United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Employer Participation in Student Loan Assistance Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance to include payments of qualified education loans by an employer to either an employee or a lender.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
National Right-to-Work Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to repeal those provisions that permit employers or labor organizations, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement that is a union security agreement, to require employees to join a union as a condition of employment (including provisions permitting railroad carriers to require, pursuant to such an agreement, payroll deduction of union dues or fees as a condition of employment).
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
This joint resolution initiates the process to terminate the Independent Medicare Advisory Board, which issues annual recommendations for reducing growth in Medicare expenditures. Under current law, the enactment of a such a joint resolution is required in order to terminate the board.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
This joint resolution nullifies a Department of Health and Human Services rule regarding subrecipients of family planning grants. (Under the rule, grant recipients may prohibit an entity from receiving a subaward only for reasons related to the entity's ability to provide family planning services.)
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
This joint resolution nullifies a Department of Health and Human Services rule regarding subrecipients of family planning grants. (Under the rule, grant recipients may prohibit an entity from receiving a subaward only for reasons related to the entity's ability to provide family planning services.)
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
Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy Act or the BRACE Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax credit for railroad track maintenance.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Conscience Protection Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to codify the prohibition against the federal government and state and local governments that receive federal financial assistance for health-related activities penalizing or discriminating against a health care provider based on the provider's refusal to be involved in, or provide coverage for, abortion. Health care providers include health care professionals, health care facilities, social services providers, health care professional training programs, and health insurers. The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services, in coordination with the Department of Justice (DOJ), must investigate complaints alleging discrimination based on an individual's religious belief, moral conviction, or refusal to be involved in an abortion. DOJ or any entity adversely affected by such discrimination may obtain equitable or legal relief in a civil action. Administrative remedies do not need to be sought or exhausted prior to commencing an action or granting relief. Such an action may be brought against a governmental entity.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over the air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2017
Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage and payment with respect to certain pharmacist services that: (1) are furnished by a pharmacist in a health-professional shortage area, and (2) would otherwise be covered under Medicare if furnished by a physician.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2017
Kari's Law Act of 2017 This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit businesses from manufacturing or importing for use in the United States, or selling or leasing in the United States, a multi-line telephone system unless it is pre-configured to allow users to directly initiate a call to 9-1-1 (without dialing any additional digit, code, prefix, or post-fix, including any trunk-access code such as the digit "9") from any station equipped with dialing facilities. Businesses are prohibited from installing, managing, or operating multi-line telephone systems without such a direct 9-1-1 call configuration. Businesses installing, managing, or operating such systems for use in the United States must configure the systems to provide a notification to a central location at the facility where the system is installed, or to another person or organization regardless of location, if the system is able to be so configured without an improvement to the hardware or software.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2017
Taiwan Travel Act This bill states that it should be U.S. policy to: (1) allow officials at all levels of the U.S. government to travel to Taiwan to meet their Taiwanese counterparts; (2) permit high-level Taiwanese officials to enter the United States under respectful conditions and to meet with U.S. officials, including officials from the Department of State and the Department of Defense; and (3) encourage the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, and any other instrumentality established by Taiwan, to conduct business in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2017
Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to exempt traditional large and premium cigars from regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and from user fees assessed on tobacco products by the FDA.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2017
No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2017 This bill makes permanent the prohibition on the use of federal funds, including funds in the budget of the District of Columbia, for abortion or health coverage that includes abortion. The prohibitions in this bill, and current prohibitions, do not apply to abortions in cases of rape or incest, or where a physical condition endangers a woman's life unless an abortion is performed. Abortions may not be provided in a federal health care facility or by a federal employee. This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to prohibit qualified health plans from including coverage for abortions. (Qualified health plans are sold on health insurance exchanges, are the only plans eligible for premium subsidies and small employer health insurance tax credits, and fulfill an individual's requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage.) Currently, qualified health plans may cover abortion, but the portion of the premium attributable to abortion coverage is not eligible for subsidies.
