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United States · Official source
8,769 records where Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2019
This concurrent resolution expresses support for efforts to ensure that all women have access to comprehensive, preventative, and affordable health care services and are able to receive unbiased information about those services.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2019
Fallen Warrior Battlefield Cross Memorial Act of 2019 This bill provides that the Department of Veterans Affairs may not prohibit the display of a Battlefield Cross in any national cemetery. A Battlefield Cross is a memorial monument in honor of deceased members of the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2019
This resolution celebrates the 100th anniversary of the passage and ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, providing for women's suffrage. The resolution also reaffirms the desire of Congress to continue strengthening democratic participation.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2019
Election Security Act of 2019 This bill addresses election security through grant programs and requirements for voting systems and paper ballots. The bill establishes requirements for voting systems, including that systems (1) use individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots; (2) make a voter's marked ballot available for inspection and verification by the voter before the vote is cast; (3) ensure that individuals with disabilities are given an equivalent opportunity to vote, including with privacy and independence, in a manner that produces a voter-verified paper ballot; and (4) be manufactured in the United States. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must award grants to study, test, and develop accessible voter-verified paper ballot voting and best practices to enhance the accessibility of such voting for individuals with disabilities, for voters whose primary language is not English, and for voters with difficulties in literacy. The EAC must award grants to states to (1) replace certain voting systems, carry out voting system security improvements, and implement and model best practices for ballot design, ballot instructions, and the testing of ballots; and (2) conduct risk-limiting audits. The bill provides for information sharing with states regarding threats to election infrastructure. The Department of Homeland Security must issue a national strategy to protect against cyberattacks, influence operations, disinformation campaigns, and other activities that could undermine the security and integrity of democratic institutions. The EAC must provide for the testing of voting system hardware and software and decertify such technology that does not meet guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2019
Stopping The Outrageous Practice of Surprise Medical Bills Act of 2019 or the STOP Surprise Medical Bills Act of 2019 This bill prohibits health care providers and health insurance plans from billing enrollees in excess of the in-network amount for specified health care services provided out-of-network. Specifically, a plan or provider may not charge an enrollee more than the in-network amount for services that are emergency services provided by an out-of-network provider or at an out-of-network facility; nonemergency services provided at an in-network facility by an out-of-network provider; or nonemergency services provided out-of-network to an enrollee who initially enters through an emergency room for emergency services, except under specified circumstances. Additionally, health insurance plans must pay the median in-network amount, minus the enrollee's in-network cost-sharing amount, directly to a health care provider. The bill also establishes an independent review process to resolve billing disputes between insurance plans and providers.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2019
Youth Access to Sexual Health Services Act of 2019 This bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to support the access of marginalized youth to sexual health services such as sexual health education and contraception. The bill defines marginalized youth as a person under the age of 26 who is disadvantaged by underlying structural barriers and social inequity . Grants may be used to (1) provide sexual health information to marginalized youth, (2) promote effective communication regarding sexual health among marginalized youth, (3) promote and support opportunities for school-age parents, and (4) train individuals who work with marginalized youth to promote sexual health and the development of safe and supportive environments. Grants may not be used to provide access to health services that (1) are medically unsound; (2) withhold sexual health-promoting or lifesaving information; (3) promote gender stereotypes; or (4) are insensitive or unresponsive to the needs of young people, including youth with varying gender identities and sexual orientations, sexually active youth, pregnant or parenting youth, and survivors of sexual abuse or assault. Unobligated funds for abstinence education are transferred and made available for these grants.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2019
Real Education for Healthy Youth Act of 2019 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in coordination with certain HHS components, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Education, to award grants for comprehensive sex education for adolescents. It also awards grants for comprehensive sex education provided by institutions of higher education and for training faculty and staff to teach comprehensive sex education to adolescents. Comprehensive sex education programs may include, among other things, instruction that addresses the physical, mental, emotional, and social dimensions of human sexuality and approaches designed to motivate and assist students to maintain and improve their sexual health, prevent disease and reduce sexual health-related risk behaviors. Grant funds generally may not be used for specified purposes, including to (1) withhold specified health information related to HIV, (2) provide medically inaccurate information, or (3) promote gender or racial stereotypes. The bill also revises requirements and eliminates prohibitions regarding the content of educational programs funded through the HIV/AIDS prevention program, repeals the prohibition on using funds for materials or programs that promote or encourage sexual activity and contraceptive distribution in school, and repeals the Abstinence Only Until Marriage program.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2019
