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![Official portrait of Sen. Butler, Laphonza R. [D-CA]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b001320_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
352 records where Sen. Butler, Laphonza R. [D-CA] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2023
Family Building FEHB Fairness Act This bill requires health insurance plans offered to federal employees under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program to include assisted reproductive treatment benefits. Covered treatments are those facilitating reproduction, such as insemination, in vitro fertilization, and preservation of embryos.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2023
This resolution calls for the creation of a Green New Deal with the goals of achieving greenhouse gas and toxic emissions reductions needed to stay under 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming; establishing millions of high-wage union jobs and ensuring economic security for all; investing in infrastructure and industry; securing clean air and water, climate and community resiliency, healthy food, access to nature, and a sustainable environment for all; and promoting justice and equality. The resolution calls for accomplishment of these goals through a 10-year national mobilization effort. The resolution also enumerates the goals and projects of the mobilization effort, including building smart power grids (i.e., power grids that enable customers to reduce their power use during peak demand periods); upgrading all existing buildings and constructing new buildings to achieve maximum energy and water efficiency; removing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation and agricultural sectors; cleaning up existing hazardous waste and abandoned sites; ensuring businesspersons are free from unfair competition; and providing higher education, high-quality health care, and affordable, safe, and adequate housing to all.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2023
Safer Detention Act of 2023 This bill expands statutory authority for federal prisoners to be released before completing their sentences or to be placed in the community to serve the final portion of their sentences. First, the bill makes changes to the early release pilot program. The early release pilot program authorizes the Bureau of Prisons to release early and place on home confinement elderly offenders and terminally ill offenders who meet eligibility criteria. This bill expands eligibility to offenders serving time for an offense under the laws of the District of Columbia, expands eligibility to offenders who have served at least one-half (currently, two-thirds) of their prison term, reduces the amount of time an offender must serve by the good time credits earned by the offender, and creates a judicial review process for prisoners. Second, the bill expands eligibility for the compassionate release process to prisoners sentenced before November 1, 1987. The compassionate release process authorizes federal courts to reduce a prisoner's sentence and impose a term of probation or supervised released in certain circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2023
First Step Implementation Act of 2023 This bill makes various changes related to federal sentencing law and requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish procedures to ensure the prompt release and accuracy of employment-related background check records. The bill allows certain reduced mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses to be applied retroactively to offenders who committed their offenses on or before December 21, 2018; permits a court, in certain circumstances, to grant safety valve relief (i.e., impose a sentence without regard to the statutory mandatory minimum penalty for certain drug offenses) for an otherwise eligible defendant who does not meet the requirement pertaining to criminal history; permits a court to reduce a sentence imposed on a defendant convicted as an adult for an offense committed as a juvenile if the defendant has served at least 20 years of the sentence; establishes a process to seal and expunge certain records of juvenile nonviolent offenses; and requires DOJ to establish and enforce procedures to ensure that records exchanged for employment-related background checks are promptly released and accurate.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2023
Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Roddie Edmonds in recognition of his achievements and heroic actions during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2023
Do No Harm Act This bill prohibits the application of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) to specified federal laws or the implementation of such laws. Currently, 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. Under the bill, RFRA is inapplicable to laws or the implementation of laws that protect against discrimination or require the promotion of equal opportunity (e.g., the Civil Rights Act of 1964); 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. The bill prevents RFRA from being used to deny (1) goods or services the government has agreed to provide to a beneficiary of or participant in a program or activity funded by a government contract, grant, agreement, or other award; or (2) a person's full and equal enjoyment of a government-provided good, service, benefit, facility, privilege, advantage, or accommodation. In order for a person 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 · 18 April 2023
Fairness to Freedom Act of 2023 This bill establishes a right to legal representation in certain immigration proceedings (e.g., removal and immigration bond hearings) at the government's expense for individuals who cannot afford representation. The bill also establishes various entities to facilitate such legal representation. Currently, individuals in these immigration proceedings may be represented by counsel but not at government expense. The bill addresses various issues related to such legal representation, including (1) the scope of the representation, (2) criteria for determining whether the individual is financially unable to afford representation, and (3) requirements relating to allowing the individual to meet with their lawyer and receiving relevant documents. Immigration proceedings may not commence until counsel has been appointed. The bill also establishes the Office of Immigration Representation to ensure that qualified individuals who cannot afford legal representation receive the representation as required by this bill. The office's duties shall include establishing (1) administrative regions throughout the United States, and (2) a local immigration representation board for each region. The local boards must, subject to the office's approval, develop and implement plans for providing legal representation under this bill. To provide such legal representation, the local boards may (1) establish one or more immigrant public defender organizations, (2) contract with existing community defender organizations, and (3) establish a panel attorney system. The bill establishes minimum funding requirements for the office.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2023
