United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2018
United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018 This bill extends security assistance to Israel. Specifically, it extends: foreign military financing assistance to Israel through FY2028, loan guarantees through FY2023, and authority for the war reserves stockpile through FY2023. The President may: enter into a cooperative agreement with Israel for research and joint production of anti-drone defense articles; conduct a joint assessment with Israel regarding which precision guided munitions Israel needs in a sustained armed confrontation with Hezbollah, Hamas, or other groups; and transfer precision guided munitions and defense articles to such stockpile. The bill directs the Department of Defense to provide for the rapid acquisition and deployment of precision guided munitions for U.S. counterterrorism missions or to assist an ally under missile threat from a terrorist organization or a country that supports international terrorism. The President shall report to Congress describing the steps taken to include Israel in the list of countries eligible for the strategic trade authorization exception. Such exception allows a controlled item to be exported without a transaction-specific license. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall continue to work with the Israel Space Agency to pursue peaceful space exploration and science initiatives. The bill also requires the periodic reports on Israel's qualitative military edge to include information about Israel's ability to defend itself from regional state and non-state actors and from drone, cyber, and asymmetric threats.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2018
Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018 or the STOP School Violence Act of 2018 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to revise and reauthorize through FY2028 the Secure Our Schools grant program.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2018
TRID Improvement Act of 2018 This bill amends the Real Estate Settlement Procedures of 1974 to modify disclosure requirements applicable to mortgage loan transactions. Specifically, the disclosed charges for any title insurance premium shall be equal to the amount charged for each individual title insurance policy, subject to any discounts as required by either state regulation or the title company rate filings.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2018
Tribal Food and Housing Security Act This bill provides support to Indian tribes for rural development, including by: (1) allowing the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to extend financial assistance through the Farmers Home Administration for tribal housing and buildings, and (2) establishing a technical assistance program to help tribal entities access USDA rural development programs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2018
This joint resolution extends the sympathies of Congress to the family of the Reverend William "Billy" F. Graham, Jr., and honors his life, his ministry, and his contributions to North Carolina, the United States, and the moral and religious life of millions of individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
Blocking Regulatory Interference from Closing Kilns Act of 2018 This bill delays required compliance with specified emission rules applicable to kilns. Specifically, the bill delays national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for brick and structural clay products manufacturing or clay ceramics manufacturing until the earlier of: two years after final judicial review, or December 26, 2020.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
This joint resolution nullifies the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission entitled "Restoring Internet Freedom." The rule published on February 22, 2018: (1) restores the classification of broadband Internet access service as a lightly-regulated "information service"; (2) reinstates private mobile service classification of mobile broadband Internet access service; (3) requires Internet service providers to disclose information about their network management practices, performance characteristics, and commercial terms of service; and (4) eliminates the Internet Conduct Standard and the bright-line rules.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
Three-Year Border and DACA Extension Act This bill: (1) authorizes funding in FY2018-FY2020 for improving border security; (2) establishes a Border Security Enforcement Fund to provide for border security-related costs; and (3) requires transfers from the fund to construct, replace, or plan physical barriers along the border. The bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to grant three-year (beginning after the enactment of this bill) provisional protected presence and employment authorization to an alien who: (1) was born after June 15, 1981, entered the United States before age 16, and has continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007; (2) was physically but unlawfully present in the United States on June 15, 2012; (3) has met certain educational requirements or has been honorably discharged from military service; (4) has not been convicted of a felony or certain misdemeanors; and (5) does not pose a threat to national security or public safety. An alien who is in the deferred action for childhood arrivals program (DACA) is deemed to have protected presence through the expiration date of his or her deferred action status.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
Terrorist Firearms Prevention Act This bill authorizes the Department of Justice (DOJ) to deny the transfer of a firearm or explosive, or the issuance of an explosives license or permit, to known or suspected terrorists. Specifically, DOJ may deny a transfer to, or deny a license or permit for, an individual who is included on the No Fly list or the Selectee list. The No Fly and Selectee lists are subsets of the Terrorist Screening Database—the U.S. government's consolidated database of individuals known or reasonably suspected to be involved in terrorist activities. DOJ and federal, state, and local law enforcement must be notified immediately of requests to transfer a firearm or explosive to a person who is, or in the last five years was, identified on the database. The bill establishes a judicial review process for appealing a denial by DOJ.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2018
