United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2019
Greater Leadership Overseas for the Benefit of Equality Act of 2019 or the GLOBE Act of 2019 This bill contains provisions related to (1) the protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals globally; and (2) immigration protections for vulnerable individuals. The bill establishes (1) an interagency group to respond to urgent threats to LGBTI people in foreign countries, and (2) a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Peoples in the Department of State. The President shall impose visa-blocking sanctions on foreign persons responsible for violating the human rights of individuals due to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics. The State Department shall establish the Global Equality Fund to provide assistance to nongovernmental organizations working to advance and protect human rights. The U.S. Agency for International Development shall establish the LGBTI Global Development Partnership to work with the private sector and nongovernmental organizations to support LGBTI rights. The bill contains several immigration-related provisions, such as those (1) establishing that persecution based on sexual orientation or gender identity may form the basis of an asylum request, (2) removing the general requirement that an asylum claim must be filed within one year of the applicant's arrival in the United States, (3) establishing that a permanent partnership between two partners is a marriage for immigration law purposes, and (4) establishing that indigent aliens have a right to free counsel in certain immigration proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2019
Investor Choice Act of 2019 This bill prohibits broker-dealers and investment advisers from including mandatory arbitration, forum selection restrictions, or bans on class action suits in a customer or client agreement. Issuers of securities are also prohibited from mandating arbitration in a shareholder agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2019
Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act of 2019 This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review certain point sources that discharge perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS. Based on this review, the EPA must establish effluent limitations and pretreatment standards, as well as publish water quality criteria, for certain PFAS. PFAS are man-made and may have adverse human health effects. A variety of products contain the compounds, such as nonstick cookware or weatherproof clothing.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2019
Data Care Act of 2019 This bill imposes various duties on online service providers with respect to their handling of individual-identifying data that can be reasonably linked to a specific user. Specifically, online service providers have a duty to (1) reasonably secure such data from unauthorized access, (2) refrain from using such data in a way that will result in reasonably foreseeable harm to the end user, and (3) not disclose such data to another party unless that party is also bound by the duties established in this bill. The bill authorizes the Federal Trade Commission and specified state officials to take enforcement actions with respect to breaches of such duties.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2019
Refugee Protection Act of 2019 This bill provides protections for aliens such as asylum seekers and contains other provisions. The bill's provisions include eliminating the general requirement that an asylum seeker apply for asylum within one year of arriving in the United States; prohibiting requiring an asylum seeker to provide corroborating evidence of persecution if such evidence is not reasonably obtainable; waiving certain grounds of inadmissibility or deportability for qualifying refugees seeking permanent resident status; requiring the Department of Justice to appoint counsel to a child or particularly vulnerable individual in certain immigration proceedings; increasing the annual cap on principal nonimmigrant U visas (victims of crimes) from 10,000 to 20,000; prohibiting the removal of an alien with certain pending immigration applications, such as a U visa application; imposing limits on when an alien may be removed from the United States in a proceeding without the alien present; establishing a presumption that the least restrictive conditions necessary should be imposed in custody proceedings for asylum seekers, including release if appropriate; establishing that the maximum number of refugees admitted each fiscal year shall be no less than 95,000; directing the Department of State to help other governments increase their capacity to care for and accept refugees; directing the State Department to establish refugee processing centers in other countries in North and Central America; and authorizing the Department of Homeland Security to provide special immigrant status to qualified aliens who assisted U.S. efforts in Syria and admit up to 5,000 such aliens each fiscal year for five years.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2019
Protect Our Workers from Exploitation and Retaliation Act or the POWER Act This bill expands protections for aliens who are victims of crimes or serious workplace violations. U visas (nonimmigrant visas for victims of crimes helping with the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity) shall be available to aliens who have suffered substantial harm related to workplace claims. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may allow an alien to work and temporarily remain in the United States if the alien (1) has filed for a U visa, or (2) has filed or is a material witness to a workplace claim and is helpful to authorities investigating the claim. The bill removes (1) certain fees to petition for a U visa, and (2) direct numerical limitations on such visas. A notice to an alien to appear at removal proceedings shall contain specified certifications, if the alien was taken (1) at a facility where a workplace claim has been filed, or (2) as a result of information provided to DHS in retaliation against individuals exercising their legal rights. Specifically, the notice shall state that (1) an adverse immigration determination may not be based solely on information furnished by the party engaged in the unlawful activity, and (2) the alien's information shall not be disclosed. Such an alien may not be removed until the appropriate law enforcement agency has had a chance to interview the alien. Removal proceedings against an alien who has filed or is a witness to a workplace claim shall be stayed until the resolution of the claim, with limited exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2019
