United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2018
Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act This bill establishes the National Park Service and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund and requires 50% of all energy development revenues for FY2019-FY2023 to be deposited into such fund. Amounts deposited in the fund must not exceed $1.3 billion for any fiscal year and must be used for meeting high-priority deferred maintenance needs of the National Park Service.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2018
Higher Education Dream Act of 2018 This bill prohibits institutions of higher education that receive federal student aid from discriminating or taking adverse action against students based on their immigration status, including charging out-of-state tuition to students who would qualify as a resident of the state.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2018
Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2018 This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies regarding prices for drugs covered under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Current law prohibits the CMS from doing so.) The CMS must take certain factors into account during negotiations, including the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the drug, the financial burden on patients, and unmet patient needs. If the CMS is unable to negotiate the price of a drug, such drug is subject to competitive licensing in order to further its sale under Medicare, notwithstanding existing government-granted exclusivities. Additionally, for one year after a drug is provided under a competitive license, such drug is also subject to specified price limitations; if the drug is not offered at such prices, the drug is subject to additional licensing that furthers its sale under any federal program (e.g., Medicaid).
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2018
Miranda Vargas School Bus Driver Red Flag Act or Miranda's Law This bill directs the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to issue a final regulation requiring the implementation of a national employer notification service that states may access. The term "employer notification service" means a service that automatically provides a report to an employer (with notice to the employee involved) on the change in the status of the driving record or license of an employee who has a commercial driver's license due to a conviction, license suspension or revocation, or any other action taken against the driving privilege.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2018
Authorizes specified committees of the House of Representatives to intervene on behalf of the House in the case of Texas v. United States in order to defend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Authorizes the Office of General Counsel of the House, under the supervision of such committees, to represent them in the intervention.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2018
Condemns the deteriorating situation in Venezuela and the regional humanitarian crisis it has caused, affirms support for the legitimate National Assembly and the Supreme Court, and urges further regional action in support of democracy in Venezuela. Calls on the President to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Venezuela, impose targeted sanctions on Venezuelan officials, increase public diplomacy efforts to expose corruption among Venezuelan officials, and support democratic actors in Venezuela.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2018
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 332 Ramapo Valley Road in Oakland, New Jersey, as the "Frank Leone Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2018
Local Television Service and Emergency Preparedness Act of 2018 This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission, upon the request of a very high frequency commercial television broadcast station that has relocated to an underserved state, to issue an order providing that the virtual major channel number of such station shall be considered to be the same as the radio frequency channel number of that station. The order shall apply to a station only if the licensee includes in the request a certification that such station will provide at least one hour daily of news, information, or public affairs programming focused on, or of general interest to, local audiences in the state to which the channel of such station has been reallocated. The order shall cease to apply if the licensee fails to initiate the programming within a 90-day period or fails to make the programming available to other television broadcast stations or through Internet streaming.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2018
Strategy To Oppose Predatory Organ Trafficking Act or the STOP Organ Trafficking Act This bill states that it shall be U.S. policy to combat trafficking in human organs and promote the establishment of voluntary organ donation systems. The bill authorizes the Department of State to refuse to issue a passport to, or revoke a previously issued passport from, a person convicted of trafficking in human organs who used a passport or otherwise crossed an international border in committing such offense. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 is amended to: (1) include trafficking of persons for the removal of their organs in the definition of severe forms of trafficking in persons, and (2) direct the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to collect and organize data from human rights officers at U.S. embassies on host country laws against trafficking in human organs.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2018
America's Natural Treasures of Immeasurable Quality Unite, Inspire, and Together Improve the Economies of States Act of 2018 or the ANTIQUITIES Act of 2018. This bill directs the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to administer each specified national monument under their joint or exclusive jurisdiction, including the Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Gold Butte, Cascade-Siskiyou National Monuments and the Rose Atoll and Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monuments in accordance with: (1) the one or more presidential proclamations that apply to the applicable covered monument; (2) any Act of Congress enacted before December 4, 2017, that provides for an adjustment to the boundary or administration of such monument; and (3) this bill. The bill establishes the National Monument Enhancement Fund to furnish funding: (1) to such federal agencies to develop management plans for their national monuments that were designated under current federal law, (2) for federal acquisition and development of certain land and other areas, and (3) to develop and enhance recreational infrastructure on such designated lands. The bill designates: (1) specified BLM lands within the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and Rio Grande del Norte National Monuments in New Mexico and in the Gold Butte National Conservation Area in Nevada as wilderness and as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System; and (2) approximately 100 acres of BLM land in New Mexico as a potential wilderness area and, when specified conditions have been met, for incorporation into the Robledo Mountains Wilderness.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2018
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should take all appropriate measures to ensure that the U.S. Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the federal government and is not subject to privatization.
