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![Official portrait of Rep. Miller, Jeff [R-FL-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m001144_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
2,932 records where Rep. Miller, Jeff [R-FL-1] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2016
Protect the Flag Act This bill makes an institution of higher education ineligible for federal funds if it has an official policy that prohibits or limits the display of the U.S. flag.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2016
Jeff Miller and Richard Blumenthal Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2016 TITLE I--DISABILITY COMPENSATION MATTERS This bill revises specified Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation provisions, including provisions concerning: (1) payment of survivors benefits, (2) review of claims processing performance by regional offices of the Veterans Benefits Administration, (3) staffing levels at VA regional offices under the National Work Queue, (4) a report on the VA's progress in implementing the Veterans Benefits Management System, (5) contract physicians, and (6) traumatic brain injury assessments. TITLE II--UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS The bill extends the temporary expansion of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims until January 1, 2021. TITLE III--BURIAL BENEFITS AND OTHER MATTERS The bill: (1) authorizes the VA to furnish a headstone or marker, or a medallion or other device to be attached to a headstone or marker furnished at private expense to signify an individual's veteran status, including status as a medal of honor recipient, to a deceased individual who served in the Armed Forces on or after April 6, 1917, and who is eligible for a headstone or marker or who would be eligible but for his or her date of death; and (2) requires studies on interring unclaimed remains of veterans in national cemeteries and on providing increased interments in veterans' cemeteries on Saturdays and Sundays. TITLE IV--EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE AND VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION The Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 is amended to deem any member of the Armed Forces who died between September 11, 2001, and December 31, 2005, to have died on January 1, 2006, in order to make that member's surviving spouse eligible for the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry scholarship. The VA may prioritize vocational rehabilitation services based upon need. The bill: (1) revises the Post-9/11 education assistance program, and (2) extends the period for certain qualifying work-study activities. Specified education programs are deemed to be approved for veterans' education benefit purposes if a state approving agency determines that they qualify. Licensure or certification program requirements necessary for VA approval are revised. The VA shall contract with a non-government entity to conduct a survey of individuals who have used or are using their VA educational benefits. The authorities under which a Reservist may regain lost payments and lost entitlement for educational programs when ordered to active duty shall include disaster service and service for a pre-planned mission in support of a combatant command. TITLE V--SMALL BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT MATTERS The bill revises ownership requirements for VA small business contracts and preferences. Each state director for veterans' employment and training shall coordinate activities with the state departments of labor and veterans affairs. TITLE VI--HEALTH CARE MATTERS The bill revises specified VA health care provisions, including provisions concerning: (1) advance funding for the Medical Community Care account, (2) access to adult immunizations, (3) priority access for medal of honor recipients, (4) mental health care for veterans who served in classified missions, (5) examination and treatment for emergency medical treatment and women in labor, and (6) VA physicians and graduate medical residency positions. The VA may carry out major medical facility projects in Reno, Nevada, and Long Beach, California. The VA shall seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Medicine for an assessment of scientific research relating to the descendants of individuals with toxic exposure to a hazardous agent. TITLE VII--HOMELESSNESS MATTERS The bill expands the definition of "homeless veteran" for purposes of VA benefits. The VA shall: (1) establish and operate the National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, (2) assess comprehensive service programs for homeless veterans, and (3) provide case management services to improve the housing retention by veterans who were previously homeless and are transitioning to permanent housing and by veterans who are at risk of becoming homeless. The bill eliminates the minimum continuous active duty service requirement for homeless veterans to receive certain VA benefits. TITLE VIII--OTHER MATTERS The bill requires the VA to: (1) use industry standards, standard designs, and best practices in carrying out medical facility construction; (2) provide for external forensic audits of certain medical facility construction projects; and (3) provide quarterly reports on super construction projects.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2016
Honors the life and accomplishments of Jose Fernandez, a pitcher for the Miami Marlins who died in a boating accident with two of his friends, Emilio Macias and Eduardo Rivero. Offers condolences to their families and friends.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2016
Export Control Reform Act This bill requires all of the following items that are on the United States Munitions List and the import or export of which is controlled by the President under the Arms Export Control Act on the date of this bill's enactment to be transferred to the Commerce Control List of dual-use items in the Export Administration Regulations: non-automatic and semi-automatic firearms, including all rifles, carbines, pistols, revolvers, and shotguns; non-automatic and non-semi-automatic rifles, carbines, revolvers, or pistols of a caliber greater than .50 inches (12.7 mm) up to and including .72 inches (18.0 mm); ammunition for such firearms excluding caseless ammunition; silencers, mufflers, and sound and flash suppressors; rifle scopes; barrels, cylinders, receivers (frames), or complete breech mechanisms; and related components, parts, accessories, attachments, tooling, and equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2016
