determined using U.S. Army Corps of Engineers data. In providing assistance, MARAD must take into account the economic advantage and the contribution to freight transportation at eligible facilities, and the competitive disadvantage of such facilities; not make more than one award per applicant for each fiscal year appropriation; and promote the enhancement and efficiencies of such facilities. MARAD may not provide funding unless it determines that sufficient funding is available for a recipient to meet federal matching requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2020
Surface Transportation Advanced through Reform, Technology, and Efficient Review Act or the STARTER Act This bill addresses provisions related to federal-aid highway, transit, highway safety, motor carrier, innovation, and resiliency programs of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Among other provisions, the bill extends FY2020 enacted levels through FY2025 for federal-aid highway, transit, and safety programs; requires DOT to provide competitive grants for projects to provide parking for commercial motor vehicles on the federal-aid highway system; authorizes DOT to modify loan interest rates under the transportation infrastructure finance and innovation (TIFIA) program for borrowers impacted by COVID-19 (i.e. coronavirus disease 2019); specifies that projects that provide access to hospitals and health care providers in areas of limited public transportation options are eligible to be carried out as public transportation research projects; creates a public awareness campaign to reduce instances of driving while under the influence of prescription and over-the-counter medications; directs DOT to promulgate regulations to implement an apprenticeship program for licensed commercial motor vehicle drivers under the age of 21; establishes new competitive grant programs to spur innovation of connected vehicle applications into practical and effective operational deployments, and to test the safe integration of automated driving system technologies into the on-road transportation system; and addresses projects to improve the resiliency of federal-aid highways and bridges on and off the National Highway System.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2020
Just and Unifying Solutions To Invigorate Communities Everywhere Act of 2020 or the JUSTICE Act This bill addresses policies and issues regarding policing practices and law enforcement accountability. The bill funds state and local grants, incentivizes state and local reporting on the use of certain policing practices, creates new federal offenses for certain misconduct, establishes a commission to study the conditions affecting Black men and boys, and establishes best practices and training requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2020
Expanding Markets for State-Inspected Meat Processors Act of 2020 This bill allows meat and meat food products inspected by State Meat and Poultry Inspection programs to be sold in interstate commerce. (Under the inspection program, the Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service allows states that meet certain requirements to inspect meat and meat food products. The state-inspected products are currently limited to intrastate commerce, unless a state opts into a separate Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program.)
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2020
Great American Outdoors Act This bill establishes the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund to support deferred maintenance projects on federal lands. For FY2021-FY2025, there shall be deposited into the fund an amount equal to 50% of all federal revenues from the development of oil, gas, coal, or alternative or renewable energy on federal lands and waters. Deposited amounts must not exceed $1.9 billion for any fiscal year. The fund must be used for priority deferred maintenance projects in specified systems that are administered by the National Park Service, the Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of Indian Education. The Government Accountability Office must report on the effect of the fund in reducing the backlog of priority deferred maintenance projects for the specified agencies. Additionally, the bill makes funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) permanent. The President shall annually report to Congress specified details regarding the allocation of funds to the LWCF. Congress may provide for alternate allocations using specified procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2020
National Land Bank Network Act of 2020 This bill requires the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation to establish and operate a national land bank network. Land banks are entities designated by local governments to acquire and dispose of vacant and abandoned properties. The network must provide technical assistance to land banks and otherwise support land banks and communities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 2020
Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act This bill establishes a grant program, as well as a new center within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to facilitate access to investigational therapies for neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (i.e., ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive and fatal disease). Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must award grants for the provision of investigational drugs for ALS and other rapidly progressing neurodegenerative diseases through an expanded access (i.e., compassionate use) program. HHS may award these grants to (1) a small business that is the sponsor of an investigational new drug application, or (2) a participating clinical trial site for such a sponsor. Additionally, HHS must establish within the FDA a Center of Excellence for Neurodegenerative Diseases. The center shall have duties and authorities similar to those of the FDA's Oncology Center of Excellence, which helps expedite the development of medical products and assists providers in requesting access to investigational drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 2020
