United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2016
Condemns the terrorist attack on the Pulse Orlando nightclub on June 12, 2016. Honors those who were killed and expresses hope for the recovery of those who were injured. Applauds the dedication and bravery of the law enforcement and counterterrorism officials who responded to the attack. Declares that the House of Representatives stands together with all people of the United States in the face of terror and hate. Reaffirms the commitment of the United States and its allies to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and other terrorist groups at home and abroad and to address the threat posed by homegrown terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2016
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of George Voinovich, former member of the Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on June 14, 2016, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late Senator Voinovich.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2016
Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2016 This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the U.S. merchant mariners of World War II in recognition of their dedicated and vital service during World War II. Expresses the sense of Congress that the American Merchant Marine Museum should make the medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at appropriate locations associated with the U.S. Merchant Marine, giving preference to locations affiliated with it.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2016
Caring Recovery for Infants and Babies Act or the CRIB Act This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to allow a state Medicaid program to cover inpatient or outpatient services at a residential pediatric recovery center for infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome (a postnatal drug withdrawal syndrome) and their families.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2016
Expresses the sense of the Senate that a carbon tax would be detrimental to U.S. families and businesses and is not in the best interest of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2016
Compassionate Care Act This bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop and implement a national campaign that informs the public of the importance of end-of-life or advanced care planning and of an individual's right to direct and participate in health care decisions. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) must establish a website for qualified health care providers about those rights and advance care planning. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must establish a pilot grant program for end-of-life training in certain medical and health education schools. The AHRQ must develop quality measures for end-of-life care in each relevant qualified health care provider setting. Health care providers must begin reporting on their performance relating to such measures on April 1, 2018. The Health Resources and Services Administration must approve existing and develop new curricula on advance care planning and end-of-life care for continuing education that states may adopt for qualified health care providers. HHS must establish a demonstration program for supporting the provision of advance care planning through videoconferencing for patients who live far from their health care provider.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2016
Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue gold, silver, half-dollar clad, and proof silver coins in recognition and celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first manned landing on the moon. Treasury may issue coins minted under this bill for only a one-year period, beginning January 1, 2019. All sales of these coins shall include a surcharge of $35 per gold coin, $10 per silver coin, $5 per half-dollar clad coin, and $50 per proof silver coin. All of the surcharges received from the sale of such coins shall be paid as follows: one-half to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum's "Destination Moon" exhibit; one-quarter to the Astronauts Memorial Foundation; and one-quarter to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, to aid its missions by providing college scholarships for the very best and brightest students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2016
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2017 Provides FY2017 appropriations for the legislative branch, including the Senate and Joint Items such as: the Joint Economic Committee, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the Office of the Attending Physician, and the Office of Congressional Accessibility Services. Provides FY2017 appropriations for: the Capitol Police; the Office of Compliance; the Congressional Budget Office; the Architect of the Capitol; the Library of Congress, including the Congressional Research Service and the Copyright Office; the Government Publishing Office; the Government Accountability Office; the Open World Leadership Center Trust Fund; and the John C. Stennis Center for Public Service Training and Development. (Pursuant to the longstanding practice of each chamber of Congress determining its own requirements, funds for the House are not included in the Senate bill.) Sets forth permissible and prohibited uses for funds provided by this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2016
Designates the week of May 15-May 21, 2016, as National Police Week. Expresses support for law enforcement officers across the United States for their efforts to build safer and more secure communities. Recognizes: (1) the need to ensure that law enforcement officers have the equipment, training, and resources necessary to protect their health and safety; and (2) the members of the law enforcement community for their selfless acts of bravery. Honors and remembers law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2016