Help Students Vote Act This bill addresses voter registration of students who attend institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in federal student aid programs. Specifically, this bill (1) requires IHEs to make a good faith effort to distribute voter registration forms to each of their students at least twice a year, (2) authorizes grants to IHEs that greatly exceed the requirements governing the distribution of voter registration forms, and (3) allows civil actions against IHEs that violate the requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2019
Restoring Justice for Workers Act This bill prohibits predispute arbitration agreements that require arbitration of an employment dispute. It allows a postdispute arbitration agreement if the employee enters into it voluntarily without coercion and is informed in writing of rights and protections under such agreement. An employer may not retaliate against an employee for refusing to enter into an agreement for arbitrating an employment dispute.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2019
Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act or the Healthy MOM Act This bill expands health insurance coverage availability for pregnant individuals. It requires health insurers, health insurance exchanges, and group health plans to offer a special enrollment period to pregnant individuals. The special enrollment period offered by an insurer or exchange must begin when the pregnancy is reported to the insurer or exchange. The special enrollment period offered by a group health plan must begin when the pregnancy is reported to the plan or is confirmed by a health care provider. The bill also makes pregnancy a qualifying life event for the purpose of enrolling in a federal employee health benefit plan. Additionally, a group health plan or health insurer that covers dependents must provide coverage for maternity care to all covered individuals. Any individual who is eligible for Medicaid and is, or becomes, pregnant maintains such eligibility for one year after the end of the pregnancy. The bill revises the range in which a state must establish a maximum level of family income for pregnant women and infants to be eligible for Medicaid. The upper limit of the range is eliminated and the lower limit is set to the level in place on January 1, 2014.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2019
Protecting American Votes and Elections Act of 2019 This bill addresses the security of federal elections, including by requiring paper ballots, requiring audits of election results, and establishing requirements for election cybersecurity. The bill provides requirements for ballots. Voting systems must use a paper ballot that is verifiable by a voter before being cast and these ballots must be retained for recounts or audits. During a recount, ballots must be counted by hand. States and jurisdictions must perform an audit of an election that must include a manual adjudication of voter intent from some or all of the ballots cast. The audit results must meet specified statistical requirements and must be published before such election is certified. The bill provides a private right of action for any person aggrieved by a violation of voting system or audit requirements. The Election Assistance Commission must provide funds to states to replace paperless voting systems to comply with requirements of the bill, for the acquisition of accessible ballot marking devices for voters with disabilities, for certain ballot design and printing costs, and for certain election audit costs. The bill also directs the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within in the Department of Homeland Security to set mandatory election cybersecurity standards, including those regarding optical scanning devices, ballot marking devices, election management systems, voter registration websites, and election results systems.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2019
This concurrent resolution (1) specifies that the United States should encourage all parties to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to comply with it fully, (2) encourages the United States to engage with Russia on strategic stability issues and other arms control and nonproliferation issues, and (3) condemns Russia's nonadherence to its treaty obligations regarding intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2019
This resolution expresses gratitude for those who operate or support diaper banks and diaper distribution programs in their local communities and support efforts by such banks and programs in response to natural disasters.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2019
Law Enforcement Training for Mental Health Crisis Response Act of 2019 This bill directs the Office of Justice Programs within the Department of Justice to award grants to law enforcement agencies for behavioral health crisis response training.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2019
This resolution designates the week of May 12-May 18, 2019, as National Police Week.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2019
This bill addresses retirement benefits for certain Senate Restaurants employees who were Architect of the Capitol (AOC) employees and who became employees of a contractor under a food services contract. A provision that deems their rate of basic pay the same as such rate when AOC entered into the contract no longer applies to their retirement benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2019
