United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2016
Creating Financial Prosperity for Businesses and Investors Act This bill amends the Small Business Investment Incentive Act of 1980 to require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue a public statement, and disclose any actions it intends to take, each time its annual government-business forum submits findings or recommendations regarding the current status of problems and programs relating to small business capital formation. The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is amended to establish within the SEC an Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation and a Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee. The Investment Company Act of 1940 is amended to increase from 100 to 250 the limit on the number of people who may own securities in certain venture capital funds (with no more than $10 million in invested capital, adjusted annually for inflation) before the issuer is required to register as an investment company. The bill allows a crowdfunding issuer to sell shares through a crowdfunding vehicle (a company that aggregates small individual contributions into a single investment in the issuer) that meets certain requirements and revises conditions upon which the SEC exempts securities issued in crowdfunding transactions from SEC registration requirements. The Securities Act of 1933 is amended to add to the definition of accredited investor certain categories of natural persons whose net worth or income exceeds specified levels, who are licensed or registered as brokers or investment advisors, or whose verified education or job experience qualifies as professional knowledge for a particular investment. The Investment Company Act of 1940 is amended to repeal the exemption from its coverage of investment companies created under the laws of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or any other U.S. possession.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2016
Private Corrado Piccoli Purple Heart Preservation Act of 2016 This bill provides that regulations restricting the purchase, production, sale, or exchange of military medals or decorations may not authorize the sale of a Purple Heart awarded to a member of the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2016
This bill confirms that the boundary of Acadia National Park in Maine includes approximately 1,441 acres of land and interests in the Schoodic Peninsula. The bill ratifies and approves: retroactive to September 26, 2013, the acquisition or purported acquisition by the United States of the land and interests in the Schoodic Peninsula, and any subsequent or purported alteration of the land or interests held or claimed by the United States in the peninsula (including conversion to fee simple interest) retroactive to whatever point an alteration occurred or may have occurred. The Department of the Interior may only acquire land or interests in land: within the boundaries of the park in accordance with specified law; and outside the boundaries of the park in Hancock County, Maine, in accordance with such law. Interior shall contribute a specified amount to a regional consortium which was established to improve the management of the disposal and recycling of solid waste and is composed of municipalities on, as well as near, Mount Desert Island. Interior shall reestablish and appoint members to the Acadia National Park Advisory Commission. Certain land in the park that was conveyed by Interior to the town of Tremont, Maine, shall no longer be used exclusively for school purposes, but for public purposes, subject to the conditions that: (1) use of the property (on such land) shall not degrade or adversely impact the park's resources or values; and (2) such land shall remain in public ownership for recreational, educational, or similar public purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2016
Providing Veterans Overdue Care Act of 2016 This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to carry out major medical facility leases in specified amounts for: outpatient clinics in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Daytona Beach, Gainesville, and Ocala, Florida; Hampton Roads, Virginia; Missoula, Montana; Northern Colorado, Colorado; Oxnard and Santa Rosa, California; Pike County, Georgia; Portland, Maine; and Raleigh, North Carolina; an outpatient mental health clinic and an outpatient specialty clinic in Birmingham, Alabama; research space in Boston, Massachusetts; Charleston, South Carolina; and Mission Bay, California; Chief Business Office Purchased Care office space in Denver, Colorado; and replacement outpatient clinics in Corpus Christi, Texas; Jacksonville and Tampa, Florida; Pontiac, Michigan; Rochester, New York (phase II); and Terre Haute, Indiana.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2016
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) Program should be protected and sustained. (The THCGME Program awards grants to health centers for primary care residency programs.)
