United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2019
This resolution recognizes the 75th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising and commends the bravery and patriotism of those who fought as part of the Polish Home Army against German Nazi occupation.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2019
This resolution condemns the attack in Dayton, Ohio, on August 4, 2019. It honors the memory of the victims who were killed. It expresses hope for the recovery of the individuals who were injured.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2019
Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2019 This bill temporarily expands the awards program for cost-saving identifications by federal employees of fraud, waste, or mismanagement to include identifications of surplus salaries and expenses funds. Savings resulting from such identifications shall generally be used for deficit reduction, but agencies may retain up to 10% of such savings for the purpose of paying cash awards to employees for making the identifications. An officer may not receive such award if the officer (1) serves in a position at level one of the Executive Schedule; (2) is the head of an agency; or (3) is a commissioner, board member, or other voting member of an independent establishment.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2019
Promoting American National Security and Preventing the Resurgence of ISIS Act of 2019 This bill requires the Department of State to develop a strategy to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), authorizes humanitarian assistance for Syrian civilians, restricts arms sales to Turkey, and imposes sanctions against Turkey and Russia. As part of the strategy to prevent the resurgence of ISIS, the bill requires the State Department to report on (1) the Turkish incursion into Syria; (2) Turkey's participation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; (3) the estimated net worth of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan; and (4) foreign persons determined to have knowingly provided defense articles, services, or technology to Turkey that could be used in its operations in Syria. Further, the State Department must brief Congress on Russian and Iranian influence in Syria, U.S. activities to counter such influence, and the ability of ISIS to reconstitute. The President must oppose loans to Turkey from international finance institutions and impose sanctions against identified foreign persons that provided Turkey with defense articles, services, or technology for its operations in Syria. The bill also authorizes the President to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Syria, and it requires the State Department to give priority designation to certain Syrian Kurds as refugees of special humanitarian concern. Additionally, the bill prohibits the sale of arms to Turkey for its operations in Syria, and it imposes sanctions against persons providing arms to Turkish forces in Syria. It also imposes sanctions against senior Turkish government officials, financial institutions that facilitate transactions for Turkish Armed Forces, and Russian persons supporting the Assad regime.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2019
Countering Turkish Aggression Act of 2019 This bill directs the President to impose sanctions related to Turkey. The President shall impose property- and visa-blocking sanctions on specified officials of Turkey's government, such as the president and vice president of Turkey. The President shall also impose property-blocking sanctions on (1) Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS, a Turkish state-owned bank; (2) any foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitates transactions for Turkey's armed forces or defense industry relating to military operations in Syria; (3) any foreign person that knowingly sells to, provides support to, or conducts a transaction with Turkey's armed forces; (4) any foreign person that supplies goods or services that support petroleum production for use by Turkey's armed forces; and (5) any foreign person that sells or provides support that significantly facilitate Syrian energy production for use by Russia, Iran, Turkey, or Syria's government. The President shall also prohibit any U.S. person from (1) engaging in any transaction with such sanctioned persons, or (2) purchasing Turkey's sovereign debt. The President shall impose additional sanctions on Turkey based on Turkey's purchase of a surface-to-air defense system from Russia. No funds may be obligated or expended to transfer to Turkey's armed forces any U.S. defense articles, services, or technology. The President may terminate such sanctions and prohibitions upon certifying to Congress that Turkey and affiliated groups have met certain conditions, such as stopping their attacks on the Syrian Kurdish community and withdrawing from certain locations in Syria.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2019
Small Business Tax Fairness and Compliance Simplification Act This bill expands the tax credit for a portion of the employer-paid Social Security taxes for employee cash tips to include beauty service establishments. (Under current law, the credit is limited to tips received for providing, serving, or delivering food or beverages.) The credit applies to tips received in connection with providing beauty services to a customer or client if tipping employees who provide the service is customary. "Beauty services" include barbering and hair care, nail care, esthetics, and body and spa treatments. The bill also (1) establishes an employer tip reporting safe harbor, and (2) specifies reporting requirements for income received from renting space to individuals who provide beauty services. The employer tip reporting safe harbor provides an exemption from certain Internal Revenue Service tip examinations for employers who meet certain requirements for educational programs, reporting procedures, compliance with tax law, and recordkeeping.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2019
