United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Member and Employee Training and Oversight On Congress Act or the ME TOO Congress Act This bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA), including to (1) extend CAA nondiscrimination requirements and remedies to sexual orientation, gender identity, and to legislative branch interns, detailees, and fellows; (2) revise CAA procedures for certain harassment and discrimination complaints; (3) require the offending Member of Congress to pay for settlements and awards in such complaints; and (4) rename the Office of Compliance the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights. The bill sets forth requirements for certain harassment and discrimination awareness and prevention training.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and Emergency Act or the SECURE Act This bill permits a qualifying alien who is not inadmissible or deportable under certain criminal or security grounds or who did not participate in persecution to apply for adjustment to lawful permanent resident status if such alien: (1) is in temporary protected status (TPS), (2) held TPS status, (3) qualified for TSP status at the time of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) last TPS designation, or (4) is a national of a foreign country that was at any time a TPS-designated country. TPS designation permits eligible nationals of designated counties affected by armed conflict or natural disasters to temporarily reside and work in the United States. An alien who has applied for status adjustment may work while the application is pending. The spouse, domestic partner, child, or unmarried son or daughter of an alien who has adjusted to lawful permanent resident status may also adjust to such status subject to certain conditions. An unmarried son or daughter must additionally establish physical presence in the United States for at least one year. An alien subject to a final order of removal may not be removed if the alien has a pending status adjustment application or is prima facie eligible to file an application and indicates an intention to do so. An alien who raises the defense of status adjustment eligibility may not be removed unless DHS has already denied the alien's application.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Workplace Action for a Growing Economy Act or the WAGE Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to award back pay and additional damages to any employee whose rights under the NLRA have been violated by an employer; impose penalties upon an employer for failing to post a notice of the rights of their employees under the NLRA; impose penalties upon an employer whose violations of the NLRA result in the discharge of an employee or other serious economic harm to the employee; provide civil remedies, including restraining orders, and a private right of action for violations of the NLRA; require the NLRB to issue an order requiring collective bargaining when a majority of valid ballots have been cast in favor of union representation; prevent the classification of employees as supervisors for the purpose of denying such employees the protections of the NLRA; and expedite the establishment of initial collection bargaining agreements. The bill empowers the NLRB to enforce its own orders without petitioning a court for enforcement.
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
Military Domestic Violence Reporting Enhancement Act This bill establishes a punitive article in the Uniform Code of Military Justice on domestic violence and aggravated domestic violence against an intimate partner. "Aggravated domestic violence" involves the use of a weapon, or force in a manner likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm. Military departments must submit to the Department of Justice the identity of each member of the Armed Forces who has been convicted of a domestic violence offense for inclusion in the national instant criminal background check system.
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
Military and Veterans Education Protection Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise a requirement, commonly known as the 90/10 rule, which directs proprietary (for profit) institutions of higher education to derive at least 10% of their revenue from nonfederal financial aid sources, or risk becoming ineligible for title IV funding. Currently the rule allows federal educational assistance for military personnel and veterans to count toward the 10%. This bill defines federal educational assistance to include federal educational assistance for military personnel and veterans. Thus, the bill prohibits proprietary institutions from counting federal educational assistance for military personnel and veterans as nonfederal funding sources.
