United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2017
Police Creating Accountability by Making Effective Recording Available Act of 2017 or the Police CAMERA Act of 2017 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to make grants to states, local governments, and Indian tribes to purchase or lease body-worn cameras and to implement body-worn camera programs. A state, local government, or Indian tribe that receives a grant must comply with certain requirements, including to establish policies and procedures for the use of body-worn cameras and to adopt recorded data collection and retention protocols. The BJA must establish and maintain a toolkit to provide training and technical assistance, including best practices for implementation, model policies and procedures, and research materials. The BJA must also study and report to Congress on the efficacy, impact, and effect of using body-worn cameras.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2017
This bill directs the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration to complete the rulemaking process and publish a final rule regarding the advance notice of proposed rulemaking issued on March 10, 2016, entitled "Evaluation of Safety Sensitive Personnel for Moderate-to-Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea."
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2017
We the People Democracy Reform Act of 2017 This bill amends various provisions related to elections, including by: expanding the ban on election contributions by foreign nationals to include corporations subject to specified levels of ownership or control by foreign nationals or governments; expanding and otherwise revising various disclosure and reporting requirements related to campaign communications; imposing penalties for willfully violating limits related to campaign contributions for coordinated expenditures; revising notification requirements for campaign contributions of $1,000 or more from any contributor during a calendar year; replacing the Federal Election Commission with the Federal Election Administration, which shall enforce specified election-related laws and formulate related policies; imposing restrictions on covered financial-services regulators, such as by prohibiting them from using their position to influence any matter that provides a direct and substantial pecuniary benefit to certain former employers or clients; requiring the President and Vice President to disclose financial interests, including tax returns, to Congress and the Office of Government Ethics; modifying the system for the public financing of presidential elections, including by providing for 600% matching funds for smaller campaign contributions and requiring a candidate who accepts public financing to agree not to accept certain bundled contributions; requiring each state to conduct redistricting through a plan developed by an independent commission or, if such a commission plan is not enacted, a plan developed and enacted by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; and directing states to permit same-day voter registration.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2017
Stop CEO Excessive Pay Act The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the deduction for trade or business expenses, to prohibit a deduction for excessive compensation for any employee of the taxpayer. "Excessive compensation" is the amount by which the compensation for services performed by an employee during the year exceeds the lesser of: (1) the median of the compensation paid for services performed by all employees of the taxpayer during the taxable year, multiplied by 25; or (2) $1 million. The bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to: (1) prohibit an issuer from paying excessive compensation to an employee unless the compensation is approved by at least 50% of the shareholders, and (2) impose monetary penalties on issuers that violate the requirement. The bill also prohibits tax deductions for penalties paid to the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2017
Protecting Workers and Improving Labor Standards Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act to allow labor agreements to require membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment regardless of state law (thus preempting state laws that prohibit such agreements).
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2017
Designates September 2017 as National Kinship Care Month. Honors the commitment and dedication of kinship caregivers and advocates. Encourages Congress to implement policies to improve the lives of vulnerable children and families.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2017
Weekend Voting Act This bill amends the Revised Statutes of the United States to change the timing for regularly scheduled elections for the House of Representatives, Senate, and electors of the President and Vice President to the first Saturday and Sunday after the first Friday in November. Each state shall by law establish the hours of operation for polling places. This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the holding of elections over a weekend should be carried out in a manner which does not interfere with religious practices and should result in cost savings to the taxpayer.