United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
New Deal Rural Broadband Act of 2017 This bill amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish a rural broadband office within the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and authorize new grants and loans for developing broadband in rural, underserved, and tribal areas. The bill establishes the Office of Rural Broadband Initiatives and the position of Under Secretary for Rural Broadband Initiatives to: administer all rural broadband-related grant and loan programs currently administered by the Rural Utilities Service, conduct specified outreach and coordination activities, and conduct and release to the public an inventory of federal and state property on which a broadband facility could be constructed. The bill establishes the Breaking Ground on Rural Broadband Program and the Tribal Broadband Assistance Program to provide grants, loans, or loan guarantees for the development of broadband in rural, underserved, and tribal areas. The bill modifies existing programs to authorize USDA to: (1) provide grants, in addition to loans and loan guarantees permitted under current law, for the construction, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equipment for broadband service in rural areas; and (2) give priority to multijurisdictional projects for the development of broadband or telecommunications services through the collaboration and participation of multiple stakeholders in the service area. The bill authorizes federal land management agencies to retain and use certain rental fees for communications activities on federal lands. The agencies may use the fees for specified activities related to administering and managing communications sites.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Protect the National Security Council From Political Interference Act of 2017 This bill amends the National Security Act of 1947 to prohibit the President from designating any individual whose primary or predominant responsibility is political in nature to serve as a member of the National Security Council (NSC) or to regularly attend or participate in NSC meetings or meetings convened under the auspices of the NSC, including Principals Committee meetings. Organized under presidential memorandum, the Principals Committee is a cabinet-level senior interagency forum chaired by the National Security Advisor or the Homeland Security Advisor to consider policies that affect U.S. national security interests. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that no limitations should be imposed on the ability of the Director of National Intelligence or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or their designees, to attend any Principals Committee meeting convened under the auspices of the NSC or any other senior interagency meeting convened to consider policy issues that affect U.S. national security interests.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Employer Participation in Student Loan Assistance Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance to include payments of qualified education loans by an employer to either an employee or a lender.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
Military Infrastructure Consolidation and Efficiency Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to: (1) develop a force structure plan (plan) for the Armed Forces based on a DOD assessment of threats to U.S. national security for FY2018-FY2038; (2) conduct a comprehensive inventory of military installations world-wide for each military department; and (3) submit a certification of whether the need exists for DOD to consolidate, close, or realign military installations (installation actions). DOD may begin a round for the selection of installation actions only after Congress has had 90 days to consider such certification. The President may not begin such actions if Congress enacts a joint resolution of disapproval of the plan, inventory, or certification during such period. DOD must certify that a round of installation actions will result in annual net savings within five years. In developing its installation action recommendations, DOD shall consider an affected local government's approval of such an action. The bill prescribes final selection criteria for such recommendations, which shall include military value criteria. The bill establishes an independent Military Infrastructure Consolidation and Efficiency Commission of 2019 if: (1) DOD certifies that the need exists for a round for the selection of installation actions, and (2) Congress does not enact such a joint resolution of disapproval within the prescribed 90 days. The bill provides for: (1) commission review of, and authority to make changes to, DOD recommendations; and (2) presidential review of commission recommendations for the consolidation, closure, and realignment of military installations inside the United States. DOD may provide economic adjustment assistance to an affected community. DOD shall establish a new Field Activity to act as the executive agent for the management and disposal of excess real property resulting from installation actions. The General Services Administration shall delegate to DOD the authority to utilize excess property and dispose of surplus property located at a military installation closed or realigned under this Act. The bill sets forth: (1) provisions governing the transfer of property located at an affected installation, (2) the responsibilities of the redevelopment authorities for such installations, and (3) the duties of the Department of Housing and Urban Development s regarding how redevelopment plans address the needs of the homeless. The bill provides for establishment of the Military Infrastructure Consolidation and Efficiency 2019 account to be used for approved installation actions. This bill shall be the exclusive authority for selecting or carrying out installation actions inside the United States until April 15, 2020, excluding specified closures and realignments carried out for reasons of national security or a military emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH Woman) Act of 2017 This bill requires the federal government: (1) to ensure coverage for abortion care in public health insurance programs including Medicaid, Medicare, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); (2) as an employer or health plan sponsor, to ensure coverage for abortion care for participants and beneficiaries; and (3) as a provider of health services, to ensure that abortion care is made available to individuals who are eligible to receive services. The federal government may not prohibit, restrict, or otherwise inhibit insurance coverage of abortion care by state or local governments or by private health plans. State and local governments may not prohibit, restrict, or otherwise inhibit insurance coverage of abortion care by private health plans.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Statue of Liberty Values Act of 2017 or the SOLVE Act of 2017 This bill states that: (1) beginning on January 27, 2017, Executive Order 13769, entitled "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States," is null and void, shall have no force and effect, and may not be implemented or enforced; and (2) no federal funds may be used to implement or enforce any of the policy changes set forth in such order. Among the order's major provisions are restrictions on the entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants from seven countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) and additional limitations on refugee admissions to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
