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 · 21 December 2017
Global Food Security Reauthorization Act of 2017 This bill amends the Global Food Security Act of 2016 to: (1) extend through FY2023 the program to carry out those portions of the global food security strategy that relate to the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development, and (2) expand requirements for reporting by the President regarding strategy implementation. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended to extend through FY2023 the assistance program for international disaster relief and rehabilitation, including the set-aside for the emergency food security program.
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 2017
This bill allows state attorneys general, with reasonable cause, to issue subpoenas or administer oversight to investigate national banks for state law compliance.
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 2017
Mitigating the Methamphetamine Epidemic and Promoting Tribal Health Act or the Mitigating METH Act This bill amends the 21st Century Cures Act to make Indian tribes eligible for funding under the opioid grant program for states. In addition, the bill expands the grant program to allow states and tribes to use grants for the prevention and treatment of the use of other substances, such as methamphetamine, that have a substantial public health impact on states or tribes.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2017
Access to Birth Control Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require pharmacies to comply with certain rules related to ensuring access to contraceptives. Among other requirements, pharmacies must provide a customer a contraceptive or related medication without delay if it is in stock. If the contraceptive is not in stock, the pharmacy must immediately inform the customer and either transfer the prescription to a pharmacy that has it in stock or order it. Civil penalties and a private cause of action are established for violations of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2017
Congressional Harassment Reform Act This bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) to: (1) require certain discrimination and harassment awareness and prevention training for Members of Congress, officers, employees, interns, fellows, and detailees; (2) extend CAA nondiscrimination requirements and remedies to legislative interns, fellows, and detailees; (3) revise CAA procedures for certain harassment and discrimination complaints; (4) require a Member of Congress to reimburse the Treasury if an employee receives an award or settlement for the Member's alleged act of discrimination or harassment, unless the Member's request for a nonreimbursement determination is approved; and (5) rename the Office of Compliance the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2017
Recognizes the adoption of the resolution on the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Burma (Myanmar) by the United Nations (U.N.) Human Rights Council on December 5, 2017. Condemns the Burmese military for its atrocities against the Rohingya. Reaffirms the international prohibitions against the use of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Urges the government of Burma to take specified steps, including allowing the U.N. Fact-Finding Mission to Myanmar to examine the human rights violations by military and security forces in Burma. Calls for the U.N. to: (1) pass resolutions condemning the human rights violations by Burmese security forces against the Rohingya, and (2) establish an independent mechanism to assist individual criminal investigations and refer those responsible for atrocity crimes against the Rohingya to the International Criminal Court. Calls on the U.N. Security Council to impose a comprehensive arms embargo against Burma. Urges: State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi to fully implement the Final Report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, the Department of State and the Department of the Treasury to impose targeted sanctions and travel restrictions against senior leaders of the Burmese military implicated in atrocities, the international community to assist with the economic development of the Rakhine state, and the nations of the world to revoke travel visas for members of the Burmese military responsible for ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2017
Commends: (1) the government of Bangladesh for its compassion and tolerance in accepting Rohingya refugees; (2) the United Nations (U.N.) agencies, nongovernmental organization (NGO) partners, and aid workers providing relief to such refugees; and (3) Pope Francis for his remarks about the future of Burma (Myanmar) that respects the rule of law, the democratic order, and the dignity and rights of all of its people. Urges the government of Bangladesh to continue to help coordinate critical humanitarian work and ensure ease of access for those carrying out such work. Urges the governments of Bangladesh and Burma to: (1) consult and coordinate with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, and NGO partners on safe and voluntary repatriation efforts; and (2) address the flaws of the November 23, 2017, Memorandum of Understanding on repatriation through consultation and agreement with the Commissioner. Calls on all parties involved in the repatriation process to reject any actions that could continue or worsen the harsh conditions faced by Rohingya refugees.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2017
Recognizes that international education and exchange programs enhance national security, further U.S. foreign policy goals and economic competitiveness, and promote mutual understanding and cooperation among nations. Encourages such programs to ensure that the United States maintains a broad international knowledge base. Supports such programs as a means of strengthening foreign language skills and fostering a better understanding of the world by U.S. citizens. Commends American and international education and exchange participants, volunteers, educators, program alumni, host families, high schools, colleges, universities, and host communities for their involvement in such programs. Celebrates the integral role such programs play for the United States and its people.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2017
Designates the week of December 3-December 9, 2017, as National Nurse-Managed Health Clinic Week, and expresses support for its goals and ideals. Encourages the expansion of nurse-managed health clinics so that they may continue to serve as health care workforce development sites for the next generation of primary care providers.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2017
Recognizes the 69th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the celebration of Human Rights Day. Supports the ideals of human rights and reaffirms the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Encourages all nations to continue working towards freedom, peace, and security which can be achieved through democracy, respect for human rights, and the rule of law.