César E. Chávez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park Act This bill redesignates the César E. Chávez National Monument established on October 8, 2012, as the César E. Chávez and the Farmworker Movement National Historical Park in California and Arizona. The boundary of the historical park shall include The Forty Acres in Delano, California; the Santa Rita Center in Phoenix, Arizona; and McDonnell Hall in San Jose, California. The Department of the Interior may acquire land and interests in land that are within the boundary of the park by donation, purchase from a willing seller with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange. Interior may provide public interpretation of historic sites, museums, and resources on land not administered by Interior related to the life of César E. Chávez and the history of the farmworker movement. Interior must prepare a general management plan for the park. The bill also requires consideration of the Farmworker Peregrinación National Historic Trail for designation as a national scenic trail.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2023
Fossil Free Finance Act of 2023 This bill requires large bank holding companies to set forth plans to reduce and ultimately eliminate the financing of activities that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation. Specifically, the bill prohibits the financing of (1) new or expanded fossil fuel projects 60 days after enactment, (2) thermal coal by 2025, and (3) all fossil fuel projects by 2030. Further, the Financial Stability Oversight Council must consider the activities of certain bank holding companies and nonbank financial companies that contribute to emissions as part of the prudential supervision process. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System must report on financed emissions in the financial system, the estimated emissions to meet science-based emissions targets, and recommendations for addressing regulatory gaps in reducing such emissions that cannot be addressed by the board.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2023
Protection from Abusive Passengers Act This bill addresses the banning of abusive passengers from commercial aircraft flights. Abusive passenger is defined as any individual who engages in behavior that results in a civil penalty or conviction for assaulting, threatening, or intimidating a crew member or passenger on an aircraft flight, or for taking any action to interfere with security screening personnel or any security system related to civil aviation security. The bill requires the Federal Aviation Administration or the Department of Justice to provide the identity (including the full name, date of birth, and gender) of all abusive passengers to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The TSA must maintain a list of abusive passengers and develop and make publicly available policies and procedures for handling individuals included on the list. Any individual on the list is prohibited from boarding any commercial aircraft flight until the individual is removed from such list. Additionally, all abusive passengers are permanently ineligible to participate in the TSA PreCheck or the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Global Entry programs, with specified exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2023
Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act of 2023 or the EACH Act of 202 3 This bill requires federal health care programs (e.g., Medicaid, Medicare, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)) to provide coverage for abortion services and requires federal facilities to provide access to those services. Currently, coverage for such services under federal programs is generally only available in the case of rape, incest, or life endangerment. Additionally, the bill repeals certain provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that permit states to prohibit coverage of abortion services in plans offered through a health insurance exchange in the state. The bill also permits qualified health plans to use funds attributable to premium tax credits and reduced cost sharing assistance to pay for abortion services. The bill is not subject to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, which generally prohibits the federal government from substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a generally applicable law.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2023
International Human Rights Defense Act of 2023 This bill establishes in the Department of State a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex) Peoples who shall serve as the principal State Department advisor regarding human rights for LGBTQI+ people and represent the United States in diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights of LGBTQI+ people. The special envoy shall periodically provide Congress with a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI+ people. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development may provide assistance to prevent and respond to such activities against LGBTQI+ people. The bill also requires that specified annual country reports on human rights practices include information on criminalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2023
Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act of 2023 This bill extends death and disability benefits under the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program (PSOB) to certain public safety officers who suffer from exposure-related cancer while on duty and their survivors. The PSOB program provides death, disability, and education benefits to public safety officers who are killed or injured in the line of duty and their survivors. The bill specifies that exposure-related cancer shall be presumed to constitute a personal injury in the line of duty if the public safety officer was exposed to or in contact with heat, radiation, or a carcinogen that is linked to an exposure-related cancer; the officer began serving as an officer not later than 5 years before the date of the diagnosis of an exposure-related cancer and the diagnosis occurred not later than 15 years after the last date of active service; and the exposure-related cancer directly and proximately resulted in the death or permanent and total disability of the officer. The Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) must periodically review the definition of exposure-related cance r. It directs the BJA to add additional cancers to the definition under certain circumstances (e.g., a petition process).
