United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2017
Build Bridges Not Walls Act This bill provides that the executive order titled "Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements" signed by the President on January 25, 2017, or any other substantially similar action by the President to use taxpayer dollars or fees to construct a continuous wall or fence between the United States and Mexico shall have no force or effect.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2017
Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research Act of 2017 or the Childhood Cancer STAR Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide support to collect the medical specimens and information of children, adolescents, and young adults with selected cancers that have the least effective treatments in order to achieve a better understanding of these cancers and the effects of treatment. The national childhood cancer registry is reauthorized through FY2022 and revised to authorize the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to award grants to state cancer registries to improve tracking of childhood cancers. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may: (1) support pilot programs to develop or study models for monitoring and caring for childhood cancer survivors throughout their lives, (2) establish a task force to develop and test standards for high-quality childhood cancer survivorship care, and (3) carry out a demonstration project to improve care coordination as childhood cancer survivors transition to adult care. HHS must convene a Workforce Development Collaborative on Medical and Psychosocial Care for Pediatric Cancer Survivors. The NIH may support research on: (1) outcomes for, and barriers faced by, pediatric cancer survivors within minority or medically underserved populations; and (2) follow-up care for pediatric cancer survivors, including research on the late effects of cancer treatment and long-term complications. The Government Accountability Office must make recommendations to address barriers to childhood cancer survivors obtaining and paying for adequate medical care.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2017
Child Tax Credit Improvement Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the child tax credit, to: (1) allow taxpayers an increased $3,600 tax credit for each young child under the age of six (young child tax credit), subject to specified limitations based on adjusted gross income; (2) require the Department of the Treasury to establish a program to make advance payments of the young child tax credit; (3) modify the refundable portion of the child tax credit; and (4) require annual inflation adjustments for both the child tax credit and the young child tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2017
Declares that the House of Representatives commits to: (1) working with U.S. allies that signed the Paris Agreement on climate change, and (2) taking meaningful action to ensure that the President does not issue an executive order to withdraw from such agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Affordability for Constant and Continual Education to Enhance Student Success Act or the All-Year ACCESS Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase from one to two the number of Pell Grants an eligible student may receive in a single award year (i.e., it restores year-round Pell Grants). A student's total amount of Pell Grants must not exceed 150% of the maximum Pell Grant for that award year. Also, any period during which a student receives an additional Pell Grant counts toward that student's lifetime Pell Grant eligibility period.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) it is an indisputable fact that the Nazi regime targeted the Jewish people in its perpetration of the Holocaust, and (2) to deny or minimize that the Holocaust was an effort to eliminate the Jewish people is shameful. Calls on all executive branch entities, including the White House, to affirm that the Nazi regime targeted the Jewish people in the Holocaust.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Original Black History Month Resolution of 2017 Recognizes: (1) the significance of Black History Month as an important time to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of African-Americans in the nation's history, and (2) that the ethnic and racial diversity of the United States enriches and strengthens the nation. Encourages: (1) the continued celebration of this month to provide an opportunity for all peoples of the United States to learn more about the past and to better understand the experiences that have shaped the nation, and (2) states to include in their year-round educational curriculum the history and contributions of African-Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Return to Prudent Banking Act of 2017 This bill prohibits an insured depository institution from affiliating with any person or firm engaged principally in, among other things, issuing or selling stocks, bonds, notes, or other securities. Officers, directors and employees of securities firms are prohibited from simultaneously serving as an officer, director, or employee of a depository institution, except in specified circumstances. Any such individual serving as an officer, director, employee, or other institution-affiliated party of any insured depository institution must terminate such service as soon as practicable after enactment of this bill. Any affiliation of an insured depository institution with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, or investment company must be terminated as soon as practicable. No entity issuing or selling stocks, bonds, or other securities may engage in the business of receiving deposits, which includes the establishment and maintenance of transaction accounts, as defined in the Federal Reserve Act. This bill declares that Congress ratifies the interpretation by the Supreme Court of specified statutory language in Investment Company Institute v. Camp (ICI) regarding permissible activities of banks and securities firms. It further declares that the reasoning of the Court in that case shall continue to apply to the limitations placed upon security affiliations under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act as enacted by this bill. No federal banking agency or federal court shall issue an interpretation regarding such security affiliations that is narrower than that of the court in ICI . This bill repeals certain provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, including those pertaining to regulation of financial holding companies and the conditions for engaging in financial activities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Protect the National Security Council From Political Interference Act of 2017 This bill amends the National Security Act of 1947 to prohibit the President from designating any individual whose primary or predominant responsibility is political in nature to serve as a member of the National Security Council (NSC) or to regularly attend or participate in NSC meetings or meetings convened under the auspices of the NSC, including Principals Committee meetings. Organized under presidential memorandum, the Principals Committee is a cabinet-level senior interagency forum chaired by the National Security Advisor or the Homeland Security Advisor to consider policies that affect U.S. national security interests. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that no limitations should be imposed on the ability of the Director of National Intelligence or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or their designees, to attend any Principals Committee meeting convened under the auspices of the NSC or any other senior interagency meeting convened to consider policy issues that affect U.S. national security interests.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
Anwar Sadat Centennial Celebration Act 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 Anwar Sadat in recognition of his achievements and heroic actions to attain comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH Woman) Act of 2017 This bill requires the federal government: (1) to ensure coverage for abortion care in public health insurance programs including Medicaid, Medicare, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); (2) as an employer or health plan sponsor, to ensure coverage for abortion care for participants and beneficiaries; and (3) as a provider of health services, to ensure that abortion care is made available to individuals who are eligible to receive services. The federal government may not prohibit, restrict, or otherwise inhibit insurance coverage of abortion care by state or local governments or by private health plans. State and local governments may not prohibit, restrict, or otherwise inhibit insurance coverage of abortion care by private health plans.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
This joint resolution eliminates the time limit for ratification of the equal rights amendment (prohibits discrimination on account of sex) proposed to the states in House Joint Resolution 208 of the 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972. The amendment shall be part of the Constitution whenever ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
Increase Transportation Alternatives Investment Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to ensure that states give preference, under the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, to eligible projects that are located in areas that are undergoing extensive repair or reconstruction of transportation infrastructure, including federal-aid highways, federally owned roads open for public travel, passenger rail facilities, and public transportation facilities and that will provide transportation alternatives related to the closure of transportation infrastructure in such areas. DOT shall: (1) carry out a competitive grant program to support community efforts to invest in transportation alternatives; and (2) give grant preference to projects located in such areas. Entities eligible for grants include state and local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and rural planning organizations. Grants may be used to plan for, facilitate, and provide initial support for: transportation demand management programs; carpool or telecommuting projects; and planning, design, acquisition of rights-of-way, construction, improvement, and management of streets, pathways, and public transportation facilities to facilitate expanded bicycle and pedestrian mobility and access.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
Declares that Donald J. Trump won the 2016 presidential election with the assistance and interference of the Russian government. Calls for Congress to investigate thoroughly the nature and extent of such interference, and whether, and to what extent, there was collusion between persons associated with the Russian government and persons associated with the Trump presidential campaign to influence the outcome of the election. Such investigation shall also examine whether, and to what extent, persons associated with the Trump campaign: were aware of Russian interference in the election; were given information by persons associated with the Russian government concerning cyber attacks on U.S. citizens, including persons affiliated with the Democratic Party or the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton; encouraged cyberattacks or other forms of espionage against persons affiliated with the Democratic Party or the Clinton campaign; and assisted persons associated with the Russian government in the proliferation of misinformation intended to influence the election.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Safeguarding Sanctuary Cities Act of 2017 This bill prohibits reducing or withholding federal financial assistance that a state or local government would otherwise receive because such state or local government has in place any policy that limits or restricts compliance with a detainer. A "detainer" is defined as any order or request by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for a state or local official to: temporarily hold a person until such person may be taken into federal custody, transport such a person for transfer to federal custody, or notify DHS prior to releasing such person.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Statue of Liberty Values Act of 2017 or the SOLVE Act of 2017 This bill states that: (1) beginning on January 27, 2017, Executive Order 13769, entitled "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States," is null and void, shall have no force and effect, and may not be implemented or enforced; and (2) no federal funds may be used to implement or enforce any of the policy changes set forth in such order. Among the order's major provisions are restrictions on the entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants from seven countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) and additional limitations on refugee admissions to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
