United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2017
Expresses the sense of Congress that: child safety is the first priority of custody and parenting adjudications, and courts should resolve safety risks and claims of family violence before assessing other best interest factors; quasi-scientific evidence should be admitted by courts only when it meets admissibility standards for scientific evidence; evidence from court-affiliated or appointed fee-paid professionals regarding adult or child abuse allegations in custody cases should be considered only when the professional possesses documented expertise and experience in the relevant types of abuse, trauma, and the behaviors of victims and perpetrators; states should define required standards of expertise and experience for appointed fee-paid professionals who provide evidence to the court on behaviors of abuse victims and perpetrators, specify requirements for the contents of such professional reports, and require courts to find that any appointed professionals meet those standards; states should consider models under which court-appointed professionals are paid directly by the courts, with potential reimbursement by the parties after due consideration of the parties' financial circumstances; and Congress should schedule hearings on family courts' practices with regard to children's safety and civil rights.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act or the ACE Kids Act This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to establish a state Medicaid option to provide for medical assistance with respect to coordinated care provided through a health home (i.e., a designated provider or team of health-care professionals) for children with medically complex conditions. A state shall make payments for such health-home services regardless of whether they are provided through a fee-for-service or managed-care system. For an initial period of eight fiscal-year quarters, the federal matching rate applicable to such payments shall be increased by 20 percentage points, not to exceed 90%. A state that exercises this option shall specify its methodology for determining payment and evaluating quality of care, in accordance with requirements established by the bill. In addition, the state must meet specified requirements regarding hospital referrals, out-of-state providers, education and outreach, data collection, and reporting. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must issue guidance on best practices for using out-of-state providers to provide care to children with medically complex conditions. The Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Payment and Access Commission must report to Congress and to the Department of Health and Human Services on specified matters related to children with medically complex conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Breast Cancer Patient Protect Act of 2017 This bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group or individual health plan that provides medical and surgical benefits to ensure that inpatient (and in the case of a lumpectomy, outpatient) coverage and radiation therapy are provided for breast cancer treatment. Such a plan may not: (1) restrict benefits for any medically necessary hospital stay to less than 48 hours for a mastectomy or breast conserving surgery or less than 24 hours for a lymph node dissection, or (2) require that a provider obtain authorization from the plan for prescribing any such hospital stay. Such a plan must: (1) provide notice to each participant and beneficiary regarding the coverage required under this bill, and (2) ensure that coverage is provided for secondary consultations. Health plans are prohibited from taking specified actions to avoid the requirements of this bill. Health insurers that provide individual health insurance coverage may discontinue an individual's coverage based on the intentional concealment of material facts regarding a health condition related to a condition for which coverage is being claimed.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Bob Dole Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Bob Dole in recognition for his service to the nation as a soldier, legislator, and statesman.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2017
Urges that Tom Flores, one of only two people in National Football League history to win multiple Super Bowls as a player, assistant coach, and head coach, be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2017
Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society Act or the CLASSICS Act This bill provides federal copyright protection for sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, specifically the right to make digital transmissions. Currently, pre-1972 recordings are only covered by state law. Pre-1972 recordings will fall within the existing compulsory license system for digital transmissions, which currently only cover post-1972 recordings. The bill preempts claims under state and common law for digital transmission of pre-1972 recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
Water and Energy Sustainability through Technology Act This bill addresses the link between energy and water systems (energy-water nexus), including: (1) the water needed to produce energy; (2) the energy needed to transport, reclaim, treat, store, and reuse water and wastewater; (3) the energy available in organic wastewaters and wet waste streams (e.g., methane); and (4) the waste heat available in industrial process and cooling water discharges, steam system condensate and cooling water, and thermoelectric cooling water discharge. The bill provides support for increasing: the availability of energy-water nexus data about surface water, groundwater, or recycled water; the use of energy-water nexus technology; the energy efficiency of certain water systems; the use of water efficiency methods and products; water quality; the recharge of groundwater; the ability of water systems to address climate-related impacts on water quality or quantity; and the infrastructure of water and wastewater systems. In addition, the bill establishes a United States-Israel Water Cooperation Working Group to seek to strengthen dialogue between the United States and Israel in order to: (1) improve the use of water resources through water-saving technologies and practices; (2) counter water shortages; (3) modernize pipeline and other applicable infrastructure; and (4) pursue best practices in drip irrigation, water recycling, and desalination. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate certain tax incentives related to the extraction of oil, gas, or certain minerals.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