United States · United States Congress · 6 July 2018
Jeanette Acosta Invest in Women's Health Act of 2018 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide support to public or nonprofit entities to expand certain preventive health services, with an emphasis on increasing access to cancer screening, particularly for women of color. The bill reauthorizes through FY2022: (1) programs related to breast and gynecologic cancers under Medicaid and family planning programs, and (2) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. HHS must establish a demonstration grant program to train health care providers regarding breast and gynecologic cancer screening. HHS must study and report on access to women's preventive cancer screening, including cancer rates by state, cancer screening by state, and estimated federal savings achieved through early detection of breast and gynecologic cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2018
9/11 Memorial Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to award competitive grants for the continued operation, security, and maintenance of the on-site memorials to the events and victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2018
By the People Resolution Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should enact various reforms with respect to voter registration and protection, campaign-finance contribution limits and violations, and political advertisements.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2018
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights are human rights and protected by the U.S. Constitution; (2) LGBTQ Pride Month should be celebrated; and (3) all Americans should be treated equally regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2018
Creating Opportunity and Sustainability Through Science Act or the COASTS Act This bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to award competitive grants to certain entities for (1) activities that strengthen coastal communities, and (2) restoration of coastal habitats to provide vital habitat for fish and strengthen the resilience of coastal ecosystems.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2018
Restoring Oversight for Members of Congress Act This bill requires agencies or managers that control access to federal facilities to provide immediate access to Members of Congress, excluding the Vice President, unless access is denied for national security reasons with congressional approval.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2018
Family Unity Rights and Protection Act This bill requires the Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, State, and Defense to ensure that alien children (i.e., children under the age of 18 removed from their parents or legal guardians at or near a port of entry or within 100 miles of the U.S. border pursuant to a zero tolerance policy for criminal illegal reentry) are reunited at the earliest possible date with their parents and guardians from whom they were separated. It also requires notification of parents and guardians of procedures for reuniting with such children and for the location of such children. The bill requires the creation of an electronic registry for information used to locate such alien children and their parents and guardians. The information in such registry may only be used for locating such children and may not be used in any criminal prosecution or other immigration proceeding. The bill also sets forth conditions on the termination of parental rights in immigration proceedings and requires the consolidation of asylum and immigration proceedings involving alien children.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2018
Puerto Rico Admission Act of 2018 This bill establishes a process to enable the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico to be admitted into the Union as a state.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2018
Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act of 2018 This bill amends the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act to direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to promulgate regulations that: require owners of certain housing to initiate a lead-based paint hazard risk assessment before a family with a child under age six occupies such housing, unless lead-based paint has already been removed; state that a visual assessment alone is not sufficient for these purposes; and require owners to control lead-based paint hazards identified in the assessment within 30 days and provide certain notices to residents of the housing. These regulations shall apply to housing receiving federal assistance that was constructed before 1978, but exclude: single-family housing covered by an application for mortgage insurance under the National Housing Act, or multi-family housing that is covered by such an application but does not receive any other federal housing assistance. HUD regulations shall also require emergency relocation of such families, without placement on a waitlist, penalty (including rent payments to be made for that dwelling unit), or lapse in assistance, to a unit that was constructed in 1978 or later or to another unit of covered housing that has no lead-based paint hazards.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2018
Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2018 or the DISCLOSE Act of 2018 This bill expands the ban on election contributions by foreign nationals to include corporations subject to specified levels of ownership or control by foreign nationals. The bill also expands (1) reporting requirements related to campaign contributions, and (2) disclosure requirements related to the funding sources of political advertisements.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2018
Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act of 2018 This bill requires the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to make a determination as to whether a state substantially provides for certain rights and responsibilities applicable to public employees, such as granting such employees the right to form or join a labor organization and to bargain collectively, and if the state does not substantially provide for such rights and responsibilities, then such state shall be subject to nationwide standards prescribed by the FLRA to protect public employee rights. No employer, emergency services employee, or law enforcement officer may engage in a lockout, strike, or any other organized job action of which a reasonably probable result is a measurable disruption of the delivery of emergency or public safety services. No labor organization may violate or attempt to violate this prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2018
