United States · United States Congress · 22 August 2017
This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the President to remove the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in certain circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 18 August 2017
Censures and condemns President Trump for his inadequate response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12, 2017, for his failure to condemn the White supremacist groups responsible for actions of domestic terrorism, for asserting that "both sides" were to blame and excusing the violent behavior of participants in the Unite the Right rally, and for employing people with ties to White supremacist movements in the White House. Urges President Trump to fire all White House advisors who have urged him to cater to the White supremacist movement.
United States · United States Congress · 15 August 2017
Special Counsel Independence Protection Act This bill sets forth requirements and limitations with respect to the removal from office of a special counsel appointed by the Attorney General, or of another official appointed by the Attorney General who exercises a similar degree of independence from the Department of Justice (DOJ) chain of command. Specifically, a special counsel or other appointed individual may be removed only if: (1) the Attorney General files an action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and files a contemporaneous notice of the action with Congress; and (2) the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issues an order finding misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or other good cause, including violation of DOJ policies.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
American Hope Act of 2017 This bill amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to allow a state to extend higher-education benefits to state residents regardless of whether they are lawfully present in the United States. In addition, the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to cancel the removal, and adjust the status, of certain residents who entered the United States as children prior to 2017. An individual whose status has been so adjusted shall be considered to have obtained conditional permanent-resident status, valid for a period of eight years and subject to termination on the basis of specified deportable conduct. In order for an individual's conditional status to become permanent, the individual must timely file with DHS a petition indicating, among other specified information, that the individual has maintained conditional permanent-resident status for at least three years. Any period of time in which the individual was granted deferred action pursuant to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy shall count toward this three-year period. Information furnished by an individual in such a petition may not be used by an officer or employee of the United States to initiate removal proceedings. The bill also: (1) allows DHS to establish a competitive grant program for the provision of nonprofit assistance to eligible applicants for conditional permanent-resident status; (2) establishes the Presidential Award for Business Leadership in Promoting American Citizenship; (3) allows the Department of Education to develop an open-source, electronic English-learning program; (4) specifies requirements related to federal higher-education assistance for individuals with conditional permanent-resident status; and (5) requires the Government Accountability Office to report on specified data related to the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2017 This bill limits the regulation of industrial hemp and research hemp under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Specifically, the bill excludes industrial hemp and research hemp from the definition of marijuana under the CSA. The Drug Enforcement Administration may conduct administrative inspections of places where industrial hemp or research hemp is produced, stored, distributed, or used.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Background Check Completion Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to prohibit a licensed gun dealer from transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person prior to completion of a background check. (Current law permits a licensed gun dealer to transfer a firearm to an unlicensed person if a submitted background check remains incomplete after three business days.)
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to require employers to make initial disclosures to employees of the terms of their employment, provide such employees with regular paystubs, and make final payment to a terminating employee for uncompensated hours within 14 days of the employee's termination. An employer shall compensate an employee at the rate specified in an employment contract or other employment agreement, including a collective bargaining agreement, that specifies a rate of pay higher than the minimum wage rate. The bill establishes new and increased civil and criminal penalties for violations of FLSA overtime or minimum wage requirements, including referral to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution of employers who engage in wage theft, falsification of wage records, or retaliation against employees. The bill: (1) increases damages for employees who are victims of wage theft from two to three times the wages owed or who are fired for filing a complaint concerning wage theft or for cooperating in an investigation by the Department of Labor, (2) revises requirements for wage recordkeeping by employers and establishes penalties for violations of those requirements, (3) grants employees the right to inspect employer wage records, and (4) increases the statute of limitation for bringing a claim for owed wages from two to four years (three to five years for willful violations). Labor must award grants to assist certain entities in the enforcement of FLSA wage and hour requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2017
Dream Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to cancel removal and grant lawful permanent resident status on a conditional basis to an alien who is inadmissible or deportable or is in temporary protected status who: (1) has been continuously physically present in the United States for four years preceding this bill's enactment; (2) was younger than 18 years of age on the initial date of U.S. entry; (3) is not inadmissible on criminal, security, terrorism, or other grounds; (4) has not participated in persecution; (5) has not been convicted of specified federal or state offenses; and (6) has fulfilled specified educational requirements. DHS shall cancel the removal of, and adjust to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence on a conditional basis, an alien who was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status unless the alien has engaged in conduct that would make the alien ineligible for DACA. DHS may not: (1) grant conditional permanent resident status without the submission of biometric and background data, and completion of background and medical checks; and (2) disclose or use information provided in applications filed under this bill or in DACA requests for immigration enforcement purposes. The bill prescribes the conditions under which DHS: (1) may terminate a person's conditional permanent resident status, and (2) shall adjust a person's conditional status to permanent resident status. The bill: (1) sets forth documentation requirements for establishing DACA eligibility, and (2) repeals the denial of an unlawful alien's eligibility for higher education benefits based on state residence.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2017