End Government Shutdowns Act This bill provides continuing appropriations to prevent a government shutdown if any appropriations measure for a fiscal year has not been enacted before the fiscal year begins or a joint resolution making continuing appropriations is not in effect.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2019
Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act of 2019 This bill requires federal agencies to make budget justification materials available to the public. The bill also requires the Office of Management and Budget to make certain details regarding the materials available to the public, including a list of the agencies that submit budget justification materials to Congress, the dates that the materials are submitted to Congress and posted online, and links to the materials.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2019
Greg LeMond Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to Greg LeMond, in recognition of his contributions to the United States as an athlete, activist, role model, and community leader.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2019
Fair Sugar Policy Act of 2019 This bill makes several modifications to the Department of Agriculture's sugar program. Among other modifications, the bill decreases the rate for price support loans, repeals the marketing allotments, revises the administration of import quotas, and repeals the Feedstock Flexibility Program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2019
Eliminating Discrimination And Creating Corridors to Expand Student Success Act of 2019 or the ED ACCESS Act of 2019 This bill eliminates the ineligibility of students convicted of a felony drug offense for the American Opportunity Tax Credit.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2019
Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility Act This bill redesignates the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Plum Brook Station in Ohio as the "NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at the Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility."
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2019
National Historic Vehicle Register Act of 2019 This bill directs the National Park Service (NPS) to establish and maintain a National Historic Vehicle Register that shall include (1) a narrative describing each historic vehicle and its historical significance, (2) a photographic record of the vehicle, and (3) a line drawing or engineering drawing of the vehicle. Such register shall be archived in the Library of Congress. The NPS shall (1) coordinate with the Historic Vehicle Association, American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, and other appropriate organizations in order to invite owners of historic vehicles to participate in the register; and (2) develop criteria for the inclusion of historic vehicles on the register. When developing such criteria, the NPS shall consider whether a vehicle is (1) associated with an important event or a significant individual in automotive or U.S. history; (2) distinctive based on design, engineering, craftsmanship, or aesthetic value; or (3) of a particular type that was the first or last produced or among the most well-preserved or authentically restored examples of that type.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2019
This resolution calls for the international community to demand that North Korea dismantle its labor camp system and for North Korea to cease human rights abuses and release political prisoners.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2019
Commonsense Reporting Act of 2019 This bill addresses the eligibility verification process for the premium assistance tax credit and cost-sharing subsidy under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). It requires the Department of the Treasury to develop and implement a reporting system that allows employers to voluntarily report information about their health plans for the current plan year prior to the beginning of open enrollment. The bill also allows electronic transmission of employee and enrollee statements and permits Treasury to accept full names and dates of birth in lieu of dependents' and spouses' Social Security numbers. The Government Accountability Office must evaluate (1) for the period beginning on January 1, 2015, and ending on December 31, 2018, the notification of employers by PPACA exchanges of the eligibility of employees for advance payments of the premium assistance tax credit or cost-sharing subsidies; and (2) for calendar year 2020, the functionality of the prospective reporting system established by this bill, including the accuracy of information collected.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2019
Retirement Security Preservation Act of 201 9 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the nondiscrimination requirements for certain defined benefit retirement plans that limit participation or certain features to a closed class, such as individuals who were hired before a certain date. (Under current law, the plans may not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees and must meet minimum participation requirements.) The bill applies only to a defined benefit plan that (1) closed before April 5, 2017; or (2) was in effect for at least five years when it closed and did not substantially increase the coverage or value of the benefits, rights, or features for the closed class during the five-year period before it closed, except as the result of certain business acquisitions or mergers. Such a plan meets the nondiscrimination requirements if it (1) satisfies certain testing rules for the year that the class closes and the two succeeding plan years, and (2) is not amended in a discriminatory manner after the class is closed. A defined contribution plan that offers additional contributions or benefits to a closed class whose benefits under a defined benefit plan have been reduced or eliminated meets the nondiscrimination requirements if (1) the group receiving the contributions or benefits satisfies certain testing rules for the year in which the group is closed and for two subsequent plan years, and (2) the plan is not amended in a discriminatory manner. A defined benefit plan that is either closed or has ceased benefit accruals for all participants (frozen plan) satisfies the minimum participation requirements if the plan met the requirements when it was closed or frozen.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2019