No Funds for Unconstitutional Executive Orders Act This bill prohibits any federal agency funds, resources, or fees from being used to carry out any of the policy changes set forth in the executive order entitled "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States," signed by President Donald J. Trump on January 27, 2017. Among the order's major provisions are restrictions on the entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants from seven countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) and additional limitations on refugee admissions to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
This Land Is Our Land Act This bill prohibits the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from constructing, or obligating or expending any funds for the construction of, any new border barriers, including walls or fences, on federal lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture within 100 miles of the international land borders of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment providing that: (1) the rights protected by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only; (2) artificial entities (such as corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities established by the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state) shall have no rights under the Constitution and are subject to regulation by the people, through federal, state, or local law; and (3) the privileges of such artificial entities shall not be construed to be inherent or inalienable. The amendment requires federal, state, and local government to: (1) regulate, limit, or prohibit contributions and expenditures, including a candidate's own contributions and expenditures, to ensure that all citizens, regardless of their economic status, have access to the political process and that no person gains, as a result of that person's money, substantially more access or ability to influence the election of any candidate for public office or any ballot measure; and (2) require that any permissible contributions and expenditures be publicly disclosed. The judiciary is prohibited from construing the spending of money to influence elections to be speech under the First Amendment.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
This bill declares that the memorandum titled "Presidential Memorandum Regarding the Hiring Freeze" published on January 23, 2017, or any other substantially similar memorandum, executive order, or other action by the President to prevent a department or agent of the federal government from filing vacant federal civilian employee positions or creating new such positions, shall have no force or effect with respect to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Requiring Accountability and Inspections for Dining Service Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide for annual inspections to ensure that VA medical facility kitchens and food service areas meet private hospital kitchen and food service area standards. The VA shall seek to enter into an agreement with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospital Organizations to conduct such inspections. If the VA is unable to enter into an agreement with the Commission, the VA shall seek such an agreement with a non-federal, not-for-profit entity with comparable expertise and objectivity. If a VA facility kitchen or food service area fails such inspection, the VA shall implement a remediation plan within 48 hours and conduct a second inspection within 7 days. A facility kitchen or food service area that fails the second inspection shall be closed until: (1) remediation is completed, and (2) all kitchens and food service areas at that facility meet the standards. The Veterans Integrated Service Network of a facility in which a kitchen or food service area is closed shall enter into a food service contract with a General Services Administration-approved vendor to provide food at such facility.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment authorizing Congress and the states to set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections. The amendment grants Congress and the states the power to implement and enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation. They are allowed to distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections. This joint resolution declares that nothing in this amendment shall be construed to grant Congress or the states the power to abridge the freedom of the press.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
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 · 24 January 2017
Global Health, Empowerment, and Rights Act or the HER Act This bill states that foreign nongovernmental organizations shall not be ineligible for U.S. international development assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 solely on the basis of health or medical services provided by such organizations with non-U.S. government funds if such services do not violate the laws of the country in which they are being provided and would not violate U.S. federal law if provided in the United States. Such organizations also shall not be subject to requirements relating to the use of non-U.S. government funds for advocacy and lobbying activities other than those that apply to U.S. nongovernmental organizations receiving such assistance under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act of 2017 This bill requires federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to collect, compile, and submit data to the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) on the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers. The BJS must report to Congress and publish such data. DOJ must reduce by 10% the allocation of funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program for a state or local government that fails to substantially comply.