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.
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 · 12 September 2016
Global War on Terrorism War Memorial Act This bill allows the Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation to establish the National Global War on Terrorism Memorial as a commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia to commemorate and honor the members of the Armed Forces who served on active duty in support of the Global War on Terrorism. No federal funds may be used to pay any expense to establish the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2016
Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act This bill includes veterans who participated in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands between January 1, 1977, and December 31, 1980, as radiation exposed veterans for purposes of the Department of Veterans Affairs presumption of service-connection for specified cancers.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2016
Expresses support for the designation of National Suicide Prevention Month. Recognizes suicide as a preventable public health problem and supports declaring that suicide prevention should be a priority. Promotes awareness that suicide most often occurs when stressors exceed the current coping abilities of an individual suffering from a mental health condition.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Emergency Forest Restoration Act This bill allows the Department of Agriculture (USDA), regarding National Forest System lands, or the Department of the Interior, regarding public lands, to develop and carry out a forest management activity on lands of the department concerned in a state when the activity's primary purpose is to address an insect or disease infestation that has been declared an emergency by the state governor. With specified exceptions, a categorical exclusion shall be available to USDA or Interior for these purposes. A "categorical exclusion" is an exception to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for a project or activity relating to the management of National Forest System lands or public lands that would otherwise be considered a major federal action. Beginning in FY2018, USDA shall identify the amount of funds, if any, appropriated in the previous fiscal year pursuant to the authorization of appropriations specified in this bill. Within five years of the end of the fiscal year in which an identification is made, USDA shall sell an amount of timber the sale of which is sufficient to recoup the identified amount and any associated costs. The bill prescribes requirements for the deposit of sales proceeds.
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
Recognizes the importance of pollinators in agriculture and in maintaining our diverse ecosystem. Supports ongoing efforts to advance research and increase public awareness.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Resource Management Practices Protection Act of 2016 This bill amends the federal criminal code to bar prosecution in cases involving damage to or destruction of federal property by fire if: the fire is set by a person to the person's own property, either to prevent an imminent threat of damage to the property or as part of any generally accepted practice for managing vegetation on timber, grazing, or farm land; the fire neither results in death or serious bodily injury nor poses a serious threat of bodily injury or damage to any building, dwelling, or vehicle of the United States; and no individual under 16 years of age is used in setting the fire.
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 · 11 July 2016
John F. Kennedy Centennial Commission Act This bill establishes the John F. Kennedy Centennial Commission, which shall: plan, develop, and carry out activities to honor John F. Kennedy on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth; and provide advice and assistance to federal, state, and local governmental agencies and civic groups to carry out activities to honor Kennedy on such occasion. The commission shall submit to the President and Congress annual reports on its revenue and expenditures, such interim reports as appropriate, and a final report by August 31, 2017. The commission shall terminate by September 30, 2017. The Inspector General of the Department of the Interior may perform an audit of the commission.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2016
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5538) making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017, and for other purposes; providing for proceedings during the period from July 15, 2016, through September 5, 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2016
Farm Regulatory Certainty Act This bill amends the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 to specify that animal waste, manure, and fertilizer are excluded from the Act's requirements. Citizen suits may not be brought under the Act if federal or state legal and enforcement actions are already underway.