This bill requires states to certify a process for distributing Coronavirus Relief Funds to local governments. Specifically, each state that received such funds shall provide the Department of the Treasury, by June 12, 2020, with a certification that the state has in effect a procedure to distribute the funds to units of local government, including a detailed description of such procedure. If a state fails to comply with this requirement, 25% of such payment shall be booked as a debt owed to the federal government.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2020
Helping Gig Economy Workers Act of 2020 This bill temporarily permits digital marketplace companies (e.g., Lyft, DoorDash, Airbnb, etc.) to provide benefits to workers during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic without such actions establishing those workers as employees or independent contractors or establishing the company as a joint employer under federal, state, or local laws. This bill applies to digital marketplace companies that provide, among other things, financial assistance, health benefits, training, health checks and personal protective equipment to individuals working through such marketplaces during the period beginning on March 15, 2020, and ending on the later of June 30, 2021, or the expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2020
Accelerate Long-term Investment Growth Now Act or the ALIGN Act This bill makes permanent the expensing of certain new business equipment. Expensing allows the deduction of the full amount of an expense item in the same taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2020
Expanding Medical Partnerships with Israel to Lessen Dependence on China Act or the EMPIL-DOC Act This bill authorizes a bilateral grant program with Israel to develop health technologies, with an emphasis on the use of technology, personalized medicine, and data in relation to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Technologies to be developed through this program include, among others, artificial intelligence, respiratory assist devices, and diagnostic tests. In addition, the program conditions funding on a matching contribution from the government of Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2020
Protecting Life in Crisis Act This bill specifies that federal funds allocated for COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) response efforts may not, in general, be used for abortions. Current law (specifically, language that has historically been included in certain appropriations bills, commonly referred to as the Hyde Amendment) generally prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions. The bill also restricts the use of federal tax credits or other federal funding for health insurance coverage if the coverage includes abortions.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2020
Eliminating Barriers to Rural Internet Development Grant Eligibility Act or the E-BRIDGE Act This bill authorizes the Department of Commerce to award economic development grants for public-private partnerships and certain consortiums to carry out specified broadband projects. Such projects shall be to provide, extend, expand, or improve high-speed broadband service through (1) planning, technical assistance, or training; (2) land acquisition or development; or (3) acquisition, construction, or improvement of facilities. Title to real or personal property acquired or improved with grant funds, or another acceptable possessory interest, must be vested in a public partner or eligible nonprofit organization or association for the useful life of the project. In addition, grant funds may be combined with amounts made available under any other federal program, and Commerce may provide credit toward the non-federal share of a broadband project's cost.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2020
This bill rescinds the appropriation to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts provided for in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The CARES Act appropriated $25 million to the center to prepare for and respond to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2020
Immediate Relief for Rural Facilities and Providers Act of 2020 This bill establishes grant programs and other forms of financial assistance for health care providers in response to the national emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Specifically, the bill establishes (1) a grant program to provide emergency assistance to critical access hospitals, certain rural hospitals, and providers participating in Medicare; (2) a grant program to provide emergency assistance to health care practices and ambulatory surgery centers for staff salaries; and (3) a loan program to provide low-interest loans to health care practices and ambulatory surgery centers. The bill also temporarily increases reimbursements to rural hospitals under the Medicare swing-bed program. (The program allows rural hospitals to use beds, as needed, for either acute care or skilled nursing facility care.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2020
This bill directs the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the social, economic, and historic contributions that Minor League Baseball has made to American life and culture.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2020
Federal Employee Parental Leave Technical Correction Act This bill expands certain paid parental leave benefits to include specified public sector employees, including employees of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration, the Executive Office of the President and the White House, and the District of Columbia Courts and Public Defender Service.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2020
Stop Greenlighting Driver Licenses for Illegal Immigrants Act This bill prohibits a state from receiving certain federal law enforcement grants if it takes certain immigration-related actions. Specifically, a state is barred from receiving such grants if it (1) issues a driver license to an individual who does not have proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful presence in the United States, or (2) prohibits a local or state government entity or official from sharing immigration enforcement information with the Department of Homeland Security.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2020
Truth in Buffalo Labeling Act This bill prohibits the sale of food that contains water buffalo and is labeled as buffalo unless the specific term used in the labeling is water buffalo .
