Rep. Pitts, Joseph R. [R-PA-16]

Amendment amends the Sean Maloney (NY) amendment which appears on page H3234 of the Congressional Record by clarifying that as Federal funds are spent with regard to contracting, the Administration must not contravene the First Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, and Article I of the Constitution.

United States · United States Congress

An amendment numbered 430 printed in the Congressional Record to prohibit the use of funds to be used to pay the salary of any officer or employee of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, or the Department of the Treasury who takes any action to specify or define, through regulations, guidelines, or otherwise, essential benefits under section 1302 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

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An amendment to provide $25,000 for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor of the Department of State to compile and publish a list of foreign government officials who order the use of, are involved in, or engage in torture, as defined in the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

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An amendment numbered 11 printed in House Report 108-80 would specify that of the amount set aside for HIV/AIDS prevention in bilateral assistance, 33% should go to abstinence-until-marr age programs.

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An amendment numbered 8 printed in House Report 109-15 to provide small transit systems with additional time to find alternative solutions to address the financial crisis they face when losing flexibility in the use of Section 5307, federal transit funds.

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An amendment numbered 4 printed in House Report number 108-146 to require the Secretary of Transportation to consult with the Governor, or his designee of the State in which the airport in question is located as to the most commonly used highway route between that airport and the nearest large or medium hub airport. In addition, after consultation with the Governor, the Secretary shall establish a regulation providing for a consistent standard for calculating the most commonly used route.

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Amendment sought to reform the Federal sugar program.

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An amendment numbered 4 printed in Part B of House Report 110-300 to except boilers that operate without the need for electricity supply from the energy efficiency requirements in section 9003(4) of the bill, regarding appliance efficiency.

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Part B amendment printed in H.Rept. 106-269 that specifies that no Child Survival and Disease Program funds may be used for activities designed to control fertility or reduce or delay childbirths or pregnancies.

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An amendment to reduce the funding for military aid to Egypt by $750 million and to transfer the $750 million to accounts for child survival and health programs under USAID.

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An amendment to restore the President's emergency plan for AIDS relief authorization provision requiring 33% of HIV/AIDS prevention funding to be spent on abstinence and fidelity promotion program.

United States · United States Congress

MACPAC Improvement Act of 2016

United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2016

MACPAC Improvement Act of 2016 This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to modify provisions related to the duties, membership, and conflict-of-interest policies of the Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) Payment and Access Commission.

FILCA of 2016

United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2016

Federal Immigration Law Compliance Act of 2016 or the FILCA of 2016 This bill prohibits an entity (including a university, a state political subdivision, or other person) that receives federal funds in a fiscal year from receiving additional federal funds in that fiscal year or the succeeding fiscal year if it fails to comply with a lawful request for information or detainment of an alien made by any federal immigration officer or employee. Unobligated federal funds made available to a non-compliant entity are rescinded. A state or political subdivision that complies with a detainer is deemed to be an agent of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has authority available to DHS to take actions to comply with the detainer, and shall not be liable for such actions. DHS may issue a detainer for an alien who is in federal, state, or local custody requesting: (1) all relevant information collected pertaining to such alien and notification of his or her future release, or (2) continued detention until DHS assumes custody. DHS may request from any entity that receives federal funds other immigration-related information pertaining to an alien that is not otherwise precluded from disclosure.

To limit the use of the Judgement Fund to settle any lawsuit arising under section 1342 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2016

This bill prohibits the Judgment Fund from being used to make payments for any compromise settlement in connection with any proceeding brought against the government under the risk corridor program established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. (The Judgment Fund is a permanent and indefinite appropriation to pay judgments against the United States, including awards, compromise settlements, and related interest and costs. The risk corridor program is a mechanism that adjusts payments to health plans based on the ratio of the allowable costs of the plan to the plan's aggregate premiums.)

Free Speech Fairness Act

United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2016

Free Speech Fairness Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a tax-exempt organization to make certain statements related to a political campaign without losing its tax-exempt status. An organization may not lose its tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) or be deemed to have participated in, or intervened in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office, solely because of the content of any statement that: (1) is made in the ordinary course of the organization's regular and customary activities in carrying out its exempt purpose, and (2) results in the organization incurring not more than de minimis incremental expenses.

Human-Animal Chimera Prohibition Act of 2016

United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2016

Human-Animal Chimera Prohibition Act of 2016 This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly: (1) create, transport, or receive a human-animal chimera; (2) transfer a human embryo into a nonhuman womb; or (3) transfer a nonhuman embryo into a human womb. The term “human-animal chimera” means an organism that, from an early stage of development, contains human and non-human parts. A violator is subject to civil and criminal penalties.

Protecting Religious Expression Against Censorship and Harassment Act of 2016

United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2016

Protecting Religious Expression Against Censorship and Harassment Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to specify that churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches may not be denied treatment as an entity organized and operated exclusively for a religious purpose or be deemed to have participated in or intervened in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office because of the content, preparation, or presentation of any homily, sermon, teaching, dialectic, or other presentation made during religious services or gatherings. The bill also: (1) repeals the authority of the Internal Revenue Service to seek an injunction related to flagrant political expenditures of section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations, (2) specifies that a member or leader of a religious organization may express personal views on political matters or elections for public office during a regular religious service as long as the views are not disseminated beyond the members and guests assembled together at the service, and (3) specifies that it does not permit any disbursements for electioneering communications or expenditures prohibited by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.

Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States and the international community should support the Republic of Iraq and its people to recognize a province in the Nineveh Plain region, consistent with lawful expressions of self-determination by its indigenous peoples.

United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2016

Expresses the sense of Congress that: the return of the displaced indigenous peoples of the Nineveh Plain, including those in Iraq, to their ancestral homeland should be a policy priority of United States and the international community; their fundamental human rights should be fully restored upon their return to their homeland; the indigenous communities of Iraq's Nineveh Plain region have a right to security and self-determination within the federal structure of Iraq; the United States, the Counter ISIL Coalition, the international community, the government of Iraq, and the Kurdish regional government should remain committed to liberation, economic revitalization, and prosperity of that region; the United States, the international community, international observers, the government of Iraq, and the Kurdish regional government should be committed to the territorial integrity and security of the Nineveh Plain; and the United States, the Counter ISIL Coalition, the international community, and international observers should be committed to working with the national and regional governments of Iraq toward a sustainable security settlement in the Nineveh Plain. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States and the international community should: make the peaceful resolution of questions pertaining to Iraq's disputed internal boundaries a priority; work with the national and regional governments of Iraq to oversee the peaceful reintegration of the indigenous peoples of the Nineveh Plain to their ancestral homeland; work with the national and regional governments of Iraq, including the Kurdish regional government, to establish the Nineveh Plain as an undisputed territory, politically represented by the indigenous peoples and communities of the region; and be committed to supporting the Iraqi government in implementing the decision to create a Nineveh Plain Province and support the new provincial administration to attain its full potential.

Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2016

United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2016

Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2016 This bill directs the Department of State to provide assistance to entities taking specified criminal and judicial actions against individuals who are suspected of committing genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes in Iraq since January 2014 or in Syria since March 2011. The State Department shall encourage foreign governments to identify and prosecute individuals who are suspected of committing such crimes, including members of foreign terrorist organizations operating in Iraq or Syria. The Department of Justice shall review existing criminal statutes concerning genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes to determine: the extent to which U.S. courts have jurisdiction over such crimes where the perpetrators or victims are U.S. nationals, residents, or persons present in a U.S. territory; current statutes that would apply to such conduct and whether additional statutory authorities are necessary; and the extent to which the absence of criminal statutes defining the crimes or granting jurisdiction impede their prosecution in U.S. courts. The State Department shall identify: threats of persecution, genocide, crimes against humanity, and forced migration against members of Iraqi or Syrian religious or ethnic groups with respect to whom the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has committed such crimes in Iraq or Syria since January 2014 or who are members of other persecuted religious or ethnic groups; humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs of these individuals; and assistance provided by the United States, the U.N., and other entities, including faith-based entities. The Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1990 is amended to: include as a category for U.S. refugee determinations aliens who are or were nationals and residents of Iraq or Syria and who share common characteristics that identify them as targets of persecution on account of religion or membership in an ethnic minority in such foreign states, include in such category aliens who are or were nationals and residents of Iraq or Syria and who are members of a religious or ethnic community against which genocide has been committed or that has otherwise been identified as a persecuted group, and extend such Act's coverage to refugee applications submitted before October 1, 2017.

Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act (NICA) of 2016

United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2016

Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act (NICA) of 2016 This bill directs the President to instruct the U.S. Executive Director at each international financial institution to use U.S. influence to oppose any loan or other fund use for the government of Nicaragua's benefit, other than for basic human needs or to promote democracy, unless the Department of State certifies that Nicaragua is taking effective steps to: (1) hold elections overseen by credible domestic and international electoral observers, (2) promote democracy and an independent judiciary system and electoral council, (3) strengthen the rule of law, and (4) respect the right to freedom of association and expression. The President shall direct the U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States to use U.S. influence to advocate for an Electoral Observation Mission to be sent to Nicaragua in 2016 and 2017.

Recognizing the Boy Scouts of America for its long history of service on the 100th anniversary of the day it was granted a Federal charter.

United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2016

Recognizes the Boy Scouts of America for over 100 years of promoting community service and leadership development. Encourages the Boy Scouts of America to continue to emphasize character building, responsible citizenship, and outdoor stewardship. Applauds the Boy Scouts of America for instilling the values of the Scout Oath and the Scout Law in young Americans. Congratulates the Boy Scouts of America on the 100th anniversary of June 15, 1916, the day it was granted a federal charter.

Urging respect for the constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the democratic transition of power in 2016.

United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2016

The United States should impose sanctions on government officials of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who impede progress toward a democratic transition through credible elections that respect the will of the Congolese. Sanctions should target core figures in President Kabila's government for visa denials and asset freezes. Economic and security assistance should be reviewed for possible termination, while preserving humanitarian assistance, until the election crisis is resolved. The President of the United States should lift sanctions only when: (1) President Kabila has declared that he will not remain in power once his term ends and has made verifiable progress towards holding national elections, or (2) the DRC has held a free and fair presidential election and a new President has been sworn in. The United States should: (1) support independent DRC civil society organizations and media, and (2) investigate and target money laundering activities by key figures close to President Kabila and those financial institutions involved in such activities. The United States should coordinate efforts with key Western and African partners, including through other financial intelligence units.

To redesignate Gravelly Point Park, located along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Arlington County, Virginia, as the Nancy Reagan Memorial Park, and for other purposes.

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.

To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs health care center in Center Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, as the "Abie Abraham VA Clinic".

United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2016

This bill designates the Department of Veterans Affairs health care center in Center Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, as the "Abie Abraham VA Clinic."