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 · 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 · 6 November 2017
End Banking for Human Traffickers Act of 2017 This bill revises the duties of the Department of the Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence to include combating illicit financing relating to human trafficking. The bill amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to direct the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to report on efforts to eliminate money laundering relating to human trafficking. The Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council must review procedures relating to the detection and deterrence of human trafficking-related financial transactions.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
Next Generation 9-1-1 Act of 2017 This bill amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to require that the 911 Implementation Coordination Office (Office) assist and encourage federal, state, regional, and local entities to implement Next Generation 911 services. The bill eliminates the October 1, 2022, sunset date for the Office. The Advisory Board for Next Generation 911 Interoperability is established within the Office to recommend updates to the definition of Next Generation 911 services. The bill adds requirements for entities seeking federal grants to implement Next Generation 911 services and requires that the Department of Commerce and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issue new regulations accordingly. The bill authorizes additional appropriations for these grants through FY2022. The Office shall provide support to entities in addressing cybersecurity issues related to Next Generation 911 services. The National Institute of Standards and Technology must identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities unique to implementing Next Generation 911 services, recommend best practices and assistance that the federal government can provide, and report its recommendations for protecting such services. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must report about the adoption and adherence by: (1) telecommunications carriers to the FCC's network reliability best practices, and (2) public safety answering points to the public safety answering point best practices for cybersecurity as recommended by the Task Force on Optimal Public Safety Answering Point Architecture. (A public safety answering point is a facility designated to receive emergency calls and route the calls to emergency service personnel.) The Government Accountability Office must report about the resiliency, reliability, and survivability of public safety answering points during natural disasters and other catastrophes.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2017
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 · 25 October 2017
Upward Mobility Enhancement Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the exclusion for educational assistance programs, to increase the maximum amount of employer-provided educational assistance that may be excluded from the gross income of an employee. The bill: (1) specifies that the exclusion applies only to the first $11,500 of educational assistance furnished to an individual during a calendar year, and (2) requires the $11,500 amount to be adjusted for inflation after 2017. (Under current law, the exclusion applies only to the first $5,250 of educational assistance furnished to an individual during a calendar year and is not adjusted for inflation.)
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2017
Recognizes the celebration of Filipino American History Month in October 2017 as: (1) a testament to the advancement of Filipino Americans, and (2) a time to renew efforts toward the research and examination of history and culture so as to provide an opportunity for all people of the United States to learn more about Filipino Americans and to appreciate the historic contributions of Filipino Americans to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2017
State Public Option Act This bill allows residents not already eligible for Medicaid who are not concurrently enrolled in other health insurance coverage to buy into a state Medicaid plan beginning January 1, 2018. The bill makes such buy-in coverage eligible for premium subsidies and reduced cost sharing under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shall develop standardized, state-level metrics of access to, and satisfaction with, providers for individuals enrolled in state Medicaid plans. Primary care services furnished under Medicaid by certain providers must be paid at a rate that is not less than the rate under Medicare part B. Beginning in FY2019, the Department of Health and Human Services may award grants to states for the purpose of improving access to services for individuals enrolled in state Medicaid plans. The bill provides the enhanced federal medical assistance percentage to every state that expands Medicaid coverage for individuals who are newly eligible under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, regardless of when such expansion takes place.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2017
Honest Ads Act This bill expands source disclosure requirements for political advertisements by (1) establishing that paid internet and paid digital communications may qualify as “public communications” or “electioneering communications” that may be subject to such requirements, and (2) imposing additional requirements relating to the form of such source disclosures and the information contained within. The bill also requires certain online platform companies to maintain publicly available records about qualified political advertisements that have been purchased on their platforms.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2017
Streamlining Permitting to Enable Efficient Deployment of Broadband Infrastructure Act of 2017 or the SPEED Act This bill exempts certain broadband infrastructure project actions, including granting a covered easement, placement and installation of a small wireless facility, and placement and installation of a wireless service facility located in an existing public right-of-way, from environmental review requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. The bill requires the Government Accountability Office to study and report about challenges to and administrative delays in efficiently siting communications facility installations on federal land, and to provide recommendations for how Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can address such challenges and reduce delays identified in the report. The FCC Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee's Streamlining Federal Siting Working Group must submit a report analyzing the challenges to and administrative delays in efficiently siting communications facility installations on federal land, including whether it is necessary to develop: (1) standard procedures for communications facility installation siting, (2) methods that federal agencies may use to identify and report on coverage gaps and deficiencies in communications facility installation siting, and (3) procedures for creating and maintaining a publicly accessible inventory of space that can be used to attach or install communications facility installations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2017
Protect Access to Birth Control Act This bill nullifies interim final rules issued by the Department of Labor, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Health and Human Services that allow employers with religious or moral objections to be exempt from the requirement in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to cover contraceptive services without cost-sharing.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2017
Medicare-X Choice Act of 2017 This bill amends the Social Security Act to create the Medicare Exchange health plan, which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must offer in certain individual health insurance exchanges in 2020 and offer in all individual health insurance exchanges by 2023. Any individual who is a resident of a state where the plan is offered and who is not eligible for Medicare benefits may enroll in the plan. CMS must offer the plan in the small group market in all areas for 2024. The plan must meet the same requirements, including essential health benefits, as health insurance exchange plans under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Health care providers enrolled under Medicare or under a state Medicaid plan shall also be participating providers for the plan and shall be reimbursed at Medicare rates. The bill eliminates the restriction on the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate prescription drug prices for Medicare.