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
Rapid DNA Act of 2017 This bill amends the DNA Identification Act of 1994 to require the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to issue standards and procedures for using Rapid DNA instruments to analyze DNA samples of criminal offenders. Rapid DNA instruments carry out a fully automated process to create a DNA analysis from a DNA sample. DNA samples prepared by criminal justice agencies using Rapid DNA instruments in compliance the FBI-issued standards and procedures may be included in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). The bill amends the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 to allow the FBI to waive certain existing requirements if a DNA sample is analyzed using Rapid DNA instruments and the results are included in CODIS.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
Heartbeat Protection Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for a physician to knowingly perform an abortion: (1) without determining whether the fetus has a detectable heartbeat, (2) without informing the mother of the results, or (3) after determining that a fetus has a detectable heartbeat. It provides an exception for an abortion that is necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical (but not psychological or emotional) disorder, illness, or condition. A physician who performs a prohibited abortion is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. A woman who undergoes a prohibited abortion may not be prosecuted for violating or conspiring to violate the provisions of this bill.
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.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
Veteran Suicide Prevention Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to complete a publicly available review of the deaths of all covered veterans who died by suicide during the preceding five-year period. Such review shall include: the total number of veterans who died by suicide during the five-year period; a summary that includes age, gender, and race; a list of the medications prescribed to, and found in the systems of, such veterans at the time of their deaths, and a summary of medical diagnoses by VA physicians which led to the prescribing of such medications; the number of instances in which the veteran was concurrently on multiple medications prescribed by VA physicians; the percentage of veterans who were not taking any medication prescribed by a VA physician; the percentage of veterans with combat experience or trauma; Veterans Health Administration facilities with markedly high prescription and patient suicide rates; a description of VA policies governing the prescribing of medications; and recommendations to improve the safety and well-being of veterans. "Covered veteran" means any veteran who received VA hospital care or medical services during the five-year period preceding the veteran's death.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
Default Prevention Act This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to continue to borrow to pay the principal and interest on certain obligations if the debt of the United States exceeds the statutory limit. If the debt limit is exceeded, Treasury must issue obligations solely for the payment of the principal and interest on debt held by the public or the Social Security trust funds. Obligations issued under this bill may not be used to compensate Members of Congress. If Treasury exercises authority provided by this bill, it must submit to Congress a report that includes an accounting of: (1) the principal on mature obligations and interest that is due or accrued, and (2) obligations issued under this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2017
Email Privacy Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to revise provisions that limit an electronic communication service (ECS) or remote communication service (RCS) provider from disclosing the contents of a wire or electronic communication that is in electronic storage. Additionally, it revises the standards for the government to compel an ECS or RCS provider to disclose contents of a wire or electronic communication or noncontent records or information pertaining to a subscriber or customer. An ECS or RCS provider may notify a subscriber or customer of the receipt of a warrant, court order, subpoena, or request, unless the government obtains an order for delayed notification. The bill revises the process for obtaining a delayed notification order and lengthens the maximum duration of a delayed notification order.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2017
Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of State to report to specified congressional committees within 60 days indicating: (1) whether the Muslim Brotherhood meets the criteria for designation as a foreign terrorist organization; and (2) if not, which criteria have not been met.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2017
Hearing Protection Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) eliminate the $200 transfer tax on firearm silencers, and (2) treat any person who acquires or possesses a firearm silencer as meeting any registration or licensing requirements of the National Firearms Act with respect to such silencer. Any person who pays a transfer tax on a silencer after October 22, 2015, may receive a refund of such tax. The bill amends the federal criminal code to preempt state or local laws that tax or regulate firearm silencers.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2017
Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2017 or the RPM Act of 2017 This bill amends the Clean Air Act to allow the modification of a vehicle's air emission controls if the vehicle is used solely for competition.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2017