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 · 21 July 2016
Food Stamp Integrity Act of 2016 This bill amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to revise the rules for disqualifying individuals from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program). The bill permanently disqualifies individuals who have been found guilty of offenses or misconduct, including: fraud or misrepresentation with respect to SNAP; the trading of a controlled substance, firearms, ammunition, or explosives for benefits; terrorism; defrauding the federal government, a state, or a unit of local government; obtaining cash by destroying food purchased with benefits and collecting deposits for containers; or selling food purchased with benefits. An individual who is delinquent in paying child support may not receive benefits unless a court allowed a payment delay or the individual is complying with a payment plan. If a household requests a third replacement Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card in a one-year period, a state may: (1) require the head of the household to appear in person for an interview before issuing an additional card, and (2) terminate participation of the household for one year if a fifth card is requested in a one-year period. The bill modifies the work requirements and eliminates certain exemptions and waivers from the requirements. If an able-bodied adult without dependents fails to meet the work requirements for three months in a 48-month period (36 months under current law), they are ineligible for SNAP for the remainder of the 48-month period, or until they comply.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
This bill exempts retired air traffic controllers from a reduction to their Federal Employees Retirement System annuity supplement (on account of their earnings for work performed while entitled to the annuity after their separation from federal service) during any period in which they are employed full time as air traffic control instructors under contract with the Federal Aviation Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Hold Top Officials Accountable Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for a highly placed official to: (1) knowingly disclose classified information to an unauthorized person, or (2) through gross negligence, place classified information on unsecured server, mobile device, laptop, computer, or other electronic device, or otherwise make classified information potentially more available to an unauthorized person. The term “highly placed official” means a Member of Congress or an official who is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. A violator is subject to a fine and a two-year mandatory minimum prison term.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2016
Fair Treatment of Scholarships Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the provision which excludes from the gross income of a student any amount that is received as a qualified scholarship used for qualified tuition and related expenses. The bill expands the exclusion to: (1) permit the scholarship to be used for room and board costs for which there is an allowance under the Higher Education Act of 1965; and (2) to specify that "qualified tuition and related expenses" include fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for research at the educational organization. The amount included in qualified tuition and related expenses for research not required for a course of instruction may not exceed $300 per year, adjusted for inflation after 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 5 July 2016
This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to Larry Doby in recognition of his achievements and contributions to American major league athletics, civil rights, and the Armed Forces during World War II.
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 · 28 June 2016
This bill revises the authority of the Department of the Treasury to issue an order imposing recordkeeping and reporting requirements upon financial institutions and nonfinancial trade or business groups in certain geographic areas regarding transactions for the payment, receipt, or transfer of U.S. coins or currency (or other monetary instruments as Treasury may describe in an order). A Treasury order for recordkeeping and reporting may include all funds (not just U.S. coins or currency) involved in such transactions.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2016
Enhancing Treasury's Anti-Terror Tools Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to report to certain congressional committees on the employment by U.S embassies of full-time and temporary Treasury attaches and their role in advancing U.S. anti-terrorism financing interests, including money laundering and related illicit finance. The bill revises Treasury's authority to issue an order imposing recordkeeping and reporting requirements upon financial institutions and nonfinancial trade or business groups in certain geographic areas regarding transactions for the payment, receipt, or transfer of U.S. coins or currency (or other monetary instruments as Treasury may describe). Such an order may include all funds, not just U.S. coins or currency, involved in such transactions. Treasury shall study: the advisability and implications of transforming the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence into a standalone bureau, the potential efficacy of requiring banking regulators to establish a pilot technical assistance program for depository institutions and credit unions that furnish account services to money services businesses serving individuals in Somalia, and the potential impact of allowing money services businesses to share their state examinations with depository institutions and credit unions. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that, to better integrate the intelligence community with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing efforts, Treasury should work with finance ministry counterparts worldwide to spur the development of entities similar to its Office of Intelligence and Analysis. Treasury shall collect and make available electronically to federal agencies a unified stream of import and export data and similar currently collected information that would help federal detection and prevention of illicit finance. The National Security Act of 1947 is amended to add the Secretary of the Treasury to the National Security Council.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2016
National Strategy for Combating Terrorist, Underground, and Other Illicit Financing Act This bill directs the President, acting through the Department of the Treasury, to develop a national strategy for combating the financing of terrorism and related forms of illicit finance. The national strategy shall focus upon selected aspects, including: (1) threats, goals, objectives, and priorities; (2) coordination with domestic and international governmental entities; (3) the role of the private financial sector in prevention of illicit finance; (4) project and budget priorities; (5) the use and role of Treasury attaches; (6) illicit finance and cyber crime; and (7) technology.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2016