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2023
Paycheck Fairness Act This bill addresses wage discrimination on the basis of sex. Specifically, it (1) limits an employer's defense that a pay differential is based on a factor other than sex to only bona fide job-related factors in wage discrimination claims, (2) enhances nonretaliation prohibitions, (3) makes it unlawful to require an employee to sign a contract or waiver prohibiting the employee from disclosing information about the employee's wages, and (4) increases civil penalties for violations of equal pay provisions. Additionally, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs must train EEOC employees and other affected parties on wage discrimination. The bill directs the Department of Labor to (1) establish and carry out a grant program for negotiation skills training for girls and women, (2) conduct studies to eliminate pay disparities between men and women, and (3) make available information on wage discrimination to assist the public in understanding and addressing such discrimination. The bill also establishes the Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace for an employer who has made a substantial effort to eliminate pay disparities between men and women. Finally, the bill requires the EEOC to issue regulations for collecting from employers compensation and other employment data according to the sex, race, and national origin of employees for use in enforcing laws prohibiting pay discrimination.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2023
Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding VA Benefits Act of 2023 or the GUARD VA Benefits Act of 2023 This bill imposes criminal penalties on individuals for directly or indirectly soliciting, contracting for, charging, or receiving any unauthorized fee or compensation with respect to the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of any claim for Department of Veterans Affairs benefits. The commission or attempted commission of such offenses is punishable by a fine, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2023
Pay Teachers Act This bill provides funding to support education programs and addresses teacher shortages, including by establishing a minimum salary for public elementary and secondary school teachers. Specifically, the bill requires states to establish a minimum annual salary of at least $60,000 for full-time teachers that increases with experience. It establishes a pathway for eligible states to extend their time line to comply with these requirements. The bill provides specified funds to the Department of Education (ED) for FY2024 and each succeeding year (indexed for inflation) for federal aid to local educational agencies for the education of disadvantaged children, programs to support rural education, the Impact Aid program, technical assistance to support the equitable distribution of teachers, the Teacher Quality Partnership grant program (and further directs ED to prioritize these grants for programs to address teacher shortages), the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence program, personnel development to improve services and results for children with disabilities, the Supporting Effective Educator Development program, and the Teacher and School Leader Incentive program. Additionally, the bill provides specified funds to the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) for FY2024 and each succeeding year (indexed for inflation) for programs and activities operated or funded by the BIE for BIE-funded schools. Entities receiving these funds must ensure that teachers are compensated with at least the minimum annual salary established by the BIE. The bill provides specified funds to ED for FY2024 to contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study resource equity requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2023
Connected Maternal Online Monitoring Act or the Connected MOM Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to report, and provide resources for states, on coverage of remote physiologic devices and related services (e.g., blood glucose monitors) under Medicaid, so as to improve maternal and child health outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2023
Women's Health Protection Act of 2023 This bill prohibits governmental restrictions on the provision of, and access to, abortion services. Before fetal viability, governments may not restrict providers from using particular abortion procedures or drugs, offering abortion services via telemedicine, or immediately providing abortion services if delaying risks the patient's health. Furthermore, governments may not require providers to perform unnecessary medical procedures, provide medically inaccurate information, or comply with credentialing or other conditions that do not apply to providers who offer medically comparable services to abortions. Additionally, governments may not require patients to make medically unnecessary in-person visits before receiving abortion services or disclose their reasons for obtaining services. After fetal viability, governments may not restrict providers from performing abortions when necessary to protect a patient's life and health. The same provisions that apply to abortions before viability also apply to necessary abortions after viability. Additionally, states may authorize post-viability abortions in circumstances beyond those that the bill considers necessary. Further, the bill recognizes an individual's right to interstate travel, including for abortion services. The bill also prohibits governments from implementing measures that are similar to those restricted by the bill or that otherwise single out and impede access to abortion services, unless the measure significantly advances the safety of abortion services or health of patients and cannot be achieved through less restrictive means. The Department of Justice, individuals, or providers may sue states or government officials to enforce this bill, regardless of certain immunity that would otherwise apply.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2023