Higher Education Sustainability Act of 2019 This bill reauthorizes through FY2020 and revises the University Sustainability program, which awards grants for designing and implementing sustainability practices on college campuses.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2019
Protecting Students from Worthless Degrees Act This bill makes an institution of higher education (IHE) ineligible to receive federal student financial assistance if it fails to meet certain requirements, and it requires an IHE to make certain certifications about its gainful employment programs. Specifically, an IHE that offers a degree or certificate program to prepare students for entry into a profession that requires licensing or certification as a precondition for entry is not eligible to receive any federal student financial assistance unless (1) a student is fully qualified to take the required entry examination or be licensed or certified for the profession upon the successful completion of the program, and (2) the institution provides timely placement for all of the academically related pre-licensure requirements for entry into the profession (e.g., clinical placements or internships). An IHE must also certify that each eligible gainful employment program meets specified requirements, including approval or accreditation by a recognized agency and satisfaction of applicable educational prerequisites for professional licensure or certification. If an IHE does not satisfy such prerequisites, it must notify a student who intends to enroll in the program and obtain a handwritten acknowledgement from the student that they wish to enroll. Lastly, an IHE that offers distance education or correspondence courses must be legally authorized within each state in which its enrolled students are located.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2019
This resolution (1) reaffirms the importance of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) between South Korea and Japan; (2) encourages South Korea and Japan to rebuild trust and pursue cooperation on mutual interests; and (3) expresses support for strengthened alliances between the United States, South Korea, and Japan. (The GSOMIA is an agreement that allows Japan and South Korea to directly share military intelligence with one another.)
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2019
Monarch and Pollinator Highway Act of 2019 or the MPH Act of 2019 This bill requires the Department of Transportation to provide grants to states, Indian tribes, and federal land management agencies to carry out pollinator-friendly practices on roadsides and highway rights-of-way, including the planting and seeding of native, locally-appropriate grasses, wildflowers, and milkweed.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2019
Climate Change Financial Risk Act of 2019 This bill addresses climate change risk and its potential impact on the financial system. The Federal Reserve Board must develop financial risk analyses relating to climate change for specified large nonbank financial companies and bank holding companies. Specifically, these entities will be evaluated every two years on whether they have the capital necessary to absorb financial losses that would arise under several different climate change risk scenarios. The bill also establishes the Climate Risk Scenario Technical Development Group to provide recommendations to the board regarding such climate change risk scenarios, and determine the financial and economic risks of these scenarios. The Financial Stability Oversight Council of the Department of the Treasury must establish a subcommittee to assist it in identifying risks and responding to threats to the financial system as a result of climate change.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2019
Continuity for Operators with Necessary Training Required for ATC Contract Towers Act of 2019 or the CONTRACT Act of 2019 This bill exempts certain air traffic controllers from a required reduction in their retirement annuity payment on account of earnings from certain work performed while entitled to such annuity. Under current law, retired Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers receive an annuity payment during the period between the mandatory retirement age of 56 and the social security minimum age of 62. Such annuity payment is required to be reduced by a certain percentage of any excess earnings during this period. The bill exempts from such reduction in annuity payments an air traffic controller who participates in the Air Traffic Control Contract Program (a public-private partnership for air traffic control services) following mandatory retirement.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2019
Humane Cosmetics Act of 2019 This bill generally prohibits animal testing in the evaluation of cosmetic products, and it prohibits the sale or transport of cosmetics developed using animal testing. These prohibitions begin one year after enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2019
