United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2023
Youth Voting Rights Act This bill expands voting access for youth. Specifically, the bill establishes a private right of action to enforce the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, which prohibits denying or abridging the right to vote based on age. Further, the bill authorizes the Department of Justice to enforce the Twenty-Sixth Amendment against age-based restrictions for voting by mail. Additionally, the bill directs each state to designate as voter registration agencies all offices within public institutions of higher education (IHEs) that provide assistance to students, implement a preregistration process to allow minors who are 16 years or older to register to vote in federal elections that take place when or after the preregistered individual turns age 18, and ensure the availability of polling places on campuses of IHEs (with the availability of waivers). The bill prohibits durational residency requirements for voting in all federal elections. Currently, this prohibition applies only to voting for the offices of President and Vice President. States and local jurisdictions with voter identification requirements must treat IHE-issued student identification cards as voter identification. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must make grants to states to increase the involvement of individuals under age 18 in public election activities. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on trends related to voter registration, absentee voting, and provisional voting. The EAC must also collect and make publicly available certain data from states.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2023
Intelligence Community Workforce Agility Protection Act of 2023 This bill allows a current tax deduction for the moving and traveling expenses of an employee or new appointee of the intelligence community who moves due to a change in assignment that requires relocation. It also allows a current tax exclusion for such employees or appointees for moving expense reimbursements. Under current law, the tax deduction and exclusion for the moving expenses of other taxpayers are suspended for the period beginning in 2018 through 2025.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2023
Head Start for Our Future Act This bill adds child development and early learning to the list of community services in which undergraduate, graduate, and professional students may participate under a federal work-study program. Students in work-study programs who serve in Early Head Start or Head Start programs must comply with specified requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2023
Expanding the Voluntary Opportunities for Translations in Elections Act or the Expanding the VOTE Act This bill expands access to voting materials for individuals with limited proficiency in the English language. Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) requires covered states and political subdivisions to provide voting materials and other language assistance to persons who are American Indian, Asian American, Alaskan Natives, or of Spanish heritage and whose ability to speak or understand English limits electoral participation. A state or political subdivision that is subject to Section 203 is prohibited from providing English-only voting materials in an election. Among other requirements, this bill (1) requires the Department of Justice to issue a notice of prohibition, including the trigger threshold at which the prohibition applies, to certain states and political subdivisions; and (2) requires covered states and political subdivisions to provide written translations of all voting materials, with the consent of any applicable tribal government, to election workers. Additionally, the bill requires the Election Assistance Commission to make incentive grants for states and political subdivisions to provide translated voting materials. The bill also directs the Government Accountability Office to study and report on the impact of (1) reducing the threshold requirement under Section 203 of the VRA, and (2) expanding the definition of language minorities to include native speakers of additional languages.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2023
This bill provides statutory authority for the Organic Market Development Grant (OMDG) Program within the Agricultural Marketing Service. The bill also provides specified funds for the program for FY2024 and each fiscal year thereafter. The OMDG Program supports the development of new and expanded organic markets. Eligible applicants include business entities that produce or handle organic products; nonprofit organizations; trade associations; and tribal, state, territorial, and local government entities. Grant funds may be used to carry out projects that are for (1) market development and promotion of certified organic products; (2) certified organic product storage (including cold storage), aggregation, processing, and distribution capacity expansion; and (3) equipment-only.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2023
Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2023 This bill addresses harassment at institutions of higher education (IHEs). Specifically, the bill requires each IHE to include in its annual security report a statement of policy regarding harassment on the basis of a student's actual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, and a sex stereotype), disability, or religion. In addition, the Department of Education may award grants to IHEs to initiate, expand, or improve programs to (1) prevent the harassment of students; (2) provide counseling or redress services to students who have been harassed or accused of subjecting other students to harassment; or (3) educate and train students, faculty, or staff to prevent harassment or address harassment if it occurs.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2023
Expanded Telehealth Access Act This bill expands the types of health care practitioners who may provide telehealth services under Medicare. Specifically, the bill permanently allows audiologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and other providers designated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to provide telehealth services under Medicare. It also specifically allows occupational therapy assistants and physical therapist assistants to provide such services.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2023
Billie Jean King Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Billie Jean King in recognition of her courageous and groundbreaking leadership in advancing equal rights for women in athletics, education, and society.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2023