Working Dog Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue 50,000 $5 gold coins, 500,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins in commemoration of the service that working dogs provide to society. The designs of the coins minted under this bill shall be emblematic of the contributions of working dogs to society, including in detection, military service, therapy, and assistance. Treasury may issue coins only during the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2025. All sales of coins shall include a surcharge, which shall be paid to America's VetDogs for general expenses associated with the fulfillment of its mission.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2023
Resident Education Deferred Interest Act or the REDI Act This bill allows borrowers in medical or dental internships or residency programs to defer student loan payments until the completion of their programs.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2023
Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument Expansion Act This bill modifies the boundary of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument to include the Walker Ridge (Molok Luyuk) Addition, which is approximately 3,925 acres of federal land administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Lake County, California. The Department of the Interior shall administer the addition as part of the monument. Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) shall jointly develop a comprehensive management plan for the monument in accordance with, and in a manner that fulfills the purposes specified in, Presidential Proclamation 9298 of July 10, 2015, relating to the establishment of the monument. The BLM or the Forest Service shall enter into agreements, contracts, and other similarly cooperative and collaborative partnerships if requested by an affected federally recognized Indian tribe regarding management of the monument pursuant to the relevant federal authority.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2023
Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act This bill modifies the Conrad 30 Waiver program, which incentivizes qualified foreign physicians to serve in underserved communities. It also extends statutory authority for the program for three years from this bill's enactment. Aliens coming to the United States under a J-1 nonimmigrant visa to receive medical training typically must leave the country and reside for two years abroad before being eligible to apply for an immigrant visa or permanent residence. The Conrad program waives this requirement for individuals who meet certain qualifications, including serving for a number of years at a health care facility in an underserved area. The bill increases the number of waivers that a state may obtain each fiscal year from 30 to 35 if a certain number of waivers were used the previous year, and provides for further adjustments depending on demand. An alien physician may be employed at an academic medical center to meet the Conrad program's employment requirements if the alien's work is in the public interest, even if the medical center is not in an underserved area. Employment contracts for alien physicians under the Conrad program shall contain certain information, such as the maximum number of on-call hours per week the physician shall have to work. Certain alien physicians (along with the physician's spouse and children) shall be exempt from the direct annual numerical limits on immigration, including those physicians that have met certain requirements related to visas for physicians to serve in underserved areas.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2023
Sustaining Our Democracy Act This bill establishes and provides funds through FY2033 for the State Election Assistance and Innovation Trust Fund for purposes of promoting election activities. Specifically, the bill establishes the Democracy Advancement and Innovation Program, through which the Office of Democracy Advancement and Innovation (also established by this bill) shall make allocations to states for carrying out democracy promotion activities. These activities include improving the administration of federal elections, recruiting and training nonpartisan election officials and poll workers, and increasing voting access. The bill requires each state, in order to receive allocated funds, to (1) submit a plan for approval that describes how the state will distribute resources and carry out democracy promotion activities, and (2) establish uniform and nondiscriminatory state-based administrative complaint procedures. The bill prohibits states from using funds for certain activities, including any activity that diminishes the ability of any eligible voter to participate in the electoral process.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2023
Everett Alvarez, Jr., Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2023 This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Everett Alvarez, Jr. in recognition of his service to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2023
Lake Tahoe Restoration Reauthorization Act This bill reauthorizes through September 30, 2034, activities to restore Lake Tahoe and its surrounding basin. Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake on the border of California and Nevada.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2023