Apollo I Memorial Act This bill directs the Department of the Army to construct in Arlington National Cemetery a memorial marker in honor of the three crew members of the mission that became known as the Apollo I mission who died during a launch rehearsal test on January 27, 1967, at the Kennedy Space Center.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2016
Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools, and Nonprofits Act This bill postpones from December 1, 2016, until June 1, 2017, the effective date of a final rule of the Department of Labor revising income thresholds for determining overtime pay for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer ("white collar") employees exempt from regular minimum wage and overtime pay requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2016
Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2016 This bill extends specified Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs. TITLE I--EXTENSIONS OF AUTHORITY RELATING TO HEALTH CARE Extends through FY2017: authority for collection of copayments for hospital care and nursing home care, authorization of appropriations for assistance and support services for caregivers, authority for recovery from third parties of the cost of care and services furnished to veterans with health-plan contracts for non-service-connected disability, authority for the pilot program on assistance for child care for certain veterans receiving health care, authority to make grants to veterans service organizations for transportation of highly rural veterans, and authority for the pilot program on counseling in retreat settings for women veterans newly separated from service. Extends through December 31, 2017, the requirement to provide nursing home care to certain veterans with service-connected disabilities. TITLE II--EXTENSIONS OF AUTHORITY RELATING TO BENEFITS Extends through FY2017: specified housing loan provisions and definitions, including the calculation of net value of real property at time of foreclosure; and authority relating to vendee loans. Extends through December 31, 2017, authority: for the Veterans' Advisory Committee on Education, and to provide rehabilitation and vocational benefits at VA facilities to members of the Armed Forces with severe injuries or illnesses. TITLE III--EXTENSIONS OF AUTHORITY RELATING TO HOMELESS VETERANS Extends through FY2017 authority: for homeless veterans reintegration programs; for the homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children reintegration program; to provide housing assistance for homeless veterans; to provide financial assistance for supportive services for very low-income veteran families in permanent housing; for the grant program for homeless veterans with special needs; for treatment and rehabilitation services for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans, including a program to provide homeless veterans with benefits and services at certain locations; and to provide referral and counseling services for certain veterans at risk of homelessness. Extends through December 31, 2017, authority for the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans. TITLE IV--OTHER EXTENSIONS AND MODIFICATIONS OF AUTHORITY AND OTHER MATTERS Extends through FY2017 authority for: monthly assistance allowances under the Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events; operation of the VA regional office in Manila, the Republic of the Philippines; appropriations for adaptive sports programs for disabled veterans and members of the Armed Forces; specially adapted housing assistive technology grants; temporary eligibility expansion for specially adapted housing assistance for certain veterans with disabilities causing difficulty ambulating; and an annual report on the DOD-VA Interagency Program Office. Extends through December 31, 2017: authority for transportation of individuals to and from VA facilities for vocational rehabilitation, counseling, treatment, or care; the requirement to provide annual reports to Congress regarding equitable relief in the case of administrative error; authority for Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans; authority to enter into agreement with the National Academy of Sciences regarding associations between diseases and exposure to dioxin and other chemical compounds in herbicides; and authority for performance of medical disabilities examinations by contract physicians. The authorization of appropriations for homeless veterans' comprehensive services is increased. For one year the VA may not: (1) authorize certified registered nurse anesthetists to practice without the supervision of a physician, or (2) otherwise expand the scope of full practice authority for such anesthetists.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2016
This bill provides FY2016 supplemental appropriations to the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and State to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the Zika virus. The bill specifies permissible uses for the funds and designates the funds as an emergency requirement. The emergency funding is exempt from discretionary spending limits and is only available if the President subsequently designates the funds as an emergency requirement. The bill provides appropriations to HHS for: the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund within the Office of the Secretary. For the State Department, the bill provides appropriations for: the Administration of Foreign Affairs, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Bilateral Economic Assistance, International Security Assistance, and Multilateral Assistance. The bill sets forth congressional notification and reporting requirements that apply to the funds. It also provides funds to the Government Accountability Office for the oversight of activities funded by this bill. The bill also rescinds specified unobligated balances of funds that were previously provided to USAID to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the Ebola virus.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2016