Smith River National Recreation Area Expansion Act This bill expands the Smith River National Recreation Area in California into Oregon and designates specified segments of the North Fork Smith River as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System (NWSRS). The management emphasis for any portion of the recreation area in Oregon shall be on roadless backcountry and white-water recreation. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) shall study the additions to the recreation area, including inventories and assessments of water features (e.g., streams and lakes). USDA shall modify any applicable management plan to protect the resources inventoried. USDA shall seek to enter into a memorandum of understanding with applicable Indian tribes to (1) provide them with access to the portions of the recreation area in Oregon to conduct historical and cultural activities; and (2) develop interpretive information to be provided to the public on the history of, and use of the area by, those tribes. On the adoption of a resolution by the State Land Board of Oregon, USDA shall acquire the 555 acres of land known as the Cedar Creek Parcel in Oregon. A streamside protection zone in which timber harvesting is prohibited (with exceptions) shall be established for each of the designated North Fork Smith River segments. The bill also designates a specified segment of the Smith River in Oregon as part of the NWSRS.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2019
Green New Deal for Public Housing Act This bill addresses energy efficiency and workforce development in the context of public housing. Specifically, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) must award grants to public housing agencies (PHAs) and other eligible entities under a variety of new programs, including programs for facilitating workforce development and high-income employment transition; conducting physical needs assessments and subsequent energy efficiency retrofits; and making upgrades, replacements, and improvements for energy efficiency, building electrification, and water quality upgrades. Recipients of these grants must provide relocation assistance for residents who are displaced during construction and must ensure that they can return to their homes once retrofitting is completed. A certain percentage of the employment positions generated by these grant programs and other specified federal grant programs must be filled by low-income individuals, and a specified percentage of certain contracts associated with these programs must be awarded to businesses owned by residents of public housing. The bill also repeals a provision that prohibits a PHA from using HUD funds to construct or operate new public housing units if doing so would result in the PHA owning or operating more units than it did on October 1, 1999.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2019
This bill prohibits smoking on the premises of any Veterans Health Administration facility. The bill defines smoking as the use of cigarettes, cigars, and pipes (i.e., the heating or combustion of tobacco), as well as the use of any electronic nicotine delivery system.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2019
This bill prohibits the use of county funds distributed under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 for (1) any expenses related to lobbying, or (2) any activity that is to influence a state or federal lawmaker. Currently, the funds are authorized to be used for activities such as emergency services on federal land or wildfire protection. The Forest Service, in coordination with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), must promulgate regulations that provide guidance to participating counties on the appropriate use of county funds. The Forest Service and the BLM each must publish such guidance on a public website. Each participating county shall submit to the Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior an annual report that includes a description of how the county used its county funds.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2019
Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019 This bill modifies and reauthorizes through FY2025 programs and activities under the Violence Against Women Act that seek to prevent and respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. Among other things, the bill also authorizes new programs, makes changes to federal firearms laws, and establishes new protections to promote housing stability and economic security for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2019
Cleaner, Quieter Airplanes Act This bill directs the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to establish an initiative to build upon and accelerate previous or ongoing work to develop and demonstrate new technologies in electric aircraft concepts that are capable of reducing both greenhouse gas emissions and noise emissions from aircraft by at least 50%. The goal of the initiative shall be to deploy new technologies developed pursuant to the initiative on (1) regional transport aircraft intended to enter into service by 2030, and (2) single-aisle aircraft designed to accommodate more than 125 passengers intended to enter into service by 2040.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2019
Put Patients First Act This bill prohibits the application of the rule issued by the Department of Health and Human Services on May 21, 2019, that strengthens the enforcement of conscience and anti-discrimination laws related to the rights of covered health care providers to refuse to participate in certain procedures, such as abortions, sterilization, or assisted suicide.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2019
Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act This bill applies certain military consumer credit protections to all consumers. Specifically, the bill caps the interest rate on extensions of consumer credit at 36%.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2019
Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act This bill addresses various public land concerns in Malheur County in Oregon. The bill directs the Department of the Interior to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement for certain federal land in the county. Interior shall develop plans for areas that are ecologically degraded or most at risk of being ecologically degraded. Interior shall establish the Malheur Community Empowerment for Owyhee Group, which shall, among other things, use such statement to review projects proposed to the Bureau of Land Management by group members, ranchers holding grazing permits on the federal land, or other members of the public. The bill also establishes a network to monitor such land, designates 1,133,481 acres of federal lands in the county as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, designates a 14.7-mile segment of Owyhee River as a recreational river, establishes improvements for certain loop roads, requires separate feasibility studies concerning Owyhee Reservoir, requires improvements to existing Oregon State Parks and private camps on the shore of the Reservoir, establishes a dude ranch at Birch Creek, requires a feasibility study on a specified rails-to-trails project, requires a feasibility study on marketing communities or portions of the county as the Gateway to the Oregon Owyhee, requires a determination of the use and conditions under which the Jordan Valley Airstrip may be used to support firefighting, and establishes the Native Seed Center as the primary federal native seed repository in the Western States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2019
Global Economic Security Strategy of 2019 This bill requires the President, in support of the national security strategy, to set forth a global economic security strategy for the United States that includes an assessment of the global competitiveness of key U.S. economic sectors; the national debt and its implications for U.S. economic and national security; and prioritized economic security interests and objectives, as well as associated threats, challenges, and opportunities and the tools to manage them.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2019
End Price Gouging for Insulin Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to set a maximum price for insulin products for individuals and enrollees of federal health programs.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2019
National Purple Heart Honor Mission Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the mission of the National Purple Heart Honor Mission. The bill limits the issuance of such coins to the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2022. The bill prescribes surcharges for coin sales, which shall be paid to the National Purple Heart Honor Mission, Inc., to support the mission of such organization, including capital improvements to the National Purple Heart Honor Mission facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2019
This resolution reaffirms support for elevated collaboration between the United States and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), particularly in terms of economic cooperation and human rights; urges ASEAN to foster multilateral relations with non-ASEAN partners; expresses support for ASEAN nations in addressing maritime and territorial disputes, as well as corruption in the public and private sectors; calls on ASEAN nations to ensure human rights, a protected marine environment, and safe access to international waterways in the Asia-Pacific; urges ASEAN nations to uphold international agreements with respect to North Korea's missile programs; and expresses support for the Lower Mekong Initiative, a partnership between the United States, Cambodia, Laos, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, and Vietnam to promote sustainability and economic development in the region.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2019
Family Friendly Schools Act This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to provide grants to local educational agencies to establish family friendly school policies that align the school day with the work day to better support working families, and to establish a supplemental 21st century community learning centers grant program to support programs and activities during summer recess. Specifically, ED shall award five-year grants at 500 elementary schools that align the school day with the work day; report to Congress at the three-year mark and at the conclusion of the five-year grant period on best practices and recommendations for aligning school and work schedules, and for strengthening partnerships between schools and community resources; and carry out a supplemental grant program to establish or expand community learning center summer programs.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2019
Family First Transition Act This bill provides additional funding for, and otherwise modifies, implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act, which provides state, tribal, and territorial child welfare agencies with certain spending flexibilities to support substance abuse services, mental health services, and other services that prevent children's entry into foster care. Specifically, the bill provides one-time funding to jurisdictions to reduce adverse fiscal impacts associated with transitioning funding sources in relation to the new spending flexibilities. The bill also provides additional funding for FY2020 and FY2021 for jurisdictions with certain waivers (currently set to expire at the end of FY2019) that allow them to provide services not authorized under the traditional foster care program. In addition, the bill temporarily delays a requirement that at least 50% of certain funds be spent on programs and services that meet the criteria for well-supported practices. For FY2020 and FY2021, this requirement shall not apply, and for FY2022 and FY2023, programs and services that meet the criteria for supported practices shall be considered well-supported practices.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2019
