United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to modify procedures for determining the amount of mandatory restitution in child pornography cases. Additionally, the bill amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984: to direct courts to impose additional assessments on persons convicted of child pornography offenses; and to establish a Child Pornography Victims Reserve, within the Crime Victims Fund, where the additional assessments must be deposited.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Chesapeake Bay Farm Bill Enhancements Act of 2017 This bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to modify and increase funding for the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). (The RCPP operates through several USDA conservation programs to provide funding for partners to join in efforts with producers to increase the restoration and sustainable use of soil, water, wildlife, and related natural resources on regional or watershed scales. The RCPP includes the purposes and functions of several conservation programs such as the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative.) The bill modifies the RCPP to: increase mandatory funding and revise the requirements for distributing funds, allow in-kind support to count toward a partner's matching contribution, allow partners to apply for a funding renewal of a partnership agreement, authorize USDA to provide information and feedback to applicants throughout the application process, authorize grants for partners to directly operate conservation projects, authorize USDA to advance funding to partners for technical assistance for project development and outreach activities, require USDA to make publicly available the amounts available for technical assistance under a partnership agreement, limit USDA costs for technical assistance to costs specific and necessary to carry out the objectives of the partnership agreement, modify the criteria for a critical conservation area, and revise the requirements for prioritizing applications.
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
Andrew White Veterans Community Care Opioid Safety Act This bill establishes a process to ensure safe opioid prescribing practices by non-Department of Veterans Affairs providers.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2017
This bill establishes: (1) in the Office of Management and Budget, the Federal Geographic Data Committee (the committee), which shall be the lead entity in the executive branch for the development, implementation, and review of policies, practices, and standards relating to geospatial data; and (2) in the Department of the Interior, the National Geospatial Advisory Committee to provide advice and recommendations to the committee. The National Spatial Data Infrastructure (as defined in this bill) shall ensure that geospatial data from multiple sources is available and easily integrated to enhance the understanding of the physical and cultural world. The committee shall: (1) prepare a strategic plan for the implementation of the infrastructure consistent with national security, national defense, and emergency preparedness program policies regarding data accessibility; and (2) designate, and establish standards for, National Geospatial Data Asset core geospatial datasets for primary topics for which the coordinated development, maintenance, and dissemination of geospatial data will benefit the government and people of the United States. The committee shall operate GeoPlatform, an electronic service that provides access to geospatial data and metadata for geospatial data. Agencies whose functions involve geospatial data shall implement a strategy for advancing geographic information and related geospatial data activities appropriate to that agency's mission in support of the strategic plan for the infrastructure. Such agencies shall disclose each contract, cooperative agreement, grant, or other transaction that deals with geospatial data. Five years after enactment of this bill, federal funding shall not be made available for the collection, production, acquisition, maintenance, or dissemination of geospatial data that does not comply with applicable standards established by the committee.
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 · 15 November 2017
Commemorates the christening of the United States Naval Ship Hershel "Woody" Williams and its mission to support mine countermeasures, counter-piracy operations, maritime security, and humanitarian and crisis response operations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2017
Targeted Opioid Funding Act This bill amends the 21st Century Cures Act to require the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in awarding grants to address the opioid crisis, to give preference to states with high mortality rates associated with opioid use disorders. This preference is in addition to the existing preference given to states with a high prevalence of opioid use disorders. Grants must be at least $5 million.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2017
Ensuring Access to Air Ambulance Services Act of 2017 This bill makes a series of changes relating to payment of air ambulance services under Medicare, including by establishing certain cost-reporting requirements for providers.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2017
Senate Anti-Harassment Training Resolution of 2017 Requires each Senator and Senate officer, manager, employee, intern, fellow, and detailee to periodically complete training that addresses workplace harassment, including sexual harassment and related intimidation and reprisal prohibited under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995. Requires the individual to complete such training within 60 days after: (1) adoption of this resolution; or (2) assuming a Senate position, if after such adoption. Deems individuals to have completed training if they completed training during the 115th Congress. Directs each office, including a joint commission or joint committee, employing Senate employees to certify whether covered individuals have completed such training during that Congress. Requires the Secretary of the Senate to publish the certification on its public website.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2017
Declares that the Senate joins the Small Business Administration in recognizing and encouraging the observance of Small Business Saturday on November 25, 2017. Supports efforts to: (1) encourage consumers to shop locally, and (2) increase awareness of the value of locally owned small businesses and the impact of such businesses on the U.S. economy.