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
Repeal Existing Policies that Encourage and Allow Legal HIV Discrimination Act of 2017 or the REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act of 2017 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that federal and state laws, policies, and regulations regarding people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) should: (1) not place unique or additional burdens on such individuals solely as a result of their HIV status; and (2) demonstrate a public health-oriented, evidence-based, medically accurate, and contemporary understanding of HIV transmission, health implications, treatment, and the impact of punitive HIV-specific laws, policies, regulations, and judicial precedents and decisions on public health and on affected people, families, and communities. The bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Defense (DOD) to initiate a national review of federal (including military) and state laws, policies, regulations, and judicial precedents and decisions regarding criminal and related civil commitment cases involving people living with HIV. DOJ must transmit to Congress and make publicly available the results of such review with related recommendations. DOJ and HHS must: (1) develop and publicly release guidance and best practice recommendations for states, and (2) establish an integrated monitoring and evaluation system to measure state progress. DOJ, HHS, and DOD must transmit to the President and Congress any proposals necessary to implement adjustments to federal laws, policies, or regulations. This bill shall not be construed to discourage the prosecution of individuals who intentionally transmit or attempt to transmit HIV to another individual.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2017
Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Labor to update the salary threshold applicable to bona fide executive, administrative, and professional employees for purposes of determining eligibility for overtime pay. The bill adopts rulemaking promulgated by Labor in 2016 that established the threshold for exempting such employees from overtime requirements at the 40th percentile of earnings for full-time salaried employees in the lowest-wage census region. The bill also requires updates to the threshold amount every three years.
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 2017
Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Equitable Rebuild Act of 2017 This bill provides for additional disaster-recovery assistance and other assistance to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands with respect to infrastructure, health care, agriculture, education, economic development, and environmental remediation, among other sectors. Specifically, regarding both territories, the bill: provides for the use of certain emergency assistance to rebuild electric grids; establishes several grant programs to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy; subject to specified oversight requirements, increases funding for transportation infrastructure, telecommunications systems, housing, and community development; increases funding for the Medicaid and Medicare programs; temporarily increases social-services block-grant allotments; increases funding for, and otherwise revises, rural and agricultural programs; increases funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs; provides for aid to the Head Start program, elementary and secondary education programs, and higher education programs; increases funding for training and employment services; modifies provisions concerning the earned-income tax credit, the child tax credit, and unemployment assistance; increases funding for economic and community development programs; increases funding for environmental remediation; and otherwise modifies provisions related to emergency funding and disaster-recovery assistance. In addition, the bill: extends Medicaid waiver authority to all territories, provides for Medicaid disproportionate share hospital allotments to the territories, and otherwise revises the Medicaid and Medicare programs with respect to the territories; extends participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to all territories; modifies provisions concerning the application of certain workers' protections in Puerto Rico; and requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to submit to Congress a long-term disaster-relief plan with respect to Puerto Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to modify procedures for determining the amount of mandatory restitution in child pornography cases. Additionally, the bill amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984: to direct courts to impose additional assessments on persons convicted of child pornography offenses; and to establish a Child Pornography Victims Reserve, within the Crime Victims Fund, where the additional assessments must be deposited.