Veterans First Act TITLE I--PERSONNEL AND ACCOUNTABILITY MATTERS This bill establishes in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. The VA is required to develop criteria to promote supervisory protection of whistle-blowers. The bill revises VA authority to remove certain employees or senior VA executives for reasons of misconduct or performance. TITLE II--HEALTH CARE MATTERS Jason Simcakoski Memorial Act The bill establishes the Veterans Expedited Recovery Commission to examine the VA's therapy model for treating mental health illnesses. The VA shall require additional information about a prospective health care employee from the medical board of each state in which the health care provider holds or has held a medical license. The VA family caregiver program is expanded. The bill establishes a VA advisory committee on caregiver policies. The VA shall revive the Intermediate Care Technician Pilot Program. The VA may place a veteran requesting nursing home care in a medical foster home that meets appropriate VA standards. The bill sets forth requirements for VA hospitals with emergency departments to provide appropriate examination and stabilizing treatment for emergency medical conditions and women in labor. The VA and the Department of Defense (DOD) shall jointly update the VA/DOD Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Opioid Therapy for Chronic Pain. The VA shall expand its Opioid Safety Initiative. The bill establishes the VA Office of Patient Advocacy. The VA shall ensure that payments are made promptly to non-VA health care providers. If the VA is unable to furnish certain hospital, medical, or extended care at VA facilities or under other authorized contracts or sharing agreements, it may enter into a Veterans Care Agreement with an eligible provider to furnish such care. The bill authorizes the VA to carry out specified major medical facility projects in California, Maryland, Kentucky, and Washington. The VA shall: (1) adopt the Federal Drug Administrations's unique device identification system to identify biological implants for use in VA medical procedures; (2) expand research and integration of complementary and integrative health services into veterans health care services; and (3) carry out a three-year program to assess the feasibility of integrating complementary and alternative medicine services for veterans with mental health conditions, chronic pain conditions, and other chronic conditions. TITLE III--DISABILITY COMPENSATION AND PENSION The VA may pay burial and funeral expenses and other benefits to a survivor of a veteran who has not filed a formal claim if the record contains sufficient evidence to establish the survivor's entitlement to such benefits. The bill increases the special monthly pension for living Medal of Honor recipients. The Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 is amended to extend VA authority to provide for persons other than VA employees (i.e., contract physicians) to conduct medical disability examinations of applicants for VA benefits. The VA shall carry out a five-year disability claims appeals pilot program. TITLE IV--EDUCATION Any member of the Armed Forces who died between September 11, 2001, and December 31, 2005, is deemed to have died on January 1, 2006, in order to make that member's surviving spouse eligible for the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry scholarship. VA educational assistance payments for a veteran who was forced to discontinue a course or who did not receive credit toward completion of an education program because of a permanent school closure shall not be charged against the individual's educational assistance entitlement or counted against the aggregate assistance period. The bill revises the process for electing Post-9/11 educational benefits. TITLE V--EMPLOYMENT AND TRANSITION Each state director for veterans' employment and training shall coordinate activities with the state's departments of labor and veterans affairs. TITLE VI--HOMELESS VETERANS The bill includes as a homeless veteran, for purposes of VA benefits, a veteran or veteran's family fleeing domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other dangerous or life-threatening conditions in their current housing situation. The VA shall shall carry out case management services to improve the retention of housing by: (1) veterans who were previously homeless and who are transitioning to permanent housing, and (2) veterans who are at risk of becoming homeless. The VA shall establish the National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans. This bill eliminates the minimum continuous active duty service requirement for homeless veterans to receive certain benefits. Homeless veterans are exempted from disqualification for such benefits because of a discharge or dismissal from the Armed Forces under conditions other than honorable, except for a discharge by reason of a general court-martial. TITLE VII--UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR VETERANS CLAIMS The bill extends the temporary expansion of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. TITLE VIII--BURIAL BENEFITS The VA may, in lieu of furnishing a headstone or marker to certain deceased individuals, furnish a medallion or other device to be attached to a headstone or marker furnished at private expense. TITLE IX--OTHER MATTERS The VA may carry out specified leases at the VA's West Los Angeles Campus in Los Angeles, California.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2016
Trickett Wendler Right to Try Act of 2016 This bill bars the federal government from prohibiting or restricting the production, manufacture, distribution, prescribing, or dispensing of an experimental drug, biological product, or device that is: (1) intended to treat a patient who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness; and (2) authorized by, and in accordance with, state law. The federal government may not restrict the possession or use of such a treatment by a patient certified by a physician as having exhausted all other treatment options. A producer, manufacturer, distributor, prescriber, dispenser, possessor, or user of such a treatment has no liability regarding the treatment. The outcome of production, manufacture, distribution, prescribing, dispensing, possession, or use of such a treatment may not be used by a federal agency to adversely impact review or approval of the treatment. The treatment must: (1) have successfully completed a phase 1 (initial, small scale) clinical trial; (2) remain under investigation in a clinical trial approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); and (3) not be approved, licensed, or cleared for sale under the Federal Food, Drug, or Cosmetic Act or the Public Health Service Act. Not later than 30 days after enactment of this bill, and every 30 days thereafter until implementation is complete, the FDA must report on its progress in implementing a streamlined application process for compassionate use of experimental drugs and biological products.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2016