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
Protecting Seniors Through Immunization Act of 2017 This bill specifies that certain deductible, coinsurance, initial coverage limit, and cost-sharing requirements that apply under the Medicare prescription drug benefit shall not apply with respect to the shingles vaccine. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must provide to Medicare beneficiaries specified information regarding: (1) coverage of vaccines for seniors, and (2) access to the shingles vaccine without cost-sharing.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2017
Expresses support for the designation of October 29-November 4, 2017, as National Obesity Care Week. Encourages open communication to eliminate the misunderstanding and stigma regarding obesity and to improve the lives of individuals affected by obesity and their families.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2017
Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act This bill amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to require a state to identify, evaluate, and provide special education and related services to children who have visual or hearing disabilities (or both) and also are, or may be, classified in another disability category. A state must ensure that it has enough qualified personnel to serve children who have such disabilities and that a full continuum of alternative placements is available to meet the needs of disabled children for special education and related services. The individualized education program for each child that is either (or both) visually or hearing impaired must include specified components and must provide the child with instruction that meets the child's unique learning needs. Similarly, the individualized family service plan for an infant or toddler with a hearing disability must include specified components. A state's closure of a special school serving deaf or blind children shall count as a reduction of its financial support for special education and related services for purposes of the prohibition against reducing state financial support for such services from one fiscal year to the next. The bill also: (1) authorizes grants for training special education personnel, to be used in preparing individuals to become qualified teachers and early intervention specialists for children with hearing disabilities; and (2) establishes within the Department of Education the Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and Educational Excellence to better support students with visual disabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2017
Senate Training on Prevention of Sexual Harassment Resolution or the STOP Sexual Harassment Resolution Directs the Committee on Rules and Administration to issue rules requiring Senators and Senate officers, employees, interns, fellows, and detailees to periodically complete sexual harassment training provided by the Office of Compliance or the Office of the Senate Chief Counsel for Employment. Requires the individuals to complete the training within 60 days after: (1) issuance of the rules if the individual has not previously completed training, or (2) assuming a Senate position. Requires the head of each covered office, including a joint commission or joint committee, to report to the committee: a list of each individual who previously completed the training and was serving in a covered position in the office on the date the rules are issued, information regarding the completion of the training after the date, and an individual's failure to comply with the rules. Requires the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate to: (1) periodically conduct an anonymous survey of Senators, Senate officers, and Senate employees regarding the prevalence of sexual harassment in the Senate during the previous Congress; and (2) report the results only to the Chairman and Ranking Member of specified congressional committees.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2017
Building Our Largest Dementia Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act or the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to award cooperative agreements: (1) for the establishment or support of national or regional centers of excellence in public health practice in Alzheimer's disease; (2) to state public health departments, Native American tribes, and other entities to promote cognitive functioning, address cognitive impairment and unique aspects of Alzheimer's disease, and help meet the needs of caregivers; (3) for analysis and public reporting of data on the state and national levels regarding cognitive decline, caregiving, and health disparities, and monitoring of objectives on dementia and caregiving in the Department of Health and Human Services' Healthy People 2020 report.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2017
Youth Opioid Use Treatment Help Act of 2017 or the YOUTH Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to expand the grant program for substance abuse treatment services for children and adolescents to cover young adults. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) must award grants for demonstration programs to: (1) expand access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders among adolescents and young adults, or (2) create and distribute resources on medication-assisted treatment training and implementation for health care providers of children, adolescents, and young adults. AHRQ must report on the demonstration programs and the availability of medication-assisted treatment for adolescents and young adults. The report must include recommendations for ensuring such treatment is accessible.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2017
Breast Density and Mammography Reporting Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require mammography facilities to include up-to-date information about breast density in both the written report of the results of a mammography examination provided to a patient's physician and the summary of that written report given to the patient. The summary must convey: (1) the effect of breast density in masking the presence of breast cancer on a mammogram, and (2) that individuals with dense breasts should talk with their health care providers about any questions or concerns regarding the summary and whether they would benefit from additional tests. The bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to expand and intensify research on breast density, the cost-effectiveness and feasibility of supplemental imaging relating to breast density, and best practices concerning mammograms and supplemental screening for those with dense breasts.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2017