Jobs Now Act of 2017 This bill amends the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to direct the Department of Labor to carry out a two-year pilot program to award competitive grants to general local government units or community-based organizations to retain, employ, or train employees who provide a local government unit with a public service. The bill prescribes required and authorized uses of grant fund and priorities for awarding and using grant funds, including: encouraging grantees to use funds to retain, employ, or train veterans, individuals with disabilities, individuals who receive unemployment benefits, or dislocated workers; and giving priority in awarding grants to local government units and their community-based organizations with high unemployment, foreclosure, and poverty rates.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2017
Human Trafficking Accountability Act This bill amends the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 to direct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to designate: at least one Human Trafficking Coordinator in each federal judicial district to implement the National Strategy for Combatting Human Trafficking and to prosecute cases, conduct outreach, and enforce laws related to human trafficking; and a National Human Trafficking Coordinator within DOJ to coordinate, promote, and support DOJ's work related to human trafficking.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2017
Wounded Officers Recovery Act of 2017 This bill authorizes the Capitol Police Board to make payments from the United States Capitol Police Memorial Fund to employees of the U.S. Capitol Police who have sustained serious line-of-duty injuries. The board is required to issue specific regulations governing the fund's use for making such payments. These regulations shall ensure that the payments are in addition to, and do not otherwise affect, other forms of compensation payable to the employee, including worker's compensation benefits. The bill requires amounts received by the board in response to the shooting incident at the practice for the Congressional Baseball Game for Charity on June 14, 2017, to be deposited into the fund.
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 · 13 July 2017
Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2017 This bill amends various provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, including by: (1) expanding the types of actions that would justify a court retaining jurisdiction to prevent a state or political subdivision from using new devices to limit the right to vote; and (2) imposing notice requirements on a state or political subdivision that makes changes to voting procedures, polling-place resources, or district boundaries. The bill also changes the calculation for determining whether a state or political subdivision is subject to preclearance requirements (i.e., requirements for certain jurisdictions to receive preapproval from the Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before making legal changes that would affect voting rights).
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Do No Harm Act This bill makes the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) inapplicable to federal laws (or implementations of laws) that: protect against discrimination or the promotion of equal opportunity, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, Executive Order 11246 (concerning equal employment opportunity), the Violence Against Women Act, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) rules entitled "Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity"; require employers to provide wages, other compensation, or benefits, including leave; protect collective activity in the workplace; protect against child labor, abuse, or exploitation; or provide for access to, information about, referrals for, provision of, or coverage for, any health care item or service. Under current law, RFRA prohibits the government from substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest when using the least restrictive means. The bill makes RFRA inapplicable to: (1) terms requiring goods, services, functions, or activities to be performed or provided to beneficiaries of government contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or awards; or (2) denials of a person's full and equal enjoyment of a government-provided good, service, benefit, facility, privilege, advantage, or accommodation. To assert a RFRA claim or defense in a judicial proceeding, the government must be a party to the proceeding.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2017
Anti-Voter Suppression Act This bill nullifies Executive Order 13799 (titled "Establishment of Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity") and specifies that no funds shall be made available by any act of Congress to the commission described in the order or to any similar commission established for studying voter fraud.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2017
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 180 McCormick Road in Charlottesville, Virginia, as the "Captain Humayun Khan Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2017
Every Kid Outdoors Act This bill directs the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and the Army to establish the Every Kids Outdoors program to provide fourth graders free access to federal lands and waters to which the public has access. Such Departments shall issue such students annual passes, upon request, which shall allow free access to: a per-vehicle fee area for the student and any passengers accompanying the student in a private, noncommercial vehicle or for up to three adults accompanying the student on bicycles; or a per-person fee area for the student and up to three adults accompanying the student. In carrying out such program, such departments: may collaborate with state park systems that opt to implement a complementary Every Kid Outdoors State park pass, shall maintain a publicly available website that provides information about the program, may provide visitor services, and may support approved partners of the federal lands and waters by furnishing them with opportunities for participation in the program.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2017