Expresses the commitment of Congress never to forget the service of aviation's first responders on September 11, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2016
This bill authorizes the American Battle Monuments Commission to enter into an agreement with the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial Foundation to acquire, operate, and maintain the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial in Marnes-la-Coquette, France. The Commission shall ensure the ongoing maintenance of the memorial, including the cemetery containing the remains of 49 U.S. aviators who died during World War I.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2016
Veterans Care Agreement and West Los Angeles Leasing Act of 2016 This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to enter into Veterans Care Agreements with certain eligible providers to furnish hospital care, medical services, or extended care to eligible veterans if: (1) furnishing such care and services at VA facilities or under otherwise authorized contracts or sharing agreements with non-VA facilities is impracticable or inadvisable because of the veteran's medical condition, the travel involved, or the nature of the care or services required; and (2) the VA determines that the hospital care or medical services to be furnished are not available from a non-VA health care provider under a contract or sharing agreement other than an agreement under this bill. The bill sets forth provider eligibility criteria and requires the VA to establish a process for provider certification. The VA may carry out leases at the VA West Los Angeles Campus in Los Angeles, California: for supportive housing for veterans and their families; for third party services to veterans and their families for health and wellness promotion, education, employment-related training, peer activities and physical recreation, legal and federal benefits assistance, family support services including child care, and transportation; and to The Regents of the University of California for additional services for veterans and their families. The VA shall establish a Community Veterans Engagement Board for the Campus to coordinate locally with the VA to identify community goals and advise the VA on improving services and outcomes for veterans, members of the Armed Forces, and their families. The bill amends provisions regarding the VA's enhanced-use lease authority, including to prohibit the VA from waiving or postponing the obligation of a lessee to pay any consideration, including rent, under an enhanced-use lease.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Community Counterterrorism Preparedness Act This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to carry out a grant program for emergency response providers to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the most likely terrorist attack scenarios, including active shooters against major metropolitan areas. Emergency response providers and jurisdictions that are currently receiving, or that previously received, funding under the Urban Area Security Initiative may apply for such a grant. Recipients may use grants to conduct training and exercises consistent with preventing, preparing for, and responding to such scenarios. DHS shall make funds provided under this bill available for use by a grant recipient for a period of at least 24 months.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Taxpayers Before Insurers Act This bill rescinds specified departmental management funds from the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) unless HHS deposits into the Treasury specified funds derived from contributions collected under the Transitional Reinsurance Program. The rescission is required unless HHS deposits into the Treasury: (1) $2 billion for each of calendar years 2014 and 2015 within 45 days of enactment of this bill, and (2) $1 billion for 2016 by March 1, 2017. (The Transitional Reinsurance Program was created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [PPACA] to stabilize premiums in the individual health insurance market by partially reimbursing insurers for high-cost enrollees. Health insurance issuers and certain group health plans make contributions to the program, and reinsurance payments are made to issuers for enrollees in certain individual market plans with claim costs within a specified level. Portions of the reinsurance contributions are allocated for the reinsurance payment pool, administrative expenses, and the Treasury.)
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Hunting, Education, and Recreational Development Act or the HEARD Act This bill authorizes the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to dispose of federal lands under their respective jurisdictions by offering them for sale or exchange to units of local government in accordance with this bill. Before the offering of lands for sale or exchange, states or the unit of local government in whose jurisdiction the lands are located may elect to obtain any such lands for local public purposes pursuant to the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. Interior or USDA, as appropriate, shall retain the elected lands for conveyance to such states or unit of local government in accordance with that Act. The bill prescribes requirements for disposition of the gross proceeds of the sales of lands under this bill, including that: 15% be paid to the state where the sale takes place to be used to supplement the education of students in kindergarten through grade 12, to supplement public support of institutions of public higher education, and to supplement state agricultural and natural resource agencies; and 10% of such proceeds be deposited in a special account to be created in the Treasury which may be used for the acquisition of recreational beneficial lands and interests (providing an opportunity for hunting, recreational fishing, recreational shooting, recreational off-highway vehicles, or other recreational purposes, or to achieve better management of public lands through consolidation of federal ownership).