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
Authorizes the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for the unveiling of the American Prisoners of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Chair of Honor.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2017
Condemns the attack at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 1, 2017, and honors the memory of the victims killed. Expresses hope for the recovery of those injured, and applauds the efforts of law-enforcement and counterterrorism officials and emergency-medical and healthcare professionals in response to the attack.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Savanna's Act This bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to update the online data entry format for federal databases relevant to cases of missing and murdered Indians to include a new data field for users to input the victim's tribal enrollment information or affiliation. In addition, DOJ must: make standardized law enforcement and justice protocols that serve as guidelines for law enforcement agencies with respect to missing and murdered Indians, develop protocols to investigate those cases that are guided by the standardized protocols, meet certain requirements to consult with Indian tribes, and provide tribes and law enforcement agencies with training and technical assistance relating to the development and implementation of the law enforcement and justice protocols. Federal law enforcement agencies that investigate and prosecute crimes related to missing and murdered Indians must modify their law enforcement and justice protocols to comply with the standardized protocols.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Keep Americans Safe Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). The bill does not prohibit, with respect to an LCAFD: 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. The bill also amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to allow 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 · 4 October 2017
Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a trigger crank, a bump-fire device, or any part, combination of parts, component, device, attachment, or accessory that is designed or functions to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle but not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a machine gun. The bill does not prohibit, with respect to such firearm accessories, the importation or manufacture for, sale or transfer to, or possession by a federal, state, or local government. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both.
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 · 27 September 2017
Securing Urgent Resources Vital to Indian Victim Empowerment Act or the SURVIVE Act This bill amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to require the Department of Justice's Office for Victims of Crime to make grants to Indian tribes for programs and services for crime victims, such as domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, child abuse programs, child advocacy centers, elder abuse programs, medical care, legal services, relocation, and transitional housing. In addition, the bill makes 5% of the Crime Victims Fund available for these grants.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2017
Wildfire Disaster Funding Act This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to require specified adjustments to discretionary spending limits in FY2017-FY2026 to accommodate appropriations for wildfire suppression operations in the Wildland Fire Management accounts at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the Department of the Interior. If USDA or Interior determines that supplemental appropriations are necessary for wildfire suppression operations, the bill requires the relevant department to submit to Congress a request for the funding and a plan for obligating the funds. The bill also requires the President's budget to include the average costs for wildfire suppression over the previous 10 years.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2017
Keep Kids' Insurance Dependable and Secure Act of 2017 or the KIDS Act of 2017 This bill amends titles XI (General Provisions), XIX (Medicaid), and XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act to extend funding for CHIP through FY2022 and otherwise revise provisions related to CHIP and Medicaid. The bill also extends funding through FY2022 for: the Child Enrollment Contingency Fund, the Childhood Obesity Demonstration Project, the Pediatric Quality Measures Program, and specified outreach and enrollment grants. In addition, the bill reauthorizes through FY2022: the qualifying-states option (which allows states that provided coverage to now CHIP-eligible children prior to CHIP's enactment to continue to provide such coverage), and the express-lane eligibility option (which allows states to use eligibility findings from other public benefit programs to determine children's eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP). Beginning in FY2020, the bill allows state child-health plans to adopt more restrictive eligibility standards with respect to children in families whose income exceeds 300% of the poverty line. Current law provides states with an enhanced Federal Matching Assistance Percentage (FMAP) for child-health assistance through FY2019. The bill maintains the enhanced FMAP in FY2020, but halves the percentage-point increase.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Moving and Fostering Innovation to Revolutionize Smarter Transportation Act or the Moving FIRST Act This bill authorizes the Department of Transportation to award Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation grants to communities of varying sizes to promote technological innovation (e.g., autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, and roadway electrification) in transportation systems.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Child Care for Working Families Act This bill provides additional grant funding for child care and preschool programs. It also modifies various requirements for the programs, including policies regarding compensation and training for employees.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Recognizes: (1) the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15, 2017, through October 15, 2017; and (2) the integral role of Latinos and their manifold heritage in the economy, culture, and identity of the United States.
