United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2017
Veterans Crisis Line Study Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to conduct a study on the outcomes and the efficacy of the Veterans Crisis Line during the five-year period beginning January 1, 2014, based on an analysis of national suicide data and data collected from the line. Such study shall address: (1) the efficacy of the line in leading veterans to sustained mental health regimens and suicide prevention; (2) the line's visibility; (3) the role of the line as part of the VA's mental health care services; and (4) whether receiving sustained mental health care affects suicidality, including among veterans who are at high risk for suicide.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2017
Coordinating Assistance for TANF Recipients Act This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to make grants under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program for state demonstration projects that provide coordinated case management to help TANF recipients increase their employment and self-sufficiency.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2017
Dialysis Patient Access to Integrated-care, Empowerment, Nephrologists, Treatment, and Services Demonstration Act of 2017 or the Dialysis PATIENTS Demonstration Act of 2017 This bill establishes a demonstration program for the provision of integrated care to Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Under the voluntary program, eligible participating providers may form organizations to offer ESRD integrated care models and serve as medical homes for program-eligible beneficiaries. Such a model: (1) shall cover medical and hospital services, other than hospice care, under Medicare; (2) must include benefits for transition into transplantation, palliative care, or hospice; and (3) may cover prescription drug benefits. An organization must offer at least one open network model but may also offer one or more preferred network models. An organization shall return savings achieved under the models to program-eligible beneficiaries. A beneficiary shall have the opportunity to: (1) opt out of the program, (2) make an assignment change into an open network model offered by a different organization, or (3) elect a preferred network model. The bill establishes requirements regarding: (1) benefits for program-eligible beneficiaries who are also eligible for Medicaid benefits, (2) program quality and reporting, (2) ESRD integrated care strategy, (3) program operation and scope, (4) beneficiary notification, and (5) payment. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission must, before 2025, submit to Congress an interim report on the program.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2017
USS Indianapolis Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the House of Representatives and the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design to the crew of the USS Indianapolis, in recognition of their perseverance, bravery, and service. Following the award of the gold medal, it shall be given to the Indiana War Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, where it will be displayed and made available for research. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the Indiana War Memorial Museum should make the gold medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at other locations and events associated with the USS Indianapolis.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2017
This bill provides that the Department of Veterans Affairs per diem payment calculation for an entity receiving homeless veterans shelter grants for a homeless veteran who has care of a minor dependent while receiving services from such entity shall be the sum of the daily cost of care for the veteran plus, for each minor dependent, an amount that equals 50% of the veteran's daily cost of care.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Competitive Need Limitations Modernization Act of 2017 This bill amends the Trade Act of 1974 to revise the competitive need limitation review process by: (1) modifying the deadline for the review process, and (2) establishing the relevant domestic production time frame for such review as within the preceding three years (currently on January 1, 1995). (The competitive need limitation terminates duty-free treatment with respect to articles from a beneficiary developing country if certain import limits are exceeded.)
