Bill· HRH.R. 6427 (114th)open
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2016
Creating Financial Prosperity for Businesses and Investors Act This bill amends the Small Business Investment Incentive Act of 1980 to require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue a public statement, and disclose any actions it intends to take, each time its annual government-business forum submits findings or recommendations regarding the current status of problems and programs relating to small business capital formation. The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is amended to establish within the SEC an Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation and a Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee. The Investment Company Act of 1940 is amended to increase from 100 to 250 the limit on the number of people who may own securities in certain venture capital funds (with no more than $10 million in invested capital, adjusted annually for inflation) before the issuer is required to register as an investment company. The bill allows a crowdfunding issuer to sell shares through a crowdfunding vehicle (a company that aggregates small individual contributions into a single investment in the issuer) that meets certain requirements and revises conditions upon which the SEC exempts securities issued in crowdfunding transactions from SEC registration requirements. The Securities Act of 1933 is amended to add to the definition of accredited investor certain categories of natural persons whose net worth or income exceeds specified levels, who are licensed or registered as brokers or investment advisors, or whose verified education or job experience qualifies as professional knowledge for a particular investment. The Investment Company Act of 1940 is amended to repeal the exemption from its coverage of investment companies created under the laws of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or any other U.S. possession.
Bill· HRH.R. 6433 (114th)referred
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.
Bill· HRH.R. 6233 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2016
George W. Bush Childhood Home Study Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the childhood home of former President George W. Bush, which is located at 1412 West Ohio Avenue in Midland, Texas. Interior shall: (1) evaluate the national significance of such site, and (2) determine the suitability and feasibility of designating it as a unit of the National Park System.
Bill· HRH.R. 6221 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2016
This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to Don Stephens, President and Founder of Mercy Ships.
Bill· HRH.R. 6094 (114th)open
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.
Bill· HRH.R. 6100 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2016
Protect Family Farms and Businesses Act This bill prohibits proposed Internal Revenue Service regulations published on August 4, 2016, relating to restrictions on liquidation of an interest with respect to estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes from taking effect. The bill prohibits funds from being used to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the proposed regulations or any substantially similar regulations.
Bill· HRH.R. 5983 (114th)open
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2016
Financial CHOICE Act of 2016 This bill amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, among other Acts, to: repeal the "Volcker Rule" (which restricts banks from making certain speculative investments); with respect to winding down failing banks, eliminate the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's orderly liquidation authority and establish new provisions regarding financial institution bankruptcy; and repeal the "Durbin Amendment" (which limits the fees that may be charged to retailers for debit card processing). Certain banks may exempt themselves from specified regulatory standards if they maintain a certain ratio of capital to total assets and meet other specified requirements. The bill removes the Financial Stability Oversight Council's authority to designate non-bank financial institutions and financial market utilities as "systemically important" (also known as "too big to fail"). Under current law, entities so designated are subject to additional regulatory restrictions. Designations made previously are retroactively repealed. The bill also amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to: restructure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by replacing its director with a bipartisan commission; subject the commission to the congressional appropriations process, expanded judicial review, and additional congressional oversight; and limit the commission's authority to take action against entities for "abusive" practices. In addition, the bill: modifies provisions related to the Securities and Exchange Commission's managerial structure and enforcement authority; eliminates the Office of Financial Research within the Department of the Treasury; and revises provisions related to capital formation, insurance regulation, civil penalties for securities laws violations, and community financial institutions.
Bill· HRH.R. 5816 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Resettlement Accountability National Security Prioritization Act of 2016 This bill prohibits the admission of covered aliens into the United States for four years unless Congress passes a joint resolution giving the Department of Homeland Security authority to admit them. No covered alien may be admitted into the United States after such four-year period. "Covered alien" means an alien applying for refugee admission to the United States who: (1) is a national of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, or Yemen; or (2) has no nationality and whose last habitual residence was in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, or Yemen. The Government Accountability Office shall report on: (1) the national security impact of refugee admissions; and (2) specified costs of providing refugees with benefits under Medicare, Medicaid, disability insurance under title II of the Social Security Act, the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly the food stamp program), and section 8 rental assistance.