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over the air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Government By the People Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to establish a program for small individual donations to campaigns for public office and make other changes to campaign finance law. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) individual taxpayers a refundable tax credit of 50% of qualified congressional House campaign contributions (i.e., cash contributions by an individual to a candidate for the House of Representatives or a political committee established and maintained by a national political party, to be known as "My Voice Federal" contributions); and (2) individual taxpayers to designate a portion of any overpayment of tax as a contribution to the Freedom From Influence Fund. The Government by the People Oversight Commission, established by this bill, shall establish a voucher pilot program to provide voters with a $50 "My Voice Voucher" for making campaign contributions. The bill amends the FECA to establish a 6-1 matching program for small dollar contributions (up to $150) to a candidate for public office and sets forth eligibility, certification, and expenditure requirements for candidates. The bill permits unlimited coordinated party expenditures from small donor sources on behalf of publicly financed House candidates. The bill requires disclosure by all bundlers of bundled contributions (i.e., the practice of combining several small campaign contributions into one large contribution to avoid exceeding the limit on contributions), not just registered lobbyists. The bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to expand the access of candidates for public office to broadcasting.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2017
Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage and payment with respect to certain pharmacist services that: (1) are furnished by a pharmacist in a health-professional shortage area, and (2) would otherwise be covered under Medicare if furnished by a physician.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2017
Kari's Law Act of 2017 This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit businesses from manufacturing or importing for use in the United States, or selling or leasing in the United States, a multi-line telephone system unless it is pre-configured to allow users to directly initiate a call to 9-1-1 (without dialing any additional digit, code, prefix, or post-fix, including any trunk-access code such as the digit "9") from any station equipped with dialing facilities. Businesses are prohibited from installing, managing, or operating multi-line telephone systems without such a direct 9-1-1 call configuration. Businesses installing, managing, or operating such systems for use in the United States must configure the systems to provide a notification to a central location at the facility where the system is installed, or to another person or organization regardless of location, if the system is able to be so configured without an improvement to the hardware or software.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2017
DREAMer Information Protection Act This bill: (1) prohibits information provided by an applicant for deferred action under the Department of Homeland Security's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program from being used for the purpose of immigration enforcement proceedings, and (2) shall take effect as if enacted on January 19, 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2017
Safeguard our Elections and Combat Unlawful Interference in Our Democracy Act or the SECURE Our Democracy Act This bill directs the Department of State to submit within 120 days a list of each foreign person that: (1) was at any time since January 1, 2015, involved in actions to unlawfully access, disrupt, misappropriate, influence, or alter information related to U.S. political parties, federal election candidates, or the administration of federal elections; or (2) worked or acted as an agent or instrumentality of, or on behalf of, or that was otherwise associated with, such foreign person. The unclassified portion of such list shall be made available to the public and published in the Federal Register. A listed alien shall be ineligible to receive a U.S. entry visa, and any current visa shall be revoked. Such prohibitions shall also apply to an alien who is an official of, an agent or instrumentality of, or working or acting on behalf of, a listed foreign entity or government if such alien knowingly authorized, conspired to commit, was responsible for, engaged in, or otherwise assisted or facilitated such prohibited actions. The President, through the Department of the Treasury, shall: (1) freeze and prohibit a listed foreign person's transactions in property and property interests that are in the United States or controlled a U.S. person, and (2) require each financial institution that is a U.S. person and has within its possession or control such property or property interests to certify that it has frozen all such assets.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2017
Cuba Agricultural Exports Act This bill amends the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 to exempt from prohibitions against U.S. assistance to Cuba: (1) any exports under the market access program, the export credit guarantee program, and the foreign market development cooperator program; or (2) any obligation or expenditure of funds to promote trade with Cuba by federal commodity promotion programs established in accordance with a commodity promotion law. This exemption shall not apply if the U.S. assistance recipient would be an entity controlled by the Cuban government, including the armed forces, the Ministry of the Interior, or any subdivision of either governmental entity. A person subject to U.S. jurisdiction may invest in the development of an agricultural business in Cuba if the Department of State and the Department of Agriculture jointly determine that the agricultural business: is not controlled by the government of Cuba, including the armed forces, the Ministry of the Interior, or any subdivision of either governmental entity; and does not traffic in property of persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction that was confiscated by Cuba on or after January 1, 1959. Certain language limiting financing of agricultural sales to Cuba is repealed.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
