United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2023
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1535 East Los Ebanos Boulevard in Brownsville, Texas, as the "1st Lieutenant Andres Zermeno Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2023
Protect Funding for Women's Health Care Act This bill prohibits federal funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of America or its affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, or clinics.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2023
Standing Against Houthi Aggression Act This bill requires the Department of State to designate Ansarallah as a foreign terrorist organization and the President to impose property- and visa-blocking sanctions with respect to Ansarallah and any foreign person who is a member, agent, or affiliate of, or owned or controlled by Ansarallah.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2023
This resolution condemns the support of Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations at institutions of higher education, which may lead to the creation of a hostile environment for Jewish students, faculty, and staff. It also urges the Department of Education to direct the Office for Civil Rights to investigate and, where appropriate, take immediate action.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2023
This resolution calls on the President to deny visas to and deport foreign nationals who have endorsed or espoused the terrorist activities of designated foreign terrorist organizations, specifically including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2023
This resolution calls on Hamas to immediately release hostages taken during its October 2023 attack on Israel. The resolution (1) condemns Hamas for attacking Israel, taking hostages, and for threats made against hostages; (2) demands that Hamas immediately release hostages; (3) recognizes that hostage-taking is a violation of international humanitarian law; and (4) expresses sympathy to the hostages, wounded, deceased, and their families.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2023
This bill terminates the presidential waiver of certain sanctions on Iran and the licenses issued by the Department of the Treasury that allowed for the transfer of previously blocked Iranian funds (namely, the approximately $6 billion of Iranian funds that the Biden Administration permitted to be transferred from restricted accounts in South Korea to restricted accounts in Qatar to facilitate the release of five U.S. citizens detained in Iran). Furthermore, the President may not exercise waiver authority related to certain accounts belonging to Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2023
No U.S. Financing for Iran Act of 2023 This bill prohibits certain actions related to exports, imports, and financing with respect to Iran. Specifically, the bill prohibits the Department of the Treasury from authorizing U.S. financial institution transactions in connection with the importation from or exportation to Iran of goods, services, or technology. This prohibition does not apply to the sale of agricultural commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices benefitting the civilian population of Iran. The bill requires Treasury to instruct U.S. representatives to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to (1) oppose IMF financial assistance, and the allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR), to Iran; and (2) seek to ensure that IMF member countries prohibit the exchange of SDR held by Iran. (The SDR is an international reserve asset maintained by the IMF based on contributions from IMF member countries. SDRs may be exchanged between member countries and may also be exchanged for currencies.) Further, the bill provides statutory authority for the prohibition on Export-Import Bank financing with respect to Iran. The bill's provisions shall be in effect until the earlier of (1) 30 days after the President certifies to Congress that Iran has ceased providing support for acts of international terrorism and is not a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern, or (2) 10 years after this bill's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2023
This resolution states that the House of Representatives stands with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists, reaffirms Israel's right to self-defense, and condemns Hamas' brutal war against Israel. The resolution also reaffirms the United States' commitment to Israel's security, supports emergency resupply and certain other types of assistance to Israel, and urges full enforcement of sanctions against Iran to prevent Iran's funding of terrorist groups.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2023
This resolution states that the House of Representatives stands with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists, reaffirms Israel's right to self-defense, and condemns Hamas' brutal war against Israel. The resolution also reaffirms the United States' commitment to Israel's security, supports emergency resupply and certain other types of assistance to Israel, and urges full enforcement of sanctions against Iran to prevent Iran's funding of terrorist groups.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2023
This bill prohibits the Small Business Administration from directly making a loan under the 7(a) Program, which authorizes loans and loan guaranties to small businesses that meet certain requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2023
This joint resolution nullifies the policy update issued by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) on May 5, 2022, related to discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) deemed the policy update a rule on June 5, 2023, and therefore subject to the Congressional Review Act (CRA) requirement that a rule must be submitted to Congress and the GAO before it can take effect. The CRA also permits Congress to review and disapprove rules using specified procedures. In June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Bostock v. Clayton County that, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the prohibition on sex discrimination in employment includes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The FNS determined that the Bostock analysis also applies to certain FNS-enforced requirements under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 because the requirements are sufficiently similar to those in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The FNS rule concludes that the prohibitions against sex discrimination in the FNS-enforced statutes prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. The rule also directs state agencies and program operators to handle complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation as complaints of prohibited sex discrimination.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2023