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 · 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.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2016
Providing Retrospective Observations Validating Economics and Increasing Transparency Act of 2016 or the PROVE IT Act of 2016 This bill requires a federal agency that publishes a final major rule in the Federal Register to publish, biannually while the rule remains in effect, a report on the benefits and costs of such rule to regulated entities. The report shall: assess the impacts of the rule on such entities, include a determination about how the actual benefits and costs of the rule have varied from those anticipated when the rule was issued, assess the effectiveness and benefits of the rule in producing its regulatory objectives, and be reviewed by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) when required under executive order. The agency shall: (1) within 90 days after determining that the cost of a rule to regulated entities has exceeded the cost anticipated, report to Congress on the effectiveness and necessity of, and lower-cost alternatives to, the rule; and (2) reopen the public docket to receive additional comments and consider modifications or alternatives that reduce costs and increase benefits to regulated entities. The bill defines "major rule" as any rule that OIRA finds has resulted in or is likely to result in: an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; a major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, government agencies, or geographic regions; or significant adverse effects on competition, employment investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2016
Agency Accountability Act of 2016 This bill requires any agency that receives a fee, fine, penalty, or proceeds from a settlement to deposit the amount in the general fund of the Treasury. The funds may not be used unless the funding is provided in advance in an appropriations bill. Any amounts deposited during the fiscal year in which this bill is enacted may not be obligated during the fiscal year and must be used for deficit reduction. The bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require offsetting receipts and collections to be treated as revenue. (Offsetting receipts and collections are funds collected by agencies from other government accounts or from the public in businesslike or market-oriented transactions. Under current law, the collections are treated as negative budget authority and outlays rather than revenue and may be used to offset spending for budget enforcement purposes.) The requirements of the bill do not apply to the U.S. Postal Service or the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the USPTO must submit annually to Congress a report describing any fee, fine, penalty, or proceeds from a settlement collected by the USPTO during the previous year.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2016
Agriculture Environmental Stewardship Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow energy tax credits through 2020 for investments in: (1) qualified biogas property, or (2) qualified manure resource recovery property. The bill also permits new clean renewable energy bonds to be used for such properties. "Qualified biogas property" comprises a system that: (1) uses anaerobic digesters or other specified processes to convert biomass into a gas which is at least 52% methane; and (2) captures the gas for use as a fuel. The term includes property that cleans and conditions the gas for use as a fuel. "Qualified manure resource recovery property" comprises a system that uses specified processes to recover the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus from a non-treated digestate or animal manure by reducing or separating at least 50% of the nutrients, excluding any reductions during the incineration, storage, composting, or field application of the non-treated digestate or animal manure. The term also includes certain processing equipment. The Department of the Treasury must enter into an agreement with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for a study of biogas and report to Congress on the study.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2016
This bill authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to extend by six years the time period during which Okanogan County Public Utility District No. 1 is required to commence construction on the Enloe Hydroelectric Project located on the Similkameen River in Okanogan County, Washington. In addition, FERC is authorized to reinstate the construction license if it is expired.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2016
This bill redesignates as the "Nancy Reagan Memorial Park" the Gravelly Point Park located along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Arlington County, Virginia.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2016
No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop: a quality assurance document for carrying out the toll-free Veterans Crisis Line (VCL), including at backup call centers; and a plan to ensure that each telephone call, text message, and other communications received by the VCL, including at backup call centers, is answered in a timely manner by a person, consistent with the guidance established by the American Association of Suicidology.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2016
Daniel J. Evans Olympic National Park Wilderness Act This bill amends the Washington Park Wilderness Act of 1988 to redesignate the Olympic Wilderness as the "Daniel J. Evans Wilderness."
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2016
Expresses appreciation to the European Union (EU) for the progress made in countering Hizballah since the EU designated Hizballah's military wing as a terrorist organization. Supports cooperation between the United States and the EU in thwarting Hizballah's criminal and terrorist activities. Urges the EU to designate Hizballah in its entirety as a terrorist organization and increase pressure on the group, including through: better cross-border cooperation among EU members, issuing arrest warrants against Hizballah members and active supporters, freezing Hizballah's assets in Europe, and prohibiting fund raising activities in support of Hizballah.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2016
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5055) making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017.
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.
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
Certainty for States and Tribes Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to reestablish the Royalty Policy Committee, which should include members representing states and Indian tribes who produce minerals on federal or tribal land. In addition, Interior must establish a State and Tribal Resources Board, a subcommittee to the Royalty Policy Committee. The board and committee must advise Interior as it formulates policies and regulations regarding mineral production on federal and tribal lands. The board can delay the issuance of a final regulation by Interior if the board determines that such regulation will have a negative state or Tribal budgetary or economic impact. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) must complete by January 15, 2019, its programmatic review of the federal coal leasing program as described in Secretarial Order 3338. Secretarial Order 3338 directed the BLM to prepare a discretionary review of the federal coal program. (Interior issued Secretarial Order 3338 on January 15, 2016.) The moratorium on the issuance of new federal coal leases by the BLM shall terminate on January 16, 2019. Additionally, the bill allows leases and modifications to be issued by the BLM for any coal leasing application currently under review. Secretarial Order 3338 prohibited approval of such leases and modifications. The bill also directs the BLM to conduct federal coal lease sales and modifications within one year after it completes an analysis of an application.