Social Security Fairness Act This bill repeals provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals who receive other benefits, such as a pension from a state or local government. The bill eliminates the government pension offset , which in various instances reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also receive government pensions of their own. The bill also eliminates the windfall elimination provision , which in some instances reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who also receive a pension or disability benefit from an employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes. These changes are effective for benefits payable after December 2023.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2023
Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 20 23 This bill expands various labor protections related to employees' rights to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace. Specifically, it revises the definitions of employee , supervisor , and employer to broaden the scope of individuals covered by the fair labor standards; permits labor organizations to encourage participation of union members in strikes initiated by employees represented by a different labor organization (i.e., secondary strikes); and prohibits employers from bringing claims against unions that conduct such secondary strikes. The bill also allows collective bargaining agreements to require all employees represented by the bargaining unit to contribute fees to the labor organization for the cost of such representation, notwithstanding a state law to the contrary, and it expands unfair labor practices to include prohibitions against replacement of, or discrimination against, workers who participate in strikes. The bill makes it an unfair labor practice to require or coerce employees to attend employer meetings designed to discourage union membership and prohibits employers from entering into agreements with employees under which employees waive the right to pursue or a join collective or class-action litigation. Finally, the bill addresses the procedures for union representation elections, modifies the protections against unfair labor practices that result in serious economic harm, and establishes penalties and permits injunctive relief against entities that fail to comply with National Labor Relations Board orders.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2023
First Rhode Island Regiment Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to the First Rhode Island Regiment, collectively, in recognition of their dedicated service during the Revolutionary War.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2023
This resolution condemns Iran's state-sponsored persecution of the Baha'i religious minority and Iran's continued violation of international human rights treaties. The resolution calls on Iran to (1) immediately release Baha'is and others imprisoned or detained solely on account of religion, (2) end its state-sponsored campaign of hate propaganda against the Baha'is, and (3) reverse certain policies that discriminate against Baha'is and other religious minorities. The resolution also urges the President and the Department of State to impose sanctions on Iranian officials and others who are responsible for serious human rights abuses, including abuses against Iran's Baha'i community.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2023
Background Check Expansion Act This bill establishes new background check requirements for firearm transfers between private parties (i.e., unlicensed individuals). Specifically, it prohibits a firearm transfer between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check. The prohibition does not apply to certain firearm transfers, such as a gift between spouses in good faith.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2023
Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2023 or the DISCLOSE Act of 2023 This bill addresses campaign finance, including by expanding the prohibition on campaign spending by foreign nationals, requiring additional disclosures of campaign expenditures, and requiring additional disclosures regarding certain political advertisements. Specifically, the bill expands existing foreign money prohibitions to include disbursements for paid web-based or digital communications and federal judicial nomination communications. It also prohibits foreign nationals from contributing to campaigns related to ballot initiatives and referenda. The Government Accountability Office must, for each four-year election cycle, study and report on the incidence of illicit foreign money in federal elections. Next, the bill makes it unlawful to establish or use a corporation, company, or other entity with the intent to conceal an election contribution or donation by a foreign national. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both. Covered organizations (e.g., corporations, labor organizations, and political organizations) must, within 24 hours, file reports with the Federal Election Commission to disclose campaign expenditures of more than $10,000 during an election cycle. The bill also requires organizations to provide additional disclosures regarding political advertisements, including the donors who contributed the most money to that organization in the last year.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2023