LGBT Data Inclusion Act This bill requires federal agencies that collect information through a survey that includes demographic data (where subjects self-report information or a proxy provides information about the subject or responds for all persons in a household) to establish data standards that require: a determination of which existing data sets exclude information about sexual orientation and gender identity; an identification, and a use, of appropriate methods to include questions on sexual orientation and gender identity in surveys that facilitate categorization and voluntary participation and that preserve privacy and confidentiality; and a routine assessment of needed changes in survey methods related to asking such questions. Agencies that publish reports relying on survey demographic data must include information on sexual orientation and gender identity. Individuals shall not be: (1) required by this bill to disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity to an agency; or (2) subjected to fines or penalties for refusing to answer, or providing a false answer to, any survey question regarding gender identity or sexual orientation. Nothing in this bill shall be construed to permit the use of such collected information in a manner that would adversely affect an individual.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
Veteran Education Empowerment Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to make grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) or consortia of IHEs for the establishment, maintenance, improvement, and operation of veteran student centers. A veteran student center is a dedicated space on a campus that provides students who are veterans or members of the Armed Forces with: (1) a lounge or meeting space for themselves, their spouses or partners, and veterans in the community; (2) a centralized office for veteran services that serves as a single point of contact to coordinate veterans support services; and (3) comprehensive academic and tutoring services to veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
Biodiesel, Renewable Diesel, and Alternative Fuels Extension Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend and modify the tax credits for biodiesel, renewable diesel, and alternative fuels. The bill extends through 2021: (1) the income tax credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel used as fuel, (2) the excise tax credit for biodiesel mixtures, (3) the excise tax credit for alternative fuels, (4) the excise tax credit for alternative fuel mixtures, and (5) the payments that are equivalent to the excise tax credits for biodiesel mixtures and alternative fuels. Beginning in 2019, the bill phases down the credits for biodiesel, biodiesel mixtures, alternative fuels, and alternative fuel mixtures by reducing the credits by specified amounts.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2017
Requests the President and directs the U.S. Attorney General to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of any document or communication in their possession that refers or relates to: the firing of James B. Comey as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the participation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions in Comey's removal, the scope or application of Sessions's recusal from investigations of matters related to the presidential campaign and the application of such recusal to Comey's removal, the scope or application of executive privilege as applied to Sessions's testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on June 13, 2017, President Trump's Twitter statement on May 12, 2017, that "James Comey better hope that there are no tapes of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!", any system used by the White House to secretly record conversations between the President and Comey, and any contemporaneous account of meetings between such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Justice is Not For Sale Act of 2017 This bill requires federal, state, and local governments to directly operate and perform core services at adult prisons and detention centers. It reestablishes parole for eligible federal prisoners sentenced on or after January 1, 2017. (The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 eliminated parole for offenders convicted of federal crimes committed after November 1, 1987.) It requires financial service providers at prisons and detention centers to impose reasonable and proportional fees and charges for money transfer services. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must assess such fees or charges. The Federal Communications Commission must cap prison phone call rates and connection charges, require telecommunications providers to offer collect and debit account call services, restrict commission payments and ancillary charges, and require correctional facility administrators to allow more than one telecommunications provider. The bill eliminates the requirement for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to maintain at least 34,000 detention beds. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must establish alternatives to detention programs and determine detention bed capacity based solely on detention needs. DHS must conduct annual inspections and routine oversight of detention facilities. The bill prohibits family detention; requires alternatives to detention programs for detained family units; and prohibits separating a family to detain a family member, except to detain an alien parent who is dangerous and inadmissible on terrorism grounds. Finally, the bill establishes a private right of action for a person aggrieved by a violation of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Do No Harm Act This bill makes the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) inapplicable to federal laws (or implementations of laws) that: protect against discrimination or the promotion of equal opportunity, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, Executive Order 11246 (concerning equal employment opportunity), the Violence Against Women Act, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) rules entitled "Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity"; require employers to provide wages, other compensation, or benefits, including leave; protect collective activity in the workplace; protect against child labor, abuse, or exploitation; or provide for access to, information about, referrals for, provision of, or coverage for, any health care item or service. Under current law, RFRA prohibits the government from substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest when using the least restrictive means. The bill makes RFRA inapplicable to: (1) terms requiring goods, services, functions, or activities to be performed or provided to beneficiaries of government contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or awards; or (2) denials of a person's full and equal enjoyment of a government-provided good, service, benefit, facility, privilege, advantage, or accommodation. To assert a RFRA claim or defense in a judicial proceeding, the government must be a party to the proceeding.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Refund Equality Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt certain same-sex couples who were legally married under state law from the three-year time limitation for filing: (1) a claim for a credit or refund of an overpayment of any tax, or (2) an election to file jointly after having filed separate returns. Certain legally married same-sex couples who were first treated as married for federal tax purposes by the application of the holdings of Revenue Ruling 2013-17 may file amended returns for previous years until the due date for the return for the year in which this bill is enacted. The bill applies only to amended returns and claims for a credit or refund that relate to a change in the marital status of the spouses. (In Revenue Ruling 2013-17, the Internal Revenue Service adopted a general rule recognizing, for federal tax purposes, the validity of a same-sex marriage that was valid in the state where it was entered into, regardless of the married couple's place of domicile.)
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2017
Zero Tolerance for Domestic Abusers Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to: state that the term "intimate partner" includes a dating partner and any other person subject to a protection order under state domestic or family violence law; and expand the term "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" to include the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, by a current or former intimate partner. The bill makes it a crime to knowingly sell or dispose of a firearm to a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of stalking. It also makes it a crime for such convicted stalker to receive or possess a firearm.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2017
Screen, Manage, Address, and Remove Toxins for Children Act of 2017 or the SMART Child Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize through FY2022 a program of screening for lead poisoning and referral for treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Preventing Diabetes in Medicare Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend Medicare coverage for medical nutrition therapy services to beneficiaries with pre-diabetes or risk factors for developing type-2 diabetes.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
America's Call To Improve Opportunities Now for National Service Act or the ACTION for National Service Act This bill amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to reestablish the Corporation for National and Community Service as an independent executive agency called the National and Community Service Administration. An individual who successfully completes a term of full-time national service shall be entitled to a national service educational award equal to twice the amount of tuition for the institution of higher education where the individual is enrolled, not to exceed twice the average in-state tuition. Current law limits the award's value to the maximum amount of a Federal Pell Grant that an individual is eligible to receive in the aggregate. Within the administration, the bill establishes an interagency working group to evaluate specified issues related to: (1) eligibility for tuition and student loan repayment assistance with regard to participation in certain national or volunteer service programs, (2) the advisability of granting federal hiring preference to certain volunteer program participants, and (3) methods for increasing the participation of seniors in national service programs. The National Service Foundation, a nonprofit corporation established by the bill, shall accept and administer gifts made in connection with the administration. The bill expresses support for the authorization of appropriations sufficient to provide, within 10 years, volunteer service opportunities for at least 1 million volunteers in full-time national service annually. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude AmeriCorps educational awards from gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2017 This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to reauthorize through FY2022 a diesel emissions reduction program. The program authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to provide grants, rebates, or loans for reducing diesel emissions from certain diesel vehicles or fleets by retrofitting or replacing their engines.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2017
Medicare Adult Day Services Act of 2017 This bill provides for Medicare coverage and payment of certified adult day services that meet specified requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2017
