United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2023
This resolution expresses support for the diplomatic relations required to encourage the government of Mexico to make annual water deliveries to the United States under a 1944 treaty between the two countries. The resolution also acknowledges that farmers in south Texas are experiencing water shortages.
United States · United States Congress · 25 August 2023
Protecting our Communities from Failure to Secure the Border Act of 2023 This bill prohibits the federal government from using certain federally administered lands to provide housing to any non-U.S. nationals ( aliens under federal law) who have not been admitted into the United States. Specifically, this prohibition shall apply to any land under the administrative jurisdiction of the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Forest Service.
United States · United States Congress · 22 August 2023
Medicare Access to Rural Anesthesiology Act of 2023 This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide Medicare payment on a reasonable-cost basis for anesthesia services furnished by an anesthesiologist in a rural hospital. Specifically, the CMS shall provide payment for such services in the same manner as payment is provided under current law for services furnished in a rural hospital by a certified registered nurse anesthetist.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 2023
Accelerating the Growth of Rural Innovation and Tourism Opportunities to Uphold Rural Industries and Sustainable Marketplaces Act or the AGRITOURISM Act This bill establishes an Office of Agritourism within the Department of Agriculture to encourage and promote, in each state, agritourism activities and businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2023
Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act This bill authorizes the use of federal elementary and secondary education funds to purchase or use dangerous weapons for purposes of training students in archery, hunting, or other shooting sports. Current law prohibits the use of these funds to provide any person with a dangerous weapon or training in the use of a dangerous weapon. The bill specifies that this prohibition shall not apply to training students in archery, hunting, or other shooting sports.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2023
This resolution supports the designation of American Grown Flower and Foliage Month and recognizes that purchasing flowers and foliage grown in the United States supports the farmers, small businesses, jobs, and economy of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2023
National Dam Safety Program Reauthorization Act of 2023 This bill extends through FY2028 several initiatives relating to dam safety. Specifically, the bill extends (1) the National Dam Safety Program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); (2) the Interagency Committee on Dam Safety; (3) FEMA's National Inventory of Dams; and (4) outreach, research, training, and staff personnel related to dam safety.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2023
Stillbirth Health Improvement and Education for Autumn Act of 2023 or the SHINE for Autumn Act of 2023 This bill authorizes grants and establishes other programs to improve data collection on stillbirths. Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may award grants for surveillance and data collection on stillbirths, and HHS must issue guidelines for health departments and vital statistics units concerning the collection of stillbirth data. HHS must also develop educational awareness materials about stillbirths and make them publicly available. Furthermore, HHS must implement a fellowship program to provide training in perinatal autopsy pathology and otherwise support research on stillbirths and fetal autopsies. The bill also requires HHS to issue a report with educational guidelines on stillbirths and stillbirth risk factors.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2023
This resolution condemns Iran for the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. It also urges the Biden Administration and U.S. allies to publicly condemn the massacre and to pressure Iran to provide information to the families of the victims.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2023
Protect Innocent Victims Of Taxation After Fire Act This bill excludes from gross income, for income tax purposes, any amount received after 2019 and before 2026 by an individual taxpayer as a qualified wildfire relief payment. The bill defines such payment as compensation for expenses or losses incurred as a result of a federally declared forest or range fire disaster.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2023
Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program Act This bill provides statutory authority for the Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program within the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Under the bill, USDA must establish and maintain (directly or by grant, contract, or cooperative agreement) a program to help eligible hospital facilities in rural areas with a population of 50,000 inhabitants or less. The program must provide tailored technical assistance and training to hospital facilities to identify development needs for maintaining essential health care services and support action plans for financial, operational, and quality improvement projects to meet these needs. Development needs include (1) constructing, expanding, and modernizing health care facilities; (2) increasing telehealth capabilities; and (3) acquiring or upgrading health care information systems (e.g., electronic health records). The program must also provide technical assistance and training to help hospital facilities to better manage their financial and business strategies and identify, and apply for assistance from, USDA loan and grant programs. In selecting eligible hospital facilities to participate in the program, USDA must give priority to borrowers and grantees of certain USDA rural assistance programs. USDA must also submit an annual report to Congress on the progress and results of the program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2023
Main Street Tax Certainty Act This bill makes permanent the tax deduction for qualified business income. (Under current law, the deduction expires after December 31, 2025.) Qualified business income is defined as the net amount of qualified items of income, gain, deduction and loss with respect to any trade or business, excluding capital gains or losses, dividends, interest income, or income earned outside the U.S.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2023
Closing Loopholes for the Overseas Use and Development of Artificial Intelligence Act or the CLOUD AI Act This bill prohibits certain transactions between a U.S. person (i.e., natural person or entity) and an entity located in China or Macau when the transactions support remote access to certain integrated circuits. Specifically, the bill prohibits a U.S. person (and any foreign branch of a U.S. person) from providing support to an entity in China or Macau for the remote or cloud use of integrated circuits covered by export control classification numbers 3A090 or 4A090. (The classification numbers cover certain high-performance integrated circuits, computers, electronic assemblies, and related components.) The bill directs the Department of Commerce to establish the ban no later than 180 days after the bill is enacted and to issue the regulations necessary to implement the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2023
Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act of 2023 This bill reauthorizes through FY2031 and revises the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Upper Colorado River and San Juan River Basin recovery implementation programs to restore populations of certain endangered and threatened fish. The goal of the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program is to recover the humpback chub (Gila Cypha) , bonytail (Gila elegans) , Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius) , and razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) . The states of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming are partners in the program. The goal of the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program is to recover the Colorado pikeminnow ( Ptychocheilus lucius ) and razorback sucker ( Xyrauchen texanus ). The states of Colorado and New Mexico are partners in the program. The bill expands the programs to include the recovery of threatened fish stock. Thus, the bill requires the Upper Colorado River program to continue efforts to restore populations of the humpback chub, which was reclassified from an endangered species to a threatened species in 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2023
Don Young American Grown Act This bill prohibits the official display of a cut flower or green in any public area of a building of the Executive Office of the President, the Department of State, or the Department of Defense unless it is produced in the United States. The prohibition does not apply to any cut flower or green used by a federal officer or employee for personal display.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2023
Protecting U.S. Farmland and Sensitive Sites From Foreign Adversaries Act This bill expands the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) related to agriculture and land transactions. (CFIUS reviews the national security implications of foreign investment in the United States.) Specifically, the bill requires parties to an elevated risk real estate transaction to submit a mandatory declaration to CFIUS. Generally, this requirement applies to a transaction for a purchase or lease of certain real estate (e.g., real estate that is in close proximity to a sensitive site, such as a military installation or airspace) by a foreign adversary entity (e.g., a foreign person subject to the jurisdiction of a foreign adversary, such as China or Russia). Additionally, the bill creates a presumption that an elevated risk real estate transaction presents a risk to national security that cannot be resolved through any agreement or condition unless CFIUS (1) determines, based on clear and convincing evidence, that the risk to national security of the transaction can be resolved in a manner other than by suspending or prohibiting the transaction; and (2) notifies Congress about this determination and its reasoning. The bill authorizes CFIUS to consider U.S. food security as a factor in its national security reviews. The bill also expands the membership of CFIUS to include the Secretary of Agriculture on all transactions related to the purchase of agriculture land, agriculture biotechnology, and any other transaction related to the agriculture industry in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2023
American Confidence in Elections Act or the ACE Act This bill addresses election administration and security, campaign finance, and other related provisions. Specifically, the bill directs the Election Assistance Commission's (EAC's) Standards Board and Local Leadership Council to issue voluntary considerations for states about various aspects of election administration. Additionally, the bill reduces certain election assistance payments for states and local jurisdictions that allow noncitizens to vote; requires states to provide designated congressional election observers with full access to observe the administration procedures of federal elections; prohibits federal agencies from using funds made available for salaries and expenses to solicit or enter into agreements with nongovernmental organizations to conduct voter registration or voter mobilization activities on the agency's property or website; prohibits federal funds for election administration for states that allow ballot harvesting, with exceptions; establishes various requirements for elections in the District of Columbia; makes various changes to the EAC; and prohibits foreign nationals from making contributions or donations in connection with state or local ballot initiatives or referenda. The bill also establishes the Twentieth Amendment Section Four Panel, which must recommend to Congress model legislation to resolve any vacancy created by the death of a candidate in a contingent presidential or vice-presidential election. The bill makes changes to campaign finance, including by (1) repealing limits on coordinated party expenditures, and (2) prohibiting federal funds from being used to make payments in support of a congressional election campaign. It also makes changes to the Federal Election Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2023
Parity for Tribal Law Enforcement Act This bill treats certain tribal law enforcement officers as federal law enforcement officers under specified circumstances. Specifically, the bill authorizes the law enforcement officers of any Indian tribe that has contracted or compacted any or all federal law enforcement functions through the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to enforce federal law within the tribe's jurisdiction if those officers meet certain qualifications. These qualifications include completing training and passing an adjudicated background investigation. Further, the bill deems a tribal law enforcement officer who is acting under an authorized contract or compact as a federal law enforcement officer for the purposes of certain federal laws, including for injury and death, retirement, and pension benefits. The Department of the Interior must (1) develop procedures for credentialing tribal officers to confirm these officers meet minimum certification standards and training requirements for Indian country peace officers, and (2) promulgate guidance to implement this bill. The bill also requires the Department of Justice to coordinate and provide oversight for its functions and programs to ensure a coordinated approach for public safety in Indian communities.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2023
Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2023 This bill addresses issues relating to visas for farmworkers, including provisions establishing a certified agricultural worker (CAW) status and changing the H-2A temporary worker program. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may grant CAW status to an applying non-U.S. national ( alien under federal law) who (1) performed at least 1,035 hours of agricultural labor during the two-year period prior to June 23, 2023; (2) on that date was inadmissible, deportable, or under a grant of deferred enforced departure or temporary protected status; and (3) has been continuously present in the United States from that date until receiving CAW status. The bill imposes additional crime-related inadmissibility grounds on CAW applicants and makes some other grounds inapplicable. CAW status shall be valid for 5.5 years and may be extended. The applicant's spouse or children may receive CAW dependent status. A CAW applicant may not be detained or removed by DHS and shall be authorized for employment until DHS makes a final decision on the application. A CAW status recipient (and dependents) may apply for lawful permanent resident status (sometimes known as a green card) after meeting various requirements, including performing a certain amount of agricultural labor for a number of years. The bill also makes various changes to the H-2A program, such as (1) modifying the method for calculating and making adjustments to the H-2A worker minimum wage, (2) specifying how an employer may satisfy requirements that it attempted to recruit U.S. workers, (3) requiring H-2A employers to guarantee certain minimum work hours, (4) making the program available for agricultural work that is not temporary or seasonal, and (5) reserving a visa allocation for the dairy industry. DHS shall establish a pilot program allowing certain H-2A workers to apply for portable status, which gives the worker 60 days after leaving a position to secure new employment with a registered H-2A employer. DHS must also establish an electronic system patterned on the E-Verify Program for employers to verify an individual's identity and employment authorization. Employers hiring individuals for agricultural employment must use the system. This bill permanently establishes the Housing Preservation and Revitalization Program, which provides financing assistance for rural rental housing and off-farm labor housing and rental assistance for qualified tenants of such housing. It also authorizes the Department of Agriculture to provide various assistance, including funding for insuring loans and grants for new farmworker housing.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2023
VA Loan Informed Disclosure Act of 2023 or the VALID Act of 2023 The bill requires a Federal Housing Administration mortgage notice to contain comparative rate and fee information about loans available under the Department of Veterans Affairs home loan program.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2023
Restore Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability Act of 2023 or the Restore VA Accountability Act of 2023 This bill modifies personnel action procedures regarding certain employees and executives of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The bill authorizes the VA to remove from civil service, demote, or suspend VA employees that are supervisors or managers if the VA determines by substantial evidence that the performance or misconduct of such individual warrants such action. This authority does not apply to certain appointees or individuals in their probationary or trial period. Supervisors or managers who are subject to a removal, demotion, or suspension under this bill are entitled to (1) advance notice of the action and supporting evidence, (2) representation by an attorney or representative, and (3) grieve the action in accordance with an internal grievance process. The bill also provides protections from removal, demotion, or suspension for supervisor or managers who are whistleblowers or are seeking corrective action for an alleged prohibited personnel practice such as discrimination. The bill also modifies the procedures to remove, demote, or suspend VA employees or senior executives based on performance or misconduct, specifically by requiring the VA to determine by substantial evidence that the performance or misconduct of the individual warrants such removal, demotion, or suspension. Such procedures must apply retroactively, beginning on the date of enactment of the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 (June 23, 2017).
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2023
Smoke Exposure Crop Insurance Act of 2023 This bill requires the federal crop insurance program (FCIP) to provide for the research and development of a policy to insure wine grapes (including wine grapes produced in California, Oregon, and Washington) against losses due to wildfire smoke exposure. (The term policy means an insurance policy, plan of insurance, provision of a policy or plan of insurance, and related materials.) The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, the agency that finances FCIP operations, must make any resulting policy available that meets specified FCIP requirements. The FCIP must also submit a report to Congress on the research and any resulting policy. The report must include the feasibility of a policy that allows producers to claim an indemnity through post-harvest, post-vinification testing if such testing demonstrates smoke damage that was not detectable prior to harvest.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2023
Import Security and Fairness Act This bill excludes imported articles from nonmarket economy countries or countries on the priority watch list from receiving de minimis treatment. De minimis treatment allows imported articles valued under $800 to enter the United States without paying duties or taxes. The bill also directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect additional information on merchandise that may qualify for de minimis treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2023
This bill includes phosphate and potash on the Department of the Interior's final list of critical minerals. (Under current law, Interior and other departments are required to conduct a variety of efforts to ensure a secure and reliable supply chain of critical minerals.) Interior must evaluate current policies relating to permitting and leasing of projects to develop critical minerals and issue recommendations to Congress to support domestic production of such commodities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2023
This bill expands the definition of critical mineral under the Energy Act of 2020 to include copper. Thus, this bill requires the Department of Energy and other agencies to conduct a variety of efforts to ensure a secure and reliable supply chain of copper.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2023
This bill prohibits the Department of Energy from finalizing, implementing, administering, or enforcing the proposed rule titled Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Conventional Cooking Products; Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and announcement of public meeting with respect to energy conservation standards for gas kitchen ranges and ovens, or any other substantially similar rule, including any rule that would directly or indirectly limit consumer access to gas kitchen ranges or ovens.