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 · 16 November 2017
Urban Indian Health Parity Act This bill applies a Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., the federal matching rate under Medicaid) of 100% with respect to amounts expended as medical assistance for services received through an Urban Indian organization under a grant or contract with the Indian Health Service.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Member and Employee Training and Oversight On Congress Act or the ME TOO Congress Act This bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA), including to (1) extend CAA nondiscrimination requirements and remedies to sexual orientation, gender identity, and to legislative branch interns, detailees, and fellows; (2) revise CAA procedures for certain harassment and discrimination complaints; (3) require the offending Member of Congress to pay for settlements and awards in such complaints; and (4) rename the Office of Compliance the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights. The bill sets forth requirements for certain harassment and discrimination awareness and prevention training.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
No Ban on Refugees Act This bill prohibits any U.S. government agency from preventing a refugee from entering the United States based on the refugee's country of origin.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and Emergency Act or the SECURE Act This bill permits a qualifying alien who is not inadmissible or deportable under certain criminal or security grounds or who did not participate in persecution to apply for adjustment to lawful permanent resident status if such alien: (1) is in temporary protected status (TPS), (2) held TPS status, (3) qualified for TSP status at the time of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) last TPS designation, or (4) is a national of a foreign country that was at any time a TPS-designated country. TPS designation permits eligible nationals of designated counties affected by armed conflict or natural disasters to temporarily reside and work in the United States. An alien who has applied for status adjustment may work while the application is pending. The spouse, domestic partner, child, or unmarried son or daughter of an alien who has adjusted to lawful permanent resident status may also adjust to such status subject to certain conditions. An unmarried son or daughter must additionally establish physical presence in the United States for at least one year. An alien subject to a final order of removal may not be removed if the alien has a pending status adjustment application or is prima facie eligible to file an application and indicates an intention to do so. An alien who raises the defense of status adjustment eligibility may not be removed unless DHS has already denied the alien's application.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Workplace Action for a Growing Economy Act or the WAGE Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to award back pay and additional damages to any employee whose rights under the NLRA have been violated by an employer; impose penalties upon an employer for failing to post a notice of the rights of their employees under the NLRA; impose penalties upon an employer whose violations of the NLRA result in the discharge of an employee or other serious economic harm to the employee; provide civil remedies, including restraining orders, and a private right of action for violations of the NLRA; require the NLRB to issue an order requiring collective bargaining when a majority of valid ballots have been cast in favor of union representation; prevent the classification of employees as supervisors for the purpose of denying such employees the protections of the NLRA; and expedite the establishment of initial collection bargaining agreements. The bill empowers the NLRB to enforce its own orders without petitioning a court for enforcement.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Military Justice Improvement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to grant independent military prosecutors the authority to decide whether to convene courts-martial for sexual assault cases and other serious crimes punishable by confinement of more than one year (currently, this authority lies within the chain of command). The bill allows the chain of command to retain authority to decide whether to prosecute serious crimes uniquely military in nature and all crimes punishable by less than one year of confinement.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States should remain a signatory to the Paris Agreement and support policies that promote the reduction of global warming pollution.
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 · 15 November 2017
This bill establishes: (1) in the Office of Management and Budget, the Federal Geographic Data Committee (the committee), which shall be the lead entity in the executive branch for the development, implementation, and review of policies, practices, and standards relating to geospatial data; and (2) in the Department of the Interior, the National Geospatial Advisory Committee to provide advice and recommendations to the committee. The National Spatial Data Infrastructure (as defined in this bill) shall ensure that geospatial data from multiple sources is available and easily integrated to enhance the understanding of the physical and cultural world. The committee shall: (1) prepare a strategic plan for the implementation of the infrastructure consistent with national security, national defense, and emergency preparedness program policies regarding data accessibility; and (2) designate, and establish standards for, National Geospatial Data Asset core geospatial datasets for primary topics for which the coordinated development, maintenance, and dissemination of geospatial data will benefit the government and people of the United States. The committee shall operate GeoPlatform, an electronic service that provides access to geospatial data and metadata for geospatial data. Agencies whose functions involve geospatial data shall implement a strategy for advancing geographic information and related geospatial data activities appropriate to that agency's mission in support of the strategic plan for the infrastructure. Such agencies shall disclose each contract, cooperative agreement, grant, or other transaction that deals with geospatial data. Five years after enactment of this bill, federal funding shall not be made available for the collection, production, acquisition, maintenance, or dissemination of geospatial data that does not comply with applicable standards established by the committee.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2017
Supporting Working Moms Act of 2017 This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to extend the requirement that certain employers provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child to bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity employees or outside salesmen who are exempt from federal labor laws that limit the number of hours in a workweek.