Expresses support for: (1) equal rights and protections for all people, regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity; and (2) the designation of LGBT Equality Day on June 26 to commemorate Supreme Court decisions handed down on that day in 2003, 2013, and 2015. Acknowledges the need for further legislation to ensure that people in the United States are free from all forms of discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Saving America's Pollinators Act of 2017 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to suspend the registration of members of the nitro group of neonicotinoid insecticides that are registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) for use in seed treatment, soil application, or foliar treatment on bee-attractive plants, trees, and cereals until the EPA determines that the insecticides will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on pollinators. The determination must be based on: an evaluation of the published and peer-reviewed scientific evidence on whether the use or uses of those neonicotinoids cause unreasonable adverse effects on pollinators, including native bees, honeybees, birds, bats, and other species of beneficial insects; and a completed field study that meets the criteria required by the EPA and evaluates residues, chronic low-dose exposure, and cumulative effects of multiple chemical exposures. The EPA may not issue new registrations of the neonicotinoid pesticides for any seed treatment, soil application, and foliar treatment on bee-attractive plants, trees, and cereals under FIFRA until it has made the determination with respect to the insecticide. For purposes of protecting and ensuring the long-term viability of native bees and other pollinators, the Department of the Interior must: (1) regularly monitor the health and population status of native bees, (2) identify the scope and likely causes of unusual native bee mortality, and (3) submit to Congress and make public an annual report on the health and population status of native bees.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Student Loan Interest Deduction Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the maximum tax deduction for interest paid on any qualified education loan to $5,000 ($10,000 for married couples filing a joint tax return), and (2) repeal the limitation on such deduction based upon modified adjusted gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Voter Empowerment Act of 2017 Voter Registration Modernization Act of 2017 This bill amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require states to make available online voter registration. The federal criminal code is amended to prohibit hindering, interfering with, or preventing voter registration. The Help America Vote Act of 2002 is amended to require states to promote access to voter registration and voting for individuals with disabilities. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must support pilot programs enabling individuals with disabilities to register and vote at their residences. The bill reauthorizes support for state and local governments to ensure voting access for individuals with disabilities. States must notify individuals convicted of a criminal offense under state law, upon release or upon sentence to probation, of their right to vote in federal elections. Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2017 This bill revises auditing requirements for voting systems. Voting systems must use individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots. The National Science Foundation must support the study and development of accessible ballot voting and best practices to enhance the accessibility of voting for certain individuals. With exceptions, states must audit federal election results. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is amended to extend the guarantee of voting residency to family members of absent military personnel. The EAC must support poll-worker recruitment and training and develop materials for a model program. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is amended to prohibit a chief state election administration official, unless the official or a family member is a candidate, from taking part in political management or in a political campaign for federal office over which the official has supervisory authority. The EAC is reauthorized and its exemption from certain contracting requirements is repealed.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 390 West 5th Street in San Bernardino, California, as the "Jack H. Brown Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to allow a representative official of an Indian tribe, with authorization from the governing body of the tribe, to request one or more polling places to be located on tribal lands. The state or political subdivision shall provide each requested polling place at no expense to the Indian tribe if certain criteria are met. A federal court shall retain jurisdiction to enforce constitutional voting guarantees, but also certain violations of the Act as well as of any federal prohibition against discrimination on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group, for an appropriate period to prevent commencement of new devices to deny or abridge the right to vote. Any state (and all of its political subdivisions) shall be subject to certain requirements for a 10-year period if: 15 or more voting rights violations occurred there during the previous 25 years; or 10 or more violations occurred during the previous 25 years, at least one of which was committed by the state itself (as opposed to a political subdivision within it). A state or political subdivision that obtains a declaratory judgment that it has not used a device to deny or abridge the right to vote shall be exempt from such requirements unlessas specified. This bill prescribes transparency requirements regarding any changes to specified matters. Department of Justice authority to assign observers receives new extensions. Courts shall grant preliminary injunctive relief if a complainant raises a serious question whether the challenged covered practice violates the Act or the Constitution and, on balance, the hardship imposed upon the defendant by the relief will be less than the hardship on the plaintiff if the relief were not granted.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