Bill· HRH.R. 5905 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Protect Our Southwestern States Enforcement Act or the POSSE Act This bill requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to: (1) ensure that specified Border Patrol sectors in Texas, California, and Arizona are fully staffed, including by hiring additional CBP and Border Patrol personnel as needed; and (2) maintain the number of Border Patrol stations in each such sector at current levels. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 is amended to direct the Department of Homeland Security to construct double-layered fencing along the entire southwest border by December 31, 2019. (Current law provides for reinforced fencing along at least 700 miles of such border.)
Bill· HRH.R. 5904 (114th)referred
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.)
Bill· HRH.R. 5829 (114th)reported
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Agriculture Delivering Vastly Improved Science at the EPA Now Act or the ADVISE Now Act This bill amends the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 to require the Environmental Protection Agency and its Science Advisory Board to establish a standing agriculture-related committee (as the Act currently requires without a deadline) within 30 days of enactment of this bill. If an agriculture committee is not established by this deadline, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) shall establish and appoint members to such a committee within 15 days. If such a contingent establishment occurs, USDA shall have the continuing authority to appoint members to it.
Bill· HRH.R. 5809 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Back the Blue Act of 2016 This bill amends the federal criminal code by establishing mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years in prison for offenders who kill, or attempt or conspire to kill, current or former U.S. judges and federal law enforcement officers. Offenders are subject to 30 years in prison or the death penalty if death results. Additionally, the bill makes it illegal to kill, or attempt or conspire to kill, current or former public safety officers or judicial officers who work for state or local governments that are federally funded if the officers were engaged in official duties or targeted on account of their duties. The penalties for crimes against federal officials are also applied for crimes against federally funded public safety officers. The bill: (1) makes it a crime to assault an individual involved in crime and juvenile delinquency control or reduction, or enforcement of the laws of states; and (2) increases penalties based on the degree of bodily injury caused by the assault and the type of weapon used. A new federal crime is established for fleeing authorities to avoid prosecution, custody, or confinement after conviction for a killing, attempting to kill, or conspiring to kill, a federal judge or law enforcement officer, or a federally funded public safety officer. The bill expands the authority of federal law enforcement officers to carry firearms in federal facilities. The Department of Justice must award grants to state, local, or tribal enforcement agencies for improving their relationships with the communities they serve.
Bill· HRH.R. 5808 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Comprehensive Regulatory Review Act of 2016 This bill amends the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 to require the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council and each of the federal financial regulators to conduct, at least once every five years, a comprehensive review of all regulations prescribed by the council or the regulator, including all regulations issued after December 31, 2006, in order to identify outdated or otherwise unnecessary regulatory requirements imposed on covered persons. "Covered persons" are those that engage in offering or providing a consumer financial product or service and affiliates who provide services to them. Under the process for conducting such a review, the council and the appropriate regulator shall also: consider the impact of the regulations on the financial safety and soundness, as well as on the risk profile and business models, of the covered persons; and determine the necessity, appropriateness, and impact of continuing to apply the regulatory action. The bill requires the council and the appropriate regulator to ensure that the notice and comment period with respect to the regulations reviewed is conducted at least once every 5 years (rather than, as currently, 10 years). The council and the appropriate regulator shall eliminate or tailor unnecessary regulations so as to limit the regulatory compliance burdens.
Bill· HRH.R. 5734 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2016
Veterans Transplant Coverage Act of 2016 This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) provide for an operation on a live donor to carry out a transplant procedure for an eligible veteran notwithstanding that the live donor may not be eligible for VA health care, and (2) provide for such an operation at a VA or a non-VA facility. The VA shall furnish to such a donor any care or services that may be required before and after conducting with such procedure.
Bill· HRH.R. 5654 (114th)referred
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.
Bill· HRH.R. 5640 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 July 2016
Electricity Storage Innovation Act This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish the Electricity Storage Basic Research Initiative. The initiative is designed to expand knowledge related to the control, storage, and conversion of electrical energy into chemical energy, and chemical energy into electrical energy. DOE must support specific programs within its Office of Science and Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy as part of the initiative. In addition, DOE must organize activities under the initiative utilizing research teams consisting of experts from the national laboratories, universities, and the private sector.