Retirement Parity for Student Loans Act This bill allows certain employer-sponsored retirement plans to make matching contributions for an employee's student loan payments as if the loan payments were salary reduction contributions to the retirement plan.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2019
Strength in Diversity Act of 2019 This bill directs the Department of Education to award grants to specified educational agencies to develop or implement plans to improve diversity and reduce or eliminate racial or socioeconomic isolation in publicly funded early childhood education programs, public elementary schools, or public secondary schools.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2019
Student Borrower Bankruptcy Relief Act of 2019 This bill permits a borrower to discharge in bankruptcy a nonprofit, government, or private student loan, or an obligation to repay an educational benefit, scholarship, or stipend.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2019
This bill directs the Election Assistance Commission to create a national federal write-in absentee ballot that must be made available on the internet in a printable format. States must permit certain individuals to use the ballot to cast a vote in any election for federal office. The individuals who qualify to use the ballot are those who reside in an area where a state of emergency has been declared by the state due to a natural disaster, expect to be absent from their jurisdiction on election day due to professional or volunteer service in response to a natural disaster or emergency, expect to be hospitalized on election day, or requested an absentee ballot but did not receive it in time for it to be counted in the election.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2019
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act This bill addresses the rights of public safety officers or employees to form and join a labor organization and to participate in certain organized job actions. The bill requires the Federal Labor Relations Authority (NLRA) to determine whether a state substantially provides public safety officers or employees the right to form and join a labor organization; recognition by public safety employers of the employees' labor organization, agreement to bargain with the organization, and reduction of any agreements to writing in a contract or memorandum of understanding; the right to bargain over hours, wages, and terms and conditions of employment; and binding interest arbitration to resolve an impasse in collective bargaining negotiations. The bill makes the NLRA responsible for (1) determining the appropriateness of units for labor representation; (2) supervising elections; (3) conducting hearings and resolving complaints of unfair labor practices; and (4) protecting the right of employees to form, join, or assist any labor organization, or to refrain from doing so. An employer, public safety officer, or labor organization may not engage in a lockout, sickout, work slowdown, strike, or any other organized job action that will measurably disrupt the delivery of emergency services and is designed to compel an employer, public safety officer, or labor organization to agree to the terms of a proposed contract.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2019
Ban Conflicted Trading Act This bill prohibits a Member of Congress or certain congressional officers or employees from (1) purchasing or selling specified investments, (2) entering into a transaction that creates a net short position in a security, or (3) serving as an officer or member of any board of any for-profit entity.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2019
Fair Accountability and Innovative Research Drug Pricing Act of 2019 This bill requires manufacturers to report about certain price increases for prescription drugs and biological products with a wholesale cost of at least $100 per month. Such reports must include, among other information (1) the percentage price increase, (2) a justification for such increase, (3) the price history of the drug, (4) the total cost to develop the drug, and (5) the total revenue and net profit generated from the drug.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2019
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure that, if it creates a presumption of service-connection between the occurrence of a disease and exposure to an herbicide agent while serving in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era at a military base in Thailand, such presumption must also apply to exposure at any military base in Thailand, regardless of where on the base the veteran was located or what military job specialty the veteran performed. Additionally, the bill extends eligibility for VA health care, vocational training and rehabilitation, and monetary allowance to children with spina bifida who have at least one veteran parent who may have been exposed to an herbicide agent while serving in Thailand between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2019
Gold Star Family Tax Relief Act This bill treats certain military survivor benefits that are received by children as earned income of the child for the purposes of the kiddie tax (the tax on the unearned income of children). This has the effect of exempting the benefits from such tax.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2019
Family First Transition and Support Act of 2019 This bill eliminates income-based limitations on a child's eligibility for federal foster care support and makes other changes to funding for, and administration of, grants and programs for child welfare in states and tribes. The bill increases funding for activities including (1) training of child welfare workers, foster parents, and those working in the court system; (2) research on evidence-based practices to prevent child abuse and neglect; and (3) regional partnerships between child welfare agencies and others to address a parent's, or other caregiver's, substance use disorder. The bill's changes to the administration of child welfare programs include, for example, delaying until FY2027 a requirement for states to expend a minimum percentage of funding for child abuse prevention services on only those services that meet certain criteria for effectiveness. In addition, the bill expands the scope of certain grants to include kinship placement services and allows the use of federal funds to address issues that may put a child at risk of entering foster care, such as by providing assistance with housing and utility payments.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2019