No Funds for Unconstitutional Executive Orders Act This bill prohibits any federal agency funds, resources, or fees from being used to carry out any of the policy changes set forth in the executive order entitled "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States," signed by President Donald J. Trump on January 27, 2017. Among the order's major provisions are restrictions on the entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants from seven countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) and additional limitations on refugee admissions to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Ensuring Access to Quality Complex Rehabilitation Technology Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish a separate Medicare benefit category for complex rehabilitation technology (CRT) items that: (1) are designed or configured to meet an individual's unique needs and capacities; (2) are primarily used to serve a medical or functional purpose; and (3) require certain services to ensure appropriate design, configuration, and use. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shall designate CRT items and establish eligibility criteria with respect to such items, in accordance with specified exclusions and other requirements. The CMS must also establish: (1) a payment system applicable to CRT items, subject to clinical conditions and other specified requirements; (2) quality standards for suppliers of CRT items; and (3) a formal process for the submission of certain CRT code-set modification requests by stakeholder groups. If specified requirements are met, Medicare payment must be made for the replacement of a CRT item (or item part), without regard to certain continuous-use or useful-lifetime restrictions applicable to items of durable medical equipment. In addition, Medicare payment may be made for the temporary rental of a CRT item if such an item owned by a qualified enrollee is undergoing necessary repairs.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment providing that: (1) the rights protected by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only; (2) artificial entities (such as corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities established by the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state) shall have no rights under the Constitution and are subject to regulation by the people, through federal, state, or local law; and (3) the privileges of such artificial entities shall not be construed to be inherent or inalienable. The amendment requires federal, state, and local government to: (1) regulate, limit, or prohibit contributions and expenditures, including a candidate's own contributions and expenditures, to ensure that all citizens, regardless of their economic status, have access to the political process and that no person gains, as a result of that person's money, substantially more access or ability to influence the election of any candidate for public office or any ballot measure; and (2) require that any permissible contributions and expenditures be publicly disclosed. The judiciary is prohibited from construing the spending of money to influence elections to be speech under the First Amendment.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax treatment of certain alcoholic beverages, to: exclude the aging period from the production period for beer, wine, or distilled spirits for purposes of determining whether a taxpayer can expense, rather than capitalize, interest costs paid or incurred during the production period; reduce excise tax rates on beer and distilled spirits; modify the small wine producer tax credit to increase the amount of the credit, expand the producers that are covered, and specify an adjustment for hard cider; modify the alcohol content limitations that apply to certain wines for tax purposes; specify definitions for "mead" and "low alcohol by volume wine;" modify requirements for records, statements, and returns for certain breweries; and permit the transfer of beer between bonded facilities without payment of tax. The Department of the Treasury must amend applicable regulations with respect to the use of wholesome products suitable for human consumption in the production of fermented beverages.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Supports the goals and ideals of a Dominican Heritage Month. Supports the establishment of a national month of Recognition for Dominican-Americans to honor the Dominican people and their contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
This bill declares that the memorandum titled "Presidential Memorandum Regarding the Hiring Freeze" published on January 23, 2017, or any other substantially similar memorandum, executive order, or other action by the President to prevent a department or agent of the federal government from filing vacant federal civilian employee positions or creating new such positions, shall have no force or effect with respect to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Expanded & Improved Medicare for All Act This bill establishes the Medicare for All Program to provide all individuals residing in the United States and U.S. territories with free health care that includes all medically necessary care, such as primary care and prevention, dietary and nutritional therapies, prescription drugs, emergency care, long-term care, mental health services, dental services, and vision care. Only public or nonprofit institutions may participate. Nonprofit health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that deliver care in their own facilities may participate. Patients may choose from participating physicians and institutions. Health insurers may not sell health insurance that duplicates the benefits provided under this bill. Insurers may sell benefits that are not medically necessary, such as cosmetic surgery benefits. The bill sets forth methods to pay institutional providers and health professionals for services. Financial incentives between HMOs and physicians based on utilization are prohibited. The program is funded: (1) from existing sources of government revenues for health care, (2) by increasing personal income taxes on the top 5% of income earners, (3) by instituting a progressive excise tax on payroll and self-employment income, (4) by instituting a tax on unearned income, and (5) by instituting a tax on stock and bond transactions. Amounts that would have been appropriated for federal public health care programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), are transferred and appropriated to carry out this bill. The program must give employment transition benefits and first priority in retraining and job placement to individuals whose jobs are eliminated due to reduced clerical and administrative work under this bill. The Department of Health and Human Services must create a confidential electronic patient record system. The bill establishes a National Board of Universal Quality and Access to provide advice on quality, access, and affordability. The Indian Health Service must be integrated into the program after five years. Congress must evaluate the continued independence of Department of Veterans Affairs health programs.