Private Prison Information Act of 2019 This bill specifies that a record related to a non-federal prison, correctional, or detention facility must be considered a federal agency record for purposes of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A non-federal prison, correctional, or detention facility must disclose information under FOIA unless the information is exempt from disclosure or the disclosure is prohibited by law. The term "non-federal prison, correctional, or detention facility" means (1) a private prison, correctional, or detention facility; or (2) a state or local prison, jail, or other correctional or detention facility.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2019
This concurrent resolution calls for an end to the consumption and trade of dog and cat meat and urges nations to adopt and enforce laws banning that trade.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2019
Girls' Leadership, Engagement, Agency, and Development Act of 2019 or the Girls LEAD Act This bill directs the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to jointly report to Congress a strategy to strengthen the participation of adolescents, particularly girls, in democracy, human rights, and governance. The State Department and the USAID shall (1) implement activities to achieve this goal, including activities to increase adolescent girls' civic and political knowledge and skills and address barriers to political participation; and (2) prioritize foreign assistance funding for democracy, human rights, and governance programs toward achieving the goals in this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2019
This resolution celebrates the U.S. partnership with young leaders in Southeast Asia and recognizes the importance of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative in advancing U.S. soft power and promoting human rights, democracy, and good governance in the region.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2019
This resolution urges the United States to work with the international community to address the causes and effects of climate change and remain a party to the Paris Agreement and the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2019
American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2019 This bill addresses the use and regulation of fluorinated compounds in products and manufacturing, including by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to establish specified production and consumption baselines for the phase-down of specified fluorinated compounds.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2019
Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2019 This bill modifies eligibility for, and other components of, Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This needs-based program, administered by the Social Security Administration, provides cash benefits to the aged, blind, and disabled. Among other changes, the bill increases income and resource limits used to determine SSI eligibility. Current law excludes from income limits the first $240 of income from sources other than earnings and the first $780 of earned income. The bill increases these amounts to $1,476 and $4,788, respectively. Current law also allows SSI recipients to have $2,000 in resources if they are single or $3,000 in resources if they are married. The bill increases those amounts to $10,000 and $20,000, respectively. The bill also excludes from income and resource determinations (1) support furnished in kind, and (2) state tax refunds derived from specified state tax credits. In addition, the bill equalizes treatment of married couples when both spouses receive SSI. Under current law, such a married couple receives a lower benefit amount and is subject to lower income and resource limits than would apply to two unmarried individuals. The bill instead sets benefit amounts and limits for these married couples at a rate that is twice that of unmarried SSI recipients. Additionally, the bill eliminates the penalty for transfers of certain resources. Under current law, SSI recipients who transfer resources for less than fair market value may lose SSI eligibility for up to 36 months. The bill repeals this loss of eligibility. The bill also indexes annual benefit increases to a price index that reflects the spending patterns of elderly consumers.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2019
This bill establishes the interagency China Censorship Monitor and Action Group. The group shall compile and maintain a public database of instances of China's government punishing a U.S. company for the company's exercise of free speech.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2019
This resolution declares that (1) the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Kay Hagan, former Member of the Senate; and (2) when the Senate adjourns on October 30, 2019, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the Honorable Kay Hagan.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2019
This bill revises the land claims of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon. In particular, the bill specifies that only the tribe's claims to the 84 acres of land known as the Thompson Strip, rather than the tribe's claims to any lands within Oregon, are extinguished. Additionally, the bill prohibits gaming on any real property transferred to the tribe as part of a land claim settlement approved by the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2019
Global Child Thrive Act of 2019 This bill reauthorizes for FY2020-FY2025 programs to provide assistance to orphans and other vulnerable children in developing countries. The bill also requires the U.S. Agency for International Development to direct relevant executive branch agencies to incorporate early childhood development into current programs and promote inclusive early childhood development in partner countries. Such actions to promote early childhood development shall build on existing U.S. plans and strategies and aim to (1) prevent unnecessary family-child separation, (2) assist families with children with disabilities, and (3) help countries transition from child care protection systems that rely on residential care (such as orphanages and children's homes) to ones focused on family-based care.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2019