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
NIE on Iranian Proxy Forces Act This bill requires the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to produce a National Intelligence Estimate on Iranian support of proxy forces in Syria and Lebanon and the threat such support poses to Israel, other U.S. regional allies, and specified U.S. interests. Not later than 60 days after the National Intelligence Estimate is completed, the President shall provide to Congress a strategy to prevent Iran from expanding its power in Syria and Lebanon.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2017
Simplifying Technical Aspects Regarding Seasonality Act of 2017 or the STARS Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude seasonal employees from the definition of "full-time employee" for purposes of the employer mandate to provide employees with minimum essential health care coverage. The bill defines a "seasonal employee" as an employee who is employed in a position for which the customary annual employment is not more than six months and which requires performing labor or services that are ordinarily performed at certain seasons or periods of the year.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a three-year demonstration program to determine the impact of third-party, interest-free payment arrangements on: (1) health outcomes, (2) patient engagement and satisfaction, and (3) claims for bad debt that are attributable to a hospital's inability to collect deductibles and coinsurance for Medicare hospital services. Under the program, the CMS shall provide a payment incentive to a hospital that participates in such a payment arrangement and demonstrates improvement in those three areas.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
Commonsense Reporting Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Internal Revenue Code to modify the requirements for employers to report health insurance coverage information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by the end of the tax year. The bill changes the information that is required and permits employers to voluntarily report the information prior to the beginning of open enrollment. The Department of the Treasury must develop a prospective reporting system to permit: employers to voluntarily report specified health insurance coverage information before the annual open enrollment period; the exchanges, the Federal Marketplace Data Services Hub, and the IRS to access the information to carry out their missions and provide the Department of Health and Human Services with information related to eligibility for advance payment of premium tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies; the exchanges to communicate with employers and employees regarding eligibility for the tax credits or cost-sharing subsidies; and employers to provide updates to the hub regarding changes in coverage for employees. At the time of enrollment, exchanges must provide employers the names of employees and dependents that enroll in a qualified health plan for a year. If a health insurance issuer or employer is unable to obtain the taxpayer identification number of a dependent, Treasury may permit the individual's full name and date of birth to be used instead. Employers participating in the reporting system established by this bill are exempt from the requirement to report health insurance coverage information to the IRS by the end of the tax year.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2017
Move America Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt Move America bonds and tax credits to be used for certain infrastructure projects. A Move America bond is treated as a tax-exempt private facility bond with certain exceptions. At least 95% of the net proceeds from the issuance of the bond must be used for infrastructure projects, including: airports; docks and wharves; mass commuting facilities; facilities for the furnishing of water; sewage facilities; railroads; certain surface transportation projects eligible for federal assistance, projects for an international bridge or tunnel, or facilities for transferring freight from truck to rail or rail to truck; flood diversions; inland waterways; or rural broadband service infrastructure. The bill specifies exceptions and modifications to existing rules for bonds regarding land acquisition, government ownership, rehabilitation expenditures, and the alternative minimum tax. The bonds are subject to a volume cap equal to 50% of a state's current private activity bond volume cap. States may exchange all or a portion of the volume cap for Move America tax credits to be allocated to taxpayers. The credits include: (1) a project credit for a portion of the basis of each qualified project; and (2) an infrastructure fund credit for investments in qualified infrastructure funds, including a state infrastructure bank, a water pollution control revolving fund, or a drinking water treatment revolving loan fund. States must report specified details to the Department of the Treasury regarding the amount of the volume cap exchanged and credits allocated.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt certain spun-off voluntary employees' beneficiary associations (VEBAs) from the limitation on the amount of funds that may be set aside for benefits without being subject to the tax on unrelated business income. The exemption applies if: the VEBA was originally established prior to the enactment of this bill by an employer to provide benefits for eligible employees, retirees, and their dependents and beneficiaries; the benefits are limited to post-retirement medical and life benefits; the employer has delegated (before the beginning of the tax year) all authority and responsibility for the VEBA to one or more independent persons who do not have an employment relationship with the members entitled to benefits from the VEBA; no member entitled to benefits from the VEBA is entitled to benefits from any other VEBA as a result of employment with the employer; and the employer has no obligation to make contributions to the VEBA and has not contributed during the 11-year period ending with the tax year.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
Amends Rule XIV (Order and Priority of Business) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require (on the first legislative day of each month) a reading of the names of members of the Armed Forces who died in the previous month as a result of combat. Prohibits the Speaker of the House from reading the name of any such member if any family member informs the Speaker that he or she does not wish to have the name of that individual read.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