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Streamlining Energy Efficiency for Schools Act of 2017 This bill amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act by directing the Department of Energy's Office of Energy and Renewable Energy to establish a clearinghouse for disseminating information regarding available programs and financing mechanisms that may be used to help initiate, develop, and finance energy efficiency, distributed generation, and energy retrofitting projects for schools. The office must: (1) consult with appropriate agencies to develop a list of programs and financing mechanisms that are, or may be, used for the projects; and (2) coordinate with appropriate agencies to develop a collaborative education and outreach effort to streamline communications and promote the programs and financing mechanisms.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Stem the Tide of Overdose Prevalence from Opiate Drugs Act of 2017 or as the STOP OD Act of 2017 This bill permits the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to award grants: (1) to expand educational efforts to prevent abuse of opioids, which are drugs with effects similar to opium, such as heroin; (2) to promote treatment of persons who abuse opioids; and (3) to promote understanding of addiction. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may award grants to: (1) support first responders carrying and administering naloxone, which is a prescription drug used to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose; (2) establish processes for referral to treatment for opioid abuse; and (3) reimburse for testing for fentanyl in opioid overdoses and reporting the results to the CDC. This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to impose a fee on persons convicted of drug offenses. Collected amounts are made available for the HHS grants in this bill. Specified agencies must submit to the Office of E-Government and Information Technology of the Office of Management and Budget an inventory of agency data centers and a strategy to consolidate and optimize the data centers. The bill revises reporting requirements for the Department of Defense (DOD) regarding data centers. DOD and the Director of National Intelligence may waive this bill's data center requirements for any national security system. The bill sets forth requirements for the Office of E-Government and Information Technology, including that the office must publish a goal for cost savings and optimization. The bill's provisions regarding data centers are repealed at the start of FY2021.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment declaring that women shall have equal rights in the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction. The amendment prohibits the United States or any state from denying or abridging equal rights under the law on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment authorizing Congress and the states to set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections. The amendment grants Congress and the states the power to implement and enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation. They are allowed to distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections. This joint resolution declares that nothing in this amendment shall be construed to grant Congress or the states the power to abridge the freedom of the press.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act This bill includes veterans who participated in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands between January 1, 1977, and December 31, 1980, as radiation exposed veterans for purposes of the Department of Veterans Affairs presumption of service-connection for specified cancers.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Expresses support for: (1) the goals of Catholic Schools Week, an event cosponsored by the National Catholic Educational Association and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and established to recognize the contributions of Catholic elementary and secondary schools in the United States; and (2) the continued dedication of Catholic schools, students, parents, and teachers toward academic excellence and the key role they play in promoting and ensuring a brighter, stronger future for the nation.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Global Health, Empowerment, and Rights Act or the HER Act This bill states that foreign nongovernmental organizations shall not be ineligible for U.S. international development assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 solely on the basis of health or medical services provided by such organizations with non-U.S. government funds if such services do not violate the laws of the country in which they are being provided and would not violate U.S. federal law if provided in the United States. Such organizations also shall not be subject to requirements relating to the use of non-U.S. government funds for advocacy and lobbying activities other than those that apply to U.S. nongovernmental organizations receiving such assistance under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017 This bill prohibits the President from using the Armed Forces to conduct a first-use nuclear strike unless such strike is conducted pursuant to a congressional declaration of war expressly authorizing such strike. "First-use nuclear strike" means a nuclear weapons attack against an enemy that is conducted without the President determining that the enemy has first launched a nuclear strike against the United States or a U.S. ally.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Fairness in Taxation Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase individual income tax rates for taxpayers whose taxable income exceeds $1 million, and (2) provide for an adjustment in the capital gains tax of taxpayers whose taxable income is subject to the 45% tax bracket.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act of 2017 This bill requires federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to collect, compile, and submit data to the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) on the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers. The BJS must report to Congress and publish such data. DOJ must reduce by 10% the allocation of funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program for a state or local government that fails to substantially comply.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Expresses support for: (1) the goals and ideals of a Juan Pablo Duarte Day, and (2) the establishment of a national day of recognition for Juan Pablo Duarte to honor the founding father of the Dominican Republic.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Government By the People Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to establish a program for small individual donations to campaigns for public office and make other changes to campaign finance law. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) individual taxpayers a refundable tax credit of 50% of qualified congressional House campaign contributions (i.e., cash contributions by an individual to a candidate for the House of Representatives or a political committee established and maintained by a national political party, to be known as "My Voice Federal" contributions); and (2) individual taxpayers to designate a portion of any overpayment of tax as a contribution to the Freedom From Influence Fund. The Government by the People Oversight Commission, established by this bill, shall establish a voucher pilot program to provide voters with a $50 "My Voice Voucher" for making campaign contributions. The bill amends the FECA to establish a 6-1 matching program for small dollar contributions (up to $150) to a candidate for public office and sets forth eligibility, certification, and expenditure requirements for candidates. The bill permits unlimited coordinated party expenditures from small donor sources on behalf of publicly financed House candidates. The bill requires disclosure by all bundlers of bundled contributions (i.e., the practice of combining several small campaign contributions into one large contribution to avoid exceeding the limit on contributions), not just registered lobbyists. The bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to expand the access of candidates for public office to broadcasting.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2017
Investor Choice Act of 2017 This bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to prohibit a broker, dealer, funding portal, municipal-securities dealer, or investment adviser from entering into, modifying, or extending an agreement with a customer or client if that agreement: (1) mandates arbitration with respect to a future dispute between the parties; (2) restricts or limits the ability of the customer or client to select a forum for the resolution of such a dispute; or (3) restricts or limits the ability of the customer or client to pursue, in an individual capacity or on a class-action basis, a claim relating to such a dispute.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2017
Reserve Retirement Deployment Credit Correction Act This bill provides for retroactive calculation as of October 7, 2001, (the start of combat operations in Afghanistan) of qualifying active duty or active service days as a member of the Ready Reserve in order to reduce the eligibility age for receipt of retired pay for non-regular service. The current calculation date is January 28, 2008.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2017
Cuba Reconciliation Act This bill amends: (1) the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to repeal the embargo placed upon all trade with Cuba, and (2)the Internal Revenue Code to declare the denial of foreign tax credit inapplicable to Cuba. The bill permits: (1) installation and maintenance of telecommunications equipment and facilities in Cuba, including telecommunications services between the United States and Cuba; and (2) travel to and from Cuba by U.S. citizens or residents. The U.S. Postal Service shall provide direct mail service to and from Cuba.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2017
Baseball Diplomacy Act This bill waives certain foreign assistance and trade and travel prohibitions against Cuba under specified federal law regarding Cuban nationals who: (1) enter the United States on a visa to play organized professional baseball, and (2) return to Cuba with their baseball earnings.Such visa shall be valid only for the duration of the season and need not be renewed as long as the player remains with the same team. The bill prohibits the President from denying visas to such nationals based upon authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to restrict any entry of aliens or class of aliens that would be detrimental to U.S. interests. This bill shall not be affected by the economic embargo requirements against Cuba under the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2017
Promoting American Agricultural and Medical Exports to Cuba Act of 2017 This bill prohibits the President from restricting direct transfers from a Cuban depository institution to a U.S. depository institution in payment for a product authorized for sale under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000. The Department of Agriculture shall provide information and technical assistance to U.S. agricultural producers, cooperative organizations, or state agencies to promote U.S. agricultural exports products to Cuba. The bill authorizes the issuance of temporary entry visas to Cuban nationals to facilitate purchase of U.S. agricultural products. The Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 is amended to repeal the prohibition on enforcement of rights to certain U.S. intellectual properties and such properties' transfer. The bill prohibits the regulation or prohibition of travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of the transactions ordinarily incident to such travel, if such travel would be lawful in the United States. The President shall rescind all regulations in effect on the date of the enactment of this bill that regulate or prohibit such travel or transactions. Included in such transactions are: (1) accompanied personal baggage; (2) payment of living expenses and the acquisition of personal-use goods or services; (3) travel arrangements; (4) nonscheduled air, sea, or land voyage transactions; and (5) normal banking transactions. Such provision shall not apply in time of war or armed hostilities between the United States and Cuba or when there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. citizens or legal residents. The bill amends: (1) the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 to repeal the requirement for onsite verification of certain medical exports to Cuba, and (2) the Internal Revenue Code to increase the airport ticket tax for transportation between the United States and Cuba by $1 and to establish the Agricultural Export Promotion Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2017
