United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2018
Congratulates the students, families, teachers, administrators, and staff of public charter schools across the United States for: (1) making ongoing contributions to public education, (2) making impressive strides in closing the academic achievement gap in U.S. schools, and (3) improving and strengthening the public school system. Expresses support for the ideals and goals of the 19th annual National Charter Schools Week.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2018
Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018 This bill reauthorizes through FY2023 various programs relating to pandemic and all-hazards preparedness, including: the Hospital Preparedness Program, biosurveillance programs, the emergency system for advanced registration of volunteer health professionals, the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters, the Strategic National Stockpile, the National Disaster Medical System, the Medical Reserve Corps, and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and the BioShield Special Reserve Fund. The bill requires the National Health Security Strategy developed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to describe potential emergency health security threats and identify the process for achieving the preparedness goals. The bill also requires HHS to develop guidelines to inform regional systems of hospitals and health care facilities of capabilities to treat patients affected by chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear threats. The bill reauthorizes through FY2023 funding for medical facilities of the Veterans Administration and for influenza vaccine tracking and distribution.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2018
Regional Health Care Emergency Preparedness and Response Systems Act This bill requires the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to publish guidelines for health care facilities on responding to a public health emergency involving chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear agents. ASPR may also establish a demonstration program to improve medical response systems in accordance with the guidelines. The Government Accountability Office must report on the progress of health care facilities in implementing the guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2018
Music Modernization Act This bill makes various changes to copyright law related to sound recordings, including providing protection for sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, creating a system for paying royalties to producers and sound engineers, and establishing a statutory blanket license for digital music services. The blanket license allows music services to distribute sound recordings covered by the license without negotiating for the rights for each individual recording, as long as the music service complies with the license's requirements, such as paying the required royalties.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2018
This bill requires the Department of Transportation to establish a standard of service animal behavior training that an individual with a disability shall adhere to in seeking accommodation involving a service animal from an air carrier, including any foreign air carrier, providing air transportation. Any individual who knowingly and willfully makes a false statement to obtain an accommodation involving a service animal from an air carrier is subject to specified criminal penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2018
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable John Melcher, Senator from Montana. Declares that when the Senate adjourns April 18, 2018, it stands adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased Senator Melcher.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2018
Designates March 29, 2018, as Vietnam Veterans Day. Recognizes the contributions of veterans who served in Vietnam or in support of operations in Vietnam during war and peace.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2018
Hemp Farming Act of 2018 This bill legalizes industrial hemp that has a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana) concentration of no more than 0.3% by removing it from schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. States and Indian tribes may regulate the production of hemp by submitting a plan to the Department of Agriculture (USDA). The bill also makes hemp producers eligible for the federal crop insurance program and certain USDA research grants.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2018
This bill requires the Department of Defense to conduct a pilot program for special operations forces medics to earn credits toward a master's degree of physician assistant.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2018
Stephen Michael Gleason Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Stephen Michael Gleason.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2018
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Daniel K. Akaka, Senator from Hawaii. Declares that when the Senate adjourns April 10, 2018, it stands adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased Senator.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2018
Extends deepest condolences and gratitude to the family of Zell Bryan Miller, the former governor and Senator of Georgia. Honors his legacy and life, his commitment to the people of Georgia and the United States, and his service to the Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns April 10, 2018, it stands adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late Senator Miller.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2018
Secure Elections Act This bill gives the Department of Homeland Security primary responsibility within the federal government for sharing information about election cybersecurity incidents, threats, and vulnerabilities with federal entities and election agencies. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) shall establish an advisory panel of independent experts to develop guidelines on election cybersecurity, including standards for procuring, maintaining, testing, auditing, operating, and updating election systems. The EAC shall award election system cybersecurity and modernization grants to states and election agencies to implement the advisory panel's guidelines. Grants shall be awarded to: (1) remediate vulnerabilities identified by a cybersecurity evaluation, (2) replace electronic voting systems that are not optical scanners that read paper ballots, and (3) reimburse states for statistical audits of ballots in close federal elections.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2018