Condemns the Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, China, because it: (1) is a spectacle of extreme animal cruelty, (2) is a commercial activity not grounded in Chinese history, (3) is opposed by a majority of the Chinese people, and (4) threatens global public health. Urges: the government of China and the Yulin authorities to ban the killing and eating of dogs as part of Yulin's festival and to enforce China's food safety laws regulating the processing and sale of animal products and the 2011 Agriculture Ministry of China Regulation on the Quarantine of Dogs at the Place of Origin requiring one certificate for one dog on trans-provincial transport trucks, and the National People's Congress of China to enact an animal anticruelty law that bans the dog meat trade. Affirms the commitment of the United States to the protection of animals and to the progress of animal protection.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2017
Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2017 This bill prohibits, for a one-year period, the availability of federal funds for any purpose to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., or any of its affiliates or clinics, unless they certify that the affiliates and clinics will not perform, and will not provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion during such period. This restriction does not apply in cases of rape or incest or where a physical condition endangers a woman's life unless an abortion is performed. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture must seek repayment of federal assistance received by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., or any affiliate or clinic, if it violates the terms of the certification required by this bill. Additional funding for community health centers is provided for the one-year period described above.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2017
Primary Care Enhancement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) permit an individual to pay primary care service arrangement costs from a health savings account; and (2) allow an eligible taxpayer enrolled in a high-deductible health plan to take a tax deduction for cash paid into a health savings account, even if the taxpayer is simultaneously enrolled in a primary care service arrangement. Under a "primary care service arrangement," an individual is provided coverage restricted to primary care services in exchange for a fixed periodic fee or payment for such services. For the purposes of certain tax-deductible expenses for medical care, the bill expands the definition of "medical care" to include periodic provider fees paid to a primary care physician for a defined set of medical services provided on an as-needed basis.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2017
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2017 This bill includes as part of the Republic of Vietnam its territorial seas for purposes of the presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure by veterans to certain herbicide agents while in Vietnam.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2017
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of door delivery for all businesses and residential customers.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2017
This bill repeals a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that imposes an annual fee on a health insurance provider based on its net premium income.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Protect Medical Innovation Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the excise tax on the sale of a medical device by the manufacturer, producer, or importer.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to allow a qualified individual to carry a concealed handgun into or possess a concealed handgun in another state that allows individuals to carry concealed firearms. A qualified individual must: (1) be eligible to possess, transport, or receive a firearm under federal law; (2) carry a valid photo identification document; and (3) carry a valid concealed carry permit issued by any state or be eligible to carry a concealed firearm in his or her state of residence. Additionally, the bill specifies that a qualified individual who lawfully carries or possesses a concealed handgun in another state: (1) is not subject to the federal prohibition on possessing a firearm in a school zone, and (2) may carry or possess the concealed handgun in federally owned lands that are open to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for any person to perform or attempt to perform an abortion if the probable post-fertilization age of the fetus is 20 weeks or more. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. The bill provides exceptions for an abortion: (1) that is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, or (2) when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. A physician who performs or attempts to perform an abortion under an exception must comply with specified requirements. A woman who undergoes a prohibited abortion may not be prosecuted for violating or conspiring to violate the provisions of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2017 This bill revises provisions relating to congressional review of agency rulemaking. A federal agency promulgating a rule must publish information about the rule in the Federal Register and include in its report to Congress and to the Government Accountability Office: (1) a classification of the rule as a major or nonmajor rule, and (2) a copy of the cost-benefit analysis of the rule that includes an analysis of any jobs added or lost. A "major rule" is