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2020
Creating Opportunities And Leveraging Technologies for Coal Carbon Act of 2020 or the COAL TeCC Act of 2020 This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish two programs concerning coal-derived carbon products. First, DOE must establish a program of research, development, and demonstration for carbon engineering solutions to enable new uses for coal-derived carbon for a variety of purposes, such as commercial, military, or medical purposes. Second, DOE must establish a pilot and demonstration program to accelerate the commercial deployment of coal-carbon products.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2020
Improving Safety and Security for Veterans Act of 2020 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report on the policies and procedures relating to patient safety and quality of care and the steps the VA has taken to improve such care at VA medical centers. After any investigation or trial concludes, the VA must also report on the events involving deaths that occurred at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia, and the actions the VA has taken to prevent any similar reoccurrence.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2020
United States-Israel PTSD Collaborative Research Act This bill establishes a grant program for collaborative efforts between the United States and Israel to advance research on post-traumatic stress disorders. The Department of Defense, in coordination with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of State, shall award grants to eligible academic institutions or nonprofit entities in the United States. Work shall be conducted by the eligible entity and an entity in Israel under a joint research agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2020
This resolution condemns the actions of Iran with respect to Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. It also expresses support for the protestors in Iran and condemns Iran for killing citizens protesting their government. In addition, it calls on Iran to refrain from using violence and to protect the rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2020
This bill authorizes the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor to Doris Miller in light of his acts of valor as a member of the U.S. Navy during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 23 December 2019
Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2019 This bill indefinitely extends Medicare coverage of immunosuppressive drugs for kidney transplant recipients for individuals who do not have other coverage. Under current law, Medicare coverage is limited to 36 months following a transplant.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2019
Ally's Act This bill requires private health insurance plans to cover certain hearing devices and systems (e.g., bone-anchored auditory implants) and related items and services. The bill also imposes limits on cost sharing.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2019
Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2019 or the RPM Act of 2019 This bill authorizes the modification of a vehicle's air emission controls for vehicles that are not legal for operation on a street or highway and are used solely for competition.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2019
Promoting Aviation Regulations for Technical Training (PARTT) 147 Act of 2019 This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish requirements for issuing aviation maintenance technician school certificates and associated ratings. Among other requirements, the bill sets forth application requirements for a certificate to operate an aviation maintenance technician school, including that applications must include a description of the manner in which the school's curriculum will ensure students are capable of attaining a mechanic certificate and associated ratings; establishes facility and instructor requirements for each school; directs each school to establish and maintain a quality control system that provides procedures for recordkeeping, assessment, issuing credit for experience, issuing of final course grades, ensuring sufficient number of instructors, granting of graduation documentation, and corrective action for addressing deficiencies; and requires schools to maintain a pass rate of at least 70% for students who take the written, oral, or practical (or any combination thereof) FAA mechanic tests.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2019
Lower Costs, More Cures Act of 2019 This bill establishes and modifies several requirements to address prescription drug prices under Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs. The bill generally limits payment amounts for drugs and biologics under Medicare medical services, reduces cost-sharing under the Medicare prescription drug benefit, modifies certain authorities and requirements under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, revises provisions relating to regulatory approval and commercial availability of generics and biosimilars, and establishes several reporting requirements for drug manufacturers with respect to drug prices.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2019
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should continue to lead reform efforts and urge member cooperation at the World Trade Organization in order to address barriers to trade, improve living standards across the world, and enhance accountability and dispute settlement mechanisms.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2019
Know Your Social Security Act This bill requires the Social Security Administration to provide Social Security account statements by mail to each individual who is 25 or older and who is eligible for, but not currently receiving, Social Security retirement benefits. Individuals may choose to receive their account statements electronically.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2019
Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act or the AIM HIGH Act This bill creates a commission to develop voluntary guidelines for postsecondary electronic instruction materials and related technologies. Specifically, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President pro tempore of the Senate, and the Secretary of Education must establish an independent commission to (1) develop and issue voluntary accessibility guidelines for postsecondary electronic instructional materials and related technologies, (2) develop a model framework for pilot testing such materials and technologies, and (3) produce an annotated list of information technology standards. The Department of Education must review and, as appropriate, update the voluntary guidelines, pilot testing framework, and information technology standards every five years.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2019