Authorizes the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for the unveiling of the American Prisoners of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Chair of Honor.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Save American Workers Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to change the definition of "full-time employee" for purposes of the employer mandate to provide minimum essential health care coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act from an employee who is employed on average at least 30 hours of service a week to an employee who is employed on average at least 40 hours of service a week.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2017
Community Health Investment, Modernization, and Excellence Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to extend through FY2022 and make appropriations for enhanced funding for the community health centers program.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2017
Federal Firefighter Pay Equity Act This bill adjusts the method of determining the average pay of a federal firefighter by adding one-half of a firefighter's basic hourly rate multiplied by the number of overtime hours included as part of such firefighter's regular tour of duty for purposes of computing retirement and annuity benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 25 August 2017
Fort McClellan Health Registry Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish and maintain a special record to be known as the Fort McClellan Health Registry containing the name of each individual who, while serving in the Armed Forces, was stationed at Fort McClellan, Alabama, during the period beginning on January 1, 1935, and ending on May 20, 1999, and who: (1) applies for care or services from the VA; (2) files a claim for compensation on the basis of any disability which may be associated with such service; (3) dies and is survived by a spouse, child, or parent who files a claim for dependency and indemnity compensation on the basis of such service; (4) requests a health examination from the VA; or (5) receives such health examination and requests inclusion in the registry. The VA, upon request, shall provide such health examination, as well as consultation and counseling with respect to examination results. The VA shall: (1) notify individuals in the registry of significant developments in research on the health consequences of potential exposure to a toxic substance or environmental hazard related to service at Fort McClellan; and (2) carry out appropriate outreach activities with respect to such health examinations, consultation, and counseling.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 2017
Military Sexual Assault Victims Empowerment Act or the Military SAVE Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), through the Office of Community Care, to carry out a three-year pilot program of hospital care and medical services for eligible veterans at non-VA health care providers to treat physical and psychological injuries or illnesses that, in the judgment of a VA mental health professional, resulted from sexual assault or battery or sexual harassment while the veteran was serving on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training. The program shall be carried out at not more than five locations, at least one of which shall be a rural location, based upon criteria including: (1) distance from a military installation, (2) city size, and (3) rates of sexual assault and rape. An eligible veteran may elect to participate in the pilot program. The VA may not restrict a participant's ability to choose the non-VA health care provider. The bill: (1) sets forth payment provisions for current and new non-VA providers, and (2) provides for program data collection and analysis.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 2017
Free File Permanence Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to continue to operate the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Free File Program. The program must work with state government agencies to enhance and expand the use of the program, while continuing to: provide free commercial-type online individual income tax preparation and electronic filing services to the lowest 70% of taxpayers by income; provide all taxpayers (regardless of income) with a basic, online electronic fillable forms utility; and work with the private sector to provide the free tax preparation and electronic filing services. Treasury must work with the private sector through the program to identify and implement innovative new program features to improve and simplify the taxpayer's experience with completing and filing individual income tax returns. The IRS and members of the tax software and electronic industry involved in the program must support and promote improvements within the program by mutually testing, piloting, and offering innovative solutions to: simplify the tax system, reduce compliance and reporting burdens, increase tax return accuracy through financial data authentication, strengthen the tax system against fraud through cybersecurity collaboration, avoid duplication, and maximize the use of electronic technology. The Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee must report annually to Congress regarding the program, including website statistics, cybersecurity standards, demographic information, marketing and education efforts, simplifications and innovations, and state and local participation.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Every Prescription Conveyed Securely Act This bill generally requires, with specified exceptions, electronic prescribing under the Medicare prescription drug benefit with respect to covered drugs that are controlled substances.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Rightsizing Pension Premiums Act of 2017 This bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to: (1) modify the formula that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) uses to calculate the funded percentage of single-employer pension plans, and (2) reduce single-employer PBGC premiums for pension plans that are sponsored by certain small employers or have specified PBGC funded percentages. The bill also prohibits the budget effects of provisions that change PBGC premiums from being counted for the purposes of determining budget points of order for legislation in the House or the Senate. (The PBGC is a federal agency that insures the benefits of private sector, defined benefit pension plans. The PBGC is financed by insurance premiums paid by sponsors of the plans, investment income, assets from pension plans taken over by the PBGC, and recoveries from the companies formerly responsible for the plans.)