any rule that the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget finds results in: (1) an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; (2) a major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, government agencies, or geographic regions; or (3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises. A joint resolution of approval must be enacted within 70 session days or legislative days after the agency proposing a major rule submits its report on such rule to Congress in order for the rule to take effect. A major rule may take effect for 90 days without such approval if the President determines it is necessary because of an imminent threat to health or safety or other emergency, for the enforcement of criminal laws, for national security, or to implement an international trade agreement. The bill sets forth the congressional approval procedure for major rules and the congressional disapproval procedure for nonmajor rules. A joint resolution addressing a report classifying a rule as a major rule must be introduced within three legislative days in the House of Representative and three session days in the Senate. The bill prohibits any amendments to, and provides for expedited consideration of, such a joint resolution. A court may review whether an agency has completed the necessary requirements under this bill for a rule to take effect. The bill limits the effect of a joint resolution of approval of a major rule. The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended to provide that any congressional approval procedure set forth in this bill affecting budget authority, outlays, or receipts shall be assumed to be effective unless it is not approved in accordance with this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Safeguard American Food Exports Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem equine (horses and other members of the equidae family) parts to be an unsafe food additive or animal drug. The bill prohibits the knowing sale or transport of equines or equine parts for human consumption.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) of 2017 This bill imposes criminal penalties on anyone who knowingly or knowingly attempts to: (1) perform an abortion knowing that the abortion is sought based on the sex, gender, color or race of the child, or the race of a parent; (2) use force or the threat of force to intentionally injure or intimidate any person for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection or race-selection abortion; (3) solicit or accept funds for the performance of such an abortion; or (4) transport a woman into the United States or across a state line for the purpose of obtaining such an abortion. Violations or attempted violations shall result in fines and/or imprisonment for up to five years. The bill authorizes civil actions (for verifiable money damages for injuries and punitive damages) by: (1) fathers, or maternal grandparents if the mother is an unemancipated minor, of unborn children who are the subject of an abortion performed or attempted through any of the above violations; or (2) women upon whom an abortion has been performed or attempted with a knowing or attempted use of force or threat of force to intentionally injure or intimidate any person for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection or race-selection abortion. To prevent an abortion provider from performing or attempting further abortions in violation of this bill, the bill authorizes injunctive relief to be obtained by: (1) the women upon whom such an abortion is performed or attempted, (2) a maternal grandparent of the unborn child if the woman is an unemancipated minor, (3) the father of such an unborn child, or (4) the Department of Justice. Violations of this bill are deemed to be prohibited discrimination under title VI (Federally Assisted Programs) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Violators of title VI lose federal funding.) Medical or mental health professionals must report known or suspected violations to law enforcement authorities. Criminal penalties are established for a failure to so report. A woman having such an abortion may not be prosecuted or held civilly liable. Courts must make such orders as necessary to protect the anonymity of any woman upon whom an abortion has been performed or attempted if she does not give her written consent to such disclosure. In the absence of such a woman's written consent, any party, other than a public official, who brings an action must use a pseudonym. For purposes of this bill, "abortion" is defined as the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman, with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn child, unless the act is intended to: (1) save the life or preserve the health of the unborn child, (2) remove a dead unborn child caused by spontaneous abortion, or (3) remove an ectopic pregnancy.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act This bill amends the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Programs Enhancement Act of 2001 to require a program under which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs provides chiropractic care and services to veterans through Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers and clinics to be carried out at: (1) no fewer than 75 medical centers by December 31, 2017, and (2) all medical centers by December 31, 2019. Chiropractic examinations and services are included within required VA medical, rehabilitative, and preventive health care services.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal, beginning with taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, the excise tax on employer-sponsored health care coverage for which there is an excess benefit (high-cost plans).