Continuity for Operators with Necessary Training Required for ATC Contract Towers Act of 2019 or the CONTRACT Act of 2019 This bill exempts certain air traffic controllers from a required reduction in their retirement annuity payment on account of earnings from certain work performed while entitled to such annuity. Under current law, retired Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers receive an annuity payment during the period between the mandatory retirement age of 56 and the social security minimum age of 62. Such annuity payment is required to be reduced by a certain percentage of any excess earnings during this period. The bill exempts from such reduction in annuity payments an air traffic controller who participates in the Air Traffic Control Contract Program (a public-private partnership for air traffic control services) following mandatory retirement.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2019
Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2019 This bill addresses pipeline safety with respect to natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines. Among other provisions, the bill reauthorizes appropriations through FY2023 for pipeline safety activities; allows for limited safety-enhancing testing programs to evaluate innovative technologies and operational practices testing the safe operation of natural gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facilities; authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish a confidential and non-punitive voluntary information-sharing system to encourage collaborative efforts to improve inspection information feedback and information-sharing on best practices, processes, and technology deployments with respect to such facilities; establishes a Liquefied Natural Gas division within the Office of Pipeline Safety of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to ensure the safety and oversight of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, including small-scale LNG facilities, peak shaving facilities, and import or export facilities; creates a Center of Excellence for Liquefied Natural Gas Safety and Training; increases staffing levels in the PHMSA to hire additional personnel with safety expertise; and directs DOT to initiate a study on technologies and measures that reduce the amount of natural gas released during venting and blowdowns of natural gas distribution systems and transmission pipelines.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2019
Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction In the Nation Act or the NOPAIN Act This bill temporarily establishes separate payments for certain non-opioid treatments under the Medicare prospective payment system for hospital outpatient department services and the payment system for ambulatory surgical center services. The bill applies to pain management treatments that are able to replace or reduce opioid consumption, as shown through clinical trials or data.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2019
This resolution recognizes the value of military working dogs and specifically honors the military working dog assigned to the raid of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. It also honors and celebrates the actions of the U.S. Special Operations Forces on October 26, 2019.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2019
Dignity for Aborted Children Act This bill requires abortion providers to offer patients specified options concerning the human fetal tissue from an abortion. Specifically, patients must be given an informed consent form specifying the options to (1) take possession of the tissue for transfer to an entity that provides interment or cremations services, or (2) in cases where the tissue is expelled on the provider’s premises, release the tissue to the provider. If the tissue is released to the abortion provider, the provider must ensure the tissue is interred or cremated within seven days of the procedure in a manner consistent with state law regarding the disposal of human remains. Abortion providers must report annually about the aggregate number of abortions performed and other specified information. The bill provides civil or criminal penalties for violations of disposal, informed consent, and reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2019
Advancing Infrastructure Development in Appalachia Act or the AID in Appalachia Act This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish the Balance Exchanges for Infrastructure Program to improve highway infrastructure development in the Appalachian region of the United States. DOT must incentivize certain states within the Appalachian region to use unobligated balances of funding to improve highway infrastructure in the region.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2019
VA Directly Returning Opioid Prescriptions Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure that each VA medical center with an on-site pharmacy or a law enforcement officer has a physical location where patients may dispose of controlled substances medications.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2019
This resolution condemns the persecution of members of any faith and calls on foreign governments to recognize the right of Christians to practice their faith without fear of persecution.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2019
Honest Elections Act This bill modifies registration requirements for foreign agents who engage in political activities, requires that certain disclosures be made in online political communications, and prohibits a state from receiving certain election assistance funds if the state allows ballot harvesting or voting by noncitizens.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2019
Mine Affected Community Energy and Environment Act This bill allows a new tax credit for the production of electricity from a coal refuse facility. A "coal refuse facility" means any facility (1) that was originally placed in service prior to January 1, 2019, and combusts coal refuse or fuel composed of at least 75 percent coal refuse by BTU energy value; and (2) uses at a minimum, a circulating fluidized bed combustion unit or a pressurized fluidized bed combustion unit, equipped with a limestone injection system for control of acid gases, and a fabric filter particulate emission control system.
![Official portrait of Rep. Miller, Carol D. [R-WV-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m001205_200.jpg)