Anti-terrorism Information Sharing Is Strength Act This bill amends the USA PATRIOT Act to allow two or more financial institutions and any association of financial institutions, upon notice provided to the Department of the Treasury, to share information with one another regarding individuals, entities, organizations, and countries suspected of the unlawful activity the proceeds of which form the basis of a money laundering offense. A financial institution or association that transmits, receives, or shares such information to identify and report this activity shall not be liable to any person for such disclosure or for any failure to provide notice of it to the subject, or any other person identified in the disclosure, except where the transmission, receipt, or sharing violates the Act or regulations promulgated under it. The bill expresses the sense of Congress concerning the need for federal law enforcement agencies and regulators, as well as financial institutions, to share information about terrorist activities, money laundering activities, and unlawful activities to the fullest extent possible and in a timely fashion.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2016
Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Act This bill establishes in the Department of the Treasury a Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Program for the payment of rewards to support U.S. government programs and investigations aimed at eliminating from accounts at U.S. financial institutions any stolen assets linked to foreign government corruption and the proceeds of such corruption. Treasury may pay a reward to any individual who furnishes information leading to the restraining, seizure, forfeiture, or repatriation of stolen assets in an account at a U.S. financial institution, that come within the United States, or that come within the possession or control of any U.S. person linked to foreign government corruption. U.S. or foreign government employees are not eligible for such a reward. Treasury shall: (1) establish procedures for the offering, administration, and payment of such rewards in order to ensure that the payment of rewards pursuant to this bill does not duplicate or interfere with any other payment authorized by the Department of Justice (DOJ) or other federal law enforcement agencies for the obtaining of information or other evidence; and (2) obtain the written concurrence of DOJ before making such a reward under this bill in a matter over which there is federal criminal jurisdiction. Such rewards shall be paid from the Department of the Treasury Forfeiture Fund. The total amount of rewards paid may not exceed $25 million in any calendar year. The President may waive such limitation after providing prior notice to Congress. No single reward may exceed $5 million, except as Treasury determines necessary in exceptional cases. Treasury may reduce or deny awards to individuals claiming awards who were involved in actions leading to the misappropriation or diversion of stolen assets or other foreign government corruption. Treasury shall: (1) report annually regarding stolen assets, and (2) report describing policy choices for the disposition of recovered stolen assets.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2016
Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to submit within 270 days and annually for the next two years a report regarding: the estimated total funds or assets held in U.S. and foreign financial institutions that are controlled by specified Iranian officials, any equity stake such officials have in an entity on Treasury's list of Specially Designated Nationals or in any other sanctioned entity, how such funds or assets or equity interests were acquired and how they have been used, and new methods used to evade anti-money laundering and related laws and recommendations to improve techniques to combat illicit uses of the U.S. financial system by each such official. The unclassified portion of the report shall be made available to the public and posted on Treasury's website in downloadable English, Farsi, Arabic, and Azeri versions.
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 · 13 June 2016
This bill provides that the Vanceboro Dam Storage Project, West Branch Project, and Forest City Project, all located on the St. Croix River in Maine, are not required to be licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
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 · 26 May 2016
This bill prohibits U.S. agency funds from being used until the earlier of the enactment date of an Act authorizing FY2017 appropriations for military activities of the Department of Defense (DOD) or January 1, 2017, for the transfer or release to or within the United States, its territories, or possessions or to any foreign country or entity of an individual detained at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. "Individual detained at Guantanamo" means an individual located at Guantanamo as of October 1, 2009, who: (1) is not a U.S. national or a member of the Armed Forces, and (2) is in the custody or under the control of DOD or otherwise detained at Guantanamo.
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 · 16 May 2016
Senior Accessible Housing Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to create a nonrefundable personal tax credit for senior citizens who modify their residences to enhance their ability to remain living safely, independently, and comfortably in the residences. The credit applies to up to $30,000 of the expenses that individuals who are at least 60 years old incur over their lifetime to make modifications to their residences, including: the installation of entrance and exit ramps, the widening of doorways, the installation of handrails or grab bars, the installation of non-slip flooring, and other modifications that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) includes on a list of modifications that would enhance the ability of the individuals to remain living safely, independently, and comfortably in their residences. The IRS must establish and maintain the list of acceptable modifications after consulting with the Department of Health and Human Services and receiving input from the public
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
Condemns acts of sex trafficking. Urges emergency health care providers to understand the prevalence, characteristics, and indicators of sex trafficking and the important role such providers play in recognizing, helping, and rescuing victims.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2016
Stop Taxing Death and Disability Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an individual the discharge of student loans or private education loans due to the death or disability of the student. The bill also amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education (ED) to discharge the liability on loans that parents received on behalf of a student who: (1) has become permanently and totally disabled, or (2) is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity due to a physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or has lasted or is expected to last continuously for at least 60 months. (Under current law, ED is required to discharge the loans to parents if the student dies.)