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Freedom from Equifax Exploitation Act This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to revise fraud alert provisions required of consumer reporting agencies. A fraud alert must be placed in a consumer's file upon request if the consumer suspects harm from an unauthorized disclosure. The time period for fraud alerts is extended from 90 days to 1 year. The bill also revises provisions relating to 7-year renewable fraud alerts in cases of identity theft. The bill establishes a credit freeze process. A consumer reporting agency must place a free credit freeze on the consumer's file upon a consumer's request, prohibiting a consumer reporting agency from releasing any credit information without the consumer's permission. Consumer reporting agencies must provide procedures for temporarily and permanently lifting the freeze at no charge to the consumer. Consumers are allowed a free credit report when requesting a credit freeze. While the file is subject to a freeze, a consumer reporting agency is prohibited from including the consumer in lists provided to third parties for credit or insurance offers. A consumer reporting agency must provide on the Internet policies and procedures for consumers to: (1) place, temporarily lift, or fully remove a credit freeze; and (2) make required statements for fraud alerts or credit freezes. The bill requires consumer reporting agencies to issue a refund of fees to any consumer who requested a credit freeze beginning September 7, 2017, through the day before enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
This bill establishes the National Commission on the Cybersecurity of United States Election Systems. The purposes of the commission are to: identify and document mitigation and response activities to or in the prevention of cybersecurity vulnerabilities in U.S. election systems in 2016; document and describe any harm or attempted harm to U.S. election systems in 2016; review foreign cyber interference in elections in other countries to determine additional cybersecurity threats, interference methods, and successful defense mechanisms; make a full and complete accounting of emerging threats and unmitigated vulnerabilities to U.S. election systems; and report recommendations for action at the federal, state, and local levels. The commission is given the authority to hold hearings and issue subpoenas to fulfill its purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
This bill prohibits the involuntary separation of a member of the Armed Forces, or denial of reenlistment or continuation in the Armed Forces, solely on the basis of the member's gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Equal Employment for All Act of 2017 This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit an employer from using a consumer report containing credit information for either employment purposes or for making an adverse employment action. The bill makes exceptions to the prohibition when: (1) the consumer applies for, or currently holds, employment that requires a national security clearance, or (2) a consumer report is otherwise required by law.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the tax exclusion for distributions from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for charitable purposes to: (1) eliminate the $100,000 cap on such exclusion; (2) permit tax-free distributions from IRAs to a split-interest entity (i.e., a charitable remainder annuity or unitrust, a pooled income fund, and a charitable gift annuity); and (3) allow distributions to a split-interest entity to be made when the account beneficiary attains age 59-1/2 (otherwise, age 70-1/2 for IRA distributions to a charitable organization).
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Consolidation Prevention and Competition Promotion Act of 2017 This bill amends the Clayton Act to revise merger requirements. Specifically, the bill: prohibits a merger that materially (currently, substantially) lessens competition in more than a de minimis amount or tends to create a monopsony (a market situation in which there is only one buyer), shifts the burden of proof to the merging companies that their consolidation will not harm competition, requires companies that enter into a settlement agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or Department of Justice regarding a merger to report information that allows the agencies to assess the competitive impact of the merger, and establishes the Office of the Competition Advocate within the FTC.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Merger Enforcement Improvement Act This bill modifies antitrust enforcement requirements regarding mergers (acquisitions by one corporation of the voting securities or assets of another). Specifically, the bill: adjusts premerger notification filing fees; requires certain filers to report to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or to the relevant Assistant Attorney General on information that allows the government to assess the competitive impact of a merger; requires the FTC to study overlapping ownership or control by investors in certain markets; and requires the Government Accountability Office to assess the success of certain merger remedies and the impact of mergers and acquisitions on wages, employment, innovation, and new business formation.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Federal Perkins Loan Program Extension Act of 2017 This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend the Federal Perkins Loans program through September 30, 2019.
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 · 13 September 2017
Medicare for All Act of 2017 This bill establishes a national health insurance program that is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. Among other things, the program must: (1) cover all U.S. residents; (2) cover specified items and services, including hospital services, prescription drugs, and dental and vision services; and (3) be fully implemented four years after enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2017
Marijuana Effective Drug Studies Act of 2017 or the MEDS Act This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to establish a new, separate registration process to facilitate research involving marijuana and the commercial production of drugs made from marijuana. Specifically, the bill requires the Drug Enforcement Administration to register manufacturers and distributors to supply marijuana: (1) for use in research, and (2) for the commercial production of approved drugs containing or derived from marijuana.