This bill directs the President to prohibit the issuance of licenses to export specified munitions items to the Hong Kong Police Force and the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force. The specified items include tear gas, rubber bullets, and handcuffs. The President may make an exception upon certifying to Congress as to how such exports are important to U.S. national interests and foreign policy goals.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2019
Stopping Executive Overreach on Military Appropriations Act This bill requires congressional approval for military construction projects commenced pursuant to a declaration of a national emergency, prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from expending funds for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, requires the return of DOD funds shifted to wall construction, and requires an ethics review of private contracts related to such construction.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2019
Ocean, Coastal, and Estuarine Acidification Necessitates Research Act of 2019 or the OCEAN Research Act This bill addresses the effects of ocean and coastal acidification on marine organisms and ecosystems. Specifically, the bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and revises the Ocean Acidification Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the ocean acidification grant program of the National Science Foundation. The bill expands those programs, as well as the ocean acidification activities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to include efforts to research and monitor the effects of coastal acidification.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2019
This bill establishes the position of Ombudsman for Border and Immigration Related Concerns within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The ombudsman shall establish an independent, neutral, and standardized process to assist individuals in resolving complaints related to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and related entities; make recommendations to DHS to address chronic issues identified in the complaints process; establish a Border Oversight Panel, which shall make recommendations related to border enforcement policies and strategies; review ICE and CBP compliance with departmental policies and standards of care for detained aliens; establish a Border Community Liaison in each Border Patrol sector on the northern and southern borders, which shall consult with and receive feedback from border communities on ICE and CBP policies and activities; conduct yearly evaluations of training for ICE and CBP agents and officers, including whether such training adequately addresses the use of force and civil rights issues; develop recommendations for establishing an electronic number system for tracking a child that has been separated from a parent, legal guardian, or relative; and report to Congress a plan to require the use of body-worn cameras by Border Patrol agents and ICE officers.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2019
This resolution highlights the nonpartisan nature of the Foreign Service and the oath taken by Foreign Service members to defend the Constitution and serve the people of the United States. It also condemns political retaliation against Foreign Service members.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2019
Break the Cycle of Violence Act This bill authorizes new grant programs to support violence intervention initiatives. Specifically, the Bureau of Justice Assistance must award grants for coordinated violence reduction initiatives in units of local government that are disproportionately impacted by gun and group-related violence. Additionally, the National Institutes of Health must award grants for hospital-based violence intervention programs that reduce the risk of violent injury and retaliation among high-risk patients.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2019
Stopping Harmful Interference in Elections for a Lasting Democracy Act or the SHIELD Act This bill establishes a duty to report election interference from foreign entities, applies existing campaign advertising requirements to online advertisements, and generally limits political spending and election interference by foreign entities. Specifically, a political committee must report certain foreign contacts involving an offer of unlawful election assistance to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Election Commission. The bill establishes criminal penalties for violations of these requirements. Existing requirements for political advertisements and electioneering communications apply to internet and digital advertisements, including requirements related to disclosures and contributions. Additionally, large online platforms must maintain a public database of certain political advertisements. The bill places limitations on political spending by foreign entities. Specifically, foreign entities may not (1) contribute to campaigns related to ballot initiatives and referenda, or (2) make disbursements for certain internet activity referring to a candidate or a political issue. A candidate is prohibited from offering to share nonpublic campaign information with certain foreign entities. The bill also prohibits (1) the dissemination of false statements regarding federal elections or public endorsement, or (2) the intentional hindering of voting or registering to vote. The bill establishes criminal penalties and a private right of action with respect to these prohibitions.
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