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 · 8 November 2017
Assault Weapons Ban of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). The prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is: (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model. Additionally, the bill does not prohibit, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD: importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties. The bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD. Newly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture. The bill also amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to allow a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2017
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure that if it creates a presumption of service connection between the occurrence of a disease and exposure to a herbicide agent while serving in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era at a military base in Thailand, such presumption shall also apply to exposure to a herbicide agent while serving in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era at any military base in Thailand without regard to where on the base the veteran was located or what military job specialty the veteran performed. The VA may provide to any spina bifida-affected child of a veteran who served on active duty in Thailand beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, and who was exposed to a herbicide agent during such service, the same health care, vocational training and rehabilitation, and monetary allowance required to be paid to a similarly affected child of a Vietnam veteran.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2017
LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2017 This bill amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to include the specific needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals among the "greatest social needs" served under that Act. An LGBT individual shall be considered a "minority" for purposes of services provided under the Act. The bill authorizes the Administration of Aging to designate within it a person with responsibility for addressing issues affecting LGBT older individuals. In addition, the administration shall conduct studies and collect data to determine the services needed by LGBT older individuals. The administration shall establish and operate the National Resource Center on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Aging to provide national, state, and local organizations with the information and technical assistance needed by those organizations to effectively serve LGBT older individuals. The Long-Term Care Ombudsman of each state shall, as a condition of receiving certain federal funding under the Act, collect and analyze data related to discrimination against LGBT older individuals in long-term care settings.
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
Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 2017 This bill authorizes assistance to victims of the military's ethnic cleansing campaign targeting the Rohingya people in Rakhine State, Burma (Myanmar), as well as technical assistance to investigate and prosecute crimes related to ethnic cleansing in Rakhine State. The bill imposes restrictions on international financial institution assistance, security cooperation, and trade. It calls on the President to determine whether specified individuals should be included in the list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. The Departments of State and the Treasury and the U.S. Agency for International Development shall submit to Congress an assistance strategy to promote broad-based economic development in Burma.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2017 This bill amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to require the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) identify and assess the importation, sale, and uses of, and exposures to, asbestos; and (2) impose requirements that permanently eliminate the possibility of human or environmental exposure to asbestos. The bill allows the President to exempt any use of asbestos from the requirements if: (1) the use is necessary to protect national security interests, (2) no reasonable alternative to the asbestos use exists for the intended purpose, and (3) the use of asbestos will not result in an unreasonable risk to health or the environment.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2017
Protecting Workers' Freedom to Organize Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act to modify the definitions of "employee" and "supervisor" under that Act to prevent the misclassification of employees as independent contractors in order to deny them collective bargaining rights. An individual performing any services is deemed to be an employee and not an independent contractor unless such individual is free from control and direction in the performance of such services, the services are performed outside the usual course of the employer's business, and the individual is customarily engaged in an independently established business.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2017
This bill increases the thresholds by which Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility projects and medical facility leases are considered major projects or major leases. Project thresholds are increased from $10 million to $20 million and lease thresholds are increased from an average annual rental rate exceeding $1 million to an average annual rental rate exceeding $1.5 million. (Major project or lease designation requires additional funding, administrative, and approval criteria.)
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2017
Preventing Preemptive War in North Korea Act of 2017 This bill prohibits funds from being used without express congressional authorization for kinetic military operations in North Korea absent an imminent threat to the United States. The prohibition shall not apply to the introduction of the Armed Forces to: (1) repel an attack on the United States, its territories or possessions, the Armed Forces, or U.S. allies; or (2) rescue or remove U.S. personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2017
Fairness for Korean DMZ Veterans Act of 2017 This bill provides a presumption of herbicide exposure as the service-connected cause of certain diseases notwithstanding that there is no evidentiary record of any such disease during a veteran's service period. The bill defines a "veteran" for purposes of this bill as an individual who, during active military, naval, or air service, served in or near the Korean demilitarized zone during the period beginning on September 1, 1967, and ending on August 31, 1971. The bill specifies such a disease as: (1) a listed disease that becomes manifest, or (2) any additional disease that the Department of Veterans Affairs determines warrants a presumption of service-connection by reason of a positive association with herbicide exposure and that manifests itself within a prescribed period.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2017