Motorsports Fairness and Permanency Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the classification, for depreciation purposes, of any motorsports entertainment complex as seven-year property.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2018
This joint resolution extends the sympathies of Congress to the family of the Reverend William "Billy" F. Graham, Jr., and honors his life, his ministry, and his contributions to North Carolina, the United States, and the moral and religious life of millions of individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2018
Recognizes Black History Month as an opportunity to reflect on U.S. history and to commemorate the contributions of African Americans. Calls for the United States to: (1) honor the contribution of pioneers who helped to ensure its legacy; and (2) move forward as a nation "indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2018
Honors the 50th anniversary of the first 9-1-1 call and the lifesaving contributions of public safety telecommunicators and first responders facilitated by 9-1-1 systems.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2018
Self-Initiation Trade Enforcement Act of 2018 This bill amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to establish a task force in the International Trade Administration. The task force must identify countervailable subsidies and dumping that cause injury to or threaten to injure a domestic industry.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2018
This bill modifies the formula that the Department of Transportation uses to apportion federal highway funds among the states for the national highway performance program, the surface transportation block grant program, the highway safety improvement program, the congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program, the national highway freight program, and metropolitan transportation planning.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2018
Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act or the CLOUD Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to specify that an electronic communication service (ECS) or remote computing service (RCS) provider must comply with existing requirements to preserve, backup, or disclose the contents of an electronic communication or noncontent records or information pertaining to a customer or subscriber, regardless of whether the communication or record is located within or outside the United States. An ECS or RCS provider may challenge a domestic warrant that compels disclosure of the contents of an electronic communication if: the customer or subscriber is not a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, corporation, or other unincorporated entity; the customer or subscriber does not reside in the United States; and the required disclosure creates a material risk that the provider violates the laws of a foreign government with which the United States has in effect an executive agreement on data access. In response to an order from a foreign government with which the United States has an executive agreement on data access, an ECS or RCS provider may: intercept or disclose the contents of an electronic communication, and disclose the contents of a stored electronic communication or noncontent records or information pertaining to a subscriber or customer. It establishes a framework to allow the United States to enter into executive agreements with foreign governments to govern data access. To be valid, an executive agreement must meet certain requirements, including that the foreign government affords robust procedural privacy protections and adopts minimization procedures. This bill does not preclude a foreign authority from obtaining assistance in a criminal investigation or prosecution.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2018
Justice Served Act of 2018 This bill amends the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 to add, as a purpose area under the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program, increasing the capacity of prosecutors to address the backlog of violent crime cases involving suspects identified through DNA evidence. The Department of Justice (DOJ) must allocate a specified percentage of grant funds for such purpose, subject to limitations. Additionally, of amounts made available over FY2019-FY2022 for a DNA analysis and capacity enhancement program and for other forensic activities, DOJ must allocate at least 5% for grants to prosecute cold cases involving violent crime, where suspects have been identified through DNA evidence.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2018
Designates the week of January 21-January 27, 2018, as National School Choice Week. Encourages all parents to learn more about the educational options available.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2018
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for any person to perform or attempt to perform an abortion if the probable post-fertilization age of the fetus is 20 weeks or more. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. The bill provides exceptions for an abortion: (1) that is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, or (2) when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. A physician who performs or attempts to perform an abortion under an exception must comply with specified requirements. A woman who undergoes a prohibited abortion may not be prosecuted for violating or conspiring to violate the provisions of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 2018
Protecting Veterans from Predatory Lending Act of 2018 The bill establishes mortgage loan protections for veterans. A refinanced home loan may not be guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) unless: (1) a specified minimum time period has passed between the original loan and the refinancing; and (2) the lender complies with provisions related to fee recoupment, mortgage interest rates, and net tangible benefit tests. The National Housing Act is amended to prohibit the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) from guaranteeing a new refinanced VA loan until the later of: (1) 210 days after the first loan payment, or (2) the sixth monthly loan payment.