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of Robert F. Bennett, former member of the U.S. Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on May 9, 2016, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late Senator Bennett.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2016
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of Conrad Ray Burns, former member of the U.S. Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on May 9, 2016, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late Senator Burns.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2016 This bill amends the Clean Air Act by revising the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) program. The bill delays the implementation of the ozone NAAQS that were published in 2015. The bill extends until: (1) October 26, 2024, the deadline for states to submit designations to implement the 2015 ozone NAAQS; and (2) October 26, 2025, the deadline for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate state areas as attainment, nonattainment, or unclassifiable areas with respect to the 2015 ozone NAAQS. States must submit a state implementation plan (SIP) by October 26, 2026, to implement, maintain, and enforce the 2015 ozone NAAQS. The bill also changes the review cycle for criteria pollutant NAAQS from a 5-year review cycle to a 10-year review cycle. The EPA may not complete its next review of ozone NAAQS before October 26, 2025. Prior to establishing or revising NAAQS, the EPA must obtain advice from its scientific advisory committee regarding potential adverse public health, welfare, social, economic, or energy effects which may result from attaining and maintaining NAAQS. The EPA must publish regulations and guidance for implementing NAAQS concurrently with the issuance of a new or revised standard. New or revised NAAQS must not apply to preconstruction permits for constructing or modifying a major emitting facility or major stationary source of air pollutants until those regulations and guidance have been published. The bill revises requirements concerning SIPs for extreme ozone nonattainment areas and particulate matter nonattainment areas.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
Working Families Relief Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase and expand tax incentives for employer-provided dependent care assistance. The bill increases the limit on the amount excludible from the gross income of an employee for employer-provided dependent care assistance and requires annual inflation adjustments to such increased limit after 2017. The bill also establishes tax credits for: (1) small employer dependent care assistance program start-up costs, and (2) employer matching contributions for dependent care assistance programs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
This bill makes certain Department of Defense funds for state drug interdiction and counter-drug activities available for obligation or expenditure for at least three fiscal years.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act or the NAS Healthy Babies Act This bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), which results from a newborn's exposure to addictive opiate drugs while in the mother's womb. Specifically, the GAO shall report on: the prevalence of NAS, NAS treatment services for which coverage is available under state Medicaid programs, the settings and associated reimbursement methodologies for NAS treatment, the prevalence of utilization of various care settings under state Medicaid programs for NAS treatment, and any federal barriers to treating infants with NAS under state Medicaid programs. The GAO shall also report on its recommendations for improvements that will ensure access to NAS treatment under state Medicaid programs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
Recognizes the Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response program (TRANSCAER) on its 30th anniversary. (TRANSCAER is a voluntary national outreach effort that focuses on assisting communities to prepare for and respond to a possible hazardous material transportation incident.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
Thanks the teachers of the United States and promotes the teaching profession by encouraging students, parents, school administrators, and public officials to participate in National Teacher Appreciation Week.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2016
Investing in Opportunity Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the designation of opportunity zones in low-income communities and to provide tax incentives for investments in the zones, including deferring the recognition of capital gains that are reinvested in the zones. Governors may submit nominations for a limited number of opportunity zones to the Department of the Treasury for certification and designation. Governors must give particular consideration to areas that: are currently the focus of mutually reinforcing state, local, or private economic development initiatives to attract investment and foster startup activity; have demonstrated success in geographically targeted development programs such as promise zones, the new markets tax credit, empowerment zones, and renewal communities; and have recently experienced significant layoffs due to business closures or relocations. Treasury must designate zones if a governor fails to submit nominations within a specified period of time. The bill defines opportunity funds as any investment vehicle organized as a corporation or a partnership to invest in opportunity zones that holds at least 90% of its assets in opportunity zone assets. Taxpayers may temporarily defer the recognition of capital gains that are invested in opportunity zones or opportunity funds. Investments that are held for at least five years are eligible for capital gains tax reductions or exemptions, depending on how long the investment is held. Treasury must report to Congress on the opportunity zone incentives enacted in this bill, including an assessment of opportunity fund investments at the national and state levels.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2016