Pay Our Border Patrol and Customs Agents Act This bill provides FY2024 appropriations for the salaries and expenses of certain U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees who are required to work during a lapse in appropriations (i.e., government shutdown) in FY2024. Specifically, the bill provides appropriations to CBP for the salaries and expenses of agents of the U.S. Border Patrol and officers of the Office of Field Operations who are excepted from furlough (i.e., required to work) during a lapse in discretionary appropriations in FY2024.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2023
This resolution designates an annual Gold Star Families Remembrance Week and recognizes the sacrifices made by veterans' families and the families of members of the Armed Forces who made the ultimate sacrifice in order to defend freedom and protect the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2023
Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act This bill establishes new federal criminal offenses for operating a motor vehicle within 100 miles of the U.S. border while fleeing from a U.S. Border Patrol officer or a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer who is actively assisting or under the command of the U.S. Border Patrol. The bill establishes criminal penalties for an offense, including a mandatory minimum prison term for an offense resulting in death or serious bodily injury. Additionally, the bill establishes immigration-related penalties—a permanent bar on applying for legal status in the United States—for an offense by an individual who is unlawfully present in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2023
Insurance Data Protection Act This bill limits the ability of federal entities to compel insurance companies to share information. Specifically, the bill eliminates the subpoena power of the Federal Insurance Office. Under current law, the office has the power to subpoena information from insurers to, among other purposes, identify issues that could contribute to a systemic crisis in the insurance industry or the U.S. financial system. The bill also eliminates the ability of the Office of Financial Research to subpoena insurance companies. When seeking to collect insurance company data under specified consumer protection laws, a financial regulator must obtain the data from other regulators or from publicly available sources if possible. Otherwise, the financial regulator may only collect this data directly from the insurance company if it complies with the Paperwork Reduction Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2023
Grant Transparency Act of 2023 This bill establishes transparency requirements for notices of funding opportunity in applications for competitive grants awarded by federal agencies, excluding the Government Accountability Office. Specifically, each notice of funding opportunity issued by an agency for a competitive grant must include a description of any rating system and evaluation and selection criteria the agency uses to assess applications for the grant; a statement of whether the agency uses a weighted scoring method and a description of any such method that it uses for the grant, including the amount by which the agency weighs each criterion; and any other qualitative or quantitative merit-based approach the agency uses to evaluate an application for the grant.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2023
This resolution condemns the actions of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham for violating the Second Amendment to the Constitution and depriving the citizens of New Mexico of their right to bear arms.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2023
This bill prohibits individuals convicted of certain financial crimes from receiving assistance from the Small Business Administration (SBA). Specifically, the bill prohibits individuals who have been convicted of a crime involving financial misconduct or a false statement with respect to certain COVID-19 loans (e.g., Paycheck Protection Program loans, Restaurant Revitalization Fund grants, and Shuttered Venue Operators grants) from receiving any financial assistance from the SBA (other than a disaster loan). The prohibition includes SBA assistance to small businesses that have an owner, officer, director, or key employee who has been convicted of such a crime.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2023
This resolution expresses support for the diplomatic relations required to encourage the government of Mexico to make annual water deliveries to the United States under a 1944 treaty between the two countries. The resolution also acknowledges that farmers in south Texas are experiencing water shortages.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2023
CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act This bill prohibits a Federal Reserve bank from offering products or services directly to an individual, maintaining an account on behalf of an individual, or issuing a central bank digital currency (i.e., a digital dollar) directly or indirectly to an individual. Further, The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee are prohibited from using a central bank digital currency to implement monetary policy.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2023
Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2023 This bill phases in a new funding formula for determining benefit amounts under the windfall elimination provision (WEP). The WEP reduces Social Security retirement and disability benefits for those who receive pensions for certain non-covered employment. The new formula adjusts an individual's total lifetime earnings based on the proportion of those earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes. It applies to individuals who (1) become eligible for Social Security benefits after 2067, and (2) have earnings from non-covered service performed in a year after 1977. Beneficiaries who become eligible for benefits between 2025 and 2067 receive the higher of their benefit calculated under the existing WEP or the new formula. In addition, certain beneficiaries currently impacted by the WEP receive an additional payment. The Social Security Administration must include non-covered earnings in Social Security account statements and must study the feasibility of partnering with certain pension systems to address data sharing issues related to non-covered pensions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2023
This joint resolution nullifies the final rule submitted by the Department of Education titled Improving Income Driven Repayment for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program and published on July 10, 2023. The rule creates a new income-driven repayment plan called the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan.