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1902) to protect our Social Security system and improve benefits for current and future generations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2018
Central America Family Protection and Reunification Act This bill states that it shall be: (1) U.S. policy to not separate immigrant families as a deterrent and to reunite families that were separated due to the criminal prosecution of parents for illegal entry, and (2) Department of State policy to prioritize supporting governments and citizens to facilitate reunification of such families. The State Department shall submit to Congress: reports concerning gender-based violence in the Northern Triangle (the region encompassing Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador); reports concerning gang and organized-crime related violence in the Northern Triangle; strategies to use portions of funds for the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America to combat gender-based violence in the Northern Triangle, as well as to address the damage to the health and well-being of children and caregivers caused by separating children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. The State Department shall establish an office to study serious crimes committed against aliens who were removed from the United States and against U.S. citizens who left the United States because of having an alien parent who was removed from the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2018
Mental Health Care for Children Inhumanely Separated from Parents by the Federal Government Act of 2018 This bill requires the federal government to ensure that children who are separated from their parents at the border by the Department of Homeland Security receive mental health services for free, including a mental health assessment within 24 hours of such separation and annually thereafter. Children who have already been separated (since April 6, 2018) must receive a mental health assessment within 24 hours after enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2018
Reunite Children With Their Parents Act This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to reunite an alien who entered the United States with the alien's minor child (under the age of 18) who was separated from the child pending prosecution for improper entry or the adjudication of an asylum application.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2018
Expresses support for the designation of National ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Day to encourage parents to ask, before their child visits another home, whether there is an unlocked gun in the home.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2018
Guarantee Access to Arts and Music Education Act of 2018 or the GAAME Act of 2018 This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to specify that Title I funds (which support the instructional needs of students from low-income families) may be used for arts and music programs.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2018
Keep Families Together Act This bill prohibits an agent or contractor of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, or the Department of Health and Human Services from removing a child who is under the age of 18 and has no permanent immigration status from his or her parent or legal guardian at or near the port of entry or within 100 miles of the U.S. border unless: an authorized state court determines that it is in the child's best interests to be removed; a state or county child welfare official with expertise in child trauma and development determines that it is in the child's best interests to be removed because of abuse or neglect; or the Chief Patrol Agent or the Area Port Director authorizes separation based on a documented finding that the child is a trafficking victim or is at significant risk of becoming a victim, a strong likelihood exists that the adult is not the parent or legal guardian, or the child is in danger of abuse or neglect. A child may not be removed from a parent or guardian unless an independent licensed child welfare expert authorizes the separation within 48 hours of such removal. An agency may not remove a child from a parent or legal guardian solely for the policy goals of deterring migration to the United States or of promoting immigration law compliance. The bill sets forth presumptions: (1) in favor of family and sibling unity and parental rights, and (2) that detention is not in the best interests of families and children. The bill limits the prosecution of asylum seekers.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2018
Preserving America's Battlefields Act This bill reauthorizes though FY2028 the Battlefield Acquisition Grant Program and expands the purposes of the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Act of 2002. Specifically, the Act's purposes shall include: the preservation and protection of nationally significant battlefields of not only the Civil War but also the American Revolution and the War of 1812, and the enhancement of visitors' experiences at those battlefields.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2018
Workers' Freedom to Negotiate Act of 2018 This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act (NRLA) and related labor laws to extend protections to union workers. Specifically, it: revises the definition of "employee" and "supervisor" to prevent employers from removing employees from the protections of the labor laws, prohibits employers from interfering with certain rights granted to employees under the NLRA, expands unfair labor practices to include prohibitions against replacement of worker who strike or discrimination against them, imposes new penalties against employers who violate labor law requirements, allows workers to bring civil actions against employers for labor law violations and unfair labor practices, requires certain disclosures with respect to worker wages, and requires contractors seeking federal contracts over $500,000 to disclose labor law violations when applying for such contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2018
This bill specifies that an offense involving lynching is a hate crime act. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a prison term, a fine, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2018
Counting Our Unexpected Natural Tragedies' Victims Act of 2018 or the COUNT Victims Act This bill directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to contract with the National Academy of Medicine to conduct a study of matters concerning best practices in mortality counts as a result of a major disaster. A report on the study must be completed and transmitted to FEMA within two years after the contract date of September 30, 2018. The study shall address approaches to quantifying mortality and significant morbidity among populations affected by major disasters and shall include best practices and policy recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2018