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Resettlement Accountability National Security Act of 2017 This bill prohibits the admission of alien refugees into the United States unless Congress passes a joint resolution giving the Department of Homeland Security authority to resume admitting them. The Government Accountability Office shall report on: (1) the national security impact of refugee admissions; and (2) specified costs of providing refugees with benefits under Medicare, Medicaid, disability insurance under title II of the Social Security Act, the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly the food stamp program), and low income rental housing assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to require any health care practitioner who is present when a child is born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion to: (1) exercise the same degree of care as reasonably provided to any other child born alive at the same gestational age, and (2) ensure that such child is immediately admitted to a hospital. The term "born alive" means the complete expulsion or extraction from his or her mother, at any stage of development, who after such expulsion or extraction breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut. Also, a health care practitioner or other employee who has knowledge of a failure to comply with these requirements must immediately report such failure to an appropriate law enforcement agency. An individual who violates the provisions of this bill is subject to a criminal fine, up to five years in prison, or both. An individual who commits an overt act that kills a child born alive is subject to criminal prosecution for murder. The bill bars the criminal prosecution of a mother of a child born alive for conspiracy to violate these provisions, for being an accessory after the fact, or for concealment of felony. A woman who undergoes an abortion or attempted abortion may file a civil action for damages against an individual who violates this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act This bill requires that the website of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) include a program inventory that identifies each program of the federal government for which there is more than $1 million in annual budget authority. For programs identified in such inventory for which there is more than $1 million and not more than $10 million in annual budget authority (smaller programs), the inventory must include: an identification of the program activities that are aggregated, disaggregated, or consolidated as part of identifying programs; for each such program activity, the amount of funding for the current fiscal year and the previous two fiscal years; an identification of the statutes that authorize the program and any major regulations specific to the program; a description of the individuals served by a program and beneficiaries who received financial assistance under a program for the most recent fiscal year; and links to any evaluation, assessment, or program performance reviews by the agency, an Inspector General, or the Government Accountability Office released during the preceding five years. For programs identified in such inventory for which there is more than $10 million in annual budget authority (larger programs), the inventory must include: an identification of the program activities that are aggregated, disaggregated, or consolidated as part of identifying programs; for each program activity, the amount of funding for the current fiscal year and the previous two fiscal years; an estimate of the amount of funding for the program; an identification of the statutes that authorize the program and any major regulations specific to the program; a description and estimate of the number of individuals served by a program and beneficiaries who received financial assistance under a program for the most recent fiscal year; a description of the federal employees who administer the program and other individuals whose salary is paid in full or in part by the federal government through a grant, contract, cooperative agreement, or another form of financial award or assistance; links to any evaluation, assessment, or program performance reviews by the agency, an Inspector General, or the Government Accountability Office released during the preceding five years; and financial and other information for each program activity required to be reported under the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. The OMB shall: (1) archive and preserve the information included in the program inventory; and (2) annually publish the total amount of undisbursed grant funding remaining in grant accounts for which the period of availability to the grantee has expired. The bill requires the OMB, by June 30, 2018, to: (1) prescribe guidance to implement this Act, and (2) issue guidance to assist agencies in identifying how the program activities used in budget or appropriations accounts correspond with programs identified in the program inventory required by this Act. The OMB may: (1) issue guidance to agencies to ensure that programs are presented at a similar level of detail across agencies and are not duplicative or overlapping; (2) exempt from the requirements of this Act, based on an analysis of the costs of implementation, agencies that are not required to have a chief financial officer and that have not more than $10 million in budget authority; and (3) extend the Act's implementation deadline by up to one year. Implementation of the requirements in this bill must be completed not later than June 30, 2019.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the passage of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334: undermined the long-standing U.S. position to oppose and veto Security Council resolutions that seek to impose solutions to final status issues or that are one-sided and anti-Israel; undermines the prospect of Israelis and Palestinians resuming productive, direct negotiations; and contributes to the politically motivated acts of boycott, divestment from, and sanctions against Israel and represents a concerted effort to extract concessions from Israel outside of direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, which must be actively rejected. Such resolution characterizes Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal and demands cessation of settlement activities. Declares that: any future measures taken in international or outside organizations to impose an agreement including the recognition of a Palestinian state will set back the cause of peace, harm the security of Israel, run counter to the enduring bipartisan consensus on strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship, and weaken support for such organizations; a sustainable peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians will come only through direct bilateral negotiations between the parties resulting in a Jewish, democratic state living next to a demilitarized Palestinian state in peace and security; the United States should work to facilitate direct negotiations between the parties without preconditions toward a peace agreement; and the U.S. government should oppose and veto future Security Council resolutions that seek to impose solutions to final status issues or that are one-sided and anti-Israel. Declares that the House opposes Security Council Resolution 2334 and will work to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship. Calls for such resolution to be repealed or fundamentally altered.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2016