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 · 11 September 2017
Worker Owned Wealth Act This bill establishes a loan program and tax incentives to assist employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). The Department of the Treasury must establish in each field office an Employer Ownership Revolving Loan Fund to make: (1) low-interest loans to business owners seeking to establish employee ownership in the business, and (2) loan guarantees to private lenders who make loans to ESOPs. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income a limited amount of the interest received from loans to a corporation or an ESOP to acquire or transfer employer securities for an ESOP that meets specified requirements. The bill also imposes a 10% tax on a disposition of certain employer securities by an ESOP: (1) within three years of the acquisition of the securities, subject to specified conditions; or (2) if the securities or the proceeds from the disposition have not been allocated to participants or their beneficiaries. The bill modifies the limitation on the deductibility of executive compensation of publicly held corporations to: (1) require a corporation that uses the performance-based compensation exception to be at least 5% employee-owned under an employee stock program, and (2) modify the definition of "publicly held corporation." The bill establishes within the National Economic Council the Office of Employee Ownership and Worker Empowerment to provide educational and technical assistance, raise awareness, and report to Congress regarding employee ownership in companies.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2017
Condemns: (1) the violence and displacement inflicted on Burma's (Myanmar's) Rohingya civilians, and (2) the attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army militant group. Calls for an immediate halt to all hostilities by Burmese authorities. Urges the government of Burma to allow access to the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar and delivery of field work and humanitarian aid. Calls on the government of Burma to implement the August 2017 recommendations of its Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, including: (1) ending restrictions on Rohingya movement, and (2) providing the Rohingya with citizenship. Encourages Aung San Suu Kyi to: (1) live up to her inspiring words upon receiving the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize with respect to ethnic reconciliation in Burma, and (2) address Rohingya repression.
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 · 5 September 2017
Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States Act of 2017 or the CARERS Act of 2017 This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide that the Act's regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties do not apply to a person who produces, possesses, distributes, dispenses, administers, tests, recommends, or delivers medical marijuana in compliance with state law. The bill also: excludes "cannabidiol" (CBD) from the definition of "marijuana"; limits the concentration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in CBD to 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis; and deems marijuana grown or processed to make CBD, in accordance with state law, to comply with the THC concentration limit unless the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) determines state law to be unreasonable. The bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to terminate the Public Health Service's interdisciplinary review process that is used to evaluate applications for medical marijuana research. The DEA must license manufacturers and distributors of marijuana for medical research; HHS must register practitioners to conduct research; and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must authorize VA health care providers to provide recommendations and opinions to veterans regarding participation in their states' marijuana programs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2017
Training the Next Generation of Primary Care Doctors Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to extend and expand funding through FY2020 for graduate medical education programs at teaching centers (which train medical residents in primary care specialties). The bill allows funds to be used for maintaining, expanding, and establishing graduate medical residency programs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2017
Medicare at 55 Act This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow individuals aged 55 to 64 to buy into Medicare or Medicare Advantage. Such enrollees shall be entitled to Medicare hospital, medical, and prescription-drug benefits. The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) must establish enrollment periods and determine monthly premiums with respect to such enrollees, as specified by the bill. Premium amounts collected by HHS shall be deposited in the Hospital Insurance and Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds. Such enrollees shall not be eligible for Medicare cost-sharing assistance but may be eligible for premium assistance under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2017
Medicare Home Infusion Therapy Access Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to temporarily provide for transitional Medicare payment with respect to certain home infusion services furnished on or after January 1, 2019. Under current law, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services is required to establish a permanent payment system with respect to such services furnished on or after January 1, 2021.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2017
Plum Island Conservation Act This bill amends the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 to repeal provisions requiring the sale of federal property and assets supporting the Department of Homeland Security's Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2017
Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2017 This bill directs the President to: establish a five-year strategy to achieve, with target countries and donors, the goal of ending preventable child and maternal deaths globally and ensure healthy and productive lives by 2030; and provide assistance to implement the strategy. The President shall designate a current U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employee serving in the Senior Executive Service or at the level of a Deputy Assistant Administrator or higher to serve concurrently as the Maternal and Child Survival Coordinator, who shall be responsible for: overseeing such strategy, and all U.S. government funds appropriated or used for international maternal and child health and nutrition programs. Strategy grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements shall include targets for increased implementation of high-impact, evidence-based interventions and strengthening health systems. The President shall report to Congress annually for six years regarding progress made toward achieving the strategy and ending preventable child and maternal deaths.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2017
Shareholder Protection Act of 2017 This bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require shareholder authorization with respect to certain political expenditures by an issuer. A violation of this requirement shall be considered a breach of fiduciary duty, and the officers and directors who authorized the expenditure shall be subject to joint and several liability. The Securities and Exchange Commission must direct the national securities exchanges and associations to prohibit the listing of any equity security of an issuer whose corporate bylaws do not require a board vote with respect to political expenditures in excess of $50,000. An issuer must, within 48 hours, make publicly available the individual votes of each board member with respect to such expenditures. The bill establishes various reporting requirements.