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Save Local Business Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide that a person may be considered a joint employer in relation to an employee only if such person directly, actually, and immediately, and not in a limited and routine manner, exercises significant control over the essential terms and conditions of employment (including hiring employees, discharging employees, determining individual employee rates of pay and benefits, day-to-day supervision of employees, assigning individual work schedules, positions, and tasks, and administering employee discipline).
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
HVAC Expensing and Technology Act of 2017 or the HEAT Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow expensing and accelerated cost recovery for certain energy efficient heating and air-conditioning property. The bill applies to certain real property: (1) with respect to which depreciation (or amortization in lieu of depreciation) is allowable; (2) which is installed as part of the heating, cooling, ventilation, and hot water systems; and (3) which is within the scope of specified standards of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2017
Recreation Not Red-Tape Act This bill amends the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service to review the process for the issuance and renewal of special recreation permits, including for cross-jurisdictional trips, with respect to outfitters and guides. The Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) shall: (1) coordinate with states to allow the purchase of federal and state recreation passes at federal and state facilities in the same transaction, and (2) sell National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Passes, and make payment of entrance and standard amenity recreation fees available, through federal websites. Interior and USDA should work with the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that service members and veterans have access to outdoor recreation and to outdoor-related volunteer and wellness programs. The Forest Service, BLM, and National Park Service may develop management plans for extending the recreation season or increasing recreation use during the offseason. The Forest Service and BLM shall evaluate land managers based on the achievement of applicable agency recreational and tourism goals. The Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Department of Transportation shall consider how land and water management decisions can enhance recreation opportunities and the recreation economy. The bill amends the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to establish the Ski Area Fee Retention Account. A specified portion of rental charges for ski area permits on a Forest Service unit shall be deposited in such account, and a specified portion of such amounts shall be available to such unit for ski area administration, improvements, and visitor services. The bill establishes a National Recreation Area System to be comprised of existing National Recreation Areas and new units designated after enactment of this bill. Interior and USDA shall: (1) develop initiatives to enhance private-sector volunteer programs, actively promote private-sector volunteer opportunities, and provide outreach and coordination to the private sector to carry out projects and programs for the stewardship of federal land; and (2) establish an interagency trail management plan under which federal land management agencies shall coordinate so that trails that cross jurisdictional boundaries between those agencies are uniformly managed and maintained.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2017
529 Opening Paths To Invest in Our Nation's Students Act or the 529 OPTIONS Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow distributions from qualified tuition programs (known as 529 plans) to be used for certain expenses associated with registered apprenticeship programs. The bill expands the definition of "qualified higher education expenses" for which tax-free distributions are allowed to include: (1) books, supplies, and equipment required for the enrollment or attendance of a designated beneficiary in an apprenticeship program registered and certified with the Department of Labor; (2) child care at a licensed day care center, and transportation, in connection with such enrollment or attendance; and (3) costs associated with obtaining an industry certification or other credential in connection with an apprenticeship program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2017
Ensuring Access to Air Ambulance Services Act of 2017 This bill makes a series of changes relating to payment of air ambulance services under Medicare, including by establishing certain cost-reporting requirements for providers.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act or the ACE Kids Act This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to establish a state Medicaid option to provide for medical assistance with respect to coordinated care provided through a health home (i.e., a designated provider or team of health-care professionals) for children with medically complex conditions. A state shall make payments for such health-home services regardless of whether they are provided through a fee-for-service or managed-care system. For an initial period of eight fiscal-year quarters, the federal matching rate applicable to such payments shall be increased by 20 percentage points, not to exceed 90%. A state that exercises this option shall specify its methodology for determining payment and evaluating quality of care, in accordance with requirements established by the bill. In addition, the state must meet specified requirements regarding hospital referrals, out-of-state providers, education and outreach, data collection, and reporting. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must issue guidance on best practices for using out-of-state providers to provide care to children with medically complex conditions. The Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Payment and Access Commission must report to Congress and to the Department of Health and Human Services on specified matters related to children with medically complex conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Hizballah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act of 2017 This bill amends the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015 to impose specified sanctions on: (1) foreign persons that knowingly assist in or provide support for fund raising or recruitment activities for Hizballah; (2) agencies of foreign governments that provide Hizballah with financial support, arms, or other assistance (export license requirements are included in addition to sanctions if such government is a state sponsor of terrorism); and (3) Hizballah, including by reason of Hizballah's significant transnational criminal activities. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that sanctions should be placed on financial institutions that serve Lebanese government officials affiliated with Hizballah. The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 is amended to sanction foreign financial institutions that facilitate efforts by Iran or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to aid Hizballah. The bill prescribes reporting requirements or reporting modifications with respect to: (1) foreign persons that knowingly assist or provide significant financial, material, or technological support for foreign persons assisting Hizballah; (2) financial institutions that are owned or organized under the laws of state sponsors of terrorism; (3) Hizballah's racketeering activities; (4) combating illicit tobacco trafficking networks used by Hizballah and other foreign terrorist organizations to finance their operations; (5) the estimated net worth of senior Hizballah officials and how these funds were acquired and used; and (6) countries that support Hizballah or in which Hizballah maintains important logistics networks or financial networks and steps such countries are taking to disrupt such networks.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Knowledgeable Innovators and Worthy Investors Act or the KIWI Act This bill makes New Zealand nationals eligible to enter the United States as nonimmigrant traders and investors as provided for under the Immigration and Nationality Act if New Zealand provides reciprocal nonimmigrant treatment to U.S. nationals.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Bob Dole Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Bob Dole in recognition for his service to the nation as a soldier, legislator, and statesman.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2017
Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to allow the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) to subject a bank holding company to enhanced supervision if: (1) the company has been identified as a global systemically important company; or (2) the risk of the company's financial distress, or the nature of the company's activities, could pose a threat to the financial stability of the United States. Currently, companies are subject to this type of oversight if they possess at least $50 billion in assets or are a nonbank financial company under the FRB's supervision. The Financial Stability Oversight Council must approve of any metrics used by the FRB in determining by regulation that a category of bank holding companies is subject to enhanced supervision. Under this bill, companies subject to enhanced supervision may be required to limit mergers and acquisitions, restrict products offered, or maintain a certain debt ratio. The FRB must publish the list of companies that have been identified as requiring enhanced supervision.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2017
ELD Extension Act of 2017 This bill delays for an additional two years the effective date of regulations implementing the requirement that a commercial motor vehicle involved in interstate commerce and operated by a driver subject to federal hours of service (HOS) and record of duty status regulations be equipped with an electronic logging device to improve vehicle operator compliance with HOS regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
Protecting Access to Diabetes Supplies Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to modify provisions relating to Medicare's competitive acquisition program (through which rates are set through a competitive bidding program rather than by an established fee schedule) with respect to diabetic testing strips. Specifically, the bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to: use specified data to determine whether a bid satisfies certain requirements related to volume of coverage with respect to such products, reject a bid if the bidder does not demonstrate its ability to furnish such products in a manner consistent with its bid, and establish a process to monitor the extent to which an entity continues to cover the product types included in its bid. The CMS may terminate a contract if it determines that an entity, for reasons other than product discontinuation or market-wide shortage, fails to maintain ready access to such products included its bid. In addition, the bill specifies that an entity furnishing such products to beneficiaries under the program: (1) must furnish to each beneficiary a brand of strips that is compatible with the beneficiary's home blood glucose monitor, (2) may not attempt to influence or incentivize a beneficiary to switch the brand of either type of product, and (3) must contact and receive a request from a beneficiary no more than 14 days prior to dispensing a refill to the beneficiary.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