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 13683 James Madison Highway in Palmyra, Virginia, as the "U.S. Navy Seaman Dakota Kyle Rigsby Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund Reform Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to make certain amounts in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund available, without appropriation, to pay 100% of the eligible operations and maintenance costs of specified portions of the Saint Lawrence Seaway (a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes) as well as those assigned to commercial navigation of all U.S. harbors and inland harbors; rebates of certain tolls or charges on the seaway; and all expenses of administration relating to harbor maintenance tax incurred by the Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Commerce. The bill also amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to require allocation to certain donor ports and energy transfer ports of at least 20% of amounts made available each fiscal year from the trust fund, and the Department of the Army to make allocations equally between these types of ports.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
America's Call To Improve Opportunities Now for National Service Act or the ACTION for National Service Act This bill amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to reestablish the Corporation for National and Community Service as an independent executive agency called the National and Community Service Administration. An individual who successfully completes a term of full-time national service shall be entitled to a national service educational award equal to twice the amount of tuition for the institution of higher education where the individual is enrolled, not to exceed twice the average in-state tuition. Current law limits the award's value to the maximum amount of a Federal Pell Grant that an individual is eligible to receive in the aggregate. Within the administration, the bill establishes an interagency working group to evaluate specified issues related to: (1) eligibility for tuition and student loan repayment assistance with regard to participation in certain national or volunteer service programs, (2) the advisability of granting federal hiring preference to certain volunteer program participants, and (3) methods for increasing the participation of seniors in national service programs. The National Service Foundation, a nonprofit corporation established by the bill, shall accept and administer gifts made in connection with the administration. The bill expresses support for the authorization of appropriations sufficient to provide, within 10 years, volunteer service opportunities for at least 1 million volunteers in full-time national service annually. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude AmeriCorps educational awards from gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of Defense should review exceptions to citizenship, residency, and disqualification standards for enlistment in the Armed Forces to make a determination regarding the enlistment of aliens who possess an employment authorization document issued under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program established by the Department of Homeland Security on June 15, 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Condemns the recent attack on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, that resulted in the death of Lt. Richard Collins III and other hate-motivated incidents. Acknowledges the efforts undertaken by university officials in responding to racism, extremism, and hate and creating safer campuses. Recognizes the persistent and growing threat posed by hate speech, efforts by extremist organizations to specifically target young people, and the normalization of these practices. Expresses that the House of Representatives remains committed to offering solutions that promote open, tolerant, and safe learning environments that fully respect diversity on college campuses.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Expresses the sense of Congress that the final rule issued on May 23, 2016, by the Department of Labor titled "Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees": (1) would provide more than 13 million workers with greater economic security, (2) was created through the legally valid exercises of the congressionally delegated authority of the Department of Labor under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, and (3) should be defended and enforced with due haste.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2017
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 · 26 June 2017
Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017 This bill amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to direct the Department of Energy (DOE) to initiate a program to consolidate and temporarily store commercial spent nuclear fuel during the development, construction, and operation of a permanent nuclear waste repository. The bill addresses federal land withdrawal and related management issues, including the permanent withdrawal of specific federal land for repository use by DOE, updating the Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing process and conditions for the repository, and limiting activities relating to developing a separate defense waste repository used for storing high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel derived from the atomic energy defense activities of DOE. DOE may enter into agreements to provide benefits to state, local, and Tribal governments that might host or be affected by facilities related to storing nuclear waste. The bill revises the method by which DOE funds its nuclear waste management activities though the collection and usage of the Nuclear Waste Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2017
Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network Reauthorization Act of 2017 This bill amends the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act of 1998 to reauthorize for FY2017-FY2023 the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network and the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Grants Assistance Program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2017
Community Health Center and Primary Care Workforce Expansion Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to make appropriations for and extend indefinitely: (1) enhanced funding for the community health centers program and the National Health Service Corps, and (2) grants for federally qualified health centers and nurse-managed health centers to train family nurse practitioners to become primary care providers. The bill makes appropriations for capital projects under the community health centers program. The bill amends the Public Health Service Act to make appropriations for and extend indefinitely a program that pays teaching health centers to establish or expand graduate medical residency training programs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2017