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 · 2 August 2017
Streamlining Income-driven, Manageable Payments on Loans for Education Act or the SIMPLE Act This bill requires the Department of Education to establish and implement a process for automatically recertifying a borrowers' income to determine eligibility for a loan discharge due to permanent and total disability under the Federal Family Education Loan Program. In addition, the bill establishes a process for enrolling a delinquent borrower in federal student loan repayment in an income-driven repayment plan.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2017
This bill amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to make certain students who are informal providers of in-home and community care to elderly or disabled members of the household eligible to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program).
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2017
SNAP Standard Medical Expense Deduction Act of 2017 This bill amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to allow households containing an elderly or disabled member to use a standard medical expense deduction for calculating income to apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) benefits. If the amount of actual costs of allowable medical expenses incurred by the elderly or disabled member for a month, exclusive of special diets, is equal to or greater than $35, the standard medical deduction for each month is: (1) $140 for FY2018, and (2) the preceding year's amount with a specified adjustment for inflation for FY2019 and each subsequent year. If the monthly costs are greater than the sum of the standard medical deduction and $35, the household may deduct the actual costs. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) may approve a standard medical deduction that is higher than the amount required by this bill. USDA must submit specified studies and reports to Congress regarding: (1) state performance in enrolling disabled and elderly individuals in SNAP and specified Medicare programs, (2) disability and food insecurity, and (3) the effectiveness of the standard medical deduction.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2017
John Stringer Rainey Memorial Safeguard American Food Exports Act or the SAFE Act This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem equine (horses and other members of the equidae family) parts to be an unsafe food additive or animal drug. The bill prohibits the knowing sale or transport of equines or equine parts for human consumption.
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
Child Care Access Means Parents in School Reauthorization Act or the CCAMPIS Reauthorization Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise and permanently reauthorize the Child Care Access Means Parents in School grant program.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2017
Marijuana Justice Act of 2017 This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act: to remove marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinols from schedule I; and to eliminate criminal penalties for an individual who imports, exports, manufactures, distributes, or possesses with intent to distribute marijuana. It prohibits and reduces certain federal funds for a state without a statute legalizing marijuana, if the Bureau of Justice Assistance determines that such a state has a disproportionate arrest rate or disproportionate incarceration rate for marijuana offenses. The bill directs federal courts to expunge convictions for marijuana use or possession. Finally, it establishes in the Treasury the Community Reinvestment Fund. Amounts in the fund may be used by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to establish a grant program to reinvest in communities most affected by the war on drugs.
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 · 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.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Protecting Consumers from Unreasonable Credit Rates Act of 2017 This bill amends the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit a creditor from extending credit to a consumer under an open end consumer credit plan (credit card) for which the fee and interest rate exceeds 36%. The bill also sets forth criminal penalties for violations and empowers state Attorneys General to enforce the bill. Credit card billing statements must include the fee and interest rate, displayed as "FAIR," instead of the total finance charge expressed as an annual percentage rate (APR).