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 2017
Celebrates the 150th anniversaries of nine historically black colleges and universities and honors the accomplishments of historically Black colleges and universities in general.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2017
Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Reauthorization Act of 2017 This bill extends the authority of the Department of the Interior to furnish assistance for the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area in North Carolina for four more years.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2017
Recognizes the 69th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the celebration of Human Rights Day. Supports the ideals of human rights and reaffirms the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Encourages all nations to continue working towards freedom, peace, and security which can be achieved through democracy, respect for human rights, and the rule of law.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2017
Veterans Community Care and Access Act of 2017 This bill revises requirements governing health care benefits provided to veterans under programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including to: (1) replace the existing VA programs that provide hospital care, medical services, and extended care services to veterans in their communities at non-VA facilities or through non-VA providers with a new Veterans Community Care Program; and (2) provide funds for veterans health care.
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 2017
Ending Nonconsensual Online User Graphic Harassment Act of 2017 or the ENOUGH Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly distribute (or intentionally threaten to distribute) an intimate visual depiction of an individual with knowledge of or reckless disregard for the individual's lack of consent, reasonable expectation of privacy, and potential harm; and without a reasonable belief that such distribution touches a matter of public concern. It imposes criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both—on a violator.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Hospital Payment Fairness Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to terminate the requirement for certain budget-neutrality requirements associated with the Medicare hospital wage-index floor to be applied on a national, rather than state-level, basis.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2017
Fix NICS Act of 2017 This bill amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to require each federal agency and department, including a federal court, to: certify whether it has provided to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) disqualifying records of persons prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm, and establish and substantially comply with an implementation plan to maximize record submissions and verify their accuracy. The bill amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to: direct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish a state implementation plan, including benchmarks, to maximize the automation and submission of mental health and criminal history records to the NICS; waive the grant match requirement under the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) for a state that complies with its implementation plan; reauthorize through FY2022 the NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP); establish, as a priority area for NARIP grant funding, a domestic abuse and violence prevention initiative; and create a funding preference under the NARIP program for states that establish an implementation plan and use grant funds to upload felony conviction and domestic violence records. It amends the Crime Identification Technology Act of 1998 to reauthorize through FY2022 the NCHIP program. If a state complies with its implementation plan, then the federal share of an NCHIP grant may exceed 90% of program costs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2017
Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2017 This bill directs the House of Representatives and the Senate to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the U.S. merchant mariners of World War II in recognition of their service during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2017
USS Indianapolis Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the House of Representatives and the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design to the crew of the USS Indianapolis , in recognition of their perseverance, bravery, and service to the United States. Following the award of the gold medal, it shall be given to the Indiana War Memorial Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, where it will be displayed and made available for research. It is the sense of Congress that the Indiana War Memorial Museum should make the gold medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at other locations and events associated with the USS Indianapolis.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2017
Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2017 This bill amends the Defense Production Act of 1950 to expand the scope of "covered transaction" subject to the review of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). CFIUS analyzes the national security implications of foreign investment in the United States. A covered transaction includes: any merger, acquisition, or takeover that could result in foreign control of any U.S. business, the purchase or lease of real estate located in the United States that is in close proximity to a U.S. military installation or to another U.S. government facility or property that is sensitive for reasons relating to national security, other investment in a U.S. critical technology company or U.S. critical infrastructure company, any change in a foreign investor's rights that results in foreign control of a U.S. business, the contribution of intellectual property to a foreign person, or any other transaction, transfer, agreement, or arrangement designed to evade or circumvent the authority of CFIUS. The bill revises other provisions relating to CFIUS, including the length of its review period, special hiring authority and funding, and authority to mandate reviews or take unilateral action.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
Kevin and Avonte's Law of 2017 Missing Americans Alert Program Act of 2017 This bill amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to revise, rename, and reauthorize through FY2022 the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program. It directs the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Bureau of Justice Assistance to award grants: to develop or operate programs to prevent wandering and locate missing individuals with dementia or children with developmental disabilities, and to develop tracking technology programs to locate missing individuals with dementia or children with developmental disabilities. The bill amends the Missing Children's Assistance Act to specify that, with respect to training and technical assistance provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, cases involving missing and exploited children include cases involving children with developmental disabilities such as autism. DOJ must establish and certain grant recipients must comply with standards and best practices related to the use of tracking technology to locate missing individuals with dementia or developmental disabilities. The bill prohibits the use of data from tracking devices to create a federal database. It also prohibits construing this bill to require a parent or guardian to use a tracking device.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