Opioid Quota Openness, Transparency, and Awareness Act of 2019 or the Opioid QuOTA Act This bill requires the Drug Enforcement Administration to make publicly available on its website certain information regarding opioid procurement quotas. The term "opioid procurement quota" means the maximum quantity of opioid analgesics that a registered manufacturer may procure.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2019
Nurse Staffing Standards for Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2019 This bill requires hospitals to implement and submit to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a staffing plan that complies with specified minimum nurse-to-patient ratios by unit. Hospitals must post a notice regarding nurse-to-patient ratios in each unit and maintain records of actual ratios for each shift in each unit. The bill also requires hospitals to follow certain procedures regarding how ratios are determined and other staff are prohibited from performing nurse functions unless specifically authorized within a state's scope of practice rules, among other requirements. HHS must adjust Medicare payments to hospitals to cover additional costs attributable to compliance with these ratios. Nurses may object to, or refuse to participate in, an assignment if it would violate minimum ratios or if they are not prepared by education or experience to fulfill the assignment without compromising the safety of a patient or jeopardizing their nurse's license. Hospitals may not (1) take adverse actions against a nurse based on the nurse's reasonable refusal to accept an assignment; or (2) discriminate against individuals for good faith complaints relating to the care, services, or conditions of the hospital or related facilities. HHS may impose civil monetary penalties on hospitals violating the ratio requirements and must publish the names of such hospitals. The bill provides stipends to the nurse workforce loan repayment and scholarship program and expands the nurse retention grant program to include nurse preceptorship and mentorship projects.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2019
This resolution thanks the teachers of the United States and promotes the teaching profession by encouraging students, parents, school administrators, and public officials to participate in National Teacher Appreciation Week.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2019
Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights This bill places additional requirements on postsecondary educational lenders and servicers and provides certain consumer protections to borrowers. Specifically, postsecondary educational lenders and servicers must provide borrowers with additional disclosures (1) before their first fully amortized payment is due, (2) when the borrower is identified as at risk of default, (3) when the borrower is delinquent on payments or has difficulty making payments, and (4) when a loan is transferred or sold. Further, servicers and lenders must (1) respond to borrower inquiries, (2) establish repayment specialists to assist borrowers who are at risk of default, (3) designate a service member and veterans liaison, and (4) make borrower loan information available in a secure electronic form. Servicers and lenders are prohibited from using mandatory arbitration clauses or class action restrictions. The bill also (1) standardizes the application and allocation of payments among multiple loans, and (2) limits when borrowers may be subject to late fees. Additionally, institutions of higher education must certify private education loans prior to a lender consummating a loan with a borrower. The bill directs the Department of Education to (1) establish a student loan servicing interagency working group, which must make recommendations and develop policy direction related to servicing contracts; and (2) establish a centralized point of access for all borrowers, which must include account information and payment processing. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must develop and issue model forms to allow borrowers to compare alternative repayment options, forbearance, and deferment options.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2019
Beyond the Box for Higher Education Act of 2019 This bill removes drug conviction questions from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It also requires the Department of Education to issue guidance and recommendations for institutions of higher education to remove criminal and juvenile justice questions from their admission applications.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2019
BuyAmerican.gov Act of 2019 This bill directs the President and specified federal agencies to take steps to increase transparency and limit the use of waivers of Buy American laws. Generally, Buy American requires agencies to procure domestic goods. The bill requires (1) the Department of Commerce to report periodically to Congress and the President on the implementation of, and compliance with, Buy American laws; (2) Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to assess the impacts of all U.S. free trade agreements and the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement on the operation of such laws; and (3) the General Services Administration (GSA) to establish a free, publicly available BuyAmerican.gov website. Public interest waivers from Buy American laws shall be construed to ensure the maximum utilization of goods, products, and materials produced in the United States. The President shall develop a mechanism to collect information on requests to waive Buy American laws and other domestic content restrictions for purposes of providing early notice to possible waivers via the website. Executive agencies shall make information concerning the intention to issue a waiver or exception in connection with a federal procurement available to the GSA at least 20 days prior to waiving a Buy American law. The Government Accountability Office shall report to Congress within two years of this bill's enactment describing the bill's implementation.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2019