Aircraft Maintenance Outsourcing Disclosure Act of 2018 This bill requires the Federal Aviation Administration to require an air carrier providing scheduled passenger air transportation to: (1) disclose to the public the date and location of the most recent heavy maintenance for specific flights, and (2) provide a similar disclosure for its entire fleet.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2018
International Human Rights Defense Act of 2018 This bill establishes in the Department of State a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex) Peoples who shall serve as the principal State Department advisor regarding human rights for LGBTI people and represent the United States in diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights of LGBTI people. The special envoy shall periodically provide Congress with a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTI people. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development may provide assistance to prevent and respond to such activities against LGBTI people. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended to require that annual country reports on human rights practices include information on criminalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2018
Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Act of 2018 This bill directs the Department of State to: (1) establish and monitor the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership to coordinate U.S. counterterrorism, military, and law enforcement programs and activities in the Sahel, Maghreb, and adjacent regions of Africa; (2) submit a related counterterrorism strategy to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2018
This bill reauthorizes the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act through FY2023. The Act provides services and support for victims of family violence, domestic violence, or dating violence.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2018
Bus Operator and Pedestrian Protection Act This bill requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to require public transportation safety grant recipients that operate fixed route bus service to: (1) develop a risk reduction program for bus operations to improve safety by reducing the number and rates of accidents, injuries, assaults on bus operators, and fatalities; (2) submit the program, including the implementation plan required by this bill, to DOT for review and approval; and (3) implement the program and plans approved by DOT. The recipient of a public transportation safety grant shall report to DOT, for inclusion in the National Transit Database, any information on each assault on an public transportation vehicle operator.
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 · 25 May 2018
Congratulates Las Damas de Blanco on receiving the prestigious 2018 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty, and honors them for standing up to the Cuban regime and defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2018
Recognizes that the health of the patient should always come first and that the patient should be able to rely on their medical providers for medically accurate and evidence-based information about the full range of health care options, including information about access to safe and legal abortion. Opposes efforts seeking to limit access to reproductive health care options.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2018
Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act This bill prohibits the Bureau of Land Management from administering an oil and gas leasing, development, production, and transportation program in and from the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2018
National Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Control and Accountability Act of 2018 This bill establishes the Office of Oversight and Coordination for Tick-Borne Diseases within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The office must oversee the creation of a national strategy to address Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases and disorders. The national strategy must include program assessments, benchmarks for progress, and recommendations from the previously established Tick-Borne Disease Working Group. The bill also requires HHS to undertake specific actions that promote research, prevention, and treatment of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases and disorders. Among other things, HHS must: support expansive research into the pathology, diagnosis, and treatment of such diseases and disorders; establish a surveillance system to track the prevalence of such diseases and disorders in humans; establish a surveillance system to track the prevalence of disease-carrying ticks; conduct educational campaigns; and hold a series of research symposiums.
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 · 17 May 2018
Stop Sexual Assault and Harassment in Transportation Act This bill directs certain aviation and rail transportation carriers (i.e., covered entities) and passenger vessels to issue a formal policy with respect to transportation sexual assault or harassment incidents. Such policy shall include a statement that no transportation sexual assault or harassment incident is acceptable under any circumstances. The bill expands the prohibition against interference with cabin or flight crew by including sexual assaults against such personnel and increasing the penalty for such interference. The Department of Transportation (DOT) shall establish a program to annually collect and maintain data from each covered entity on: (1) the number of transportation sexual assault or harassment incidents committed against passengers and personnel, and (2) the number of transportation sexual assault or harassment incidents reported to law enforcement. Such data must be made publicly available on the primary website of DOT.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2018
Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2018 or the BURMA Act of 2018 This bill provides humanitarian assistance for Burma (Myanmar) and Bangladesh and imposes sanctions on Burmese military or security officials responsible for serious human rights abuses. The bill provides humanitarian assistance for Burma, Bangladesh, and the surrounding region, including assistance for the Rohingya minority. The Department of State, the Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Agency for International Development shall jointly submit to Congress a strategy for promoting economic growth in Burma.
![Official portrait of Rep. Sires, Albio [D-NJ-13]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s001165_200.jpg)