President John F. Kennedy Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 silver coins in commemoration of President John F. Kennedy. The bill requires all sales of such coins to include a surcharge of $10 per coin, which shall be paid by Treasury to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation to support the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 This bill revises education and related benefits provided to veterans, service members, dependents, and survivors. The bill amends the Post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance program to: remove certain time restrictions on program use; increase assistance for reservists, guardsmen, dependents, and surviving spouses and dependents; provide full eligibility for Post-9/11 Purple Heart recipients and certain reservists and guardsmen; provide an extra academic years' worth of benefits for STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) degree candidates; establish a five-year pilot program for high technology courses; restore eligibility for service members whose school closes in the middle of a semester; authorize funding to improve claims processing; permit assistance to be used at certain institutions that are not institutions of higher education; and pro-rate the housing stipend for reservists called to active duty. The bill authorizes the Edith Nurse Rogers STEM Scholarship to help veterans complete STEM degrees. The Yellow Ribbon program is extended to Fry Scholarship recipients (surviving dependents of service members who died on active duty) and certain Purple Heart recipients. (The Yellow Ribbon program helps veterans pay for higher education tuition and fee costs not covered by the Post-9/11 program.) The bill: (1) extends the Advisory Committee on Education, (2) increases survivors' and dependents' educational assistance, and (3) extends funding for state educational program approving agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Investing in Student Achievement Act of 2017 or the ISA Act of 2017 This bill provides for income-share agreements whereby a student agrees to pay a percentage of future income, for a specified period of time, in exchange for funds to pay for educational expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2017
Permanency for Children Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to modify the Federal Parent Locator Service to allow state agencies that administer responsible-father registries to electronically exchange identifying information of mothers and putative fathers with other states.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2017
Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 2017 This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to remove limitations on the amount of outside income that an OASDI beneficiary may earn without incurring a reduction in benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2017
Empowering Employees through Stock Ownership Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an employee to elect to defer, for income tax purposes, income attributable to certain stock transferred to the employee by an employer. The employee may defer the inclusion of income from the stock until the year that includes the earliest of the dates on which: the stock becomes transferable; the employee becomes an excluded employee; stock of the corporation becomes readily tradable on an established securities market; seven years have passed after the rights of the employee in the stock are transferable or are not subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture, whichever occurs earlier; or the employee revokes the election with respect to the stock. The stock must meet specified requirements and be transferred to the employee from an eligible corporation in connection with the performance of services as an employee. A corporation is eligible if: (1) no stock of the corporation or a predecessor is readily tradable on an established securities market during any preceding year; and (2) it has a written plan under which at least 80% of certain employees are granted stock options, or restricted stock units, with the same rights and privileges to receive qualified stock. Employees are excluded if they: (1) are a 1% owner, the chief executive officer, or the chief financial officer of the corporation or have been at any time during the 10 preceding calendar years; (2) are a family member of the specified individuals; or (3) have been one of the four highest compensated officers of the corporation during any of the 10 preceding taxable years.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Justin Smith Morrill Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Justin Smith Morrill, a United States Senator from Vermont, for his lasting contributions to higher education opportunity for all Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Guantanamo Recidivism Reduction Act of 2017 This bill instructs the Department of Defense (DOD) to give annual briefings to specified congressional committees on the current activities and locations of individuals who are not members or former members of the armed forces, who were detained by or otherwise under the effective control of DOD at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on or after September 11, 2011, and who have engaged in acts of terrorism or support for terrorism after being transferred or released from such detention. The Department of State must: (1) maintain records containing the terms of any bilateral agreement between the United States and the country to which such an individual was transferred or released, and (2) make those records available to Congress within 90 days of the conclusion of any such agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Permanence Act of 2017 This bill directs the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to establish a Community Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Matching Grant Program to provide matching funds for the development, expansion, or continuation of tax preparation programs to assist low-income taxpayers and members of underserved populations. Unless otherwise provided by a specific appropriation, the IRS may not allocate more than $30 million per fiscal year (exclusive of costs of administering the program) for the program.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