Jessie's Law This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to permit disclosure of patient records relating to substance abuse with the patient's oral consent or the consent of the patient's parent, legal guardian, or spouse. (Currently, disclosure is permitted only with the patient's written consent.) Interchange of such records is permitted within accountable care organizations, health information exchanges, and integrated care arrangements for purposes of attaining interoperability, improving care coordination, reducing health care costs, and securing or providing patient safety. The Department of Health and Human Services must develop and disseminate standards for hospitals and physicians regarding displaying a patient's history of opioid addiction in the patient's medical records with the patient's consent.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2016
GAO Access and Oversight Act of 2016 This bill authorizes the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to obtain federal agency records required to discharge the GAO's duties (including audit, evaluation, and investigative duties), including through bringing civil actions to require an agency to produce a record. No provision of the Social Security Act shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the GAO's authority to: (1) obtain information or inspect records about an agency's duties, powers, activities, organization, or financial transactions; or (2) obtain other agency records that the GAO requires to discharge its duties. Agency statements on actions taken or planned in response to GAO recommendations must be submitted to: (1) the congressional committees with jurisdiction over the pertinent agency program or activity, and (2) the GAO.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2016
This bill amends the National Dam Safety Program Act to direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish a program to provide technical, planning, design, and construction assistance grants to non-federal sponsors for rehabilitation of eligible high hazard potential dams. The bill defines an "eligible high hazard potential dam" as a non-federal dam that: is classified as high hazard potential by the dam safety agency of the state in which the dam is located; has an emergency action plan approved by such agency; and fails to meet minimum state dam safety standards and poses an unacceptable risk to the public. An eligible high hazard potential dam does not include a licensed hydroelectric dam or a dam built under the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture. FEMA shall require a grant recipient to provide an assurance that the owner of the dam has developed and will carry out a plan for maintenance of the dam during its expected life. A grant must be approved by the relevant state dam safety agency. Grant funds shall be allocated to all states from which applications are submitted based on each state's relative number of eligible high hazard potential dams compared to all states. Grant funds may not be used to: rehabilitate a federal dam, perform routine operation or maintenance of a dam, modify a dam to produce hydroelectric power, increase water supply storage capacity, or make any other modification that does not also improve the safety of the dam.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2016
Steel Industry Preservation Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend and modify the production tax credit for steel industry fuel. (Under current law, steel industry fuel is a fuel which is: (1) produced through a process of liquefying coal waste sludge and distributing it on coal, and (2) used as a feedstock for the manufacture of coke.) The bill modifies the tax credit for steel industry fuel to: extend the credit period and the placed-in-service date, revise the definition of "steel industry fuel" to allow blends of coal and petroleum coke or other coke feedstock in the fuel, set forth ownership requirements, and specify requirements for treating an owner as producing and selling steel industry fuel. A taxpayer that produces steel industry fuel may elect to accept an increased tax credit in lieu of certain deductions for expenses in connection with the production of steel industry fuel. The bill specifies the treatment of the credit for the purpose of the alternative minimum tax. It also exempts transactions related to steel industry fuel from rules that restrict deductions and other tax benefits for activities that are not engaged in for profit or that do not have economic substance.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2016
Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2016 This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to reauthorize through FY2021 a diesel emissions reduction program. The program authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to provide grants, rebates, or loans for reducing diesel emissions from certain diesel vehicles or fleets by retrofitting or replacing their engines.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2016
Recognizes 4-H as a vital organization for training the next generation for national leadership, congratulates the National 4-H Council on its "Grow True Leaders" campaign, and supports the council's efforts to grow and diversify the 4-H program.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2016
Expresses the sense of Congress that: a durable resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process can only come through direct, bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians; the U.N. cannot be a truly neutral arbiter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; and the United States should veto any U.N. Security Council resolution that inserts the Security Council into the peace process, unilaterally recognizes a Palestinian state, makes declarations concerning Israeli controlled territories, or dictates terms and a time line for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2016
This joint resolution disapproves and nullifies a Department of Labor rule published on April 8, 2016, relating to the definition of the term "fiduciary" and the conflict of interest rule with respect to retirement investment advice. (The rule defines who is a fiduciary with respect to pension and retirement plans. Under current law, a person who provides investment advice has a fiduciary obligation that requires the person to provide advice in the sole interest of plan participants and beneficiaries. The rule changes the definition of "investment advice" to treat people who provide investment advice to pension and retirement plans for a fee or other compensation as fiduciaries in a wider array of advice relationships.)