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Second Amendment protects the individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense and that such right is fully applicable to the states.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Overtime Reform and Enhancement Act This bill directs the Department of Labor, by December 1, 2016, to revise the rule published in the Federal Register on May 23, 2016, relating to exemptions (from the minimum wage and overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act) regarding the rates of pay for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees. Labor shall revise specified regulations to increase the defining rates of pay of exempted employees from $455 per week to: $692 per week for executive employees effective December 1, 2016; $765 per week for administrative employees effective December 1, 2017; $839 per week for professional employees effective December 1, 2018; and $913 per week for computer employees effective December 1, 2019; and Such revisions shall also nullify the automatic updates to the amounts of salary and compensation required for such exemptions. Labor may only update any rate of pay related to these exemptions in accordance with federal rulemaking requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2016
Preventing Iranian Destabilization of Iraq Act of 2016 This bill declares it shall be the policy of the United States to impose sanctions with respect to terrorist organizations and foreign countries, including the government of Iran, that threaten the peace or stability of Iraq. The bill directs the President to impose sanctions to block transactions in property and interests in property in the United States of, and the Department of State or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to deny admissions into the United States or revoke the visa of, any foreign person that State or DHS determines: has knowingly committed, or poses a significant risk of committing, violence that threatens the peace or stability of Iraq or that undermines economic reconstruction, political reform, or humanitarian efforts in Iraq; has knowingly materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, any such act; or is owned or controlled by, or has acted on behalf of, a foreign person that has carried out any such act or activity. Such admissions-related sanctions shall not apply if a person's admission is necessary to permit the United States to comply with the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations or other applicable international obligations. The President may waive the application of sanctions under this bill for up to 90 days if the President provides prior certification that the waiver is vital to U.S. national security interests. The sanction provisions of this bill shall cease to be effective on January 1, 2022. It is the sense of Congress that the government of Iran has committed acts of violence, and poses a significant risk of committing further acts of violence, that threaten the peace or stability of Iraq. The bill directs the President to determine whether specified Iranian officials are responsible for engaging in acts or activities described in this bill and, if so, to impose admissions-related sanctions on such officials. The President must report, every 180 days for 5 years, on Iranian activities in Iraq, including Iran's support for Iraqi militias or political parties.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2016
Military Amnesty Prevention Act This bill permits the enlistment into the Armed Forces of aliens other than U.S. nationals and permanent resident aliens when such enlistment is vital to the U.S. national interest only if such individuals are in lawful immigration status.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2016
Honors the life, work, and legacy of Elie Wiesel. Extends the deepest sympathies of the House of Representatives to the members of Wiesel's family. Reaffirms Wiesel's efforts to preserve the memory of those who perished and prevent the recurrence of another Holocaust, to combat hate and intolerance, and to never forget and also learn from the lessons of history.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2016
Lift the Relocation Burden from Military Spouses Act This bill authorizes the military department concerned to reimburse a member of the Armed Forces who is reassigned for a permanent change of station or assignment from one state to another for qualified relicensing costs of the member's spouse. Reimbursement may not exceed $500 for each change of station or assignment. The Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security (with respect to the Coast Guard) shall work with states to improve license portability. "Qualified relicensing costs" are the costs, including exam and registration fees, needed to secure a license or certification to engage in the same profession in the new state.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2016
Stop Taxing the Second Amendment Act of 2016 This bill prohibits a state or local government from imposing a tax on a firearm or ammunition sale that affects interstate commerce. Additionally, it prohibits a state or local government from imposing a new tax or increasing an existing tax on a background check incident to a firearm or ammunition sale.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2016
Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act This bill prohibits a sanctuary jurisdiction from receiving grants under certain Economic Development Assistance Programs and the Community Development Block Grant Program. A sanctuary jurisdiction is a state or political subdivision that has a statute, policy, or practice in effect that prohibits or restricts: (1) information sharing about an individual's immigration status, or (2) compliance with a lawfully issued detainer request or notification of release request. A state or political subdivision that complies with a detainer is deemed to be an agent of the Department of Homeland Security and is authorized to take actions to comply with the detainer. The bill limits the liability of a state or political subdivision, or an officer or employee of such state or political subdivision, for actions in compliance with the detainer.
United States · United States Congress · 6 July 2016
Recovering America's Wildlife Act of 2016 This bill amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to direct the Department of the Treasury to transfer, beginning in FY2016, revenues from energy and mineral development on federal lands totaling $1.3 billion to the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Subaccount of the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Fund, to be available without further appropriation. The purpose of the subaccount is to fund state wildlife conservation and restoration programs for managing fish and wildlife species of the greatest conservation need as determined by a state fish and wildlife agency.
United States · United States Congress · 6 July 2016
Recognizes on behalf of the United States the dedicated service and ultimate sacrifice of the 11 African-American soldiers of the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion of the United States Army who were massacred in Wereth, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge on December 17, 1944. Calls on the Senate Armed Services Committee to correct the omission in the 1949 report of its subcommittee and appropriately recognize the Wereth 11.