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2016
American Manufacturing and Worker Protection Act of 2016 This bill amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to direct the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to distribute semiannually all funds (including any interest earned) from duties assessed pursuant to a countervailing duty order or antidumping duty order or finding (antidumping and subsidy protection amount) to affected domestic producers for qualifying expenditures and cash to eligible employees. The term "affected domestic producer" means a currently operating manufacturer or producer that was a petitioner or interested party in support of a petition for which an antidumping duty order, finding, or countervailing duty order has been entered. The term "eligible employee" of an affected domestic producer means an individual who: (1) has been totally or partially separated from employment with that producer because of dumping or a subsidy for which an antidumping duty order, finding, or countervailing duty order has been entered; or (2) is an employee of the affected domestic producer at the time a distribution is made. The term "qualifying expenditures" means certain expenditures incurred by an affected domestic producer after the issuance of an antidumping duty order, finding, or countervailing duty order. The CBP shall establish in the Treasury a special account for each such order or finding and to deposit in those accounts all funds (including any interest earned) from antidumping or countervailing duties assessed on or after October 1, 2016. The requirements of this bill shall apply with respect to goods from Canada and Mexico.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2016
Promoting Life-Saving New Therapies for Neonates Act of 2016 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to award the sponsor of a new drug or biological product for the treatment of newborns a neonatal drug exclusivity voucher upon approval of the medication. A neonatal drug exclusivity voucher is a transferable voucher for a one-year extension of all existing patents and marketing exclusivities for a brand name medication. For a sponsor to be eligible for a voucher, the new medication must: (1) treat a condition identified in the Priority List of Critical Needs for Neonates required under this bill, and (2) have been studied in newborns. A voucher may be revoked if the new medication is not marketed in the United States within one year of approval. A voucher may not be used: (1) to extend the marketing exclusivity period for a drug for which the FDA requires an assessment of the safety and effectiveness in newborns, or (2) on the same product as a priority review voucher. A sponsor intending to use a voucher must notify the FDA at least 15 months before the expiration of the patents or exclusivity to be extended. The Government Accountability Office must study the effectiveness of this voucher program.
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 · 10 May 2016
Help All Americans Save for College Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the tax treatment of qualified tuition programs (known as 529 plans) and ABLE accounts. (Tax-favored ABLE [Achieving a Better Life Experience] accounts are designed to enable individuals with disabilities to save for and pay for disability-related expenses.) The bill excludes employer contributions to an employee's 529 plan or ABLE account from the gross income of an individual, certain employment taxes, and taxes on self-employment earnings. The exclusions are limited to the lesser of: (1) the compensation includible in the individual's gross income for the year, or (2) $5,000 ($10,000 in the case of a joint return) for each dependent of the taxpayer who is the designated beneficiary of a 529 plan. The bill also allows an individual to deduct up to $5,000 of the aggregate contributions of the individual to a 529 plan and an ABLE account. The bill revises the 10% additional tax for distributions from a 529 plan or an ABLE account that are not used for qualified purposes to change the rate to the greater of: (1) 10%, or (2) the highest rate of income tax applicable to the taxpayer.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2016
Transparent Insurance Standards Act of 2016 This bill specifies U.S. objectives regarding international insurance standards. The United States may not agree to, accept, establish, enter into, or consent to the adoption of a final international insurance standard with an international standard-setting organization or a foreign government, authority, or regulatory entity unless certain publication requirements and capital standards are met. Before U.S. adoption of any such international insurance standard the Department of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, in consultation with the state insurance commissioners, shall analyze and report to Congress on the impact of the standard on U.S. consumers and markets and whether any changes in state law will result from such final standard. Congress shall have 90 days to approve or reject the final standard. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is amended to authorize the Independent Member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council to: perform specified consultant duties with international insurance supervisors, international financial stability counterparts, as well as Treasury; attend the Financial Stability Board of The Group of Twenty, and arrange for the attendance and participation at the Board of state insurance commissioners on matters related to insurance and financial stability; and attend, with the U.S. delegation, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and observe and participate at the OECD Insurance and Private Pensions Committee on those same matters. Parties representing the United States at the Financial Stability Board of the Group of Twenty on matters, and in meetings, related to insurance and financial stability shall consult with the state insurance commissioners and seek to include them in those meetings.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2016
Rural Hospital Enhancement and Long Term Health Act of 2016 This bill revises the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act by increasing the maximum grant amount for hospitals under the community facilities grant program. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may not condition grants on the inability of applicants to finance their projects. The bill amends the Public Health Service Act by reauthorizing through FY2021 and revising the grant program for state offices of rural health, including by requiring HHS to make the grants, thus removing HHS' discretion to make them. HHS must report annually to Congress and each state office of rural health on rural hospitals' closures.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2016
Insourcing American Airport Jobs Act of 2016 This bill prohibits the President from regulating or prohibiting the provision of technical services in the United States for aircraft of a foreign carrier en route to or from another country that are otherwise permitted under an international air transportation agreement. The requirement shall not apply if: the country is a state sponsor of terrorism, or the United States is at war with the country or there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of travelers to the country.