Expresses support for the designation of National ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Day to encourage parents to begin asking the question, "Is there an unlocked gun in your house?" before their child visits other homes.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Aeronautics Innovation Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2022 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that developing high-risk, precompetitive aerospace technologies for which there is not yet a profit rationale is a fundamental NASA role and states that it is U.S. policy to maintain world leadership in military and civilian aeronautical science and technology, global air power projection, and industrial leadership. NASA shall: ensure continuing support for the Aeronautics Strategic Implementation Plan to support the future needs of aviation communities, establish a national policy for aeronautics research to maintain U.S. superiority in air capabilities and aviation industrial leadership, establish a low-boom supersonic aircraft program to demonstrate supersonic aircraft designs and technologies to reduce sonic boom noise levels, establish a new series of experimental planes (X-planes) to demonstrate aircraft vehicle and propulsion concepts and technologies, continue support of unmanned aircraft (drone) system development, and establish the 21st Century Aeronautics Capabilities Initiative to ensure that it possesses the infrastructure capabilities and tools necessary to conduct flight demonstration projects across the range of NASA aeronautics interests.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Voter Empowerment Act of 2017 Voter Registration Modernization Act of 2017 This bill amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require states to make available online voter registration. The federal criminal code is amended to prohibit hindering, interfering with, or preventing voter registration. The Help America Vote Act of 2002 is amended to require states to promote access to voter registration and voting for individuals with disabilities. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must support pilot programs enabling individuals with disabilities to register and vote at their residences. The bill reauthorizes support for state and local governments to ensure voting access for individuals with disabilities. States must notify individuals convicted of a criminal offense under state law, upon release or upon sentence to probation, of their right to vote in federal elections. Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2017 This bill revises auditing requirements for voting systems. Voting systems must use individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots. The National Science Foundation must support the study and development of accessible ballot voting and best practices to enhance the accessibility of voting for certain individuals. With exceptions, states must audit federal election results. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is amended to extend the guarantee of voting residency to family members of absent military personnel. The EAC must support poll-worker recruitment and training and develop materials for a model program. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is amended to prohibit a chief state election administration official, unless the official or a family member is a candidate, from taking part in political management or in a political campaign for federal office over which the official has supervisory authority. The EAC is reauthorized and its exemption from certain contracting requirements is repealed.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to allow a representative official of an Indian tribe, with authorization from the governing body of the tribe, to request one or more polling places to be located on tribal lands. The state or political subdivision shall provide each requested polling place at no expense to the Indian tribe if certain criteria are met. A federal court shall retain jurisdiction to enforce constitutional voting guarantees, but also certain violations of the Act as well as of any federal prohibition against discrimination on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group, for an appropriate period to prevent commencement of new devices to deny or abridge the right to vote. Any state (and all of its political subdivisions) shall be subject to certain requirements for a 10-year period if: 15 or more voting rights violations occurred there during the previous 25 years; or 10 or more violations occurred during the previous 25 years, at least one of which was committed by the state itself (as opposed to a political subdivision within it). A state or political subdivision that obtains a declaratory judgment that it has not used a device to deny or abridge the right to vote shall be exempt from such requirements unlessas specified. This bill prescribes transparency requirements regarding any changes to specified matters. Department of Justice authority to assign observers receives new extensions. Courts shall grant preliminary injunctive relief if a complainant raises a serious question whether the challenged covered practice violates the Act or the Constitution and, on balance, the hardship imposed upon the defendant by the relief will be less than the hardship on the plaintiff if the relief were not granted.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Remedial Education Improvement Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education to award grants for improving remedial education in higher education.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Community College Student Success Act This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to carry out a community college student success grant program that awards grants to public, two-year institutions of higher educations (IHEs) for planning and implementing programs designed to increase the rate at which their students graduate or transfer to a four-year IHE.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Schedules That Work Act This bill grants an employee the right to request that the employee's employer change the terms and conditions of employment relating to: the number of hours or times the employee is required to work or be on call; the location; the amount of notification the employee receives of work schedule assignments; and minimizing fluctuations in the number of hours the employee is scheduled to work on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The employer, if the request is made, shall engage in a timely, good faith interactive process with the employee that includes a discussion of potential schedule changes that would meet the employee's needs. The bill outlines the process for either granting or denying a change. The employer shall grant a request, unless there is a bona fide business reason for denying it, if the request is made because of the employee's serious health condition, the employee's responsibilities as a caregiver, or enrollment in a career-related educational or training program, or if a part-time employee requests such a change for a reason related to a second job. An employer, if an employee requests a change for any other reason, may deny it for any reason that is not unlawful. The