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2016
Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act This bill revises the functions of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by establishing new transparency and accountability measures on the commission's budget and fee structure and developing the regulatory framework necessary to enable the licensing of advanced nuclear reactors. The bill amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to remove amounts appropriated for the Advanced Reactor Program from the NRC's fee recovery requirement. The NRC must ensure that the collection of fees is equal to their budget authority. The NRC may collect fees through: (1) fees for services that specifically benefit a particular person or entity, and (2) annual fees to fund regulatory costs. The bill places a cap on the amount of the annual fee that may be charged to an operating reactor. The NRC must also establish stages within the licensing process for reactors and implement risk-informed performance-based licensing evaluation techniques and guidance. Research and test reactor licensing must also be developed. In addition, the NRC must complete a rulemaking by the end of 2023 to establish a technology-inclusive regulatory framework for licensing advanced nuclear reactors. The Department of Energy must establish the Advanced Nuclear Energy Cost-Share Grant Program to make cost-share grants to applicants for the purpose of funding a portion of the NRC pre-application and application review fees.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2016
American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016 This bill declares the sense of Congress that it should consider a miscellaneous tariff bill. The U.S. International Trade Commission shall: conduct a process, meeting specified requirements, for the submission and consideration of petitions for duty suspensions and reductions; and report to Congress on the effects of duty suspensions and reductions enacted pursuant to this Act on producers, purchasers, and consumers in the United States. The bill prescribes requirements for publication by specified congressional committees of a list of limited tariff benefits contained in a miscellaneous tariff bill.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2016
Rural Access to Hospice Act of 2016 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow payment under Medicare for certain services furnished to hospice patients by rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). With respect to a patient who elects to receive hospice care under Medicare, current law generally limits payment for services that are either duplicative of such care or related to the treatment of the individual's terminal illness. However, current law exempts from this limitation: (1) physicians' services furnished by the individual's attending physician, if not an employee of the hospice program; and (2) services provided or arranged by the hospice program. The bill expands this exemption with regard to rural health clinic and FQHC services. Specifically, the Medicare payment limitation shall not apply to such services that: (1) would otherwise be physicians' services if furnished by an individual unaffiliated with a rural health clinic or FQHC; and (2) are either arranged by the hospice program or furnished by the individual's attending physician, if not an employee of the hospice program.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2016
Gender Advancement in Pay Act or the GAP Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to expand exceptions to the prohibition against sex discrimination to include payments pursuant to a differential based on expertise, shift, or a business-related factor other than sex, including but not limited to education, training, or experience. The statute of limitations under the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 for a charge of prohibited sex discrimination, or an action by or on behalf of an employee for such discrimination, shall be tolled until the earlier of: (1) the date on which the Equal Employment Commission or the Department of Justice brings an action or notifies the employee concerned with respect to the charge under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, or (2) 270 days after the charge is filed. Nonretaliation prohibitions are extended to cover inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing the wages of an employee or of another employee, or declining to discuss or disclose the employee's wages, with specified exceptions. An employer shall be considered to have committed an unlawful act if the employer requires an employee to sign a contract or waiver that would prohibit the employee from disclosing information about the employee's wages. Civil penalties are established for violation of prohibitions against sex discrimination. The Department of Labor, together with the Department of Education, shall conduct a multistate study, through a grant to a nonprofit research institution, that includes strategies to increase the participation of women in high-wage, high-demand occupations and industries in which women are underrepresented. The Government Accountability Office shall also conduct a multistate study to develop such strategies.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2016
Credit for Caring Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an eligible caregiver a new tax credit for 30% of the cost of long-term care expenses that exceed $2,000, up to $3,000 in a taxable year. The bill defines "eligible caregiver" as an individual who pays or incurs expenses for providing care to a spouse or other dependent relative with long-term care needs and who has earned income for the taxable year in excess of $7,500.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2016
Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016 or the PROP Act of 2016 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to exclude certain pain-related measures for purposes of calculating incentive payments under the value-based purchasing program (VBP). (VBP is a program that links hospital payments to the quality of care provided.) Specifically, VPB measures shall not include measures based on a patient's assessment of: (1) the patient's need for pain medicine during a hospital stay; (2) how often, during the stay, the patient's pain was well controlled; or (3) how often, during the stay, hospital staff did everything they could to help manage the patient's pain.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2016