Spurring Business in Communities Act of 2017 This bill amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to: require the Small Business Administration (SBA), in reviewing and processing an entity's application to become a small business investment company (SBIC), to give first priority to an SBIC applicant located in an underlicensed state (i.e., a state in which the number of licensees per capita is less than the median number of licensees per capita for all states) with below median financing; and exempt applicants in underlicensed states from certain SBA capital requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2017
Recognizes the importance of education, prevention, and treatment of substance use disorder. Honors those in recovery from substance use disorder and the allies who support them.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2017
Seniors Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to extend, through 2019, the rule that permits individuals who are 65 and older to deduct certain medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income. (A provision that reduced the 10% threshold for the medical expense deduction to 7.5% if a taxpayer or a taxpayer's spouse is 65 or older expired at the end of 2016.) The bill also expresses the sense of the Senate that the reduction in revenues resulting from this bill should be offset by an appropriate amendment to the IRC.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2017
Code Like a Girl Act This bill directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to award competitive grants to institutions of higher education, local educational agencies, or nonprofit organizations to accelerate research efforts to increase understanding of the factors that contribute to the willingness or unwillingness of girls under the age of 11 to participate in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, including computer science) activities. The NSF shall also award competitive grants to such institutions and organizations to enter into partnerships with local educational agencies to develop and evaluate interventions in pre-K and elementary school classrooms that seek to increase participation by such girls in computer science activities. The NSF must: (1) ensure that the materials developed under a program that are demonstrated as being effective in achieving grant goals are made available free of charge to the public on an Internet website, (2) convene an annual meeting of participating partnerships to foster greater national collaboration, and (3) furnish such partnerships with technical assistance in meeting grant program requirements.
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 · 4 October 2017
Designates October 2017 as National Dyslexia Awareness Month, and calls on Congress, schools, and educational agencies to recognize that dyslexia has significant educational implications that must be addressed.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
American Miners Pension Act of 2017 This bill amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) to transfer certain funds and provide loans to the 1974 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Pension Plan in order to provide pension benefits for retired coal miners. The bill requires the Department of the Treasury to transfer additional funds from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund and the General Fund of the Treasury to the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan to pay pension benefits required under that plan if the amounts available for transfer under SMCRA's $490 million annual limit exceed the amounts required to be transferred for other purposes (including to the UMWA Health Plans). The bill prohibits the plan from making certain changes to benefits during any year in which a transfer is received. Treasury must make annual loans to the plan equal to the amount certified by the trustees of the plan as necessary to prevent insolvency. The loans may not exceed $600 million per year. The trustees must annually certify that the plan is projected to be solvent and is able to repay the loans under terms specified in the bill. The bill also establishes additional reporting requirements for the plan.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, J. Christopher Stevens, and Sean Smith in recognition of their contributions to the nation.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
Community Health Investment, Modernization, and Excellence Act of 2017 This bill amends the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 to extend through FY2022 and make appropriations for enhanced funding for the community health centers program and the National Health Service Corps.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
Safeguarding Addresses From Emerging at Home Act or the SAFE at Home Act This bill requires each federal agency and federal court to accept, for any purpose for which an individual is required to provide an address to the agency or court, an address designated to that individual pursuant to an address confidentiality program. An individual who provides an address pursuant to such a program shall not be subject to any federal regulatory, civil, or criminal penalties for providing such address in lieu of the individual's actual physical address. An address confidentiality program is a state-implemented program that provides a designated address in lieu of the individual's actual physical address to an individual who: (1) is determined to be at risk of being a victim of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, human trafficking, or stalking or who otherwise fears for their safety; or (2) resides in the same household as such an individual. An agency or court seeking to acquire such individual's actual address shall comply with applicable procedures of such a program. Such address shall be considered confidential and shall not be subject to a Freedom of Information Act request.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2017
This bill delays by three years the date by which manufacturers, owners, and operators of new residential wood heaters, including residential hydronic heaters (wood-fired boilers) and forced-air furnaces, must comply with emission standards promulgated under the Clean Air Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2017
Healthcare Tax Relief Act This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to delay the imposition of an annual fee on health insurance providers until after December 31, 2018.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2017