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
Regulatory Integrity Act of 2016 This bill directs each executive agency to make publicly available on the agency website or in the rule making docket on Regulations.gov a list of each pending agency regulatory action, the date the agency began to develop or consider the action, its status, an estimate of the date it will be final and in effect, a brief description of such action, and each public communication about the action issued by the agency, including the date of the communication, its intended audience, the method of communication, and a copy of the original communication. Each agency shall publish the information required within 24 hours after such communication is issued and maintain the public availability of such information for at least 5 years after the action is finalized. Any public communication issued by an agency that refers to a pending agency regulatory action: shall specify whether the agency is considering alternatives and accepting comments; shall expressly disclose that the agency is the source of the information to the intended recipients; and may not solicit support for or promote the action nor include statements of aggrandizement for the agency, any federal employee, or the action.
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 · 13 May 2016
Anti-Pyramid Promotional Scheme Act of 2016 This bill prohibits the establishment, operation, or promotion of a pyramid promotional scheme, which is defined as a plan or operation by which a person gives consideration (money or other thing of value) to a participant in the scheme for the right to receive compensation derived primarily from the participant's introduction of another person into the plan or operation rather than from the sale of products to ultimate users. The bill grants enforcement authority to the Federal Trade Commission and requires violations to be treated as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act.
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 · 3 May 2016
Working to Integrate Networks Guaranteeing Member Access Now Act or the WINGMAN Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide an accredited, permanent congressional employee with read-only remote access to the electronic Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) claims records system of a represented veteran, regardless of whether the employee is acting under a power of attorney executed by the veteran. The VA shall ensure that access does not allow the employee to modify system data. An employee must complete the VA certification process required of agents or attorneys in order to have system access. Each Member of Congress who elects to have an employee participate in the system shall bear the certification cost, which shall be paid from the Member's representational allowance. Information access by an employee shall be deemed: (1) a covered disclosure requiring prior consent, with specified exceptions; and (2) a permitted disclosure relating to the privacy of individually identifiable health information. The VA may not recognize an employee for purposes of preparation, presentation, and prosecution of VA claims by reason of such system access. "Accredited, permanent congressional employee" means an employee of a Member of Congress who assists constituents with issues regarding federal departments or agencies. "Electronic VBA claims records system" means the VA system that provides claim status information, including information about medical records, compensation and pension exams records, rating decisions, a statement of the case and a supplementary statement of the case, a notice of disagreement, and Form-9.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2016
Guides and Outfitters Act or the GO Act This bill amends the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to specify the circumstances in which the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) may: (1) issue special recreation permits for federal recreational lands and waters, and (2) charge a special recreation permit fee for them. Interior and USDA may issue special recreation permits: for specialized individual and group use of federal facilities and federal recreational lands and waters; to recreation service providers who conduct outfitting, guiding, and other recreation services on federal recreational lands and waters; and to recreation service providers who conduct recreation or competitive events, which may involve incidental sales on federal recreational lands and waters. Interior and USDA shall issue joint permits for the use of lands managed by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Interior shall publish guidelines for establishing recreation permit fees. Revenues from special recreation permits issued to recreation service providers shall be used to: (1) offset partially Interior's direct cost of administering permits, and (2) improve and streamline the permitting process. When reviewing and adjusting allocations for the use of priority use permits for special uses of federal recreational lands and water managed by the Forest Service USDA shall allocate to the permit holder a prescribed amount subject to a cap. USDA and Interior shall implement a program that authorizes temporary permits for new recreational uses of federal recreational lands and waters managed by the Forest Service or the BLM, respectively. A permit holder prohibited by a state from indemnifying the federal government shall be considered to be in compliance with Interior and USDA indemnification requirements if the permit holder carries the required minimum amount of liability insurance coverage or is self-insured for the same minimum amount. Interior and USDA shall revise certain: special land use and special recreation permit regulations to streamline the processes for the issuance and renewal of outfitter and guide special use permits, and cost recovery fee regulations to reduce costs and minimize the burden of cost recovery on small businesses and adverse impacts of cost recovery on jobs in the outfitting and guiding industry and on rural economies. If a holder of a special use permit for outfitting and guiding that authorizes priority use has requested renewal of the permit, USDA may grant one or more exiting permit extensions for additional items for up to five years altogether, as necessary to allow completion of the renewal process and avoid the interruption of services under the permit.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2016