National FFA Organization's Federal Charter Amendments Act This bill revises the charter of the National FFA Organization (Future Farmers of America). Such revisions include (1) making it a purpose of the organization to be an integral component of agricultural education, and (2) removing the Secretary of Education as the chair of the National FFA Board of Directors.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2018
Opioid Response Enhancement Act This bill amends the 21st Century Cures Act to reauthorize through FY2023 a program of grants to states and tribal entities to carry out activities addressing the opioid epidemic. It allows states and tribal entities to use the grants to carry out public health-related activities addressing other substance abuse that is a substantial or similar public health threat to the opioid epidemic.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2018
Fair Agricultural Reporting Method Act or the FARM Act This bill amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to exempt air emissions from animal waste at a farm from specified release notification requirements, recordkeeping requirements, and associated penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2018
National Guard and Reserves Benefits Parity Act This bill makes reserve component members who are deployed to support pre-planned operations of a combatant command eligible for: (1) non-reduction in pay while serving in the uniformed services or National Guard, (2) consideration of active duty service to reduce the age for retired pay , and (3) the high-deployment allowance for lengthy or numerous deployments and frequent mobilizations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2018
Designates February 2018 as American Heart Month and February 2, 2018, as National Wear Red Day. Recognizes and reaffirms the commitment to fighting cardiovascular disease by promoting awareness of causes, risks, and prevention; supporting research; and expanding access to medical treatment. Encourages individuals to learn about their risk for cardiovascular disease.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2018
Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act This bill requires the Social Security Administration (SSA) to pay to states their reasonable costs for compiling and sharing records of deaths with the SSA. Under current law, the SSA is not required to pay the states but may choose to do so. The SSA may share the death data with federal and state agencies for various purposes. Such purposes include ensuring proper payments of benefits and tax administration duties. The Office of Management and Budget shall develop a plan to help federal and state agencies and Indian tribes use the death data.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2018
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax credit for the production of refined coal. With respect to refined coal production facilities that do not produce steel industry fuel, the bill: (1) allows facilities that were placed in service before January 1, 2012, to claim the credit for an additional 10 years, and (2) establishes an additional 3-year period (after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2021), during which facilities may qualify for the credit by being placed in service.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2018
Safe Freight Act This bill prohibits the operation of a freight train or light locomotive engine used in the movement of freight unless it has a crew of at least two individuals, one of whom is certified by the Federal Railroad Administration as a locomotive operator and the other as a train conductor.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2018
Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018 This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to establish the Task Force for Meeting Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States. The task force's duties include: (1) identifying and measuring current gaps in broadband Internet access service coverage of cropland and ranchland; (2) assembling a comprehensive guide of all federal programs and resources working to expand broadband Internet access service on unserved cropland and ranchland; and (3) developing policy recommendations to promote the rapid, expanded deployment of fixed and mobile broadband Internet access service on unserved cropland and ranchland.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2018
Expresses support for the designation of a Women's Health Research Day. Supports efforts to: (1) recognize the importance of biomedical and clinical research to women's health, (2) increase awareness of the value of sex- and gender-based biomedical research, and (3) encourage individuals to advocate on behalf of sex- and gender-inclusive research.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 2018
Pay Our Military Act of 2018 This bill provides FY2018 appropriations for military pay and death benefits during any period in which interim or full-year appropriations for FY2018 are not in effect. In the event of a government shutdown, the bill provides continuing appropriations for: pay and allowances to members of the Armed Forces, including reserve components, who perform active service (including drill) during the period; payments of death benefits for individuals who die during the period; and pay and allowances to civilian personnel or contractors of the Department of Defense (and the Department of Homeland Security in the case of the Coast Guard) who are providing support to members of the Armed Forces and payments in connection with death benefits. The appropriations provided by this bill are available until the earlier of: (1) the enactment into law of specified appropriations legislation, or (2) September 30, 2018.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 2018