This bill directs the United States Postal Service to issue and sell an Alzheimer's Disease Research Semipostal Stamp. Proceeds from the sale of the stamp must be transferred to the National Institutes of Health. The stamp must be made available to the public for six years.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Alzheimer's Caregiver Support Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to make grants to public and nonprofit private health care providers to expand training and support services for families and caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Deferment for Active Cancer Treatment Act of 2017 This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow borrowers to defer student loans while they are receiving cancer treatment and during the six months after treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Know Your Repayment Options Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education (ED) to annually give federal student loan borrowers who have graduated or departed from school detailed information, including monthly amount and lifetime payment amount, for each repayment option available to the borrower. To provide this individualized information to borrowers, ED must establish a process for annual verification of the borrower's annual income and the outstanding balance of principal and interest due on federal loans. Borrowers may opt out of being provided this information.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
This bill amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office, upon receiving a request from Congress, to determine if legislation would reduce spending outside of the 10-year budget window through the use of preventive health and preventive health services.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
To Offer Refugees College Help (TORCH) Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require states to charge in-state tuition rates to refugees, asylees, and special immigrant visa holders if they are lawfully in the United States. This requirement only applies to the first state where the individual lives after being admitted into the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Schedules That Work Act This bill grants an employee the right to request that the employee's employer change the terms and conditions of employment relating to: the number of hours or times the employee is required to work or be on call; the location; the amount of notification the employee receives of work schedule assignments; and minimizing fluctuations in the number of hours the employee is scheduled to work on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The employer, if the request is made, shall engage in a timely, good faith interactive process with the employee that includes a discussion of potential schedule changes that would meet the employee's needs. The bill outlines the process for either granting or denying a change. The employer shall grant a request, unless there is a bona fide business reason for denying it, if the request is made because of the employee's serious health condition, the employee's responsibilities as a caregiver, or enrollment in a career-related educational or training program, or if a part-time employee requests such a change for a reason related to a second job. An employer, if an employee requests a change for any other reason, may deny it for any reason that is not unlawful. The employer shall give the employee the reason for the denial, including whether it was a bona fide business reason. The bill outlines employer requirements for paying reporting time and split shift pay and for giving advance notice of work schedules to retail, food service, or cleaning employees, or the Department of Labor's designated employees, except for those in bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacities. The bill makes it unlawful for any employer or other person to: (1) interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise or the attempt to exercise any right of an employee specified in this bill; (2) retaliate against an employee for exercising the rights granted employees by this bill; or (3) interfere with proceedings or inquiries with respect to violation of an individual's rights under this bill. The bill sets forth administrative enforcement procedures and civil remedies for violation of these prohibitions. Labor must give information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning compliance with this bill. The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of the Census shall: (1) include in the Current Population Survey questions on, among other things, the amount of fluctuation in the number of hours the employee is scheduled to work on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis; and (2) conduct at regular intervals the Contingent Worker Supplement, the Work Schedules and Work at Home Supplement, and other relevant supplements to the Current Population Survey. This bill is inapplicable to any employee covered by a bona fide collective bargaining agreement if its terms govern work scheduling practices.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2017
Expresses strong disapproval of the President's announcement to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change. Commends the group of states, cities, colleges and universities, businesses, investors, and individuals who have publicly expressed their support for such agreement. Urges the President to reverse his decision and maintain U.S. participation in such agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
National Museum of the American Latino Act This bill establishes the National Museum of the American Latino in the Smithsonian Institution. The purposes of the museum are to: (1) illuminate Latino contributions to the story of the United States; (2) provide for the collection, study, research, publication, and establishment of exhibitions and programs related to Latino life, art, history, and culture; and (3) provide for collaboration with Smithsonian Institution museums and research centers and other museums and educational institutions in the United States and abroad to promote the study and appreciation of Latino life, art, history, culture, and its impact on society in the United States. The bill establishes a Board of Trustees for the museum to advise and assist the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian on all matters related to the administration and preservation of the museum. The Director of the museum shall manage the museum and may carry out educational and liaison programs in support of its goals. The Board of Regents shall designate a site for the museum and is authorized to design and construct it.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