Protecting Jessica Grubb's Legacy Act This bill expands requirements relating to the confidentiality of substance-use disorder patient records, including by specifying that such records may not be shared with law enforcement officials without a court order; the bill also allows such records to be disclosed consistent with specified regulations issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2017
Strong Families Act of 2017 This bill amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to reauthorize through FY2022, and otherwise revise, the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program. Under current law, grantees were required, after three years of program implementation, to demonstrate improvement in specified benchmark areas. The bill requires grantees to continue to track and demonstrate, on a triennial basis, improvement in applicable benchmark areas. A grantee that fails to do so must develop and implement a corrective action plan, subject to approval by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS shall terminate a program grant made to a grantee that implements such a plan but continues to fail to demonstrate improvement. As a condition for receiving grant funds under the program, a state must review and update its statewide needs assessment by October 1, 2020. A grantee may use a portion of program grant funds to support a "pay-for-outcomes initiative" (a performance-based grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, awarded by a public entity, in which a commitment is made to pay for improved outcomes that result in social benefit and public-sector cost savings). HHS must designate data-exchange standards applicable to the program.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Middle School Technical Education Program Act or the Middle School STEP Act This bill directs the Department of Education to: create a pilot program for career and technical education exploration programs; and award grants to eligible partnerships (local educational agencies, area career and technical education schools, educational service agencies, and other organizations) to develop a middle school career and technical education exploration program that transition to career and technical education programs of study.
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.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2017
Rebuild America Now Act This bill amends the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to expedite the environmental review and permitting process for projects undertaken or funded by the federal government that could have significant environmental consequences. The bill states as policy that when implementing a permitting law, including specified environmental laws, agencies should seek to issue permit decisions favorably to the maximum extent practicable. The bill includes provisions regarding: lawsuits involving challenges to agency actions concerning energy production, approval of gas pipeline projects, rights-of-way through national parks, assistance to areas where air pollution levels have not met national ambient air quality standards, and state authority to review certain transportation projects and agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2017
Training the Next Generation of Primary Care Doctors Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to extend and expand funding through FY2020 for graduate medical education programs at teaching centers (which train medical residents in primary care specialties). The bill allows funds to be used for maintaining, expanding, and establishing graduate medical residency programs.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2017
Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2017 This bill directs the President to: establish a five-year strategy to achieve, with target countries and donors, the goal of ending preventable child and maternal deaths globally and ensure healthy and productive lives by 2030; and provide assistance to implement the strategy. The President shall designate a current U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employee serving in the Senior Executive Service or at the level of a Deputy Assistant Administrator or higher to serve concurrently as the Maternal and Child Survival Coordinator, who shall be responsible for: overseeing such strategy, and all U.S. government funds appropriated or used for international maternal and child health and nutrition programs. Strategy grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements shall include targets for increased implementation of high-impact, evidence-based interventions and strengthening health systems. The President shall report to Congress annually for six years regarding progress made toward achieving the strategy and ending preventable child and maternal deaths.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2017
Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax credits and grants for activities that provide access to healthy food in food deserts. A food desert must be more than 1 mile away from a grocery store in a metropolitan area or more than 10 miles away outside of a metropolitan area. It must also meet population requirements and have either a poverty rate of at least 20% or a median family income that does not exceed 80% of the median for the state or metropolitan area. For entities that are certified by the Department of the Treasury as special access food providers using specified criteria, the bill allows tax credits for operating a new grocery store or renovating an existing grocery store in a food desert. The bill also authorizes grants for a portion of: (1) the construction costs of building a permanent food bank in a food desert, and (2) the annual operating costs of temporary access merchants (mobile markets, farmers markets, and food banks). Treasury, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture (USDA), must annually allocate the tax credits and grants to special access food providers. Grants authorized by this bill are not considered gross income for tax purposes. The bill also amends the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to require USDA to update the Food Access Research Atlas at least annually to account for food retailers that are placed in service during that year.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2017
Mothers of Military Service Leave Act or the MOMS Leave Act This bill provides compensation and credit for retired pay purposes (including computation of years of service for retired pay) for maternity leave taken by members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2017