United States · United States Congress · 25 August 2023
This joint resolution nullifies the final rule issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau titled Small Business Lending under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B) and published on May 31, 2023. The rule requires financial institutions to collect and report to the bureau credit application data for small businesses. On July 31, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ordered the bureau not to implement or enforce the rule until a related pending case is resolved.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2023
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1106 Main Street in Bastrop, Texas, as the "Sergeant Major Billy D. Waugh Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2023
This resolution condemns China's Hong Kong national security law (officially called The Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ) and related human rights abuses. The resolution also (1) supports the people of Hong Kong as they fight to exercise fundamental rights and freedoms; and (2) calls upon the Hong Kong government to drop all sedition and national security law-related charges and free all defendants immediately, including Jimmy Lai, Cardinal Zen, and at least 47 individuals known collectively as the Hong Kong 47.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2023
This resolution condemns Iran for the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. It also urges the Biden Administration and U.S. allies to publicly condemn the massacre and to pressure Iran to provide information to the families of the victims.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2023
Personalized Care Act of 2023 This bill revises provisions relating to health savings accounts (HSAs), including to redefine eligible individual for HSA purposes to allow increased participation in HSAs, increase the limit on contributions to HSAs, permit the payment of health insurance premiums from HSAs, include within the definition of qualified medical expenses periodic fees paid for medical services and amounts paid by a member of a health care sharing ministry, treat periodic provider fees as deductible medical expenses, and lower the 20% penalty for nonqualified distributions from HSAs to 10%.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2023
Student Debt Alternative and CTE Awareness Act This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to disclose certain information related to career and technical education. Specifically, the bill requires the Office of Federal Student Aid within ED to publish on its public website information on (1) career and technical education programs, including average completion time, program cost, and postgraduation employment rate; and (2) opportunities in each state to pursue these programs and obtain Perkins funding. In addition, ED must include this information and a related acknowledgment signature box on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2023
Stop China’s Continuous Purchase of Land Act or the Stop CCP Land Act This bill requires states that receive certain federal program funds to restrict the purchase of agricultural land by a covered foreign country. Covered foreign country means a country included in Department of State regulations as subject to certain prohibitions (i.e., Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Venezuela), as well as Russia. Specifically, a state may not receive funds for certain programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (e.g., certain energy efficiency and conservation programs) unless that state has a law prohibiting a covered foreign country (or persons acting on behalf of the country) from purchasing agricultural land in the state. Further, a state must require that a person from a covered foreign country that holds agricultural land in the state prior to the state law's enactment submit an annual report to the state on the agricultural holdings. The Department of Agriculture must submit a report to Congress on how the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 should be updated to ensure accurate documentation and monitoring of foreign investment in agricultural land. The Government Accountability Office must submit a report to Congress that includes (1) an assessment of this bill's impact on national security, and (2) any measures that can be taken to better secure U.S. real estate from foreign manipulation.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2023
Main Street Tax Certainty Act This bill makes permanent the tax deduction for qualified business income. (Under current law, the deduction expires after December 31, 2025.) Qualified business income is defined as the net amount of qualified items of income, gain, deduction and loss with respect to any trade or business, excluding capital gains or losses, dividends, interest income, or income earned outside the U.S.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2023