This bill amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to make permanent the authorization for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. No less than 1.5% of the annual authorized funding amount or $10 million, whichever is greater, shall be used for projects that secure recreational public access to existing federal public land for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
Bar Removal of Individuals who Dream and Grow our Economy Act or the BRIDGE Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): (1) shall grant a three-year provisional protected presence to a qualifying alien, (2) may not remove the alien from the United States unless such protected presence is rescinded, and (3) shall provide such alien with employment authorization. An alien is eligible for such protected presence and employment authorization if the alien: (1) was born after June 15, 1981; (2) entered the United States before attaining 16 years of age; (3) continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007; (4) was physically but unlawfully present in the United States on June 15; (5) on the date the alien files an application the alien is present in the United States, is enrolled in school or in an education program assisting students in obtaining a high school diploma, has graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school or a general educational development certificate, or is an honorably discharged U.S. Coast Guard or Armed Forces veteran; (6) has not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, or three or more misdemeanors not occurring on the same date and not arising out of the same act; and (7) does not otherwise pose a threat to national security or a threat to public safety. The bill: (1) provides for confidentiality of application information, with certain national security and law enforcement exceptions; and (2) sets forth the criteria under which DHS may rescind protected presence. An alien granted protected presence is not considered to be unlawfully present in the United States during such period. An alien must be at least 15 years old, unless in removal proceedings, to apply for protected presence. DHS may provide for an application fee and for fee exemptions. DHS may not: (1) remove an alien who appears prima facie eligible for protected presence while the alien's application is pending, or (2) refer individuals whose cases have been deferred pursuant to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) or who have been granted protected presence to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A DACA alien is deemed to have protected presence through the expiration date of his or her deferred action status.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
No Religious Registry Act of 2017 This bill prohibits U.S. government officers or employees from collecting information or utilizing a registry or database to classify or surveil on the basis of religious affiliation: (1) U.S. nationals, (2) aliens lawfully present in the United States, or (3) aliens who apply for a visa or seek admission to the United States or on whose behalf a petition under the immigration laws is submitted. The bill also prohibits studies related to the collection of such information or the establishment or utilization of such a registry or database. Nothing in such prohibition may be construed to prohibit the collection of information that is provided voluntarily, and from which personally identifiable information is removed, to be used strictly for statistical purposes that do not violate this bill. Federal entities are prohibited from: (1) awarding a contract to an entity to collect information or establish a registry that would violate this bill, or (2) purchasing information on religious affiliation from a nonfederal entity for such purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand Medicare coverage to include eyeglasses, hearing aids, and dental care.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2017 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) eliminate the per-country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, and (2) increase the per-country numerical limitation for family-based immigrants from 7% to 15% of the total number of family-sponsored visas. The Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 is amended to eliminate the provision requiring the reduction of annual Chinese immigrant visas to offset status adjustments under such Act. The bill establishes a transition period during which a percentage of employment-based second and third preference (EB-2 and EB-3) immigrant visas are reserved as follows: for FY2017, 15% of such visas are allotted to natives of countries other than the two countries with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2011; for FY2018, 10% of such visas are allotted in each category to natives of countries other than the two with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2012; and for FY2019, 10% of such visas are allotted in each category to natives of countries other than the two with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2015. During the transition period, not more than 25% of the total number of the reserved EB-2 and EB-3 visas shall be allotted to natives of a single country. For FY2015-FY2017, not more than 85% of the unreserved EB-2 and EB-3 visas shall be allotted to natives of a single country. Amendments made by this bill shall apply beginning in FY2017.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
Veteran Suicide Prevention Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to complete a publicly available review of the deaths of all covered veterans who died by suicide during the preceding five-year period. Such review shall include: the total number of veterans who died by suicide during the five-year period; a summary that includes age, gender, and race; a list of the medications prescribed to, and found in the systems of, such veterans at the time of their deaths, and a summary of medical diagnoses by VA physicians which led to the prescribing of such medications; the number of instances in which the veteran was concurrently on multiple medications prescribed by VA physicians; the percentage of veterans who were not taking any medication prescribed by a VA physician; the percentage of veterans with combat experience or trauma; Veterans Health Administration facilities with markedly high prescription and patient suicide rates; a description of VA policies governing the prescribing of medications; and recommendations to improve the safety and well-being of veterans. "Covered veteran" means any veteran who received VA hospital care or medical services during the five-year period preceding the veteran's death.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2017