Outdoors for All Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to establish an outdoor recreation legacy partnership grant program under which Interior may award grants to states, certain political subdivisions of a state, special purpose districts, Indian tribes, or Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian communities or organizations. Funds must be used for projects to (1) acquire land and water for parks and other outdoor recreation purposes in qualifying areas, and (2) develop new or renovate existing outdoor recreation facilities that provide outdoor recreation opportunities to the public in qualifying areas. Qualifying area means an urbanized area or urban cluster that has a population of 25,000 or more in the most recent census, two or more adjacent urban clusters with a combined population of 25,000 or more in the most recent census, or an area that is administered by an Indian tribe or an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian community organization. Interior shall give priority to projects that create or significantly enhance access to park and recreational opportunities in an urban neighborhood or community, engage and empower underserved communities and youth, provide opportunities for employment or job training for youth or underserved communities, establish or expand public-private partnerships, and take advantage of coordination among various levels of government.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2023
Saving the Civil Service Act This bill prohibits executive agency positions in the competitive service from being placed in the excepted service, unless such positions are placed in Schedules A through E as in effect on September 30, 2020. The bill also prohibits positions in the excepted service from being placed in any schedule other than the aforementioned schedules. Additionally, agencies may not (1) transfer occupied positions from the competitive or excepted service into Schedule C without the consent of the Office of Personnel Management, or (2) transfer employees in the excepted service to another schedule or transfer employees in the competitive service to the excepted service without employee consent. The bill also caps the number of employees that may be transferred from the competitive service to the excepted service during a presidential term to 1% of total employees as of the first day of the term or five employees, whichever is greater. On October 21, 2020, former President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service . The order placed executive agency positions that are of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character, and that are not normally subject to change as a result of a presidential transition, under a new schedule in the excepted service (Schedule F) instead of the competitive service. The order also required any such positions in the excepted service to be reclassified to Schedule F. The order was subsequently revoked by President Joe Biden.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2023
Reinvesting In Shoreline Economies and Ecosystems Act of 2023 or the RISEE Act of 2023 This bill increases revenue streams provided to states from offshore wind projects, offshore oil and gas leases, and onshore energy and mineral resources. States must use the revenue for specified purposes, such as coastal restoration, conservation, or infrastructure. Specifically, the bill requires revenues generated from offshore wind projects carried out under a lease entered into on or after January 1, 2022, to be deposited into accounts for the U.S. Treasury, the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund, and adjacent coastal states. Currently, this revenue is deposited in the U.S. Treasury. The Department of the Interior must disburse the revenue to a state in an amount that is based on a formula that is inversely proportional to a state's distance from the offshore wind site. In addition, the bill removes the cap on the amount of revenue generated from offshore oil and gas leases that may be shared with states under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006. It also eliminates a fee under the Mineral Leasing Act that Interior currently collects to administer the onshore revenue sharing program.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2023
Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2023 This bill makes various changes related to the ethical standards, financial disclosure requirements, and recusal requirements that apply to Supreme Court Justices. Among the changes, the bill requires the Supreme Court to adopt a code of conduct for Justices and establish procedures to receive and investigate complaints of judicial misconduct; adopt rules governing the disclosure of gifts, travel, and income received by the Justices and law clerks that are at least as rigorous as the House and Senate disclosure rules; and establish procedural rules requiring each party or amicus to disclose any gift, income, or reimbursement provided to Justices. Additionally, the bill expands the circumstances under which a Justice or judge must be disqualified; and requires the Supreme Court and the Judicial Conference to establish procedural rules for prohibiting the filing of or striking an amicus brief that would result in the disqualification of a Justice, judge, or magistrate judge.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2023
Access to Counsel Act of 2023 This bill provides various protections for covered individuals subject to secondary or deferred inspections when seeking admission into the United States. Covered individuals include U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents, non-U.S. nationals ( aliens under federal law) in possession of a visa, returning asylees, and refugees. The Department of Homeland Security must ensure that a covered individual subject to secondary or deferred inspection has a meaningful opportunity to consult with counsel and certain related parties, such as a relative, within an hour of the start of the secondary inspection and as necessary during the inspection process. The counsel and related party must be allowed to advocate on behalf of the covered individual, including by providing evidence and information to the examining immigration officer. A lawful permanent resident subject to secondary or deferred inspection may not abandon lawful permanent resident status until the individual has had a meaningful opportunity to seek advice from counsel, unless the individual voluntarily and knowingly waives in writing this opportunity to seek counsel's advice.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2023