employer shall give the employee the reason for the denial, including whether it was a bona fide business reason. The bill outlines employer requirements for paying reporting time and split shift pay and for giving advance notice of work schedules to retail, food service, or cleaning employees, or the Department of Labor's designated employees, except for those in bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacities. The bill makes it unlawful for any employer or other person to: (1) interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise or the attempt to exercise any right of an employee specified in this bill; (2) retaliate against an employee for exercising the rights granted employees by this bill; or (3) interfere with proceedings or inquiries with respect to violation of an individual's rights under this bill. The bill sets forth administrative enforcement procedures and civil remedies for violation of these prohibitions. Labor must give information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning compliance with this bill. The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of the Census shall: (1) include in the Current Population Survey questions on, among other things, the amount of fluctuation in the number of hours the employee is scheduled to work on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis; and (2) conduct at regular intervals the Contingent Worker Supplement, the Work Schedules and Work at Home Supplement, and other relevant supplements to the Current Population Survey. This bill is inapplicable to any employee covered by a bona fide collective bargaining agreement if its terms govern work scheduling practices.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Reaffirms: (1) the bipartisan commitment of the United States to promote the safety, health, and well-being of refugees; and (2) the goals of World Refugee Day. Recognizes those who have risked their lives to provide life-saving assistance and to help protect people displaced by conflict. Calls upon the U.S. government to: uphold its international leadership role in responding to displacement crises with humanitarian assistance for, and protection of, the most vulnerable populations; work in partnership with the international community to find solutions to existing conflicts and to prevent new conflicts; continue to support the efforts of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and to advance the work of nongovernmental organizations to protect refugees regardless of their country of origin or religious beliefs; and continue to mitigate, through humanitarian and development support, the burden placed on frontline refugee host countries that absorb the majority of the world's refugees.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2017
Leveraging Effective Apprenticeships to Rebuild National Skills Act or the LEARNS Act This bill establishes, in the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor, an Office of Apprenticeship to: determine whether an apprenticeship program meets requirements for registration and maintains the standards necessary to remain registered, manage the national apprenticeship system (the collective group of registered apprenticeship programs and pre-apprenticeship programs in the nation), and make grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities to carry out projects that support development of pre-apprenticeship programs. The bill also establishes in Labor a National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships. Labor and the Department of Education shall establish a voluntary Registered Apprenticeship-College Collaborative consisting of the sponsors carrying out registered apprenticeship programs, two- or four-year postsecondary educational institutions, and organizations that represent such programs or institutions, that agree to meet certain criteria in order to promote stronger connections between the registered apprenticeship programs involved and participating two- and four-year postsecondary educational institutions. Labor shall make assistance payments to eligible sponsors of new registered apprenticeship programs or of existing programs that add employers as new partners, that may include joint labor-management registered apprenticeship programs.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2017
Expresses strong disapproval of the President's announcement to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change. Commends the group of states, cities, colleges and universities, businesses, investors, and individuals who have publicly expressed their support for such agreement. Urges the President to reverse his decision and maintain U.S. participation in such agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
Restore Honor to Service Members Act This bill requires appropriate military record correction boards or discharge review boards to review the discharge characterization of any former members of the Armed Forces requesting a review who were discharged because of their sexual orientation. Such boards to change a characterization to honorable if such characterization is any characterization except honorable. The Department of Defense (DOD) shall ensure that any such changes are carried out consistently and uniformly across the military departments using specified criteria, including that: (1) the original discharge was based on the policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell (as in effect before it was repealed pursuant to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010) or a similar earlier policy; and (2) the discharge characterization will be changed if, with respect to the original discharge, there were no aggravating circumstances that would have independently led to any discharge characterization except honorable. The bill prohibits "aggravating circumstances" from including: (1) an offense of sodomy committed by the member against a consenting person of the same sex; or (2) statements, consensual sexual conduct, or consensual acts relating to sexual orientation or identity, or the disclosure of such statements, conduct, or acts, that were prohibited at the time of discharge but that became permitted after such discharge. Each military department shall ensure that oral historians of the department: (1) review discharges between World War II and September 2011 based on sexual orientation, and (2) receive oral testimony of individuals who personally experienced discrimination and discharge because of actual or perceived sexual orientation so that such testimony may serve as an official record of such discriminatory policies and their impact on American lives. Specified military personnel records and discharge forms must be reissued in a manner that shall not reflect the sexual orientation of the member.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