United States · United States Congress · 5 July 2016
VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act of 2016 This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to remove or demote a VA employee based on performance or misconduct and provides that specified federal employee performance appraisal provisions shall not apply to such removals or demotions. The VA may remove such individual from the civil service or demote the individual through a reduction in grade or annual pay rate. A demoted individual shall not be placed on administrative leave or any other category of paid leave during the appeals period and can receive pay only if he or she reports for duty. An expedited appeals process is established under which: (1) an employee shall have the right to an appeal before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) within seven days of removal or demotion, (2) the MSPB shall issue a decision within 60 days of the appeal or the removal or demotion becomes final, (3) an MSPB decision and any final removal or demotion may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals, and (4) the MSPB may not stay any removal or demotion. The VA may not remove or demote an employee: (1) without the approval of the Special Counsel if the individual seeks corrective action from the Office of Special Counsel based on an alleged prohibited personnel practice, and (2) until a final decision in the case of a whistle blower complaint. The VA shall reduce the federal annuity of an individual removed from the VA Senior Executive Service (SES) who is convicted of a felony that influenced his or her performance while employed in such position. The VA may reduce the federal annuity of an individual who was convicted of such a felony and was subject to removal or transfer from the SES but who left the VA before final action was taken. The VA may recoup an award, a bonus, or relocation expenses paid to a VA employee under specified circumstances. The VA may suspend, reprimand or admonish an SES employee for misconduct or performance that does not merit removal. The VA must notify an individual five days before taking such proposed action. Appeals may be made to the Senior Executive Disciplinary Appeals Board (as provided for by this bill) and may not be appealed to the MSPB. The bill establishes an additional whistle blower complaint process, which shall include suspension and removal actions against supervisory employees who commit prohibited personnel actions against a whistle blower. The bill amends the disability benefits appeals process. The bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to prohibit payment of an award or bonus to any VA SES employee during each of FY2017-FY2021.
United States · United States Congress · 5 July 2016
This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to Larry Doby in recognition of his achievements and contributions to American major league athletics, civil rights, and the Armed Forces during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2016
Poarch Band of Creek Indians Land Reaffirmation Act This bill reaffirms as trust land specified land taken into trust by the United States for the benefit of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, including land in Escambia County, Florida, and Monroe, Escambia, and Montgomery Counties in Alabama.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2016
Encourages the people of the United States to honor the past and continued service of military retirees to their communities and the United States long after they have completed military service by supporting the ideals of a Military Retiree Appreciation Day.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2016
Military Residency Choice Act This bill amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to permit the spouse of a servicemember to elect to use the same residence as the servicemember for purposes of taxation and voting, regardless of the date on which the marriage of the spouse and the servicemember occurred.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2016
This bill authorizes the American Battle Monuments Commission to acquire, operate, and maintain the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial in Marne-la-Coquette, France, pursuant to an agreement between the Commission and the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial Foundation and subject to the French government's consent.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2016
This bill prohibits U.S. agency funds from being used until the earlier of the enactment date of an Act authorizing FY2017 appropriations for military activities of the Department of Defense (DOD) or January 1, 2017, for the transfer or release to or within the United States, its territories, or possessions or to any foreign country or entity of an individual detained at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. "Individual detained at Guantanamo" means an individual located at Guantanamo as of October 1, 2009, who: (1) is not a U.S. national or a member of the Armed Forces, and (2) is in the custody or under the control of DOD or otherwise detained at Guantanamo.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2016
Recognizes the service and sacrifice of the 19 Air Force members who were killed in the June 25, 1996, terrorist bombing of the United States Sector Khobar Towers military housing complex on Dhahran Air Base, Saudi Arabia. Extends sympathies to the families and friends of those killed. Acknowledges the anguish and resilience of the attack's survivors. Assures members of the Armed Forces and other U.S. agents serving in harm's way that their well-being will be given the highest priority. Declares that perpetrators of terrorist acts against members of the Armed Forces and U.S. agents or citizens will be brought to justice.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2016
VA Construction and Lease Authorization, Health, and Benefits Enhancement Act This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to enter into Veterans Care Agreements with certain providers to furnish hospital care, medical services, or extended care to eligible veterans if: (1) furnishing such care and services at VA facilities or under otherwise authorized contracts or sharing agreements with non-VA facilities is impracticable or inadvisable because of the veteran's medical condition, the travel involved, or the nature of the care or services required; and (2) the hospital care or medical services are not otherwise available from a non-VA health care provider. The VA shall ensure that each VA medical facility and community based outpatient clinic hosts a community meeting on improving VA health care. The VA shall begin a three-year pilot program to assess the feasibility of using wellness-based programs to complement veterans pain management and related health care services. As part of the VA's hiring process for health care providers, the VA shall require from each medical board that licensed the provider information on any license violation and any settlement agreement for a medical disciplinary charge. The VA shall provide information on any violation of a medical license by a VA health care provider to each medical board licensing that provider. The VA may carry out specified major medical facility projects in