Establishes an ad hoc Joint Committee on the Organization of the Congress to make a full and complete study of the organization, operations, functions, and relevant interactions of the Members of Congress and to make recommendations that serve specified objectives. Requires the committee to include in its report to both chambers at the end of a congressional session recommendations for its continuation or designation of a similar entity to continue the pursuit of improvements in the congressional process.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2016
Global War on Terrorism War Memorial Act This bill allows the Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation to establish the National Global War on Terrorism Memorial as a commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia to commemorate and honor the members of the Armed Forces who served on active duty in support of the Global War on Terrorism. No federal funds may be used to pay any expense to establish the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2016
Expresses support for the designation of National Suicide Prevention Month. Recognizes suicide as a preventable public health problem and supports declaring that suicide prevention should be a priority. Promotes awareness that suicide most often occurs when stressors exceed the current coping abilities of an individual suffering from a mental health condition.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Empowering Local Law Enforcement Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enter into a written agreement with a state or a subdivision thereof pursuant to which a state or local officer or employee may carry out immigration-related investigations, apprehensions, or detentions of aliens in the United States at state or local expense. (Under current law, such agreements are discretionary and carried out by the Department of Justice.) The bill prohibits a state or local agreement request from being denied, or an agreement from being terminated, without a compelling reason. DHS shall ensure that information is provided to the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) and the Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC) regarding the identity of any individual: with an active order of removal; who has been removed from the United States based upon engaging in terrorism or espionage, attempting to unlawfully enter the United States, being convicted of participation in a criminal street gang, being convicted of a felony other than a state or local offense for which an essential element was the alien's immigration status, or being convicted of an aggravated felony; and for whom a detainer was issued within the previous year but who was not taken into federal custody. If a state of local law enforcement official apprehends an individual for a crime and the officer has reason to believe that the individual is an alien, the officer may: (1) verify, using the information provided to the NCIC and the LESC, whether the individual is an individual described in this bill; (2) if so, issue a federal detainer; and (3) transport the individual for transfer to federal custody. DHS shall prioritize such an individual for removal.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Modernizing Outdated and Vulnerable Equipment and Information Technology Act of 2016 or MOVE IT Act This bill prohibits a covered agency (specified agencies for which there are Chief Financial Officers) from storing or processing government information on a federal information system with any cloud service provider unless the provider has an authorization to operate a cloud computing service from the agency or the Joint Authorization Board. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) may waive the applicability of such prohibition to any national security system in the interest of national security and shall submit a statement justifying such waiver. The ODNI shall: (1) coordinate with the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program Office (FRAMPO) to establish mandatory guidelines for the submission of an application for such an authorization that shall streamline and accelerate the accreditation process; (2) host a public-private industry cloud commercial working group representing cloud service providers, which shall provide recommendations directly to FRAMPO's Program Management Office and Joint Authorization Board regarding their operations, processes improvements, and best practices; (3) establish key performance metrics for FRAMPO; (4) report on the effectiveness and efficiency of FRAMPO; and (5) assess cloud computing opportunities and issue policies and guidelines for the adoption of government-wide programs providing for a standardized approach to security assessment and operational authorization for cloud computing products and services. There is established in each such agency an information technology system modernization and working capital fund for necessary expenses: for the replacement of a legacy information technology system; for the transition to cloud computing and innovative platforms and technologies; to assist and support efforts to provide information technology capabilities that address evolving threats to information security; and for developmental, modernization, and enhancement activities of information technology. Each agency shall prioritize amounts within such fund to be used initially for cost savings activities approved by the Federal Chief Information Officer. The Government Accountability Office shall report on the implementation and operation of each such fund, current practices compared with industry best practices for the effective oversight and governance of a cloud computing working capital fund, the basis for the fund's use and operation, the fund's efficacy to accelerate technology transitions, and recommendations for improvement.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2016
Temporary Judgeship Conversion Act of 2016 This bill converts certain temporary U.S. district court judgeships to permanent judgeships in specified U.S. judicial districts in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Texas.
United States · United States Congress · 5 July 2016
This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to Larry Doby in recognition of his achievements and contributions to American major league athletics, civil rights, and the Armed Forces during World War II.