Suppressor Export Act This bill amends the Arms Export Control Act to provide that a regulation or related implementing policy or practice regarding registration and licensing requirements for manufacturers, exporters, or importers of designated defense articles and defense services may not prohibit the otherwise lawful export for sale or transfer of any firearm silencer or component, if: the item may be lawfully manufactured in the United States; and the importing country has a lawful public or private use market for such item and is not listed as a country prohibited from receiving arms exports.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
21st Century Conservation Service Corps Act of 2016 This bill establishes a 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC) that provides work and training opportunities for youth and veterans in certain federal agencies. Work and training provided in 21CSC must involve: protecting, restoring, and enhancing natural, cultural, and historical resources and treasures, including public and tribal land or water; supporting outdoor recreation and urban green spaces; restoring and safeguarding U.S. natural resources; or service that is primarily indoors with a clear benefit for natural, cultural, or historic resources or treasures. Participating federal agencies may develop public-private partnerships with organizations to support and carry out 21CSC projects. Participating federal agencies must compensate 21CSC participants with a wage, a stipend, a living allowance, or an educational credit at a participating institution of higher education. Participating federal agencies must also provide participants with: (1) job skill development; (2) community skill development to help participants acquire an ethic of service to others and become more effective resource and community stewards; and (3) a greater understanding of U.S. natural, cultural, or historic resources or treasures.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2016
Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from requiring a tax-exempt organization to include in annual returns the name, address, or other identifying information of any contributor. The bill includes exceptions for: (1) required disclosures regarding prohibited tax shelter transactions; and (2) contributions by the organization's officers, directors, or five highest compensated employees (including compensation paid by related organizations).
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2016
Protecting Veterans' Educational Choice Act of 2016 This bill requires Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) counselors who provide specified educational or vocational counseling services to provide a requesting veteran or member of the Armed Forces with information about the articulation agreements (agreements governing the transferability of credits toward meeting specific degree or program requirements) of each institution of higher learning in which the individual is interested. The VA shall provide a veteran who is certified as eligible for VA educational assistance with information on education counseling services and articulation agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2016
Port of Benton Restriction Release Act of 2016 This bill authorizes the Department of Transportation, acting through the Maritime Administration, to release all remaining right, title, and interest of the United States in and to a certain parcel of real property (including any improvements thereon) in Richland, Washington, to the Port of Benton, Washington.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2016
Combat-Injured Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2016 This bill directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to identify: certain severance payments to veterans with combat-related injuries paid after January 17, 1991, from which DOD withheld amounts for tax purposes, and the individuals to whom such severance payments were made. DOD shall provide each such veteran with: notice of the amount of improperly withheld severance payments, and instructions for filing amended tax returns to recover such amount. The period for filing a related claim with the Internal Revenue Service for a credit or refund is extended beyond the three-year limitation to the date that is one year after DOD provides the veteran with the information required by this Act. DOD shall ensure that amounts are not withheld for tax purposes from DOD severance payments to individuals when such payments are not considered gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2016
Firearm Due Process Protection Act This bill amends the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act to establish a 60-day time limit for the Department of Justice to make a final disposition of a request to correct a record in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. With respect to violations of that limit, the bill establishes a private right to action.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2016
End Executive Overreach Act This bill prohibits, until January 21, 2017, the use of federal funds, fees, or resources to implement an executive order issued on or after the enactment of this bill. The bill prohibits any agency, until such date, from making or finalizing: a major rule (a rule that is likely to result in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more); a rule that may raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in Executive Order 12866 (which requires that significant regulatory actions be submitted for review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget); or a rule that may create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency.