California, Maryland, and Washington. Project appropriations are authorized. The VA may carry out specified major medical facility leases in Michigan, Alabama, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Florida, Colorado, Virginia, California, Montana, Georgia, Maine, and North Carolina. The Veterans' Benefits Programs Improvement Act of 1991 is amended to: (1) authorize the VA to sell Pershing Hall, in Paris, France, and transfer to the purchaser all right, title, and interest of the United States in the property; and (2) direct the VA to return to the entity from which the United States acquired Pershing Hall any personal property in the VA's possession, including memorabilia regarding General Pershing and the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I. The VA may carry out specified leases at the VA's West Los Angeles Campus in Los Angeles, California. The VA shall select a VA medical center to serve as the national center for research on the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions of the biological children or grandchildren of individuals exposed to toxic substances while serving as members of the Armed Forces that are related to such exposure. The Department of Defense shall conduct and make public a declassification review to determine what information may be made publicly available related to any known incident in which at least 100 members of the Armed Forces were exposed to a toxic substance that resulted in at least one case of a disability that an occupational medicine specialist has determined to be credibly associated with such substance. The VA shall pay additional compensation to a veteran who is paid disability compensation for the anatomical loss, or the permanent or static loss of use, of one or more creative organs. (Creative organs are those involved in reproduction.) The VA shall implement an information technology system that supports the program of comprehensive assistance for family caregivers. The cost-of-living adjustment for disability compensation is extended through FY2027.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2016
Prohibiting the Usurpation of Bathroom Laws through Independent Choice School Act (PUBLIC School Act) of 2016 This bill declares that it shall not be unlawful under federal law for a state or local government to enact or enforce a policy regarding the use of sex-segregated bathrooms or locker rooms of educational institutions on the basis of gender identity. The bill prohibits the reduction or denial of federal financial assistance on the basis that a state or local government enacts or enforces such a policy.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2016
Independent Counsel Reauthorization Act of 2016 This bill amends the federal judicial code to reauthorize the independent counsel law (currently expired) for a five-year period. It extends to eight years after leaving office the period during which individuals who have held the following positions are still subject to preliminary investigations by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to determine whether to apply to a division of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for the appointment of an independent counsel for further investigation and possible prosecution: the President or the Vice President; the Attorney General or the Secretaries of State, the Treasury, Defense, the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs, or Homeland Security; the U.S. Trade Representative, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Commissioner of Social Security, the Director of National Drug Control Policy, the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or the Director of National Intelligence; individuals working in the Executive Office of the President compensated at or above level II of the Executive Schedule; Assistant Attorneys General and DOJ employees compensated at or above level III of the Executive Schedule; or the Director of Central Intelligence, the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, or the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2016
Reaffirms: that Israel is a major U.S. strategic partner, that it is U.S. policy and law to ensure that Israel maintains its qualitative military edge and self-defense capacity, and support of an Israeli tiered missile defense program. Urges finalization of a new Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Israel. Supports a long-term Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Israel that increases the amount of aid from previous agreements and enhances Israel's military capabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2016
Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act of 2016 or the PADME Act This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish a bid ceiling for durable medical equipment (such as wheelchairs) under Medicare's competitive acquisition program, through which rates are set according to a bidding process rather than by an established fee schedule. Specifically, the bid ceiling for such an item shall not be less than the fee schedule amount that would otherwise be determined. Under current law, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must use payment information from competitive acquisition programs to make payment adjustments for areas outside of such programs. The bill requires CMS, in making these adjustments, to account for stakeholder input. In addition, CMS must account for a comparison of competitive acquisition areas and other areas with respect to the following factors: average travel distance and cost associated with furnishing items and services, barriers to access, average delivery time, average volume of items and services furnished by suppliers, and number of suppliers. In addition, CMS shall delay by 15 months the full implementation of new Medicare payment rates for durable medical equipment. On a monthly basis, CMS must publish on its website the results of the monitoring of health outcomes and Medicare beneficiaries' access to durable medical equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2016
Food and Fuel Consumer Protection Act of 2016 This bill amends the Clean Air Act by revising the renewable fuel program, which requires transportation fuel to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuel. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must cap the total volume of ethanol blended into the transportation fuel supply at 9.7% of projected gasoline demand as determined by the Energy Information Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
This bill bars the Department of Transportation (DOT) from issuing a foreign air carrier permit, or an exemption from certain economic regulations, to furnish foreign air transportation under the United States-European Union-Norway-Iceland Air Transport Agreement of June 21, 2011, unless DOT: finds that issuing the permit or exemption would be consistent with the intent of the parties, set forth in article 17 bis of the agreement, that opportunities created by the agreement do not undermine labor standards or the labor-related rights and principles contained in the parties' respective laws; and imposes conditions on the permit or exemption necessary to ensure that the foreign air transportation furnished complies with the intent of article 17 bis .