Secure And Fair Enforcement Regulation Banking Act or the SAFER Banking Act This bill provides protections for federally regulated financial institutions that serve state-sanctioned marijuana businesses. Currently, many financial institutions do not provide services to state-sanctioned marijuana businesses due to the federal classification of marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance. Under the bill, a federal banking regulator may not penalize a depository institution for providing banking services to a state-sanctioned marijuana business. For example, regulators may not terminate or limit the deposit or share insurance of a depository institution solely because the institution provides financial services to a state-sanctioned marijuana business. The bill also prohibits a federal banking regulator from requesting or requiring a depository institution to terminate a deposit account unless (1) there is a valid reason, such as the regulator has cause to believe that the depository institution is engaging in an unsafe or unsound practice; and (2) reputational risk is not the dispositive factor. Additionally, proceeds from a transaction involving activities of a state-sanctioned marijuana business are no longer considered proceeds from unlawful activity. (Financial institutions that handle proceeds from unlawful activity are subject to anti-money laundering laws. Violators of these laws are subject to fines and imprisonment.) Furthermore, a financial institution, insurer, or federal agency may not be held liable or subject to asset forfeiture under federal law for providing a loan, mortgage, or other financial service to a state-sanctioned marijuana business.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2023
Same Day Registration Act This bill requires states with a voter registration requirement to make same-day voter registration available at the polling place on any day voting is permitted.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2023
Stop Automatically Voiding Eligible Voters Off Their Enlisted Rolls in States Act or the Save Voters Act This bill prohibits a state from removing registrants from the official list of eligible voters unless it meets certain verification and notice requirements. Specifically, the bill prohibits a state from removing a registrant from the official list of eligible voters unless it verifies, on the basis of objective and reliable evidence, that the registrant is ineligible to vote in federal elections. Further, a state is prohibited from considering failure to vote in an election or failure to respond to any election mail as evidence of ineligibility to vote. Additionally, the bill requires a state to provide individual registrants who are removed with a notice, which must include the grounds for the removal and information on contesting the removal. Public notice must be provided after conducting any general program to remove the names of ineligible voters.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2023
Register America to Vote Act of 2023 This bill provides for the automatic registration of eligible voters. Specifically, the bill directs each state that has a voter registration requirement for federal elections to automatically register eligible individuals when they turn 18 years of age. The bill also provides for the automatic registration of individuals through state motor vehicle authorities. Individuals must be provided with an opportunity to opt out of automatic voter registration. The Election Assistance Commission must make grants to states to implement these automatic voter registration programs.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2023
Air Traffic Controllers Hiring Act of 2023 This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to set the hiring target for new air traffic controllers as the maximum number of individuals who are able to be trained at the FAA Academy.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2023
Rural Veterinary Workforce Act This bill excludes from gross income, for income tax purposes, student loan repayment or forgiveness assistance provided to veterinarians practicing in rural areas of a state.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2023
Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to Dustoff crews (helicopter air ambulance crews) of the Vietnam War in recognition of their heroic military service.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2023
Impact Aid Infrastructure Partnership Act This bill authorizes through FY2027 construction grants under the Impact Aid program. The Impact Aid program provides funding to local educational agencies (LEAs) that have lost property tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt federal property or to those that have experienced increased expenditures due to enrollment of federally connected children (e.g., children living on Indian lands or military bases). Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Education (ED), based on applications submitted by LEAs that are eligible to receive payments under the Impact Aid program, to establish a priority listing for grant awards based on facility condition. Further, ED must comply with specified requirements when making grant payments under this bill. For example, ED must provide a grant in full to an LEA that (1) has a facility in violation of a building code that represents a health hazard and which fails to meet other standards, and (2) has no capacity to issue bonds. ED must also require an LEA that has the capacity to issue bonds to pay a percentage of the total cost of the project supported with grant funds. ED must annually report to Congress on the projects carried out under this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2023
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment authorizing Congress and the states to set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections. The amendment grants Congress and the states the power to implement and enforce this amendment by legislation. They are allowed to distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2023
Child Care Stabilization Act This bill provides additional funding through FY2028 for child care stabilization grants under which lead state agencies make subgrants to child care providers for personnel costs, facility costs, the purchase of personal protective equipment, and other costs related to providing child care services.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2023
Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Reauthorization Act of 2023 This bill reauthorizes the Environmental Protection Agency's Long Island Sound programs through FY2028. The programs, which include a stewardship grant program, focus on conserving and restoring the estuary off the coast of New York and Connecticut.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2023
Fort Ontario National Monument Establishment Act This bill establishes the Fort Ontario National Monument in Oswego, New York, as a unit of the National Park System. The site shall preserve, protect, and interpret the history of (1) Indigenous people who once inhabited the land on which Fort Ontario is located, (2) Fort Ontario and its previous fortifications, and (3) refugees from World War II who were housed at Fort Ontario.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2023
Finger Lakes National Heritage Area Act This bill designates the Finger Lakes National Heritage Area in New York as a component of the National Heritage Area System. The area consists of Cayuga, Chemung, Cortland, Livingston, Monroe, Onondaga, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Wayne, and Yates Counties. (The National Park Service administers National Heritage Areas, which Congress designates as places where natural, cultural, and historic resources come together to form a nationally important landscape.) The Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance is designated as the local coordinating entity for the area and must submit to the National Park Service a proposed management plan for the area.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2023
Nationwide Right To Unionize Act This bill authorizes labor agreements to require membership in a labor organization (i.e., union) as a condition of employment regardless of state law (thus preempting any state laws that prohibit such agreements).
