United States · United States Congress · 11 January 2019
Christa McAuliffe Commemorative Coin Act of 2019 This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 350,000 $1 silver coins in commemoration of Christa McAuliffe, a teacher tragically killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster. The design of the coins shall bear an image and the name of Christa McAuliffe on the obverse side and a design on the reverse side that depicts the legacy of McAuliffe as a teacher. Treasury may issue the coins from January 1-December 31, 2020. All surcharges received by Treasury from the sale of the coins shall be paid to the FIRST robotics program for the purpose of engaging and inspiring young people, through mentor-based programs, to become leaders in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2019
Safe Responsible Ethical Scientific Endeavors Assuring Research for Compassionate Healthcare Act or the Safe RESEARCH Act This bill prohibits the use of tissue from an induced abortion in research conducted or supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Research with human fetal tissue or alternatives to human fetal tissue (e.g., stem cells) conducted or supported by the NIH must meet requirements currently applied only to research on the transplantation of human fetal tissue for therapeutic purposes, including requirements for the informed consent of the donor and researcher. Research conducted or supported by the NIH may use human fetal tissue only if the tissue was obtained in accordance with state law regulating anatomical gifts. Currently, executive branch officials may not prohibit the NIH from conducting or supporting research on the transplantation of human fetal tissue for therapeutic purposes. The bill repeals that limitation on executive branch officials. The bill repeals a requirement that the NIH fund certain proposals for research on the transplantation of human fetal tissue for therapeutic purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2019
Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2019 This bill temporarily restricts federal funding for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. Specifically, the bill prohibits, for a one-year period, the availability of federal funds for any purpose to this entity, or any of its affiliates or clinics, unless they certify that the affiliates and clinics will not perform, and will not provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion during such period. This restriction does not apply in cases of rape or incest or where a physical condition endangers a woman's life unless an abortion is performed. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture must seek repayment of federal assistance received by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., or any affiliate or clinic, if it violates the terms of the certification required by this bill. Additional funding for community health centers is provided for the one-year period described above (subject to the same abortion-related restrictions and exceptions).
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2019
Build up Illegal Line Defenses with Assets Lawfully Lifted Act of 2019 This bill directs certain amounts from the Department of Justice (DOJ) Assets Forfeiture Fund to the deployment of additional border security measures. Specifically, the bill requires DOJ to report annually on the amount of total deposits into the fund that are derived from Mexican cartels. It makes available 50% of that amount for the construction of additional physical barriers and roads near the border to deter illegal crossings into the United States. Additionally, the bill prohibits the release of seized currency or contraband that likely belongs to or supports a foreign, illegal trafficking organization while a civil forfeiture action is pending.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2019
This resolution expresses support for the designation of a National Animal Rescue Day to create awareness for animal rescue programs throughout the year and address the challenge of overpopulation through continued spaying and neutering.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2019
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 This bill addresses certain health benefit and home loan programs for veterans. Specifically, the bill extends the presumption of service-connection for certain diseases associated with herbicide (e.g., Agent Orange) exposure to veterans who served (1) offshore of Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, or (2) in or near the Korean Demilitarized Zone between September 1, 1967, and August 31, 1971. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific disabilities or diseases diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded. The bill extends eligibility for health care, vocational training and rehabilitation, and monetary allowance to children with spina bifida who have at least one veteran parent who may have been exposed to an herbicide agent while serving in Thailand between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. Additionally, the bill revises the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) home loan guaranty program to adjust loan fee rates and eliminate the limit on the amount of a loan for which the VA may provide a guaranty of 25%. Under current law, these loan guarantees are subject to a limit on loan size determined by Freddie Mac. The bill also waives loan fees for active duty Purple Heart recipients. The VA shall permit a VA-approved appraiser to make a housing loan appraisal based solely on information gathered by a person with whom the appraiser has entered into an agreement for such services.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2019