IDEA Full Funding Act This bill amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to reauthorize and make appropriations for the grant program to assist states and outlying areas in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities. The bill sets the amount to be appropriated for each fiscal year from FY2018-FY2026 as the greater of: (1) a specified amount, or (2) a specified percentage of an amount determined pursuant to a formula that multiplies the number of children receiving special education services by the average per-pupil expenditure in public elementary and secondary schools. The bill appropriates funds for FY2027 and each subsequent fiscal year equal to the greater of a specified amount or 40% of the amount determined using such formula. Amounts appropriated shall be expended consistent with pay-as-you-go requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2017
Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2017 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to: revise and reauthorize grant programs for offender reentry demonstration projects; family-based substance abuse treatment; and evaluating and improving educational methods at prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities; and repeal grant programs for offender reentry courts and drug treatment alternatives to incarceration. Additionally, the legislation amends the Second Chance Act of 2007 to: rename, revise, and reauthorize grant programs for technology career training demonstration projects and reentry mentoring services, reauthorize offender reentry research and the grant program for offender reentry substance abuse and criminal justice collaboration, reauthorize and modify eligibility for an elderly offender early release pilot program, and repeal grant programs for the responsible reintegration of offenders and the study of Depot Naltrexone to treat heroin addiction. It amends the federal criminal code to establish partnerships between prisons and faith- or community-based nonprofit organizations to conduct activities to reduce recidivism. The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Inspector General must conduct annual audits of selected grant recipients to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of funds. The bill prohibits grants to nonprofit organizations that hold money in an offshore account to avoid tax liability. It also prohibits a grantee from using grant funds to lobby DOJ or a state, local, or tribal government regarding the award of grant funding. DOJ, in collaboration with interested persons, providers, and organizations, and state, local, and tribal governments, must coordinate and report to Congress on federal reentry programs, policies, and practices. The bill limits the use of grants for conferences that use more than $20,000 in DOJ funds.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2017
Expresses that the House of Representatives: remembers the victims, their families, the survivors, and the community one year since the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States; acknowledges the scars are still fresh and the community is still recovering from this tragedy; offers support to the brave men and women of the emergency response teams, law enforcement agencies who responded to the scene of the shooting, and the medical personnel who treated victims and survivors; acknowledges the threat of homegrown terrorists and will work together to ensure such a tragedy is not repeated; stands united together against terrorism and hatred, and will not permit prejudice, violence, and fear to diminish the U.S. ideals of compassion, liberty, equality, and freedom.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Advancing Competency-Based Education Act of 2017 This amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish competency-based education demonstration projects, which measure academic progress and attainment by the assessment of student learning in lieu of, or in addition to, credit or clock hours.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Jumpstart on College Act This bill allows the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to improve low-income and underrepresented students' post-secondary graduation rates. ED shall award competitive six-year matching grants to partnerships between an institution of higher learning and a local education agency to assist in establishing or supporting an early college high school or dual or concurrent enrollment program. ED shall also award competitive six-year matching grants to states for supporting or establishing such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Automatic Voter Registration Act This bill amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require state motor vehicle authorities, upon receiving certain identifying information with respect to an individual requesting motor vehicle authority services, to transmit the information to the state election official. The state election official shall then notify the individual that unless the individual declines to be registered to vote in federal elections in the state, the individual shall be automatically registered unless the individual does not meet voter registration eligibility requirements or is already registered to vote. A state may not use any identifying information regarding an individual's citizenship status for any purpose other than determining whether the individual is eligible to vote in federal elections.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2017
Humane Cosmetics Act This bill prohibits testing cosmetics on animals, effective on the date that is one year after enactment of this bill. No cosmetic may be sold or transported if the final product or any component was developed or manufactured using animal testing after that date, effective three years after enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2017 This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl in recognition of his acts of valor during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Miners Pension Protection Act This bill amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) to transfer certain funds to the 1974 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Pension Plan to provide pension benefits to retired coal miners and their families. The Department of the Treasury must transfer additional funds to the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan to pay pension benefits required under that plan if the amounts available for transfer under SMCRA's $490 million annual limit exceed the amounts required to be transferred for other purposes (including to the UMWA Health Plans). The bill also establishes additional reporting requirements for the plan. As an offset, the bill amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to extend the authority of Treasury to collect certain customs user fees.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Legal Services for Homeless Veterans Act of 2017 This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to enter into agreements with public or private entities to fund, through the award of a grant or the use of a contract, a portion of the pro bono legal services such entities provide to homeless veterans or veterans at risk of homelessness related to housing, family law, income support, and criminal defense.