No Government No Pay Act of 2018 This bill prohibits Members of Congress from being paid during a government shutdown, beginning with the 116th Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
Small Business Credit Availability Act This bill amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to reduce the required asset-coverage ratio applicable to a Business Development Company (BDC) from 200% to 150% if: (1) the BDC makes specified disclosures on its website and to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); and (2) the modified asset-coverage ratio is approved by the required majority of the BDC's directors, general partners, or shareholders (as applicable). The SEC must allow BDCs to use securities offering and proxy rules that are available to other issuers.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
Opportunities for the Nation and States to Harness Onshore Resources for Energy Act or the ONSHORE Act This bill addresses onshore oil and gas resources on federal land and non-federal surface estates. The bill allows states with an established permitting and regulatory program to manage certain federal permitting and regulatory responsibilities for oil and gas development on federal lands within their borders. The bill provides a mechanism for states to receive their entitled percentage of sales, bonuses, royalties, and rentals for all public land or deposits located in the state. Certain oil and gas activities conducted on non-federal surface estates do not require a permit. The Department of the Interior must defer to state regulations, guidance, and permit requirements for all activities regarding hydraulic fracturing relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on federal land.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2018
Border and Port Security Act This bill requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to increase the number of field operations officers to specified levels. If the CBP does not adequately increase personnel, the Government Accountability Office must report on CBP hiring practices. The CBP must report on infrastructure and equipment needed to prevent the illegal transportation of opioids and other drugs through U.S. ports of entry.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 2018
Congratulates the North Dakota State University Bison football team for winning the 2017 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision title.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2018
State Offices of Rural Health Reauthorization Act of 2018 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize through FY2022 and revise the grant program for state offices of rural health, including to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make the grants, thus removing HHS's discretion to make them.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2018
Supports the right of all Iranian citizens to have their voices heard. Calls on the government of Iran to respect the rights of the people of Iran to freedoms of speech, press, religion, association, and assembly. Condemns Iran's human rights violations. Warns Iran against any violence or retribution targeting peaceful protestors. Objects to acts of censorship, intimidation, and other restrictions on freedoms of speech, press, and expression. Encourages the President, the Department of State, and the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) to work to convene emergency sessions of the U.N. Security Council and the U.N. Human Rights Council to condemn Iran's ongoing human rights violations and establish a related Security Council monitoring mechanism. Calls on Iran to cooperate with and allow visits of the U.N. Special Rapporteurs for Human Rights and the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Urges the President and State Department to work with the international community to ensure that human rights violations are part of all multilateral or bilateral discussions with and regarding Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2017
Help End Abusive Living Situations Act or the HEALS Act This bill requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development to take specified measures to improve services provided to survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, including by authorizing any defunded transitional housing projects to reapply for funding.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2017
Volunteer First Responder Loan Forgiveness Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make certain volunteer first responders eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2017
Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act of 2017 This bill prohibits a predispute arbitration agreement from being valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of a sex discrimination dispute. The prohibition does not apply to an arbitration provision in a contract between an employer and a labor organization or between labor organizations, subject to limitations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2017
Livestock and Honey Bee Disaster Assistance Act of 2017 This bill amends the Agricultural Act of 2014 to remove the $20 million annual limit on mandatory funding for emergency assistance under the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP). The bill also removes a provision that permits funds provided under ELAP to remain available until expended. (ELAP provides financial assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish for losses due to disease, certain adverse weather events, or loss conditions, including blizzards and wildfires.) The bill amends the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to specify that the maximum cost-share percentage permitted under the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) is 90% for an area that has been identified by the U.S. Drought Monitor as experiencing extreme or exceptional drought. (The ECP provides emergency funding and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters and implement emergency conservation measures in periods of severe drought.)