End Banking for Human Traffickers Act of 2019 This bill establishes requirements related to the use of financial transactions in human trafficking. The bill adds the Secretary of the Treasury as a member of the President's Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking. The task force must submit to Congress recommendations for the revision of anti-money laundering programs specifically targeting severe forms of human trafficking. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council must review procedures to improve the capability of specified programs to target financial transactions relating to severe forms of human trafficking. The Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence must coordinate with other specified agencies to combat the illicit financing relating to severe forms of human trafficking. The bill provides additional criteria to be considered by the State Department to indicate a country's serious and sustained efforts to eliminate human trafficking. Specifically, the bill adds criteria regarding whether a country has taken or is taking steps to implement a framework for preventing financial transactions involving severe forms of human trafficking.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2019
Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2019 This bill requires each federal agency to establish a model Equal Employment Opportunity Program that is independent of the agency's Human Capital or General Counsel office, and it establishes requirements related to complaints of discrimination and retaliation in the workplace. An agency must publish a notice of any final agency action or Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) appellate decision involving a finding of prohibited discrimination or retaliation, and it must report certain data with respect to specified equal opportunity complaints. Each agency must establish a system to track complaints of discrimination and include a notation of any adverse action taken against an employee for discrimination or retaliation in the employee's personnel record. The EEOC must refer to the Office of Special Counsel a matter about which it issues an appellate decision involving a finding of discrimination or retaliation within a federal agency, and the Office of Special Counsel shall accept and review such referral for purposes of seeking disciplinary action. An employee who has authority to take, recommend, or approve any personnel action shall not implement or enforce a nondisclosure policy that prohibits or restricts an employee from disclosing information relating to (1) a violation of any law, rule, or regulation; (2) mismanagement, gross waste of funds, or abuse of authority; (3) a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety; or (4) any other whistle-blower protection.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2019
Homeless Veteran Families Act This bill updates the Department of Veterans Affairs per diem payment calculation for entities furnishing services to homeless veterans to include funding for a minor dependent. The rate for per diem payments is the daily cost of care as estimated by the grant recipient or eligible entity. This bill would expand the per diem payment amount for a homeless veteran who has care of a minor dependent to the daily cost of care plus, for each minor dependent, an amount that equals 50% of such daily cost of care.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2019
Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2019 This bill establishes requirements regarding audits of certain financial agencies performed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Specifically, the bill directs the GAO to complete, within 12 months, an audit of the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve banks. In addition, the bill allows the GAO to audit the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve banks with respect to (1) international financial transactions; (2) deliberations, decisions, or actions on monetary policy matters; (3) transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee; and (4) discussions or communications among Federal Reserve officers, board members, and employees regarding any of these matters.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2018
This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to establish a grant program for state and local governments to deploy and implement gunfire detection and location technology.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2018
This resolution expresses support for a political solution to the conflict in Syria, condemns the Assad regime and the governments of Russia and Iran for their continued support of war crimes, and calls on the President and the Department of State to work toward a sustainable political transition in Syria.
United States · United States Congress · 29 November 2018
This bill establishes that certain activities on or below the waters within the U.S. exclusive economic zone that infringe a U.S. patent shall be considered an infringing act that occurs within the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 2018
No Retroactive Online Taxation Act of 2018 This bill bans states from imposing a sales tax collection duty on a remote seller for any sale that occurred before June 21, 2018. A "remote seller" is a person without a physical presence in a state who makes a sale into the state. The ban does not apply to any sales tax collected or paid by a remote seller before June 21, 2018.