EHR Regulatory Relief Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a 90-day performance period with respect to determining whether an eligible professional or hospital is a meaningful electronic health record (EHR) user. Additionally, the bill: (1) requires the CMS to consider specified findings and recommendations of the Government Accountability Office with respect to assessing whether an eligible professional is a meaningful EHR user, (2) allows the CMS to determine that an eligible hospital is a meaningful EHR user if the hospital meets a specified percentage of the applicable measures established by the CMS, and (3) extends the applicability of the hardship exception with respect to meaningful EHR use.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2017
FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017 This bill amends the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to extend the Act through December 31, 2025. The bill prohibits the intelligence community from intentionally acquiring a communication about a non-U.S. entity if the communication contains a reference to the entity but is not from or directed to that entity (this kind of communications collecting is called abouts collection) unless the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) submit to Congress a written notice of the intent to implement the authorization of such communications collection. The notice triggers a 30-day congressional review period that requires Congress to pass specific legislation in order to prohibit the authorization of such communications collection. Information obtained about a U.S. person through an abouts collection can only be used against that U.S. person for specified criminal proceedings. The bill allows the FISA court's amici curiae (lawyers who argue against the government's FISA requests) to participate in matters pertaining to abouts collection. DOJ and the ODNI must create procedures and keep records pertaining to queries, which are searches done with data the government already acquired and use a specific search term for the purpose of discovering or retrieving content or metadata. The bill exempts the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board from certain open meetings laws. The penalty for the unauthorized removal of classified documents or materials is increased to up to 10 years in prison.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2017
Condemns the attack at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 1, 2017, and honors the memory of the victims killed. Expresses hope for the recovery of those injured, and applauds the efforts of law-enforcement and counterterrorism officials and emergency-medical and healthcare professionals in response to the attack.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for any person to perform or attempt to perform an abortion if the probable post-fertilization age of the fetus is 20 weeks or more. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. The bill provides exceptions for an abortion: (1) that is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, or (2) when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. A physician who performs or attempts to perform an abortion under an exception must comply with specified requirements. A woman who undergoes a prohibited abortion may not be prosecuted for violating or conspiring to violate the provisions of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2017
Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2017 This bill amends various provisions of law and sets forth new provisions: to reduce mandatory minimum prison terms for certain nonviolent repeat drug offenses; to establish a mandatory sentencing enhancement for a drug offense involving heroin or fentanyl; to broaden the existing safety valve to permit a sentence below the mandatory minimum for certain nonviolent, cooperative drug offenders with a limited criminal history; to create a new safety valve for certain nonviolent, cooperative defendants convicted of a high-level first-time or low-level repeat drug offense; to create new mandatory minimum prison terms, including for interstate domestic violence that results in a victim's death and for providing goods or services to terrorists; to make the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 retroactive to permit resentencing of a convicted crack cocaine offender sentenced before August 3, 2010; to require the Bureau of Prisons to expand recidivism reduction programs and productive activities to all eligible prisoners; to lengthen prerelease custody for prisoners who successfully complete such programs; to develop the Post-Sentencing Risk and Needs Assessment System; to create reentry demonstration projects in judicial districts; to require presentence investigation reports to include certain information such as substance abuse history, military service, and veteran status; to permit a court to reduce a life prison term imposed on a defendant convicted as an adult for an offense committed as a juvenile; to establish a process to seal and expunge certain records of juvenile nonviolent offenses; to prohibit juvenile solitary confinement, except in limited circumstances; to make permanent and modify eligibility for an elderly offender early release pilot program; and to establish the National Criminal Justice Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2017
Commemorates the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Air Force as an independent military service. Honors and commends the achievements of the Air Force in serving and defending the United States through global vigilance, global reach, and global power.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Moving and Fostering Innovation to Revolutionize Smarter Transportation Act or the Moving FIRST Act This bill authorizes the Department of Transportation to award Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation grants to communities of varying sizes to promote technological innovation (e.g., autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, and roadway electrification) in transportation systems.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2017
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of Pete V. Domenici, former member of the U.S.Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns September 13, 2017, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late Senator Domenici.
![Official portrait of Sen. Burr, Richard [R-NC]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b001135_200.jpg)