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Real Education for Healthy Youth Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in coordination with the Department of Education, to award grants for: (1) comprehensive sex education for adolescents, (2) comprehensive sex education provided by institutions of higher education, and (3) training faculty and staff to teach comprehensive sex education to adolescents. HHS must enter a contract with a nonprofit organization to evaluate and report on these grants. The bill makes appropriations to carry out the the bill. Grants may not be used for health education programs that: withhold health-promoting or lifesaving information about sexuality-related topics, including HIV; are medically inaccurate or have been scientifically shown to be ineffective; promote gender or racial stereotypes; are insensitive and unresponsive to the needs of certain youth, including survivors of sexual abuse or assault, sexually active youth, pregnant or parenting youth, or individuals with varying gender identities or sexual orientations; or are inconsistent with the ethical imperatives of medicine and public health. The bill amends the Public Health Service Act to revise requirements and eliminate prohibitions regarding the content of educational programs funded through the AIDS prevention program. The bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow funding to be used for: (1) materials or programs that promote or encourage sexual activity, and (2) contraceptive distribution in schools. The bill amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to repeal the program for abstinence education. Unobligated funds for abstinence education are transferred and made available to carry out this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to require employers to make initial disclosures to employees of the terms of their employment, provide such employees with regular paystubs, and make final payment to a terminating employee for uncompensated hours within 14 days of the employee's termination. An employer shall compensate an employee at the rate specified in an employment contract or other employment agreement, including a collective bargaining agreement, that specifies a rate of pay higher than the minimum wage rate. The bill establishes new and increased civil and criminal penalties for violations of FLSA overtime or minimum wage requirements, including referral to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution of employers who engage in wage theft, falsification of wage records, or retaliation against employees. The bill: (1) increases damages for employees who are victims of wage theft from two to three times the wages owed or who are fired for filing a complaint concerning wage theft or for cooperating in an investigation by the Department of Labor, (2) revises requirements for wage recordkeeping by employers and establishes penalties for violations of those requirements, (3) grants employees the right to inspect employer wage records, and (4) increases the statute of limitation for bringing a claim for owed wages from two to four years (three to five years for willful violations). Labor must award grants to assist certain entities in the enforcement of FLSA wage and hour requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Layoff Prevention Act of 2017 This bill requires each state that has already enacted a short-time compensation program to be paid 100% of the amount of short-time compensation paid under such program. Under a short-time compensation program, an employer may avoid a layoff of one or more employees by reducing the hours of all workers in the employer's workforce. Employees affected by a reduction in hours may receive a partial short-time compensation payment to compensate for lost wages. This is a voluntary and temporary program, beginning upon the enactment of this bill and ending five and one-half years later. The bill imposes certain limitations on payments to states and requires employers to pay their states one-half of the short-time compensation paid under the employer plan. The Department of Labor must: (1) award grants to states that enact short-time compensation programs to implement or improve the administration of such plans, (2) develop model legislative language for states in developing and enacting short-time compensation plans, and (3) provide technical assistance to states and establish reporting requirements for such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Youth Access to Sexual Health Services Act of 2017 This bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to support the access of marginalized youth to sexual health services such as sexual health education and contraception. Marginalized youth are disadvantaged individuals under the age of 26. Grants may be awarded to state or local health or education agencies, public schools, nonprofit organizations, hospitals, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations. Grants may be used to: (1) provide sexual health information to marginalized youth, (2) promote effective communication regarding sexual health among marginalized youth, (3) promote and support opportunities for school-age parents, and (3) train individuals who work with marginalized youth to promote sexual health and the development of safe and supportive environments. Grants may not be used to provide access to health services that: (1) are medically unsound; (2) withhold sexual health-promoting or lifesaving information; (3) promote gender stereotypes; or (4) are insensitive or unresponsive to the needs of young people, including youth with varying gender identities and sexual orientations, sexually active youth, pregnant or parenting youth, and survivors of sexual abuse or assault. Unobligated funds for abstinence education are transferred and made available for these grants.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2017
Fair Elections Now Act This bill establishes the Fair Elections Fund, which shall provide funding to Senate candidates who meet specified conditions and agree to abide by certain requirements, such as limits on types of campaign funding sources and a minimum number of appearances in public debates. The bill also (1) revises provisions related to broadcasts of Senate campaign advertisements, (2) provides a tax credit for individuals who make certain types of Senate campaign contributions, and (3) imposes a tax on certain U.S. government contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2017
This bill amends the Highlands Conservation Act to reauthorize through FY2021: (1) land conservation partnership projects in the highlands regions of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; and (2) Forest Service and Department of Agriculture programs to assist states, units of local government, and private forest and farm landowners in the conservation of land and natural resources in that region.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2017
Protect Children, Farmers, and Farmworkers from Nerve Agent Pesticides Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to prohibit from sale any food that contains the organophosphate pesticide, chlorpyrifos. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must offer a contract to the National Research Council to conduct an organophosphate pesticide risk assessment. If the EPA finds pesticide exposure that does not meet FFDCA standards or the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act standards, the EPA must take regulatory action not later than 90 days after becoming aware of the exposure.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2017
Bob Dole Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Bob Dole in recognition for his service to the nation as a soldier, legislator, and statesman.
![Official portrait of Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000555_200.jpg)