National Infrastructure Development Bank Act of 2017 This bill establishes the National Infrastructure Development Bank as a wholly owned government corporation. The bank's board of directors shall be responsible for monitoring and overseeing energy, environmental, telecommunications, and transportation infrastructure projects. The board is authorized to: (1) make loans and loan guarantees to assist in the financing an infrastructure project, (2) issue public benefit bonds and provide financing to infrastructure projects, and (3) pay an interest subsidy to the issuer of American Infrastructure Bonds. The bank shall establish a risk management committee, which shall: (1) create financial, credit, and operational risk management guidelines; (2) set guidelines to ensure diversification of lending activities by geographic region and infrastructure project type; (3) create conforming standards for financial assistance; (4) monitor financial, credit, and operational exposure; (5) provide financial recommendations to the board; and (6) ensure that the aggregate amount of interest subsidies provided for such bonds in a given calendar year does not exceed 28% of interest payable under all such bonds. The board shall approve criteria established by the bank's executive committee for determining project eligibility for financial assistance. The bill sets forth criteria to be considered by the board for each type of infrastructure project. The executive committee shall conduct an analysis that considers the economic, environmental, and social benefits and costs of each project under consideration, prioritizing projects that contribute to economic growth, lead to job creation, and are of regional or national significance. Financial assistance for an infrastructure project: (1) shall be repayable from dedicated revenue sources that also secure the infrastructure project obligations, and (2) shall not exceed 50% of reasonably anticipated project costs. Bank bonds shall be exempt from state or local government taxation. Assisted projects must comply with wage rate, domestic content, and buy American statutes. The board shall establish an American Infrastructure Bond program. The bill establishes the National Infrastructure Development Bank Trust Fund into which an amount equal to the tax receipts attributable to interest payable under such bonds is to be appropriated.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2017
This bill amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1987 to allow computers and related peripheral tools previously used by a Member of the House of Representatives to be donated to a public elementary or secondary school without regard to whether the donation: (1) is a cost to the government, or (2) has a recoverable value.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2017
Solar Villages Initiative Act This bill authorizes the President, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, to provide assistance for renewable energy projects in developing countries to increase the availability of credit, savings, and other services to microfinance and microenterprise clients lacking full access to capital, training, technical assistance, and business development services. In providing such assistance, the President shall give priority to empowering female-owned businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2017
Expresses the sense of Congress that a National Voting Rights Act Mobilization Day should be designated to: (1) remind all Americans of the critical role that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 continues to play in protecting the right to vote, and (2) be an occasion for them to voice their support for this landmark civil rights law.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
This bill amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to make permanent the authorization for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. No less than 1.5% of the annual authorized funding amount or $10 million, whichever is greater, shall be used for projects that secure recreational public access to existing federal public land for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
Sex Trafficking Demand Reduction Act This bill amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to declare that, pursuant to the minimum standards for the elimination of sex trafficking, if a government has the authority to prohibit the purchase of commercial sex acts but fails to do so, it shall be deemed to have failed to make serious and sustained efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
No Religious Registry Act of 2017 This bill prohibits U.S. government officers or employees from collecting information or utilizing a registry or database to classify or surveil on the basis of religious affiliation: (1) U.S. nationals, (2) aliens lawfully present in the United States, or (3) aliens who apply for a visa or seek admission to the United States or on whose behalf a petition under the immigration laws is submitted. The bill also prohibits studies related to the collection of such information or the establishment or utilization of such a registry or database. Nothing in such prohibition may be construed to prohibit the collection of information that is provided voluntarily, and from which personally identifiable information is removed, to be used strictly for statistical purposes that do not violate this bill. Federal entities are prohibited from: (1) awarding a contract to an entity to collect information or establish a registry that would violate this bill, or (2) purchasing information on religious affiliation from a nonfederal entity for such purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand Medicare coverage to include eyeglasses, hearing aids, and dental care.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2017 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) eliminate the per-country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, and (2) increase the per-country numerical limitation for family-based immigrants from 7% to 15% of the total number of family-sponsored visas. The Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 is amended to eliminate the provision requiring the reduction of annual Chinese immigrant visas to offset status adjustments under such Act. The bill establishes a transition period during which a percentage of employment-based second and third preference (EB-2 and EB-3) immigrant visas are reserved as follows: for FY2017, 15% of such visas are allotted to natives of countries other than the two countries with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2011; for FY2018, 10% of such visas are allotted in each category to natives of countries other than the two with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2012; and for FY2019, 10% of such visas are allotted in each category to natives of countries other than the two with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2015. During the transition period, not more than 25% of the total number of the reserved EB-2 and EB-3 visas shall be allotted to natives of a single country. For FY2015-FY2017, not more than 85% of the unreserved EB-2 and EB-3 visas shall be allotted to natives of a single country. Amendments made by this bill shall apply beginning in FY2017.
![Official portrait of Rep. Serrano, Jose E. [D-NY-15]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000248_200.jpg)