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
American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016 This bill declares the sense of Congress that it should consider a miscellaneous tariff bill. The U.S. International Trade Commission shall: conduct a process, meeting specified requirements, for the submission and consideration of petitions for duty suspensions and reductions; and report to Congress on the effects of duty suspensions and reductions enacted pursuant to this Act on producers, purchasers, and consumers in the United States. The bill prescribes requirements for publication by specified congressional committees of a list of limited tariff benefits contained in a miscellaneous tariff bill.
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 · 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
Blue Lives Matter Act of 2016 This bill amends the federal criminal code by expanding hate crimes to include an offense for knowingly causing, or attempting to cause, bodily injuries to individuals because they are police officers or perceived to be police officers. The bill subjects an individual convicted of such an offense to a prison term of up to 10 years, a fine, or both. If death results, or the offense includes kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to commit such crimes, or an attempt to kill, the offender is subject to a prison term for life, a fine, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2016
Local Enforcement for Local Lands Act of 2016 This bill declares that, by September 30, 2017, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) shall terminate the Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations unit and cease using Forest Service employees to perform law enforcement functions on federal lands. Also by such date, the Department of the Interior shall terminate the Bureau of Land Management Office of Law Enforcement and cease using Interior employees to perform law enforcement functions on federal lands. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as limiting the authority of Interior or USDA to authorize an employee of the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management to carry a firearm for protection while in the field. For FY2018 and each fiscal year thereafter, Interior shall make a grant to each state, determined according to a specified formula, to permit the state, directly or through subgrants with units of local government in it, to maintain law and order on federal land, protect individuals and property on federal lands, and enforce federal law. Any state or local government receiving the grant or subgrant shall enter into an agreement with Interior or USDA, as appropriate. In any such agreement Interior or USDA must waive all civil claims against the state or local government, and indemnify that government and save it harmless from all claims by third parties for property damage or personal injury that may arise out of law enforcement functions performed under the agreement. A law enforcement officer of a state or local government performing law enforcement functions pursuant to such an agreement shall not, except in certain circumstances, be deemed a federal employee with respect to hours of work, compensation rates, leave, unemployment compensation, and federal benefits, among other things.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2016
Unauthorized Spending Accountability Act This bill establishes a three-year reauthorization, rescission, and termination schedule for unauthorized programs funded through the annual appropriations process. The schedule applies to programs included in the Congressional Budget Office's annual report listing programs that are funded through the appropriations process and have an authorization of appropriations that has either expired or will expire during the year. After a program's authorization has expired, the bill limits the program's funding in the first year to 90% of the funds provided in the expiring year, reduces the limit to 85% for the second and third years, and terminates the program at the end of the third year. The bill enforces the limits by rescinding any funds that exceed the limit. The Office of Management and Budget must reduce discretionary spending limits by the amount of any rescissions. Programs that are reauthorized during the three-year period are exempt from the limits, rescissions, and termination if the reauthorization includes a provision limiting the authorization of appropriations period to no more than three years. The bill establishes the Spending and Accountability Commission to recommend a reauthorization schedule for discretionary spending programs and review all mandatory spending programs. The commission may recommend legislation to replace the funding limits and rescissions required by this bill with reductions in mandatory spending. The commission's reauthorization schedule must limit reauthorizations to three years, include the funding limits and rescissions established by this bill, and establish a mechanism for replacing the limitations and rescissions with reductions to mandatory spending programs. The House of Representatives must consider the proposal using expedited legislative procedures.
![Official portrait of Rep. Newhouse, Dan [R-WA-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_wa_4_newhouse_dan_200.jpg)