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2023
Public Housing Fire Safety Act This bill creates a grant program, to be administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, for public housing agencies to install automatic sprinkler systems in certain public housing projects.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2023
Voice for Farm Workers Act of 2023 This bill reauthorizes and expands the duties of the Farmworker Coordinator at the Department of Agriculture (USDA). (Part of the Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement, the coordinator identifies challenges faced by farmworkers and coordinates with USDA programs and other federal agencies to address the community’s needs.) Specifically, the bill reauthorizes the position of Farmworker Coordinator through FY2029. Under the bill, the coordinator must assess the effectiveness of USDA farmworker outreach programs, develop and implement a plan to coordinate USDA farmworker outreach activities and services, collaborate with USDA's agencies and offices on farmworker-related programmatic and policy decisions, communicate to employers of farmworkers information about federal programs for employees, identify research priorities to inform USDA farmworker-related research activities, measure and analyze the outcomes of USDA farmworker programs and activities, and recommend new initiatives and programs to USDA. Further, the bill expands the coordinator's existing duties to include (1) serving as a liaison to institutions of higher education and local educational agencies, and (2) consulting with community-based nonprofit organizations on areas such as technical skills and job training programs. The bill also directs the coordinator to hire such staff as necessary to carry out the coordinator's activities.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2023
Supporting Our Farm and Food System Workforce Act of 2023 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish the Office of the Farm and Food System Workforce to improve awareness of and access to USDA programs for farm and food system workers. USDA must also establish the Farm and Food System Worker Advisory Committee. The advisory committee must include farm and food system workers, civil rights representatives, and representatives from nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and institutions of higher education. The bill further requires USDA to establish the Farm and Food System Workforce Interagency Council to facilitate interagency, cabinet-level leadership in planning, policymaking, coordination, and program development for services available to farm and food system workers. The advisory committee and interagency council must each submit an annual report to USDA and Congress that is publicly available on USDA's website. The annual reports must include recommendations for legislative or administrative action for the following year.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2023
Augmenting Research and Educational Sites to Ensure Agriculture Remains Cutting-Edge and Helpful Act or the AG RESEARCH Act This bill provides funding for maintenance at agricultural research facilities. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must (1) revise its review process for evaluating proposals for agricultural research facilities to include consulting with representatives of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) peer review panels; and (2) establish a grant program within NIFA to provide agricultural research facilities with a federal share of the cost for the construction, alteration, acquisition, modernization, renovation, or remodeling of the research facilities or the equipment necessary for agricultural research. Additionally, the bill provides funding for the grant program and for USDA to provide direct payments to research facilities of the Agricultural Research Service for addressing deferred maintenance. USDA must give priority to the most critical structures in accordance with the Agricultural Research Service Capital Investment Strategy (April 2012).
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2023
Stillbirth Health Improvement and Education for Autumn Act of 2023 or the SHINE for Autumn Act of 2023 This bill authorizes grants and establishes other programs to improve data collection on stillbirths. Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may award grants for surveillance and data collection on stillbirths, and HHS must issue guidelines for health departments and vital statistics units concerning the collection of stillbirth data. HHS must also develop educational awareness materials about stillbirths and make them publicly available. Furthermore, HHS must implement a fellowship program to provide training in perinatal autopsy pathology and otherwise support research on stillbirths and fetal autopsies. The bill also requires HHS to issue a report with educational guidelines on stillbirths and stillbirth risk factors.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2023
This joint resolution expresses the sense of Congress that the Equal Rights Amendment, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, was ratified by more than three-fourths of the states and is therefore a valid constitutional amendment, effective January 27, 2020 (the date of Virginia's ratification). The Equal Rights Amendment was originally proposed to the states in 1972. The original proposal included a deadline for ratification of March 22, 1979; Congress subsequently extended the deadline to June 30, 1982. Although the requisite 38 states have ratified the amendment, three of these states did so after the deadlines, and five states subsequently rescinded their ratifications. The status of the amendment has been the subject of litigation.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2023
Better Collaboration, Accountability, and Regulatory Enforcement for Animals Act of 2023 or the Better CARE for Animals Act of 2023 This bill modifies enforcement provisions under the Animal Welfare Act, including by allowing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to bring civil actions against violators of the act for appropriate relief, such as removing animals, revoking violators' licenses, or issuing civil penalties. DOJ must use the penalties to pay for the temporary care for animals pending the disposition of civil or criminal proceedings that allege violations of the act with respect to such animals.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2023
Reproductive Health Care Accessibility Act This bill establishes various grants and related programs that address sexual and reproductive health care for individuals with disabilities. Specifically, the Health Resources and Services Administration must support training for health care providers who offer sexual and reproductive health care to individuals with disabilities, and educating individuals with disabilities about sexual and reproductive health care. The Administration for Community Living must establish a national center to provide recommendations, technical assistance, and other resources related to the provision of sexual and reproductive health care for individuals with disabilities. The bill also authorizes support for medical schools, nursing schools, and other educational institutions that offer obstetrics and gynecology training programs to expand the number of individuals with disabilities entering the reproductive health care workforce. Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services must study the effectiveness and other aspects of reproductive health care services and programs for individuals with disabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2023
This resolution (1) recognizes the importance of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 in advancing independent living for individuals with disabilities; (2) pledges continued efforts to address remaining barriers for individuals with disabilities; and (3) calls on federal agencies to provide additional resources for individuals with disabilities with respect to economic self-sufficiency, community-based services, housing, telecommunication, and transportation.
![Official portrait of Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000555_200.jpg)