Fallen Heroes Flag Act of 2016 This bill allows the Representative or Senator of an immediate family member of a deceased firefighter, law enforcement officer, member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew, or public safety officer who died in the line of duty to give the family, on request, a Capitol-flown flag, together with a certificate, signed by the official providing the flag (the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Representative, or the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Senator), that contains an expression of sympathy for the family.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2016
Preventing Iran's Access to United States Dollars Act of 2016 This bill prohibits the President from issuing a license that permits a person to: conduct an offshore U.S. dollar clearing system for transactions involving the government of Iran or an Iranian person, or provide U.S. dollars for any offshore U.S. dollar clearing system conducted by a foreign government or a foreign financial institution for transactions involving the government of Iran or an Iranian person. The Department of the Treasury shall report to Congress: a list of financial institutions operating or participating in an offshore U.S. dollar clearing system that conducts transactions involving the government of Iran or an Iranian person, and an assessment of Treasury efforts to prevent such transactions. The President shall block and prohibit all transactions in property and property interests of any listed institution if the property and interests: (1) are in the United States, (2) come within the United States, or (3) are or come within the possession or control of a U.S. person. The President may impose additional sanctions pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 is amended to subject to sanctions: (1) u-turn transactions (fund transfers from a foreign bank that pass through a U.S. financial institution and are then transferred to a second foreign bank), and (2) book transfers (fund transfers for the benefit of an Iranian financial institution made between accounts of the same financial institution).
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2016
Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants or contracts for Palliative Care and Hospice Education Centers. These Centers must improve the training of health professionals in palliative care and establish traineeships for individuals preparing for advanced education nursing degrees, social work degrees, or advanced degrees in physician assistant studies in palliative care. HHS may make grants to, and enter into contracts with, schools of medicine, schools of osteopathic medicine, teaching hospitals, and graduate medical education programs to support the training of physicians who plan to teach palliative medicine. HHS must: (1) provide Palliative Medicine and Hospice Academic Career Awards to individuals to promote their career development; (2) award grants or contracts to entities that operate a Palliative Care and Hospice Education Center; (3) award incentive grants or contracts to advanced practice nurses, social workers, physician assistants, pharmacists, chaplains, or students of psychology pursuing an advanced degree in palliative care or related fields; and (4) award grants to schools of nursing, health care facilities, or programs leading to certification as a nurse assistant to train individuals in providing palliative care. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality must provide for a national education and awareness campaign to inform patients, families, and health professionals about the benefits of palliative care. The National Institutes of Health must expand national research programs in palliative care.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2016
Detaining Terrorists to Protect Americans Act of 2016 This bill prohibits the use of funds to transfer, release, or assist in the transfer or release to or within the United States, its territories, or possessions of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or any other detainee who: (1) is not a U.S. citizen or a member of the Armed Forces; and (2) is or was held by the Department of Defense (DOD) on or after January 20, 2009, at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. No funds may be used: to construct or modify any facility in the United States, its territories, or possessions to house any individual detained at Guantanamo under DOD custody or control unless expressly authorized by Congress; or through FY2017 to transfer, release, or assist in the transfer or release of an individual detained at Guantanamo to any foreign country or foreign entity unless expressly authorized by Congress. "Individual detained at Guantanamo" means any individual located at Guantanamo as of October 1, 2009, who: (1) is not a U.S. citizen or a member of the Armed Forces; and (2) is under DOD custody or control, or otherwise under detention at Guantanamo. No funds may be used to: (1) close or abandon Guantanamo, (2) relinquish control of Guantanamo to Cuba, or (3) implement a material modification to the Treaty Between the United States of America and Cuba that constructively closes Guantanamo.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act of 2016 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish a bid ceiling for durable medical equipment (such as wheelchairs) under Medicare's competitive acquisition program, through which rates are set according to a bidding process rather than by an established fee schedule. Specifically, the bid ceiling for such an item shall not be less than the fee schedule amount that would otherwise be determined. Under current law, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must use payment information from competitive acquisition programs to make payment adjustments for areas outside of such programs. The bill requires CMS, in making these adjustments, to account for stakeholder input. In addition, CMS must account for a comparison of competitive acquisition areas and other areas with respect to the following factors: average travel distance and cost associated with furnishing items and services, barriers to access, average delivery time, average volume of items and services furnished by suppliers, and number of suppliers. In addition, CMS shall delay by 15 months the full implementation of new Medicare payment rates for durable medical equipment. On a monthly basis, CMS must publish on its website the results of the monitoring of health outcomes and Medicare beneficiaries' access to durable medical equipment. The bill accelerates the applicability, from January 1, 2019, to October 1, 2018, of provisions of current law that limit federal Medicaid reimbursement to states for durable medical equipment to Medicare payment rates.