GSP Footwear Act of 2017 This bill amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the President to designate certain footwear as eligible for duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The President shall include in the next six annual reports to Congress regarding the status of internationally recognized worker rights within a GSP eligible beneficiary developing country a study on the state of the U.S. footwear manufacturing industry for the preceding year. In conducting any study of the probable economic effect of providing duty-free treatment under the GSP to such footwear, the U.S. Trade Representative shall request the U.S. International Trade Commission to examine current domestic production of like or directly competitive footwear articles and to identify any such articles where domestic commercial production is likely to occur within the next year.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2017
No Unconstitutional Strike Against North Korea Act of 2017 This bill prohibits the use of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Defense or to any other federal agency to launch a military strike against North Korea or to introduce the U.S. Armed Forces into hostilities in North Korea before the date on which Congress declares war on North Korea or enacts an authorization of military strikes that meets the requirements of the War Powers Resolution and that is enacted after the enactment of this bill. This prohibition shall not apply to military force used to: (1) repel an attack on the United States, its territories or possessions, its Armed Forces, or its allies; or (2) rescue or remove U.S. personnel. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) a conflict on the Korean peninsula would have catastrophic consequences and that actions and statements that increase tensions between the United States and North Korea should be avoided; and (2) the President should engage in talks with North Korea to reduce tensions and improve communication, initiate negotiations to achieve a diplomatic agreement to halt and eventually reverse North Korea's nuclear pursuits, and move toward denuclearization and a permanent peace in the Korean peninsula.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2017
Background Check Expansion Act This bill establishes new background check requirements for firearm transfers between private parties (i.e., unlicensed individuals). Specifically, it prohibits a firearm transfer between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check. The prohibition does not apply to certain firearm transfers, such as a gift between spouses in good faith.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2017
State Public Option Act This bill allows residents not already eligible for Medicaid who are not concurrently enrolled in other health insurance coverage to buy into a state Medicaid plan beginning January 1, 2018. The bill makes such buy-in coverage eligible for premium subsidies and reduced cost sharing under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shall develop standardized, state-level metrics of access to, and satisfaction with, providers for individuals enrolled in state Medicaid plans. Primary care services furnished under Medicaid by certain providers must be paid at a rate that is not less than the rate under Medicare part B. Beginning in FY2019, the Department of Health and Human Services may award grants to states for the purpose of improving access to services for individuals enrolled in state Medicaid plans. The bill provides the enhanced federal medical assistance percentage to every state that expands Medicaid coverage for individuals who are newly eligible under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, regardless of when such expansion takes place.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2017
Uniting and Strengthening America by Reforming and Improving the Government's High-Tech Surveillance Act of 2017 or the USA RIGHTS Act of 2017 This bill amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to: require a warrant to collect communications of or about a U.S. person or a person inside the United States; require a warrant when a significant purpose of targeting foreigners is to collect communications of persons in the United States; prohibit the use of communications to or from, or information about, U.S. persons or persons in the United States in any criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding or investigation, with the exception of national security-related crimes; allow individuals who have a reasonable basis to believe their communications will be acquired and who have taken reasonable steps to avoid surveillance to challenge the constitutionality of surveillance in court; and require that all forms of technical assistance demanded by the government of electronic communications service providers be approved by a FISA court. The bill expands the mandate of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to include review of all foreign intelligence activities and whistle-blower complaints. The bill extends the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to September 30, 2021.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2017
Environmental Justice Act of 2017 This bill requires agencies to address the disproportionate impact of environmental and human health hazards on communities of color, indigenous communities, and low-income communities resulting from agencies' programs and policies. This bill provides statutory authority for: the interagency Federal Working Group on Environmental Justice, certain environmental justice requirements established under Executive Order 12898, a guidance titled "Environmental Justice Guidance Under the National Environmental Policy Act," a guidance titled "EPA Policy on Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes: Guidance for Discussing Tribal Treaty Rights," the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program, the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program, and the Community Action for a Renewed Environment grant programs. The bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address potential cumulative impacts of pollutant discharges when issuing or renewing permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program. The bill amends the Clean Air Act to require the EPA to address potential cumulative impacts of a major stationary source of air pollutants when issuing or renewing permits for those sources. The bill states that the authorization to bring citizen suits under certain environmental laws does not preclude the right of an individual to bring a civil action for deprivation of implied rights under those laws or common law. The bill amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to allow a person aggrieved by the failure of a covered entity to comply with the Act to bring an action against the entity in a federal or state court for discriminatory practices.
![Official portrait of Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m001176_200.jpg)