United States · United States Congress · 31 May 2023
Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act or the SHIP Act This bill requires the President to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions against foreign persons that knowingly transport, process, refine, or otherwise deal in petroleum and petroleum products originating in Iran. These sanctions also extend to certain foreign persons associated with the sanctioned individual, such as adult family members and any entities owned or controlled by the sanctioned individual.
United States · United States Congress · 30 May 2023
Safe American Food Exports Act of 2023 or the SAFE Act of 2023 This bill allows the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to preemptively negotiate regional export ban agreements for known animal disease threats that apply only to areas affected by animal disease outbreaks to enable the continuation of exports from areas not affected by an outbreak. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and the Foreign Agricultural Service, in consultation with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, are authorized to negotiate the regionalization, zoning, compartmentalization, and other trade agreements regarding outbreaks of known animal disease threats of trade significance with countries with export markets for livestock animals or animal products from the United States. In addition, USDA must promulgate a regulation requiring that, within three days of removing any language from the FSIS Import and Export Library, FSIS notify each state department of agriculture, each lead state agency for animal disease, and any state and national producer organizations representing impacted livestock producers. (The FSIS library provides country and product specific information for (1) meat and poultry exports, and (2) products eligible for import to the United States.)
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2023
Western Water Accelerated Revenue Repayment Act This bill permanently authorizes a provision under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act that (1) allows certain water users (e.g., agriculture and municipal water users) in western states to prepay what they owe under contracts with the Bureau of Reclamation for the storage and supply of water resources; and (2) requires a specified portion of the receipts generated from such prepayments be directed to the Reclamation Water Storage Account for the construction of water storage.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2023
United States Postal Service Shipping Equity Act This bill authorizes the mailing of alcoholic beverages by certain entities in accordance with the delivery requirements otherwise applicable to a privately carried shipment. The authorization applies to an entity (including a winery, brewery, beverage distilled spirits plant, or other wholesaler, distributer, importer, or retailer of alcoholic beverages) that has registered with, obtained a permit from, or obtained approval of an application from the Department of the Treasury. The bill directs the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to prescribe regulations (1) requiring direct delivery to a duly authorized agent at a postal facility or to the addressee, who must be at least 21 years of age and present a valid, government-issued photo identification at the time of delivery; (2) prohibiting such alcoholic beverages from being for resale or any other commercial purpose; and (3) requiring such entity to certify that the mailing is not in violation of applicable laws or regulations and to provide other information as directed by the USPS. The U.S. district courts shall have jurisdiction to render judgment upon any claim brought by a state, local, or tribal government against the USPS of a violation of state, local, or tribal law regarding the sale, mailing, transportation, or importation of alcoholic beverages into any U.S. state, territory, or district. The USPS shall not be liable for interest prior to judgment or for punitive damages.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2023
Veterans Right to Expediency Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to deliver notice of the denial of claims for VA benefits by certified mail.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2023
Dignity for Immigrants while Guarding our Nation to Ignite and Deliver the American Dream Act of 2023 or as the DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2023 This bill addresses immigration-related issues, such as increasing hiring for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel and providing removal deferral for eligible non-U.S. nationals ( aliens under federal law). For example, the bill requires the hiring of additional CBP personnel and authorizes recruitment, relocation, and retention bonuses for CBP personnel; provides funding for border infrastructure and equipment; makes it a crime to transmit the location of law enforcement with the intent to violate immigration laws or certain other federal laws; requires employers to verify the immigration status of individuals using an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after the E-Verify system; requires unaccompanied alien children to be processed and reunited with U.S.-based sponsors in accordance with the Flores settlement, which established policies pertaining to the treatment of minors without lawful immigration status; requires the Department of State to implement a strategy to address the key factors contributing to individuals from Central America traveling to the United States; provides a path to permanent resident status to eligible individuals without lawful immigration status who entered the United States as minors (commonly referred to as Dreamers); establishes the Dignity Program, which defers the removal of eligible individuals without lawful immigration status who meet various requirements, including paying into a fund to provide training to U.S. workers; and establishes the Redemption Program, which provides a path to permanent resident status to individuals who complete the Dignity Program and meet various requirements, including making additional payments into the U.S. worker fund.
![Official portrait of Rep. Newhouse, Dan [R-WA-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_wa_4_newhouse_dan_200.jpg)