This resolution supports the designation of the week of May 5-May 11, 2019, as National Small Business Week.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2019
This resolution expresses support for National Minority Health Month in April 2019.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2019
This resolution condemns the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka by Islamist extremists against innocent civilians on Easter Sunday. It also offers condolences to the victims and their families and friends. It notes the importance of national unity in light of the 10th anniversary of the end of Sri Lanka's civil war.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2019
Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019 This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act and related labor laws to extend protections to union workers. Specifically, it revises the definition of "employee" and "supervisor" to prevent employers from classifying employees as exempt from labor law protections, expands unfair labor practices to include prohibitions against replacement of or discrimination against workers who participate in strikes, makes it an unfair labor practice to require or coerce employees to attend employer meetings designed to discourage union membership, permits workers to participate in collective or class action litigation, allows injunctions against employers engaging in unfair labor practices involving discharge or serious economic harm to an employee, expands penalties for labor law violations, including interference with the National Labor Relations Board or causing serious economic harm to an employee, and allows any person to bring a civil action for harm caused by labor law violations or unfair labor practices.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2019
National Law Enforcement Museum Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins that are emblematic of the National Law Enforcement Museum in the District of Columbia and of the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers throughout the history of the United States. All sales of such coins shall include specified surcharges, which shall be distributed to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Inc., for educational and outreach programs and exhibits.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2019
21st Century STEM for Girls and Underrepresented Minorities Act This bill directs the Department of Education to make grants to local educational agencies to pay the costs of carrying out STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education activities for girls and underrepresented minorities.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2019
Save Arms control and Verification Efforts Act of 2019 or SAVE Act This bill requires reports related to extension of the Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START Treaty) and prohibits increases in the number of certain U.S. weapons should the treaty lapse. The following reports to Congress shall be required if the parties to the treaty do not finalize a treaty extension: separate reports from the President, the Department of Defense, and the Department of State justifying why the treaty has not been extended and certifying that it is in national security interests to not extend; and an assessment by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence of why the treaty has not been extended, including a certification that the United States will not lose intelligence into Russia's nuclear program. The bill also requires reports to Congress on the effect of a treaty lapse on U.S. intelligence-collection capabilities, the structure of the Armed Forces, U.S. nuclear weapons programs, and foreign relations. The President shall report to Congress on the progress of treaty-related discussions with Russia and a strategy for future strategic arms control agreements with Russia. The bill prohibits increasing the number of various U.S. weapons (such as deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles) above specified thresholds if the treaty lapses or if the President takes certain actions to withdraw from or suspend the treaty, unless the President certifies that Russia has made certain militarily significant increases to its weapons stockpiles.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2019
Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification Act of 2019 or the BENES Act of 2019 This bill makes a series of changes to, and requires additional notifications regarding, the Medicare enrollment process. Specifically, the bill changes the Medicare general enrollment period to October 15-December 31, and requires coverage to begin on the first day of the month following enrollment. (Currently, the general enrollment period is January 1-March 31, and coverage begins July 1.) The bill also generally requires coverage to begin on the first day of the month following enrollment for individuals who enroll in the latter months of their initial enrollment period. (Currently, the longer an individual waits to enroll, the more delayed the effective date of coverage.) The bill also requires Social Security account statements for individuals ages 60 to 64 to include information about Medicare eligibility, late enrollment penalties, coordination of benefits, and special enrollment populations (e.g., veterans).