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 · 18 April 2016
Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act or the NAS Healthy Babies Act This bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), which results from a newborn's exposure to addictive opiate drugs while in the mother's womb. Specifically, the GAO shall report on: the prevalence of NAS, NAS treatment services for which coverage is available under state Medicaid programs, the settings and associated reimbursement methodologies for NAS treatment, the prevalence of utilization of various care settings under state Medicaid programs for NAS treatment, and any federal barriers to treating infants with NAS under state Medicaid programs. The GAO shall also report on its recommendations for improvements that will ensure access to NAS treatment under state Medicaid programs.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2016
Stepping up for American Workers and Troops Act This bill directs the the Department of Defense (DOD), in the case of athletic footwear needed by members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps upon their initial entry into the Armed Forces, to: (1) furnish such footwear directly instead of providing a cash allowance to the service members to purchase such footwear, and (2) comply with American source requirements in procuring such footwear. A cash allowance may be provided for the purchase of footwear that is medically required to meet a service member's unique physiological needs that cannot be met with footwear furnished by DOD.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2016
This bill amends the Veterans' Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008 to extend through August 7, 2021, the pilot program under which the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides covered health services in highly rural areas to covered veterans through qualifying non-VA health care providers.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
Lower Drug Costs through Competition Act This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise provisions regarding review and approval of generic drug applications or supplements to generic drug applications for drugs: (1) for which there is a shortage, or (2) that have not been recently introduced to the market by more than one manufacturer and for which tentative approval has not been granted to more than two applications. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must prioritize the review of such submissions and act on them within 180 days. The FDA may expedite the inspection of a facility proposed to manufacture such a drug. Beginning FY2018, the FDA must award a transferrable generic drug priority review voucher to the sponsor of such an application once the drug has a sustained market presence. A voucher may be used to have the FDA review and take action upon a generic drug application within 180 days of submission. The FDA must establish an additional user fee for applications subject to a voucher. This voucher program is terminated at the end of FY2021. The FDA must periodically report on generic drug applications filed before FY2017 that are still pending. For a new drug application to be eligible for a priority review voucher as a tropical disease product application, the application must include new, essential clinical investigations. The Government Accountability Office must study the FDA's program for drug risk evaluation and mitigation strategies.
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
Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act of 2016 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), through the Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation, to carry out a five-year pilot program under which the VA shall provide service dogs and veterinary health insurance to certain veterans who: (1) served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001; and (2) were diagnosed with, and continue to suffer from, post-traumatic stress disorder. The provision of a service dog shall be done in addition to other types of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and shall not replace established treatment modalities.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2016
Small Business Protection Act of 2016 This bill amends the federal criminal code to repeal the requirement that federal departments and agencies purchase prison-made products. Federal Prison Industries shall be ineligible to produce any product under a contract awarded for the sale of government property to a small business concern under the Small Business Act. No executive agency head may enter into any contract with Federal Prison Industries under which an inmate worker would have access to classified data, personal or financial information about any individual private citizen without the individual's consent, or geographic data regarding the location of: surface and subsurface infrastructure providing communications or water or electrical power distribution; pipelines for the distribution of natural gas, bulk petroleum products, or other commodities; or other utilities. The Attorney General shall report to Congress on the extent of re-entry employment preparation provided to inmates by participation in Federal Prison Industries.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2016
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce from 100 miles to 50 miles the distance from home requirement for the tax deduction of the travel expenses of a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces. The bill requires the Department of Defense to report to Congress on the travel costs of members of reserve components.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2016
Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2016 This bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop and maintain a voluntary patient registry to monitor, collect, and make available epidemiological information related to cancer incidence and trends among firefighters. The CDC should seek to include specified information in the registry, including the number and type of fire incidents attended by an individual. To collect information for the registry, the CDC may incorporate questions into existing public health surveys, questionnaires, and other databases. The CDC must: (1) encourage the inclusion in the registry of data on minority, female, and volunteer firefighters; and (2) seek feedback on the registry from nonfederal experts. The CDC must develop an approval process for making registry data available for research without a fee if findings or publications derived from the research are made public or available to stakeholders.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2016
Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy Act or the BRACE Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax credit for railroad track maintenance.
![Official portrait of Rep. Poliquin, Bruce [R-ME-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/115_rp_me_2_poliquin_bruce_200.jpg)