This resolution affirms that Israel is not a racist or apartheid state. The resolution also (1) rejects all forms of antisemitism and xenophobia, and (2) affirms that the United States will always be a staunch partner of Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2023
American Confidence in Elections Act or the ACE Act This bill addresses election administration and security, campaign finance, and other related provisions. Specifically, the bill directs the Election Assistance Commission's (EAC's) Standards Board and Local Leadership Council to issue voluntary considerations for states about various aspects of election administration. Additionally, the bill reduces certain election assistance payments for states and local jurisdictions that allow noncitizens to vote; requires states to provide designated congressional election observers with full access to observe the administration procedures of federal elections; prohibits federal agencies from using funds made available for salaries and expenses to solicit or enter into agreements with nongovernmental organizations to conduct voter registration or voter mobilization activities on the agency's property or website; prohibits federal funds for election administration for states that allow ballot harvesting, with exceptions; establishes various requirements for elections in the District of Columbia; makes various changes to the EAC; and prohibits foreign nationals from making contributions or donations in connection with state or local ballot initiatives or referenda. The bill also establishes the Twentieth Amendment Section Four Panel, which must recommend to Congress model legislation to resolve any vacancy created by the death of a candidate in a contingent presidential or vice-presidential election. The bill makes changes to campaign finance, including by (1) repealing limits on coordinated party expenditures, and (2) prohibiting federal funds from being used to make payments in support of a congressional election campaign. It also makes changes to the Federal Election Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2023
Small Bank Holding Company Relief Act of 2023 This bill requires the Federal Reserve Board to raise the consolidated asset threshold under which a specified policy statement applies to small bank holding companies. The policy statement allows small bank holding companies to operate with higher debt levels than would be allowed for larger bank holding companies.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2023
Stop Illegal Reentry Act or Kate's Law This bill increases criminal penalties for certain non-U.S. nationals ( aliens under federal law) who illegally reenter the United States after removal or exclusion. Generally, an individual who had been denied entry into or removed from the United States and who later enters or attempts to enter the United States without prior approval from the Department of Homeland Security shall be fined, imprisoned for up to five years, or both. Current law requires a fine, imprisonment for up to two years, or both, for such an individual. An individual who had been denied entry or removed three or more times and who later enters or attempts to enter the United States shall be fined, imprisoned for up to 10 years, or both. An individual who was convicted of an aggravated felony or convicted at least two times before removal or departure and who subsequently enters or tries to enter the United States shall be imprisoned at least five years and for up to twenty years, and may also be fined. Currently, there is no minimum term of imprisonment for an individual who reenters after a conviction for an aggravated felony, and there are no criminal penalties for a reentering individual who had been convicted at least two times (other than the penalties for illegal reentry generally).
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2023
Protecting Consumers from Abusive Mortgage Leads Act This bill prohibits a credit reporting agency from providing a consumer's credit report to a third party in connection with a mortgage transaction unless (1) the third party provides documentation certifying that it has the consumer's consent, or (2) the third party has a current financial service relationship with the consumer.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2023
U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson Memorial VA Clinic Act This bill designates the community-based outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Plano, Texas, as the U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson Memorial VA Clinic.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2023
This joint resolution nullifies the Environmental Protection Agency rule relating to Federal "Good Neighbor Plan" for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (88 Fed. Reg. 36654) and published on June 5, 2023. The rule ensures that 23 states meet "Good Neighbor" standards required by the Clean Air Act by reducing pollution that significantly contributes to problems attaining and maintaining health-based air quality standards for ground-level ozone in downwind states.