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2016
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3957 2nd Avenue in Laurel Hill, Florida, as the "Sergeant First Class William 'Kelly' Lacey Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2016
Free File Act of 2016 This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to continue to operate the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Free File Program. The program must work with state government agencies to enhance and expand the use of the program, while continuing to: provide free commercial-type online individual income tax preparation and electronic filing services to the lowest 70% of taxpayers by income; provide all taxpayers (regardless of income) with a basic, online electronic fillable forms utility; and work with the private sector to provide the free tax preparation and electronic filing services. Treasury must work with the private sector through the program to identify and implement innovative new program features to improve and simplify the taxpayer's experience with completing and filing individual income tax returns. The IRS and members of the tax software and electronic industry involved in the program must support and promote improvements within the program by mutually testing, piloting, and offering innovative solutions to: simplify the tax system, reduce compliance and reporting burdens, increase tax return accuracy through financial data authentication, strengthen the tax system against fraud through cybersecurity collaboration, avoid duplication, and maximize the use of electronic technology.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2016
Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) of 2016 This bill imposes criminal penalties on anyone who knowingly or knowingly attempts to: (1) perform an abortion knowing that the abortion is sought based on the sex, gender, color or race of the child, or the race of a parent; (2) use force or the threat of force to intentionally injure or intimidate any person for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection or race-selection abortion; (3) solicit or accept funds for the performance of such an abortion; or (4) transport a woman into the United States or across a state line for the purpose of obtaining such an abortion. Violations or attempted violations shall result in fines and/or imprisonment for up to five years. The bill authorizes civil actions (for verifiable money damages for injuries and punitive damages) by: (1) fathers, or maternal grandparents if the mother is an unemancipated minor, of unborn children who are the subject of an abortion performed or attempted through any of the above violations; or (2) women upon whom an abortion has been performed or attempted with a knowing or attempted use of force or threat of force to intentionally injure or intimidate any person for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection or race-selection abortion. To prevent an abortion provider from performing or attempting further abortions in violation of this bill, the bill authorizes injunctive relief to be obtained by: (1) the women upon whom such an abortion is performed or attempted, (2) a maternal grandparent of the unborn child if the woman is an unemancipated minor, (3) the father of such an unborn child, or (4) the Department of Justice. Violations of this bill are deemed to be prohibited discrimination under title VI (Federally Assisted Programs) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Violators of title VI lose federal funding.) Medical or mental health professionals must report known or suspected violations to law enforcement authorities. Criminal penalties are established for a failure to so report. A woman having such an abortion may not be prosecuted or held civilly liable. Courts must make such orders as necessary to protect the anonymity of any woman upon whom an abortion has been performed or attempted if she does not give her written consent to such disclosure. In the absence of such a woman's written consent, any party, other than a public official, who brings an action must use a pseudonym. For purposes of this bill, "abortion" is defined as the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman, with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn child, unless the act is intended to: (1) save the life or preserve the health of the unborn child, (2) remove a dead unborn child caused by spontaneous abortion, or (3) remove an ectopic pregnancy.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2016
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to pay additional compensation in the form of two $10,000 lump-sum payments to a veteran who is paid disability compensation for: (1) the anatomical loss of one or more creative organs, or (2) the permanent or static loss of use of one or more creative organs. (Creative organs are those involved in reproduction.)
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2016
Risk Management and Homeowner Stability Act of 2016 This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to prohibit the chairs of the congressional budget committees from counting increases to guarantee fees as offsets for budget enforcement purposes. The bill includes an exception for legislation that increases guarantee fees to finance reforms to the secondary mortgage market. (Guarantee fees are charged by enterprises, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association [Fannie Mae] and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation [Freddie Mac], to guarantee the payment of principal and interest on loans. This bill prevents the fees from being used to offset provisions that increase the deficit in determining whether a budget point of order applies to legislation.)