United States · United States Congress · 27 November 2018
Engineering Biology Research and Development Act of 2019 This bill directs: the Office of Science and Technology Policy to implement a National Engineering Biology Research and Development Program; the National Science Foundation (NSF) to convene a workshop related to engineering biology research and development; and the NSF and certain other federal agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to carry out specified research activities as part of the program.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2018
This bill expands the E-3 visa program to cover Irish nationals. Currently, the E-3 visa is only available to Australian nationals. The employer of an Irish national under the program shall file an attestation with the Department of Labor. The employer shall participate in the E-Verify program during the duration of the applicant's authorized employment period. For each fiscal year, the Department of State may approve 10,500 Irish E-3 initial applications minus the number of Australian E-3 initial applications approved the previous fiscal year. The total number of approved E-3 initial applications shall not exceed 21,000 in any two fiscal years. Currently, the State Department may approve up to 10,500 initial applications each fiscal year under the program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2018
This bill includes in the nonimmigrant E-3 visa category certain nationals of Ireland coming to the United States under a treaty of commerce to perform specialty occupation services.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2018
Build the Wall, Enforce the Law Act of 2018 This bill amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to modify provisions relating to the enforcement of immigration laws. Specifically, the bill prohibits any individual (e.g., an employer) from restricting or interfering with the enforcement of the immigration laws by federal officials. It also denies states or localities (i.e., sanctuary jurisdictions) that fail to cooperate in the enforcement of the immigration laws eligibility for federal funds and law enforcement grants under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. The bill amends detainer provisions to authorize the Department of Homeland Security to issue detainers for the arrest of an illegal alien if there is probable cause to believe that the alien is inadmissible or deportable. It also provides qualified immunity to governmental and certain nongovernmental entities that detain an alien, except in cases of mistreatment, and allows a private right of action to relatives of victims of crime committed by an alien released from custody by a state or local governmental entity that failed to honor a detainer. The bill also revises provisions requiring detention of aliens during the pendency of removal proceedings to require indefinite detention of aliens who have committed certain serious crimes; enhances penalties for the criminal offense of reentry after removal; establishes new and specific grounds of inadmissibility and deportability for aliens who are members of designated criminal gangs (consisting of five or more persons); and provides funding for border barriers, technology and other resources at the southern border to prevent illegal entry.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2018
Aluminum Pricing Examination Act or the APEX Act This bill authorizes the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to set reference prices for aluminum premiums.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2018
United States Parole Commission Extension Act of 2018 This bill extends for two years the authority and functions of the U.S. Parole Commission, including the requirement to submit data to Congress on each type of case under its jurisdiction. Additionally, the bill amends the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 to require auditors who monitor compliance with national prison rape standards to be certified.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2018
Preventing Child Exploitation Act of 2018 This bill amends the federal criminal code: to broaden the definition of "illicit sexual conduct" to include conduct involving a minor that would be a sex abuse offense if it occurred inside the United States; to broaden the federal sex offenses that trigger a mandatory life prison term for a defendant with a prior sex offense conviction involving a minor victim; to add violent state crimes to the list of violent offenses that trigger an additional five-year consecutive mandatory minimum prison term for a defendant who fails to comply with sex offender registration requirements and commits such offense; to expand the prior military sex offense convictions that trigger an enhanced mandatory minimum prison term for certain repeat offenses involving a minor; and to revise provisions that prohibit the sexual exploitation of children for the production of child pornography. Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2018 This bill amends the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and the federal criminal code: to reauthorize through FY2022 the Sex Offender Management Assistance program; to reauthorize through FY2022 the activites of the U.S. Marshals Service to locate and apprehend sex offenders who violate registration requirements; to reduce the required registration period for certain juvenile delinquent sex offenders who maintain a clean record; to allow states to exempt from public disclosure information about juvenile delinquent sex offenders; to extend the statute of limitations for a minor victim of a federal sex offense to file a civil action; to allow alternative methods for a registered sex offender to comply with the in-person verification requirement; and to limit the aggravated sex abuse offenses that trigger sex offender registration requirements for certain juvenile offenders.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2018