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2017
Recognizes the importance, effectiveness, and need for trauma-informed care among existing federal programs and agencies. (Trauma-informed care takes into account a patient's history of trauma in the design of the patient's treatment.) Encourages the use of trauma-informed care within the federal government. Expresses support for the designation of May 2018 as National Trauma Awareness Month, and May 22, 2018, as National Trauma-Informed Awareness Day.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2017
Inspector General Recommendation Transparency Act of 2017 This bill amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to require the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to establish and operate a public database of open Inspector General recommendations on which corrective action has not been completed within one year of issuance.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act This bill amends the Truth in Lending Act to allow institutions with less than $10 billion in assets to waive ability-to-repay requirements for certain residential-mortgage loans. Other mortgage-lending provisions related to appraisals, mortgage data, employment of loan originators, manufactured homes, and transaction waiting periods are also modified. The bill amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to exempt banks with assets valued at less than $10 billion from the "Volcker Rule," which prohibits banking agencies from engaging in proprietary trading or entering into certain relationships with hedge funds and private-equity funds. Certain banks are also exempted by the bill from specified capital and leverage ratios, with federal banking agencies directed to promulgate new requirements. The bill amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to reduce inspection requirements and environmental-review requirements for certain smaller, rural public-housing agencies. Provisions relating to enhanced prudential regulation for financial institutions are modified, including those related to stress testing, leverage requirements, and the use of municipal bonds for purposes of meeting liquidity requirements. The bill requires credit reporting agencies to provide credit-freeze alerts and includes consumer-credit provisions related to senior citizens, minors, and veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Butch Lewis Act of 2017 This bill establishes the Pension Rehabilitation Administration within the Department of the Treasury and a related trust fund to make loans to certain multiemployer defined benefit pension plans. To receive a loan, a plan must be either in critical and declining status (including any plan with respect to which a suspension of benefits has been approved) or insolvent, if the plan became insolvent after December 16, 2014, and has not been terminated. Treasury must issue bonds to fund the loan program and transfer amounts equal to the proceeds to the trust fund established by this bill. The Pension Rehabilitation Administration may use the funds, without a further appropriation, to make loans, pay principal and interest on the bonds, or for administrative and operating expenses. The bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to allow the sponsor of a multiemployer pension plan that is applying for a loan under this bill to also apply to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) for financial assistance if, after receiving the loan, the plan will still become (or remain) insolvent within the 30-year period beginning on the date of the loan. The bill also appropriates to the PBGC the funds that are necessary to provide the financial assistance required by this bill.
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
Family Coverage Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the requirements for determining the affordability of employer-sponsored minimum essential health coverage that is required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). (Under current law, the coverage is unaffordable, and an employee may be eligible for premium assistance tax credits, if the employee's required contribution for an individual plan exceeds 9.5% of household income, adjusted for inflation after 2014.) The bill specifies that, with respect to an employee's family members who are eligible to enroll in the plan, affordability must be determined using the cost of family coverage rather than individual coverage to expand the eligibility of families for premium assistance tax credits. This bill also expresses the sense of Congress that the Departments of Health and Human Service and the Treasury have the administrative authority, within their respective jurisdictions, to apply the affordability provision of PPACA so as to expand access to affordable health insurance coverage for working families without further legislation.
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
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 · 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 · 2 November 2017
This bill directs the Bureau of Reclamation to provide to the holder of a permit for any cabin site located on specified federal land associated with the Jamestown Reservoir, North Dakota, the first option to purchase that property for fair market value, provided that the permittee pays to the Stutsman County Park Board any outstanding permit fees. Reclamation shall convey such property and sole use perpetual easements for access to such property to a permittee who elects such option. The conveyance shall end five years after this bill's enactment. If a permittee fails to exercise the option to purchase within five years, the commissioner shall transfer the property to the board without cost. If the board sells such a property within three years after such a transfer, it shall pay all proceeds in excess of its costs to Reclamation. Five years after the date of enactment of this bill, Reclamation shall transfer, without cost: (1) to the board federal land associated with the reservoir and managed by the board on which no cabin is located; and (2) to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department land leased by such department as of that date. Each conveyance to a permittee, and each transfer to the board or department, shall be made subject to specified oil, gas, and other mineral rights, and specified permits, reversions, and easements. Any revenues from a sale of federal land shall be made available to the commissioner, without further appropriation, for: (1) the costs to the commissioner of carrying out this bill, and (2) deferred maintenance activities relating to the operation of the dam in the reservoir.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
National Forest System Vegetation Management Pilot Program Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a limited, voluntary pilot program under which owners and operators of rights-of-way on National Forest System (NFS) land may conduct vegetation management projects on NFS land adjacent to or near those rights-of-way to better protect utility infrastructure from potential passing wildfires. USDA shall give priority to an owner or operator of a right-of-way that has worked with Forest Service fire scientists and used technologies to improve utility infrastructure protection prescriptions. Vegetation management projects shall involve only limited and selective vegetation management activities that: create the least amount of disturbance necessary to protect utility infrastructure from passing wildfires; may include thinning, fuel reduction, creation, and treatment of shaded fuel breaks; are conducted only on NFS land adjacent to the participant's right-of-way or within 75 feet of it; and are not conducted on a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, a designated wilderness area, or an inventoried roadless area. Each vegetation management project, including each of those activities selected, shall be subject to approval by the Forest Service.
![Official portrait of Sen. Heitkamp, Heidi [D-ND]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h001069_200.jpg)