North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to recognize the individuals and communities that provided financial and other support for the North Platte Canteen in North Platte, Nebraska, during World War II. The North Platte Canteen, a volunteer-run effort, provided entertainment to U.S. troops traveling across the country.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2023
Keep Americans Safe Act This bill establishes a new criminal offense for the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). The bill does not prohibit certain conduct with respect to an LCAFD, including the following: importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD. Newly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification and the date of manufacture. Additionally, the bill allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender an LCAFD under a buy-back program.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2023
Extreme Risk Protection Order Expansion Act of 2023 This bill establishes grants to support the implementation of extreme risk protection order laws at the state and local levels, extends federal firearms restrictions to individuals who are subject to extreme risk protection orders, and expands related data collection. Extreme risk protection order laws, or red flag laws, generally allow certain individuals (e.g., law enforcement officers or family members) to petition a court for a temporary order that prohibits an at-risk individual from purchasing and possessing firearms. Among its provisions, the bill directs the Department of Justice to establish a grant program to help states, local governments, Indian tribes, and other entities implement extreme risk protection order laws; extends federal restrictions on the receipt, possession, shipment, and transportation of firearms and ammunition to individuals who are subject to extreme risk protection orders; and requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to compile records from federal, tribal, and state courts and other agencies that identify individuals who are subject to extreme risk protection orders.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2023
American Music Fairness Act This bill establishes that the copyright holder of a sound recording shall have the exclusive right to perform the sound recording through an audio transmission. (Currently, the public performance right only covers performances through a digital audio transmission in certain instances, which means that nonsubscription terrestrial radio stations generally do not have to get a license to publicly perform a copyright-protected sound recording.) Under the bill, a nonsubscription broadcast transmission must have a license to publicly perform such sound recordings. The Copyright Royalty Board must periodically determine the royalty rates for such a license. When determining the rates, the board must base its decision on certain information presented by the parties, including the radio stations' effect on other streams of revenue related to the sound recordings. Terrestrial broadcast stations (and the owners of such stations) that fall below certain revenue thresholds may pay certain flat fees, instead of the board-established rate, for a license to publicly perform copyright-protected sound recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2023
Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students Act of 2023 or the JOBS Act of 2023 This bill expands student eligibility for Pell Grants by establishing the Job Training Federal Pell Grant program. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Education to award a job training Pell Grant to a student who does not have a degree; attends an institution of higher education (IHE); is enrolled in a career and technical education program at an IHE that provides 150 to 600 clock hours of instructional time over a period of 8 to 15 weeks and provides training aligned with high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors (i.e., job training programs); and meets all other eligibility requirements for a Pell Grant. Additionally, the bill specifies that any period during which a student receives a job training Pell Grant counts toward that student's Pell Grant eligibility period.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2023
Ethan's Law This bill establishes a framework to regulate the storage of firearms on residential premises at the federal, state, and tribal levels. At the federal level, the bill establishes statutory requirements for firearms on residential premises to be safely stored if a minor is likely to gain access without permission or if a resident is ineligible to possess a firearm. An individual who violates the requirements is subject to criminal penalties. A firearm stored in violation of the requirements is subject to seizure and forfeiture. At the state and tribal levels, the bill requires the Department of Justice to award grants to implement functionally identical requirements for the safe storage of firearms.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2023
Expanding Agricultural Exports Act of 2023 This bill expands and extends through FY2029 the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Cooperator Program of the Department of Agriculture.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2023
Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act This bill addresses issues relating to Tibet, including by establishing a statutory definition of Tibet that includes areas in Chinese provinces outside the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). For the purposes of U.S. policies and activities relating to Tibet, this bill defines Tibet to include the TAR and the Tibetan areas of the Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan provinces. (Generally, when China's government refers to Tibet, it means only the TAR, while Tibetan exile groups consider historical Tibet to include the TAR as well as areas in the provinces included in this bill's definition. China's government formally established the TAR in 1965.) Furthermore, the objectives of the Office of the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues shall include working to ensure that U.S. government statements and documents counter disinformation about Tibet by China's government and the Chinese Communist Party, including disinformation about Tibet's history and institutions. The bill also authorizes the office to take other actions to counter such disinformation. This bill also states that it is U.S. policy that the conflict between Tibet and China is unresolved and that Tibet's legal status remains to be determined in accordance with international law.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2023
Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to 60 diplomats posthumously in recognition of their brave and vital service of saving Jews during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2023
Justice for Black Farmers Act of 202 3 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide a variety of assistance to address historical discrimination and disparities in the agricultural sector. For example, the bill establishes an equity commission in USDA to examine discrimination by the agency against Black farmers and ranchers and recommend actions to end the systematic disparities in the treatment of Black farmers and ranchers. USDA must also establish a Farm Conservation Corps to provide young adults who are from socially disadvantaged groups with the skills necessary to pursue careers in farming and ranching. The bill provides funding for historically Black colleges and universities to commence and expand courses of study that are focused on careers in agriculture or related disciplines. The bill also increases the authorization of appropriations for a program to resolve issues relating to ownership and succession on farmland. Additionally, it expands credit assistance for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. Further, the bill (1) establishes that a minimum of 50% of a covered packer's (not including a packer that owns only one livestock processing plant) daily volume of livestock slaughter must be purchased through spot market sales from nonaffiliated producers; (2) increases funding for the Local Agriculture Market Program; and (3) gives priority to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers for conservation technical assistance, the Conservation Stewardship Program, and the Rural Energy for America Program.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2023
This joint resolution provides that the Equal Rights Amendment, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, was ratified by three-fourths of the states and is therefore a valid constitutional amendment, regardless of any time limit that was in the original proposal. The Equal Rights Amendment was originally proposed to the states in 1972. The original proposal included a deadline for ratification of March 22, 1979; Congress subsequently extended the deadline to June 30, 1982. Although the requisite 38 states have ratified the amendment, three of these states did so after the deadlines, and five states subsequently rescinded their ratifications. The status of the amendment has been the subject of litigation.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2023
Washington, D.C. Admission Act This bill provides for the admission of the state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth into the United States. The commonwealth consists of all the territory of the District of Columbia (DC), excluding certain federal property. The excluded property shall be known as the Capital and serve as the seat of federal government; it includes the principal federal monuments, the White House, the Capitol Building, the Supreme Court Building, and the federal office buildings located adjacent to the Mall and Capitol Building. In addition, the bill maintains the federal government's authority over military lands and specified other property and prohibits the commonwealth from taxing federal property except as permitted by Congress. Within 30 days of this bill's enactment, the DC mayor must call for the election of two Senators and one Representative for the commonwealth. The commonwealth shall be admitted into the United States upon a presidential proclamation announcing the results of that election. The bill applies current DC laws to the commonwealth and continues pending judicial proceedings. It also continues certain federal authorities and responsibilities, including regarding employee benefits, agencies, and courts, until the commonwealth certifies that it is prepared to take over those authorities and responsibilities. Further, the bill provides for expedited consideration of a joint resolution to repeal the Twenty-third Amendment to the Constitution (which allows DC citizens to vote in presidential elections). The bill also establishes a commission to advise the President, Congress, and DC and commonwealth leaders on the transition.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2023
West Coast Ocean Protection Act of 2023 This bill prohibits the Department of the Interior from issuing a lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas in any area of the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of California, Oregon, or Washington.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2023
Improving Health Insurance Affordability Act of 2023 This bill expands the eligibility of taxpayers for the refundable tax credit for coverage under a qualified health plan and increases cost-sharing subsidies under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.