DC Personal Protection Reciprocity Act This bill declares that the prohibitions of the District of Columbia Official Code against carrying a pistol within Washington, DC either openly or concealed without a license under DC law shall not apply to an individual who is: not prohibited by federal law from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm; carrying a valid license or permit for a concealed firearm issued under the law of a state; and carrying a valid identification document containing the individual's photograph. The Metropolitan Police Department, upon application by a person with a bona fide residence or place of business within the United States and a license to carry a concealed pistol under the law of any state or local government, shall issue that person a license to carry a concealed pistol within DC for up to two years from its date of issue, regardless of the applicant's reason for applying for the license. The bill repeals the condition on the permission for a non-DC resident who lives in a state that does not require a license to carry a concealed pistol to apply to the department for a license to carry one within DC for up to two years. The condition repealed states that the non-resident may apply for a license to carry a concealed weapon only if the non-resident meets the same reasons and requirements a person must meet who has a bona fide residence or place of business in DC. The department shall enter into reciprocity agreements with each other state that requires such an agreement in order to grant recognition to a license to carry a concealed firearm issued by that state.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Agriculture Environmental Stewardship Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow energy tax credits through 2021 for investments in: (1) qualified biogas property, or (2) qualified manure resource recovery property. The bill also permits new clean renewable energy bonds to be used for such properties. "Qualified biogas property" comprises a system that: (1) uses anaerobic digesters or other specified processes to convert biomass into a gas which is at least 52% methane, and (2) captures the gas for use as a fuel. The term includes property that cleans and conditions the gas for use as a fuel. "Qualified manure resource recovery property" comprises a system that uses specified processes to recover the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus from a non-treated digestate or animal manure by reducing or separating at least 50% of the nutrients, excluding any reductions during the incineration, storage, composting, or field application of the non-treated digestate or animal manure. The term also includes certain processing equipment. The Department of the Treasury must enter into an agreement with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for a study of biogas and report to Congress on the study.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Increasing Opportunity through Evidence-Based Home Visiting Act This bill amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to reauthorize through FY2022, and otherwise revise, the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program. Under current law, grantees were required, after three years of program implementation, to demonstrate improvement in specified benchmark areas. The bill requires grantees to continue, in subsequent years, to track and demonstrate improvement in applicable benchmark areas. A grantee that fails to do so must develop and implement a corrective action plan, subject to approval by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS shall terminate a program grant made to a grantee that implements such a plan but continues to fail to demonstrate improvement. As a condition for receiving grant funds under the program, a state must conduct a statewide needs assessment by October 1, 2019, and at least once every five years thereafter. A grantee may use program grant funds to support a "pay-for-outcomes initiative" (a performance-based grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, awarded by a public entity, in which a commitment is made to pay for improved outcomes that result in social benefit and public-sector cost savings). Grantees must provide matching funds under the program beginning in FY2020. HHS must designate data-exchange standards applicable to the program. The bill also amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) under the SSAct to prohibit the payment of SSI benefits to an individual who is subject to an arrest warrant for: (1) committing, or attempting to commit, a felony; or (2) violating a condition of parole or probation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Combating BDS Act of 2017 This bill allows a state or local government to adopt and enforce measures to divest its assets from, prohibit investment of its assets in, or restrict contracting with: (1) an entity that engages in a commerce- or investment-related boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting Israel; or (2) an entity that owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with such an entity. Such measures are not preempted by federal law. A state or local government that seeks to adopt or enforce such measures shall comply with specified requirements related to notice, timing, and opportunity for comment. In addition, the bill amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to prohibit a person from bringing any civil, criminal, or administrative action against a registered investment company based solely upon that company's divestment from securities issued by a person that engages in a commerce- or investment-related boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting Israel.
![Official portrait of Rep. Walorski, Jackie [R-IN-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/w000813_200.jpg)