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 · 6 September 2017
Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting Act of 2017 or the SAFER Act of 2017 This bill amends the DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2004 to require the Department of Justice (DOJ), in providing information about the role of forensic nurses to certain health-related entities, to provide information about the role of both adult and pediatric forensic nurses. DOJ must also provide additional information on the need for pediatric sexual assault nurse examiners in responding to the abuse of both children and adolescents. Additionally, the bill amends the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 to reauthorize through FY2022 the requirement for DOJ to allocate a certain percentage of funds under the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program for grants to audit backlogged rape kits.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2017
This joint resolution condemns the racist violence and domestic terror attack in Charlottesville, Virginia, and rejects white nationalism, white supremacy, and neo-Nazism sentiments as antithetical to U.S. values. Congress offers condolences to the families of those who died in Charlottesville and sympathy and support for those injured, and expresses support to the Charlottesville community. Congress urges the President and the Administration to speak out against hate groups and use all available resources to address the growing prevalence of domestic hate groups.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2017
Naturalization at Training Sites Act of 2017 or the NATS Act This bill directs the Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard, to establish a naturalization office with trained personnel at each initial military training site of the Armed Forces. Each military department concerned shall: (1) identify members of the Armed Forces who are not U.S. citizens and inform them of the availability of naturalization services at such offices, and (2) assign new non-citizen members of the Armed Forces to an initial military training site that has such an office. Naturalization notifications shall be completed: (1) during every stage of basic training, (2) during training for any military occupational specialty, (3) at each school of professional military education, (4) upon each duty station transfer, and (5) at any other time determined appropriate by the military department concerned. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shall annually publish the number of members of the Armed Forces and their spouses and children who became naturalized U.S. citizens during the most recent year for which data is available, categorized by the country in which the naturalization ceremony took place.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2017
Immigrant Veterans Eligibility Tracking System Act or the I-VETS Act This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), upon an alien's application for an immigration benefit or the placement of such alien in an immigration enforcement proceeding, to: determine if the alien is serving, or has served, as a member of a regular or reserve component of the Armed Forces on active duty or as a member of a reserve component in an active status; and annotate every DHS immigration and naturalization record relating to such an alien to reflect such membership and to afford an opportunity to track the outcomes for each alien.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2017
Equal Dignity for Married Taxpayers Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to change provisions that refer to married couples to make such provisions equally applicable to legally married same sex couples.
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
Empowering Medicare Seniors to Negotiate Drug Prices Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to: (1) negotiate drug prices under the Medicare prescription drug benefit, and (2) institute a price structure for the reimbursement of drugs covered under the benefit.
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
This bill amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, with respect to the Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program, to require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prioritize loans and grants for substance use disorder treatment services. (Under current law, the program provides funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas.) The bill requires USDA to prioritize grants and loans for entities: (1) to develop facilities to provide substance use disorder (including opioid substance use disorder) prevention, treatment, or recovery services; and (2) that employ staff with appropriate expertise and training to identify and treat individuals with substance use disorders. An entity that receives funds pursuant to this bill may use the funds for the development of telemedicine facilities and systems to provide telemedicine for substance use disorder treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2017
This bill amends the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to require the Department of Agriculture to make funding available for substance use disorder treatment services from appropriations made for facilities and systems to provide telemedicine and distance learning services in rural areas.
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 · 31 July 2017
Rebuild America's Schools Act of 2017 This bill authorizes additional grant funding and tax-favored bonds to be used for the repair, renovation, and construction of public elementary and secondary schools.
![Official portrait of Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c001113_200.jpg)