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act This bill declares that the proposed or the final rule of the Department of Labor entitled "Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees" shall cease to have any force or effect. The rule revises the "white collar" exemption of executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees from minimum wage and maximum hour, or overtime, requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA). If the proposed rule is a final rule on the date of enactment of this bill: Labor shall not enforce it based on conduct occurring before that enactment date, an employee shall not have any right of action against an employer for the employer's failure to comply with the final rule at any time before that enactment date, any regulations that were amended by the final rule shall be restored and revived as if the final rule had never taken effect, and nothing in this bill shall be construed to create a right of action for an employer against an employee for the recoupment of any payments made to the employee before the enactment of this bill that were in compliance with that final rule. Labor may promulgate any substantially similar rule only if it has completed certain required actions; but the rule shall not contain any automatic updates to the salary threshold for purposes of exemptions to minimum wage and maximum hour requirements under the FLSA. The requirement that definitions applicable for such exemptions be defined and delimited from time to time by Labor regulations shall be construed to: require Labor to issue a new rule through notice and comment rulemaking for each change in any salary threshold it has proposed; and exclude any rule that would result in changes to any salary threshold for multiple time periods, including through any automatic updating procedure. Labor may not promulgate any final rule that includes any revision to duties tests for exemption from minimum wage and maximum hours requirements unless specific regulatory text for the provision was proposed in the proposed rule.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
Congratulates the Girl Scouts of the United States of America and Girl Scout Gold Award recipients everywhere on the centennial of the Girl Scout Gold Award. Recognizes: (1) the impact recipients of such Award have had on the lives of individuals in the United States and on the world, and (2) the lasting impact of the projects of Award recipients on their communities.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
Perkins Fund for Equity and Excellence This bill amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to replace the existing Tech Prep program with a new competitive grant program to support career and technical education. Under the program, local educational agencies and their partners may apply for grant funding to support: career and technical education programs that are aligned with postsecondary education programs, dual or concurrent enrollment programs and early college programs, certain evidence-based strategies and delivery models related to career and technical education, teacher and leader experiential and informational-gathering site visits, professional development of educators and business partners, structured interdisciplinary collaboration and common planning time, teacher and leader externship programs, cross-credentialing for teachers, paid student internships or other paid work-based learning experiences, and guidance counseling. Unless granted a waiver, a grant recipient must provide specified matching funds in the fourth and fifth years of the five-year grant.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
Designates March 2016 as National Women's History Month. Recognizes the celebration of such month as a time to reflect on the contributions that women have made to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2016
Protecting Local Business Opportunity Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act to allow two or more employers to be considered joint employers for purposes of the Act only if each shares and exercises control over essential terms and conditions of employment and such control over these matters is actual, direct, and immediate.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2016
Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to revise Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) authorities, duties, centers, reports, and strategic planning. The bill creates the position of Chief Medical Officer within SAMHSA. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must establish the Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee. SAMHSA's Office of Policy, Planning, and Innovation is replaced by the National Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Laboratory. SAMHSA may provide support for: (1) the development of interventions for mental illness, serious emotional disturbances, and substance use disorders; and (2) integration of primary care and behavioral health care. The bill revises and extends through FY2021 SAMHSA support for various services and programs, including: (1) mental health and substance abuse services for homeless individuals, (2) mental and behavioral health education and training grants, and (3) substance use disorder treatment services for children and pregnant and postpartum women. The bill revises and extends block grants for community mental health services and transition from homelessness. SAMHSA must maintain the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline program and National Treatment Referral Routing Service. HHS must ensure health care providers, patients, and others have access to resources regarding the protected health information of patients seeking or undergoing mental or substance use disorder treatment. HHS, the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury must take specified actions regarding requirements for health insurance to provide parity between mental health and substance use disorder benefits and medical and surgical benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2016
Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2016 or the RPM Act of 2016 This bill amends the Clean Air Act to allow the modification of a vehicle's air emission controls if the vehicle is used solely for competition.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2016
Veterans Choice Improvement Act of 2016 This bill codifies, revises, and makes permanent the Veterans Choice Program (VCP) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VCP is enlarged to include additional health care providers that meet specified VA criteria. Veterans eligibility provisions are revised, including by: eliminating the August 1, 2014, deadline for enrollment in the VA patient enrollment system; requiring that a veteran does not live within 40 miles driving distance of a VA medical facility with a full-time primary care physician or within 20 miles of a VA medical facility that provides hospital care, emergency medical services, and surgical care rated as having a surgical complexity of standard; and providing eligibility for a veteran enrolled in the VCP pilot program that provides hospital or medical care through qualifying non-VA health care providers to veterans in highly rural areas. Medical service rate exceptions are provided for: (1) highly rural areas, (2) Alaska, and (3) states that have an All-Payer Model Agreement. The VA shall provide for a nationwide claims processing system. The following VA programs, contracts, and agreements shall be consolidated into the VCP by December 31, 2017: the patient-centered community care program; contracts for kidney dialysis services; contracts through the retail VA pharmacy network; and health care agreements with federal entities or federally-funded entities, including the Department of Defense, the Indian Health Service, tribal health programs, federally-qualified health centers, and academic teaching affiliates. VCP funds shall be derived from the appropriations account established under the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015. The VA shall ensure that VCP health care provider payments comply with the Prompt Payment Act and the requirements of this bill. VCP claims, with a limited exception, must be submitted electronically as of January 1, 2019. The VA shall establish an electronic claims interface by such date. This bill terminates certain provisions authorizing medical care through non-VA facilities. The Veterans' Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008 is amended to extend the pilot program under which the VA provides covered health services in highly rural areas to covered veterans through qualifying non-VA health care providers. The VA may, if unable to furnish hospital care, medical services, or extended care at VA facilities or under other authorized contracts or sharing agreements, enter into a Veterans Care Agreement with an eligible provider to furnish such care and services. An eligible provider is: a physician, supplier, or service provider that has entered into an agreement under the Social Security Act; a provider of items and services receiving payments under a state Medicaid plan; an aging and disability resource center, an area agency on aging, or a center for independent living; or a provider located in a health shortage area. The VA shall reimburse an ambulance provider or other entity that provides emergency transportation to a non-VA facility for a veteran who is an active VA health care participant who is personally liable for emergency treatment in a non-VA facility. A veteran seeking VA hospital care or medical services shall provide the VA with information about other health plan coverage. If the VA establishes or has established a presumption of service connection for disability compensation for a specified illness/condition incurred by a veteran who served at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, the VA shall commence payment of such compensation within 90 days of: (1) establishing such presumption, or (2) enactment of this bill for such a presumption established prior to enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2016
Designates March 2, 2016, as Read Across America Day. Honors Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) for his success in encouraging children to discover the joy of reading. Honors the 19th anniversary of Read Across America Day. Encourages parents to read with their children for at least 30 minutes on Read Across America Day.
United States · United States Congress · 29 February 2016
Digital Security Commission Act of 2016 This bill establishes in the legislative branch the National Commission on Security and Technology Challenges to assess, and make recommendations for policy and practice concerning, the issue of multiple security interests in the digital world, including public safety, privacy, national security, and communications and data protection, both now and throughout the next 10 years. Members of the Commission shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House and Senate majority leader (eight members), the minority leaders in the House and the Senate (eight members), and the President (one member) from among U.S. citizens with significant knowledge and primary experience in: cryptography, global commerce and economics, federal law enforcement, state and local law enforcement, consumer-facing technology sector, enterprise technology sector, the intelligence community, and the privacy and civil liberties community.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2016
Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax credit for railroad track maintenance.
![Official portrait of Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c001047_200.jpg)