Email Privacy Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to revise provisions that limit an electronic communication service (ECS) or remote communication service (RCS) provider from disclosing the contents of a wire or electronic communication that is in electronic storage. Additionally, it revises the standards for the government to compel an ECS or RCS provider to disclose contents of a wire or electronic communication or noncontent records or information pertaining to a subscriber or customer. An ECS or RCS provider may notify a subscriber or customer of the receipt of a warrant, court order, subpoena, or request, unless the government obtains an order for delayed notification. The bill revises the process for obtaining a delayed notification order and lengthens the maximum duration of a delayed notification order.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2017
Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act of 2017 This bill requires the President and Vice President to submit to Congress and the Office of Government Ethics a disclosure of financial interests. Among the contents of such disclosure, the President and Vice President shall: (1) include a detailed description of each financial interest of the President and Vice President, the spouse of the President and Vice President, or a minor child of the President and Vice President; and (2) include the tax returns filed by or on behalf of the President and Vice President for the three most recent taxable years. The President, the Vice President, the spouse of the President or Vice President, and any minor child of the President or Vice President must divest any financial interest posing a potential conflict of interest by transferring such interest to a qualified blind trust. Within a reasonable period of time after such financial interest is transferred to a qualified blind trust, the trustee of such trust shall: (1) sell the financial interest; and (2) use the proceeds from the sale of the financial interest to purchase conflict-free holdings. The Office of Government Ethics shall submit to Congress, the President, and the Vice President an annual report regarding the financial interests of such officials, their spouses, and any of their minor children. The Attorney General, the attorney general of any state, or any person aggrieved by a violation of divestiture requirements posing a potential conflict of interest may seek declaratory or injunctive relief if: (1) the Office of Government Ethics is unable to issue a report indicating whether the President or Vice President is in substantial compliance with such divestiture requirements; or (2) there is probable cause to believe the President or the Vice President has not complied with such requirements. The bill amends the federal criminal code to require the recusal of presidential appointees from decisions affecting the financial holdings of a President or the spouse of a President. Prohibitions pertaining to contracts entered into by Members of Congress are extended to contracts by the President or Vice President. The bill amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require the disclosure of tax returns by the incumbent President and presidential nominees of a major political party for the three most recent taxable years. The bill declares the sense of Congress that a violation of the divestiture requirements of this bill or the Ethics in Government in Government Act of 1978 by the President or the Vice President would constitute a high crime or misdemeanor.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2017
Protecting Our Democracy Act This bill establishes in the legislative branch the National Commission on Foreign Interference in the 2016 Election to examine any attempts or activities by the Russian government or other governments, persons or entities associated with such governments, or persons or entities within Russia to use electronic means to influence, interfere with, or sow distrust in elections for public office held in the United States in 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2017
Condemns the Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, China, because it: (1) is a spectacle of extreme animal cruelty, (2) is a commercial activity not grounded in Chinese history, (3) is opposed by a majority of the Chinese people, and (4) threatens global public health. Urges: the government of China and the Yulin authorities to ban the killing and eating of dogs as part of Yulin's festival and to enforce China's food safety laws regulating the processing and sale of animal products and the 2011 Agriculture Ministry of China Regulation on the Quarantine of Dogs at the Place of Origin requiring one certificate for one dog on trans-provincial transport trucks, and the National People's Congress of China to enact an animal anticruelty law that bans the dog meat trade. Affirms the commitment of the United States to the protection of animals and to the progress of animal protection.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2017
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to restore mail delivery service standards in effect as of July 1, 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2017
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 · 5 January 2017
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2017 This bill includes as part of the Republic of Vietnam its territorial seas for purposes of the presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure by veterans to certain herbicide agents while in Vietnam.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2017
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2700 Cullen Boulevard in Pearland, Texas, as the "Endy Nddiobong Ekpanya Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2017
Presidential Tax Transparency Act This bill amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require the President and certain candidates for President to disclose federal income tax returns for the three most recent taxable years in reports filed with either the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) or the Federal Election Commission (FEC), in the case of a candidate. The OGE or the FEC must make the disclosed tax returns publicly available after making appropriate redactions. If the income tax returns are not disclosed as required by this bill, the OGE or the FEC must request the returns from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require the IRS, upon receiving a written request from the FEC or the OGE, to provide any income tax return that is required to be disclosed under this bill. The bill also establishes civil and criminal penalties for failing to file or falsifying income tax returns that are required to be disclosed pursuant to this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2017