Mental Health in Schools Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to revise a community children and violence program to assist local communities and schools in applying a public health approach to mental health services, including by: (1) revising eligibility requirements for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement; and (2) providing for comprehensive school mental health programs that are culturally and linguistically appropriate, trauma-informed, and age appropriate. A comprehensive school mental health program funded under this bill must assist children in dealing with trauma and violence. The bill makes only certain partnerships that include a state educational agency and one or more educational agencies, with a local agency serving as lead partner, eligible for funding. They include public or private entities that use evidence-based intervention. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shall develop a fiscally appropriate process for evaluating grant program activities, including the development of: (1) guidelines for the submission of program data by recipients; and (2) outcome measures to be applied by recipients in evaluating programs, including student and family measures and local educational measures.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2017
Children's Act for Responsible Employment of 2017 or the CARE Act of 2017 This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to redefine "oppressive child labor," for purposes of the Act's child labor prohibitions, as the employment of any employee who is: 16 or 17 years of age in any occupation found by the Department of Labor to be particularly hazardous or detrimental to such employee's health or well-being; 14 or 15 years of age, unless the employment is confined to periods which do not interfere with the employee's schooling, health, and well-being; or under age 14. The bill revises exemptions for child agricultural employment. The bill increases civil penalties for child labor violations and imposes new criminal penalties for repeated or willful violations of child labor prohibitions that result in serious illness or injury of an employee under age 18. Labor shall revise regulations to prohibit the employment of children under age 18 in duties involving the handling of pesticides.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2017
Children Don't Belong on Tobacco Farms Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to redefine "oppressive child labor," for purposes of child labor prohibitions, to include the employment of any employee under age 18 who has direct contact with tobacco plants or dried tobacco leaves.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Automatic Voter Registration Act This bill amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require state motor vehicle authorities, upon receiving certain identifying information with respect to an individual requesting motor vehicle authority services, to transmit the information to the state election official. The state election official shall then notify the individual that unless the individual declines to be registered to vote in federal elections in the state, the individual shall be automatically registered unless the individual does not meet voter registration eligibility requirements or is already registered to vote. A state may not use any identifying information regarding an individual's citizenship status for any purpose other than determining whether the individual is eligible to vote in federal elections.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2017
Humane Cosmetics Act This bill prohibits testing cosmetics on animals, effective on the date that is one year after enactment of this bill. No cosmetic may be sold or transported if the final product or any component was developed or manufactured using animal testing after that date, effective three years after enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2017
Health Equity and Access under the Law for Immigrant Women and Families Act of 2017 or the HEAL Immigrant Women and Families Act of 2017 This bill amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act to extend Medicaid and CHIP coverage to aliens lawfully present in the United States who otherwise meet eligibility requirements. This applies to individuals granted deferred action or other federally authorized presence but not to nonimmigrants (e.g., individuals with a temporary worker visa). Individuals granted federally authorized presence, except nonimmigrants, are eligible for health insurance exchanges and reduced cost sharing under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and premium subsidies under the Internal Revenue Code.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2017 This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl in recognition of his acts of valor during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act or the Healthy MOM Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act and Internal Revenue Code to require health insurers, health insurance exchanges, and group health plans to offer a special enrollment period to pregnant individuals. The special enrollment period offered by an insurer or exchange must begin when the pregnancy is reported to the insurer or exchange. The special enrollment period offered by a group health plan must begin when the pregnancy is reported to the plan or is confirmed by a health care provider. Coverage offered by a group health plan or health insurer that covers dependents must provide coverage for maternity care to all covered individuals. The Office of Personnel Management must ensure that eligible pregnant women are allowed to enroll in federal employee health benefit plans outside of the open enrollment period. This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to revise the range in which a state must establish a maximum level of family income for pregnant women and infants to be eligible for Medicaid. The upper limit of the range is eliminated and the lower limit is set to the level in place, or specified in an amendment to a state plan, on January 1, 2014.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Horseracing Integrity Act of 2017 This bill establishes the Horseracing Anti-Doping and Medication Control Authority as an independent non-profit corporation with responsibility for developing and administering an anti-doping and medication control program for: (1) Thoroughbred, Quarter, and Standardbred horses that participate in horse races that have a substantial relation to interstate commerce, (2) such horse races, and (3) the personnel engaged in the care, training, or racing of such horses. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all horse racing anti-doping and medication control matters. The Authority and such FTC jurisdiction shall terminate if an interstate compact providing for services consistent with such program is established within five years after the program takes effect. The Authority may enter into agreements with state racing commissions to implement the program within their jurisdictions. Program elements shall include: anti-doping and medication control rules, lists of permitted and prohibited substances and methods, a prohibition on the administration of any such substance within 24 hours of a horse's next racing start, and testing and laboratory standards. The Authority shall: develop, maintain, and publish such lists; establish a list of anti-doping and medication control rule violations applicable to either covered horses or persons; establish standards and the process for laboratory accreditation and sample testing; and promulgate rules for anti-doping and medication control results management, for the disciplinary process for violation results management, and for imposing sanctions for violations. The bill sets forth civil enforcement provisions. Activities under this bill are funded by an assessment placed on state racing commissions based on the calculation of cost per racing starter.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2017 This bill authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to confer blue card status upon an alien who: (1) has performed specified periods of U.S. agricultural employment or is a qualifying alien's spouse or child, (2) has been physically present in the United States for a qualifying period, (3) applied for such status during the application period, (4) is not ineligible under specified grounds for such status, (5) has passed security and law enforcement clearances, and (6) has paid the required fees and penalties. Blue card status is limited to eight years. A blue card alien (individual) may: (1) work in the United States, and (2) travel from and return to the United States, including commuting to the United States from a foreign residence. DHS shall adjust an individual's blue card status to lawful permanent resident status if the individual: (1) performs a specified period of qualifying agricultural employment, (2) applies before the expiration of his or her blue card status, and (3) pays a required fine and satisfies any federal tax liability. The bill also provides for status adjustment of such an individual's qualifying spouse and child. The bill enumerates: (1) grounds for revocation of blue card status or denial of permanent resident status, (2) protections for aliens apprehended before or during the application period or in removal proceedings, and (3) employer protections. Such an individual: (1) is ineligible for any federal means-tested benefit, and (2) may correct certain social security records. DHS shall report to Congress, after six months and annually for the next eight years, on the blue card program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to modify the prohibition on firearm sale or transfer to or purchase or possession by an individual who is subject to a court order that restrains the individual from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of an intimate partner. Specifically, the bill revises the elements of a qualifying court order. It also broadens the definition of "intimate partner" to include a dating partner or former dating partner. Additionally, the bill expands the categories of prohibited persons (i.e., persons barred from receiving or possessing a firearm) to include persons who have been convicted of: (1) a misdemeanor crime of stalking, or (2) a crime involving conduct that would have been stalking if committed within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Establishes the House Select Committee on Gun Violence Prevention to investigate and report on: the causes of mass shootings, methods to improve the federal firearms purchaser background check system, connections between access to firearms and dangerously mentally ill individuals, strengthening federal penalties for trafficking and straw purchasing of firearms, closing loopholes that allow some domestic abusers continued access to firearms, linkages between firearms and suicide, gun violence's effect on public health, the correlation between state gun violence prevention laws and the incidence of gun violence, the importance of having reliable and accurate information on gun violence and its toll on our nation, the implementation of effective gun violence prevention laws in accordance with the Second Amendment to the Constitution, and rates of gun violence in large metropolitan areas.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Raise the Wage Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the federal minimum wage for regular employees over a 7-year period, for tipped employees, and for newly hired employees who are less than 20 years old. The bill sets forth a schedule of annual increases in the federal minimum wage for individuals with disabilities. The Department of Labor shall no longer issue special certificates for the payment of subminimum wages to such individuals after the final wage increase under this bill for such individuals takes effect. Labor shall provide, upon request, technical assistance and information to employers to: (1) help them transition their practices to comply with wage increases and other requirements under this bill for individuals with disabilities, and (2) ensure continuing employment opportunities for such individuals. The bill eliminates the separate minimum wage requirements for tipped, newly hired, and disabled employees. After a specified period, these employees shall be paid the same minimum wage as regular employees. Labor must publish any increase in the minimum wage in the Federal Register and on its website 60 days before it takes effect.
![Official portrait of Rep. Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D-CA-40]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/r000486_200.jpg)