Bill· HRH.R. 5638 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 July 2016
Solar Fuels Innovation Act This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 by requiring the Department of Energy (DOE) to carry out the Solar Fuels Basic Research Initiative to expand scientific knowledge about converting solar energy into chemical energy. Specifically, DOE must support research about: (1) replicating natural photosynthetic processes in artificial photosynthesis processes, and (2) generating a variety of fuels produced from sunlight through artificial photosynthesis. (A photosynthetic process is one used by plants to convert light from the sun into chemical energy. Artificial, human-made photosynthesis mimics the natural process.) Appropriations authorized under the bill may not be obligated or expended for commercial application of energy technology. The bill repeals a requirement for DOE to support a research and development program in catalysis science.
Resolution· HCONRESH.Con.Res. 140 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 July 2016
Requires both chambers of Congress to assemble annually in the Hall of the House of Representatives to receive a presentation from the Comptroller General on the Government Accountability Office's audited financial statement of the accounts and associated activities of the executive branch, together with an analysis of the financial position and condition of the federal government.
Bill· HRH.R. 5621 (114th)referred
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.
Law· HRH.R. 5591 (114th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2016
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 810 N US Highway 83 in Zapata, Texas, as the "Zapata Veterans Post Office."
Bill· HRH.R. 5465 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2016
This bill: (1) repeals provisions of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 that amended the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to authorize the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to prescribe regulations governing interchange transaction fees for electronic debit transactions, and (2) restores the law amended by such provisions as if they had not been enacted.
Bill· HRH.R. 5429 (114th)open
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2016
SEC Regulatory Accountability Act This bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to direct the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), before issuing a regulation under the securities laws, to: identify the nature and source of the problem that the proposed regulation is designed to address in order to assess whether any new regulation is warranted; use the SEC Chief Economist to assess the costs and benefits of the intended regulation and adopt it only upon a reasoned determination that its benefits justify the costs; identify and assess available alternatives that were considered; and ensure that any regulation is accessible, consistent, written in plain language, and easy to understand. The SEC shall: consider the impact of the regulation upon investor choice, market liquidity, and small business; and explain in its final rule the nature of comments received concerning the proposed rule or rule change as well as its response to those comments. The SEC shall: (1) review its existing regulations periodically to determine if they are outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome; and (2) modify, streamline, expand, or repeal them. Whenever it adopts or amends a major rule, the SEC shall state in its adopting release the regulation's purposes and intended consequences, the post-implementation quantitative and qualitative metrics to measure the regulation's economic impact, the assessment plan to be used under the supervision of the Chief Economist to assess whether the regulation has achieved those purposes, and any foreseeable unintended or negative consequences. The assessment plan must: (1) consider the regulation's costs, benefits, and intended and unintended consequences; and (2) specify the data to be collected, the methods for its collection and analysis, and an assessment completion date. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board should also follow the requirements set forth by this bill.
Law· HRH.R. 5356 (114th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2016
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 14231 TX-150 in Coldspring, Texas, as the "E. Marie Youngblood Post Office."
Bill· HRH.R. 5292 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2016
Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016 This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in appointing air traffic controllers, to give preferential consideration to qualified individuals maintaining 52 consecutive weeks of experience involving the active separation of air traffic after receipt of an air traffic certification or facility rating within 5 years of application while serving at an FAA air traffic control facility, a civilian or military air traffic control facility of the Department of Defense, or a tower operating under contract with the FAA. The FAA shall consider additional applicants by referring an approximately equal number of employees for appointment among two applicant pools. The number referred from each group shall not differ by more than 10%. Pool one shall consist of applicants who: have successfully completed air traffic controller training and graduated from an institution participating in the Collegiate Training Initiative program and have received an appropriate recommendation or endorsement from such institution, are eligible for a veterans recruitment appointment and provide a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty within 120 days of the announcement closing, are veterans eligible for veterans' benefits who maintain aviation experience obtained in the course of the individual's military experience, or are preference eligible veterans. Pool two shall consist of applicants who apply under a vacancy announcement recruiting from all U.S. citizens. The FAA: (1) may not use a biographical assessment when hiring, (2) must provide an individual who applied in response to a specified 2014 vacancy announcement and was disqualified as the result of a biographical assessment an opportunity to reapply under the revised hiring practices, and (3) must waive any maximum age limit for such reapplying applicants who met such requirement when they applied under such announcement. Otherwise, the maximum age limit for an original appointment as an air traffic controller under this bill shall be 35 years of age. The FAA shall consider directly notifying secondary schools and institutes of higher learning of a vacancy announcement for pool one applicants.
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