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2016
Supports the U.S. Stimson Doctrine to not recognize territorial changes effected by force, and affirms that this policy should continue to guide U.S. foreign policy. Condemns Russia's military intervention and occupation of Georgia and its continuous illegal activities along the occupation line in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia. Calls upon Russia to: (1) withdraw its recognition of Georgia's territories of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia as independent countries, (2) refrain from acts and policies that undermine Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and (3) take steps to fulfill the August 12, 2008, Ceasefire Agreement between Georgia and the Russian Federation. Urges the United States to: (1) declare that it will not recognize Russian de jure or de facto sovereignty over any part of Georgia, including Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia; (2) deepen cooperation with Georgia, including Georgia's advancement towards Euro-Atlantic integration; and (3) enhance Georgia's security through joint military training and the provision of self-defensive capabilities. Affirms that a free, united, democratic, and sovereign Georgia is in the long-term U.S. interest.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2016
Protecting Lives Using Surplus Equipment Act of 2016 This bill invalidates any regulation, rule, guidance, recommendation, or policy issued after May 15, 2015, that limits the sale or donation of excess federal property to state and local law enforcement agencies unless enacted by Congress. Additionally, it prohibits the use of federal funds to implement such regulation, rule, guidance, recommendation, or policy. Property that was recalled or seized on or after May 15, 2015, must be returned, replaced, or reissued to the state or local law enforcement agency.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2016
Conscience Protection Act of 2016 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to codify the prohibition against the federal government and state and local governments that receive federal financial assistance for health-related activities penalizing or discriminating against a health care provider based on the provider's refusal to be involved in, or provide coverage for, abortion. Health care providers include health care professionals, health care facilities, social services providers, health care professional training programs, and health insurers. The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services, in coordination with the Department of Justice (DOJ), must investigate complaints alleging discrimination based on an individual's religious belief, moral conviction, or refusal to be involved in an abortion. DOJ or any entity adversely affected by such discrimination may obtain equitable or legal relief in a civil action. Administrative remedies do not need to be sought or exhausted prior to commencing an action or granting relief. Such an action may be brought against a governmental entity.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2016
Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow's Needs Act of 2016 This bill amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to make it one of the purposes of the Act to extend financial and technical assistance to the states for the promotion of hunting and recreational shooting. The bill also prescribes a formula for the allocation of funds apportioned to a state that may be used for any activity or project to recruit or retain hunters and recreational shooters. Amounts apportioned to the states from any taxes on pistols, revolvers, bows, and arrows may be used for hunter recruitment and recreational shooter recruitment. The funds apportioned to a state for wildlife restoration management may be used for related public relations. If a state has not used all of the tax revenues apportioned to it for firearm and bow hunter education and safety program grants, it may use its remaining apportioned funds for the enhancement of hunter recruitment and recreational shooter recruitment. Up to $5 million of the revenues covered into wildlife restoration fund in the Treasury from any tax imposed for a fiscal year on the sale of certain bows, arrows, and archery equipment shall be available to the Department of the Interior exclusively for making hunter recruitment and recreational shooter recruitment grants that promote a national hunting and shooting sport recruitment program, including related communication and outreach activities.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act This bill declares that the proposed or the final rule of the Department of Labor entitled "Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees" shall cease to have any force or effect. The rule revises the "white collar" exemption of executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees from minimum wage and maximum hour, or overtime, requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA). If the proposed rule is a final rule on the date of enactment of this bill: Labor shall not enforce it based on conduct occurring before that enactment date, an employee shall not have any right of action against an employer for the employer's failure to comply with the final rule at any time before that enactment date, any regulations that were amended by the final rule shall be restored and revived as if the final rule had never taken effect, and nothing in this bill shall be construed to create a right of action for an employer against an employee for the recoupment of any payments made to the employee before the enactment of this bill that were in compliance with that final rule. Labor may promulgate any substantially similar rule only if it has completed certain required actions; but the rule shall not contain any automatic updates to the salary threshold for purposes of exemptions to minimum wage and maximum hour requirements under the FLSA. The requirement that definitions applicable for such exemptions be defined and delimited from time to time by Labor regulations shall be construed to: require Labor to issue a new rule through notice and comment rulemaking for each change in any salary threshold it has proposed; and exclude any rule that would result in changes to any salary threshold for multiple time periods, including through any automatic updating procedure. Labor may not promulgate any final rule that includes any revision to duties tests for exemption from minimum wage and maximum hours requirements unless specific regulatory text for the provision was proposed in the proposed rule.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2016
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish at a private cemetery, and upon request, a headstone, marker, or medallion that signifies the status of an eligible veteran who served in the Armed Forces on or after April 6, 1917, as a Medal of Honor recipient. If the VA furnished a headstone, marker, or medallion for a deceased veteran that does not signify his or her status as a Medal of Honor recipient, the VA shall upon request replace that headstone, marker, or medallion with one that signifies the deceased's status as a Medal of Honor recipient.