Online Sales Simplicity and Small Business Relief Act of 2018 This bill prohibits states from imposing a sales tax collection duty on certain remote sellers. A "remote seller" is a person without a physical presence in a state who makes a sale in the state. With respect to remote sellers, a state: (1) may not impose a sales tax collection duty for any sale that occurred before June 21, 2018, and (2) may only impose a sales tax collection duty for a sale that occurs after January 1, 2019. In the case of a small business remote seller (no more than $10 million in gross annual receipts in the United States), a state may not impose a sales tax collection duty on any person other than the purchaser if the sale is made: (1) on or after June 21, 2018; and (2) before the date that is 30 days after the states develop and Congress approves an interstate compact, applicable to the state and sale, governing the imposition of tax collection duties on remote sellers.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2018
Injunctive Authority Clarification Act of 2018 This bill prohibits federal courts from issuing injunctive orders that bar enforcement of a federal law or policy against a nonparty, unless the nonparty is represented by a party in a class action lawsuit.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2018
Expresses opposition to the completion of Nord Stream II, the gas pipeline that would transport natural gas from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. Urges the President to support European energy security through a policy of diversification to lessen reliance on Russia. Supports the imposition of sanctions with respect to Nord Stream II.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2018
Condemns Iranian state-sponsored terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens and officials and Iranian dissidents. Expresses support for the people of Iran who are engaged in legitimate and peaceful protests against the Iranian regime.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2018
AG and Legal Workforce Act This bill establishes a new H-2C nonimmigrant visa for aliens coming temporarily to the United States to perform agricultural labor or services. In addition, the bill (1) directs the Department of Homeland Security to create an electronic employment-eligibility confirmation system modeled after the E-Verify system, and (2) mandates the use of such a system by employers.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2018
Assistance for Firms Harmed by Tariffs on Exports Act This bill provides financial assistance to companies harmed by retaliatory foreign tariffs. It expands the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms program, which currently provides such assistance to companies adversely affected by competing imported goods and services. Companies that have seen a significant decrease in sales of exported goods or services, in whole or in part as a result of tariffs imposed by foreign countries in response to U.S. tariff increases, may petition the Department of Commerce for trade adjustment assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2018
This bill amends the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to require congressional approval for a presidential adjustment of an import due to a national security threat. Specifically, the bill requires the President to submit a proposal to Congress, which Congress may approve by a joint resolution. Under current law, the President determines whether any adjustment of an import is necessary, and must submit to Congress the reasons for any action taken or not taken. The bill retroactively applies to any proposed action made two years before enactment of this bill. In general, any rate of duty modification occurring in the time period two years before enactment of this bill and the date before enactment of this bill must revert to the previous rate.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2018
Georgia Support Act This bill directs the Department of State to report to Congress regarding: U.S. security assistance to, and cybersecurity cooperation with, Georgia; and a strategy to assist Georgia combat Russian disinformation and propaganda. The President shall impose U.S. entry and property-blocking sanctions against a foreign person responsible for or complicit in the commission of serious human rights abuses in Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia that are occupied by Russia.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2018
Physician Visa Reform Act of 2018 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow alien physicians who are approved by a state licensing authority to practice medicine in an area having a shortage of health care professionals to engage in medical practice without having to pass the otherwise required medical board examination. The bill also grants such physicians and family members conditional permanent resident status.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2018
Calls upon the Chinese Communist Party to cease its persecution of Falun Gong. Supports the Tuidang Movement and its pursuit of a free and democratic government in China.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2018
Condemns Russia's destabilizing behavior in Ukraine and the region. Calls on the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and its associated international community to: (1) continue investigations into illicit Russian efforts to secure the World Cup, and (2) condemn Russia's transgressions against international law and FIFA values.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 2018
Common Sense Certification Reform Act This bill prohibits the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from requiring the certification of employees for operating power-operated equipment (e.g., cranes) used in construction activities to deliver or retrieve propane containers.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2018
Condemns all forms of physical, mental, and sexual violence against children and youth globally. Commends the End Violence Against Children Solution Summit 2018 in Stockholm, Sweden, for its leadership.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2018
Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2018 This bill requires the Department of Education when reviewing whether there has been a violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance) based on an individual's actual or perceived shared Jewish ancestry or Jewish ethnic characteristics to consider the definition of "anti-Semitism" as part of its assessment of whether a practice was motivated by anti-Semitic intent. For purposes of this bill, the definition of "anti-Semitism" is the definition set forth by the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism of the Department of State in the Fact Sheet issued on June 8, 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2018
Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2018 This bill requires the House of Representatives and the Senate to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the U.S. merchant mariners of World War II, in recognition of their service during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2018
Consumer Protection and Fuel Transparency Act of 2018 This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) require the labels of fuel pumps that dispense E15 fuel (fuel that contains 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline) to include additional details, such as warning information; and (2) implement a public education campaign concerning the risks associated with the improper use of E15 fuel in vehicles, engines, and equipment, such as boats, lawnmowers, and snowmobiles.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2018
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2650 North Doctor Martin Luther King Drive in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the "Vel R. Phillips Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2018
Transitional Housing for Recovery in Viable Environments Demonstration Program Act or the THRIVE Act This bill amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to require the Department of Housing and Urban Development to establish a five-year demonstration program for nonprofit organizations to provide low-income rental-assistance vouchers to individuals recovering from an opioid or other substance-use disorder. Specifically, an organization shall provide these vouchers through a supportive and transitional housing program that provides treatment for such disorders and job skills training for a period of 12 to 24 months.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2018
Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person Act or the FIRST STEP Act This bill amends various provisions of law and sets forth new provisions: to require the Department of Justice to establish and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to implement a risk and needs assessment system to assess prisoner recidivism risk; guide housing, grouping, and program assignments; and incentivize and reward participation in and completion of recidivism reduction programs and productive activities; to modify the computation of good time credit; to allow federal correctional officers to securely store and carry concealed firearms on BOP premises outside the security perimeter of a prison; to limit the use of restraints on federal prisoners who are pregnant or in postpartum recovery; to require a prisoner to be placed at a facility not more than 500 driving miles away from the prisoner's primary residence; to require low-risk prisoners to be placed on home confinement for the maximum amount of time permitted; to reauthorize through FY2022 and modify eligibility for an elderly offender early release pilot program; to require the BOP to help prisoners obtain identification documents prior to release, to incorporate de-escalation procedures into training programs, and to make tampons and sanitary napkins available free of charge; to repeal the National Institute of Corrections; to authorize Federal Prison Industries to sell products to additional markets; to require probation and pretrial services officers to perform court-directed supervision of sex offenders conditionally released from civil commitment; to require auditors who monitor compliance with national prison rape standards be certified; and to require the BOP to establish pilot programs on youth mentorship and service to abandoned, rescued, or vulnerable animals.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2018
Expresses support for the designation of Great Lakes Week and commits to ensuring that the Great Lakes are preserved and protected through programs such as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2018
Burn Pits Accountability Act This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) and the military departments to evaluate whether each member of the Armed Forces has been (1) based or stationed where an open air burn pit was used to dispose of waste, or (2) exposed to toxic airborne chemicals. Members located where an open burn pit was used or exposed to toxic airborne chemicals must be enrolled in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, unless the member elects not to enroll. The evaluations must be included in periodic health assessments, physical exams conducted immediately prior to separation from active duty, and deployment assessments. DOD must share the results of the evaluations with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2018
Recognizes Estonia's, Latvia's, and Lithuania's 100th anniversary of independence, the 27th anniversary of their independence from the Soviet Union, and their political, economic, social, and military progress. Reiterates support for the European Deterrence Initiative as a means to enhance deterrence and increase military capabilities on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's eastern flank.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2018
A Fast-Tracked Executive Rescission Review (AFTERR) of Appropriations Act of 2018 This bill amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to establish expedited legislative procedures for congressional consideration of rescissions proposed by the President. (A rescission is legislation that cancels the availability of previously enacted budget authority before the authority would otherwise expire.)
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2018
Intelligence Budget Transparency Act of 2018 This bill requires the President's annual budget to include the total amount proposed for intelligence or intelligence related activities of each element of the government engaged in these activities in the fiscal year for which the budget is submitted. The budget must also include the estimated appropriation required for these activities for each of the next four fiscal years.
![Official portrait of Rep. Sensenbrenner, F. James, Jr. [R-WI-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000244_200.jpg)