75th Anniversary of the End of World War II Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 coins, 500,000 $1 coins, and 750,000 half-dollar coins in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. The coins shall be emblematic of the sacrifices made by millions of people of the United States 75 years ago in bringing an end to World War II. The design on each coin shall represent the World War II Victory Medal, which was awarded to all 16 million U.S. military personnel who served from December 7, 1941, to December 31, 1946. The bill requires all sales of such coins include specified surcharges, which shall be paid by Treasury to the congressionally designated National WWII Museum to fund its educational mission of telling the story of the U.S. experience in World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2017
National Emergency Medical Services Commemorative Work Act This bill authorizes the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia and its environs to pay tribute to the commitment and service represented by emergency medical services. The foundation shall: (1) be solely responsible for acceptance of contributions for, and payment of the expenses of, the establishment of the commemorative work; and (2) transmit excess funds received for such work to the Department of the Interior for deposit into a National Park Foundation account.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2017
Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017 This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to specify that communications decency provisions protecting providers from liability for the private blocking or screening of offensive material shall not be construed to impair the enforcement of, or limit availability of victim restitution or civil remedies under, state or federal criminal or civil laws relating to sex trafficking of children or sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion. The bill amends the federal criminal code to specify that the violation for benefiting from "participation in a venture" engaged in sex trafficking of children, or by force, fraud, or coercion, includes knowing conduct by any person or entity by any means that assists, supports, or facilitates the violation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2017
Taylor Force Act This bill: (1) calls on the Palestinian Authority's (PA) to stop making payments to terrorists in Israeli prisons and to the families of deceased terrorists as an incentive to commit acts of terror, (2) calls on countries to cease providing direct budgetary assistance to the PA until it stops all such payments, (3) urges the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (U.N.) and the Department of State to highlight the issue and urge other nations to call for an end to such payments, and (4) expresses support for creation of a general welfare system for all Palestinian citizens. Certain assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 that directly benefits the PA may not be made available for the West Bank and Gaza unless the State Department certifies that the PA: is taking steps to end acts of violence against U.S. and Israeli citizens perpetrated by individuals under its jurisdictional control, such as the March 2016 attack that killed former Army officer Taylor Force; has terminated payments for acts of terrorism against U.S. and Israeli citizens to any individual who has been fairly tried and imprisoned for such acts, to any individual who died committing such acts, and to family members of such an individual; and has revoked any law, decree, or document authorizing or implementing a system of compensation for imprisoned individuals that uses the sentence or incarceration period to determine compensation. Certain assistance under such Act for the West Bank and Gaza may not be made available unless the State Department certifies, every 180 days, that the PA is taking verifiable steps to end acts of violence against Israeli and U.S. citizens by individuals under its jurisdictional control.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2017
Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum Act or the AIRWAVES Act This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to complete auctions during each of the next three calendar years that will grant new broadcast licenses for specified frequency spectrum bands. The FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration are directed to identify frequencies in specified spectrum bands that may be utilized for: (1) non-federal unlicensed use; and (2) commercial licensed use. The FCC must allocate 10% of proceeds from each of the spectrum band auctions specified in the bill to expand wireless infrastructure in rural areas that are underserved or unserved. The FCC shall conduct a study on how unlicensed frequency spectrum bands can be utilized for: (1) the provision of healthcare in rural areas, (2) distance learning, and (3) facilitating innovations in agriculture.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2017
Broadband Connections for Rural Opportunities Program Act or the B-CROP Act This bill amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to include grants in the Department of Agriculture (USDA) program that provides loans and loan guarantees for broadband telecommunications services in rural areas. In making grants, loans, or loan guarantees under the program, USDA must give the highest priority to applicants that offer to provide broadband service to the greatest proportion of unserved rural households or rural households that do not have the minimum acceptable level of residential broadband service. USDA must then give priority to projects to serve rural communities that: have fewer than 10,000 permanent residents, are experiencing out-migration, have a high percentage of low-income residents, and are isolated from other significant population centers. A grant may not exceed 50% of the development cost of the project. USDA may increase the limit to 75% for projects that serve a remote or low-income area that does not have access to broadband service from any provider. USDA must: (1) provide technical assistance and training to entities that are eligible for the loans, loan guarantees, or grants; and (2) use a specified portion of the appropriations provided for the program for this purpose. The bill sets forth reporting requirements for recipients of the grants, loans, or loan guarantees.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2017
Bob Dole 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 Bob Dole in recognition for his service to the nation as a soldier, legislator, and statesman.
![Official portrait of Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c001047_200.jpg)