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2019
National Museum of the American Latino Act This bill establishes the National Museum of the American Latino in the Smithsonian Institution. The purposes of the museum are to (1) illuminate Latino contributions to the story of the United States; (2) provide for the collection, study, research, publication, and establishment of exhibitions and programs related to Latino life, art, history, and culture; and (3) provide for collaboration with Smithsonian Institution museums and research centers and other museums and educational institutions in the United States and abroad to promote the study and appreciation of Latino life, art, history, culture, and its impact on society in the United States. The bill establishes a Board of Trustees for the museum to advise and assist the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian on all matters related to the administration and preservation of the museum. The Director of the museum shall manage the museum and may carry out educational and liaison programs in support of its goals. The Board of Regents shall designate a site for the museum and is authorized to design and construct it.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2019
Patient Access to Cellular Transplant Act or the PACT Act This bill specifies that payment under Medicare to a hospital for the acquisition costs of an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (e.g., bone marrow transplant from a donor) must be made on a reasonable cost basis (similar to the current payment methodology for solid organ acquisitions). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must determine included items through regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2019
Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act This bill revises requirements regarding the sale and delivery of electronic nicotine delivery systems (e.g., e-cigarettes, e-hookah, e-cigars, and vape pens). Specifically, the bill subjects the sale and delivery of these systems to certain requirements, including tax, licensing, and labeling requirements; prohibits the sale and delivery of these systems to anyone under the legal age to purchase tobacco products; and requires the U.S. Postal Service to implement regulations to prohibit the mailing of these systems. The bill does not apply to products approved by the Food and Drug Administration for tobacco cessation or any other therapeutic purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2019
Women's Suffrage Centennial Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 400,000 $1 silver coins that are emblematic of the women who played a vital role in rallying support for the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Such coins may be issued during the period beginning on January 1, 2020, and ending on December 31, 2020. All surcharges received from the sales of such coins shall be paid to the American Women's History Initiative of the Smithsonian Institution.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2019
Tobacco to 21 Act This bill prohibits the sale of tobacco products to (1) anyone under the age of 21, or (2) anyone under the age of 30 without photo identification of the purchaser's age. The Food and Drug Administration must enforce this prohibition by, for example, conducting undercover compliance checks, performing retailer inspections, and initiating enforcement actions for noncompliance. The bill establishes penalties for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2019
American Cures Act This bill requires certain adjustments to discretionary spending limits over FY2020-FY2024 to accommodate increases in appropriations for agencies that perform biomedical research. Adjustments are required for the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense health program, and the Department of Veterans Affairs medical and prosthetics research program. The bill also requires annual appropriations in FY2020-FY2024 for each of the programs and agencies referenced in this bill to be at least the amount appropriated for FY2019. The bill exempts appropriations provided pursuant to this bill from sequestration. Sequestration is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2019
Protecting American Consumers from Robocalls Act This bill expands the private right of action that is available against telemarketers that call individuals who have registered their phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. The bill permits bringing a lawsuit after receiving one such call, while current law requires at least two calls from the same telemarketer within a 12-month period before a lawsuit can be filed.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2019
Revitalizing the Economy of Coal Communities by Leveraging Local Activities and Investing More Act of 2019 or the RECLAIM Act of 2019 This bill expands and revises the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund to provide support for economic revitalization, diversification, and development in economically distressed mining communities through the reclamation and restoration of land and water resources adversely affected by coal mining carried out before August 3, 1977. Specifically, it makes specified funds available to the Department of the Interior through FY2024 for distribution to states and Indian tribes for reclaiming and restoring abandoned mine lands and waters in such communities.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2019
Military Housing Oversight and Service Member Protection Act This bill addresses Department of Defense (DOD) oversight and service member protections in DOD-sponsored private military housing. Among other things, the bill covers contracts, unit inspection, remedying substandard conditions, handling housing-related injuries, and prohibiting improper financial interests by public officials. Specifically, DOD must establish requirements for entering into and renewing contracts with private landlords and must make the financial details of such agreements public. DOD must employ certified independent housing inspectors to ensure that private military housing units are safe, clean, and adequate, and that they meet federal, state, and local laws and standards of habitability. DOD must allow state and local housing inspectors to conduct no-notice inspections, including on military installations. DOD must require each landlord to provide access to the landlord's maintenance work order system. Service members may file a claim with DOD to withhold the basic allowance for housing if a landlord has not met maintenance guidelines or the unit is uninhabitable according to state and local law. Military treatment facilities must screen service members and family members for medical conditions resulting from unsafe private housing, and landlords must pay medical bills associated with housing-related injuries. The Department of Veterans Affairs must provide similar care for veterans and their families. The bill prohibits members of defense-related congressional committees and certain military officers and high-level DOD employees from having a financial interest in private military housing. Violations are subject to civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2019
Protecting Beneficiary Access to Complex Rehab Technology Act of 2019 This bill excludes specified wheelchairs and associated accessories from Medicare's competitive acquisition program (in which rates are set through a competitive bidding program rather than by an established fee schedule).