Retired Pay Restoration Act This bill: (1) allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability (currently, only for a disability rated at 50% or more), and (2) repeals provisions phasing in the full concurrent receipt of such pay through December 31, 2013. Individuals who were retired or separated from military service due to a service-connected disability shall be eligible for the full concurrent receipt of both veterans' disability compensation and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2017
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of door delivery for all businesses and residential customers.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2017
Declares that a viable and sustainable two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be achieved through direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Calls for the United States to continue to: support a durable and sustainable two-state solution; oppose, and if necessary, veto future United Nations Security Council resolutions that seek to impose solutions to final status issues or that are one-sided and anti-Israel; and work with Israelis and Palestinians to create the conditions for successful final-status peace negotiations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2017
Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act This bill amends the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act to authorize the National Science Foundation to encourage its entrepreneurial programs to recruit and support women to extend their focus beyond the laboratory and into the commercial world.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2017
Veterans' Education Equity Act This bill provides that the monthly housing allowance under the Department of Veterans Affairs Post-9/11 educational assistance program shall be based on the location of the campus where an individual physically participates in a majority of classes rather than the location of the institution of higher learning at which an individual is enrolled.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Safe Freight Act of 2017 This bill prohibits the operation of a freight train or light locomotive engine used in the movement of freight unless it has a crew of at least two individuals, one of whom is certified by the Federal Railroad Administration as a locomotive operator and the other as a train conductor.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure that gender specific services are continuously available at every VA medical center and community based outpatient clinic. The VA is authorized to employ such personnel and enter into such contracts as may be necessary to provide such services based on the standards of the VA and the demand for such services.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Veterans' Access to Child Care Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide child care assistance to an eligible veteran for any period that the veteran: (1) receives covered health care services at a VA facility, and (2) is required to travel to and return from such facility for the receipt of such services. The bill defines: (1) "covered health care services" to mean regular mental health care services, intensive mental health care services, or such other intensive health care services to which the VA determines that provision of child care assistance would improve the veteran's access; and (2) "eligible veteran" as a veteran who is the primary caretaker of a child and who is receiving covered health care services from the VA or who is in need of, and who would receive, such services from the VA but for lack of child care. Included among child care assistance to be provided under this bill are: a stipend for the payment of the full cost of child care offered by a licensed child care center, which shall be modeled after the VA's Child Care Subsidy Program; direct provision of child care at an on-site VA facility; a payment made directly to a private child care agency; and collaboration with a facility or program of another federal department or agency.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Safeguard American Food Exports Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem equine (horses and other members of the equidae family) parts to be an unsafe food additive or animal drug. The bill prohibits the knowing sale or transport of equines or equine parts for human consumption.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Expanding Care for Veterans Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop a plan to expand the scope of VA's research and education on, and delivery and integration of, complementary and alternative medicine services. The VA shall carry out, through its Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation, a three-year program to: (1) assess the feasibility and advisability of integrating the delivery of selected complementary and alternative medicine services with other VA health care services for veterans, and (2) identify and resolve barriers to providing such services and integrating them with other VA health services. Such program shall be conducted at not fewer than 15 VA medical centers by integrating the provision of complementary and alternative medicine services with other VA health care services provided to veterans who have a mental health condition, experience chronic pain, or have a chronic condition. Veterans' participation shall be voluntary. The VA shall contract with a qualified independent entity for comprehensive studies of the barriers encountered by veterans in receiving, and by administrators and clinicians in providing, complementary and alternative medicine services through the VA. Such studies shall be conducted through surveys of veterans and VA administrators and clinicians. The VA shall carry out a three-year program awarding grants to public or private nonprofit entities to assess the feasibility and advisability of using wellness programs to complement the provision of mental health care to veterans and family members who are eligible for readjustment counseling from the VA.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal, beginning with taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, the excise tax on employer-sponsored health care coverage for which there is an excess benefit (high-cost plans).
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment limiting Members of the Senate to two terms and Members of the House of Representatives to four terms.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment limiting Members of the House of Representatives to three terms and Members of the Senate to two terms.
![Official portrait of Rep. O'Rourke, Beto [D-TX-16]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/o000170_200.jpg)