Negro Leagues Baseball Centennial Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Negro National League, a professional baseball league that was formed in response to African-American players being banned from baseball's major leagues. The design of the coins shall be emblematic of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and its mission to promote tolerance, diversity, and inclusion. All surcharges from sales of these coins shall be paid to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum for educational and outreach programs and exhibits.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2019
Bridge Investment Act of 2019 This bill establishes a bridge investment program to award competitive grants to certain governmental entities for projects that improve (1) the condition of bridges; and (2) the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of people and freight over bridges. Among other things, the bill requires grant awards for large projects (projects with total costs of greater than $100 million) to be at least $50 million, and for any other projects not less than $2.5 million; directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to consider a number of factors in awarding grants, including the extent to which a project demonstrates cost savings by bundling multiple bridge projects; requires DOT to prioritize projects that are located within states for which at least two project applications were submitted in the current fiscal year and an average of two were submitted in prior fiscal years, and fewer than two grants have been awarded for projects within the state; and limits funding for projects that consist solely of culvert replacement or rehabilitation.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2019
This resolution celebrates 50 years of environmental progress in the Cuyahoga River Valley and Lake Erie. In addition, the resolution expresses the Senate's commitment to improve the Great Lakes Basin's ecosystem health, drinking water quality, and wastewater infrastructure.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2019
This bill posthumously advances Lieutenant Colonel Richard E. Cole, U.S. Air Force (retired), to the rank of colonel on the retired list of the Air Force.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2019
This resolution honors John Paul Stevens, former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Specifically, the resolution commends his decades of service, acknowledges his enormous contributions, and extends sympathies to his family and friends.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2019
Protecting Rights Of Those Exploited by Coercive Trafficking Act of 2019 This bill specifies that supplying, furnishing, or providing a drug or illegal substance to a person, including to exploit or create an addiction, constitutes (1) coercion, for purposes of a child sex trafficking offense; and (2) coercive means, for purposes of a forced labor offense.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2019
Charging Helps Agencies Realize General Efficiencies Act or the CHARGE Act This bill requires the General Services Administration to issue (1) guidance to clarify that federal agencies may use a charge card to pay to charge federal electric motor vehicles at commercial charging stations, and (2) a charge card for such payments to each agency for each of the agency's electric motor vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2019
Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys Act This bill establishes the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys within the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Office of the Staff Director to conduct a systematic study of the conditions affecting black men and boys.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2019
Trauma-Informed Modernization of Eldercare for Holocaust Survivors Act or the TIME for Holocaust Survivors Act This bill includes matters concerning Holocaust survivors in federal grants and programs that serve older adults. Specifically, the bill includes an individual's status as a Holocaust survivor within the scope of the greatest social needs for purposes of such programs. Under current law, these programs must target populations with the greatest economic and social needs. Additionally, among other activities, the Administration on Aging must establish a national center to provide resources, training, and technical assistance related to delivering services to older individuals who experience the long-term and adverse consequences of trauma. In addition, the administration may designate within it a person responsible for implementing and coordinating services for individuals who are Holocaust survivors.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2019
Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2019 This bill revises a variety of programs to encourage energy efficiency in buildings, industry, and the federal government, including by encouraging energy efficiency in residential, commercial, federal, or school buildings; energy-efficient technologies and processes for industrial applications; sustainable manufacturing; energy-efficient electric motors or transformers; or federal use of energy-efficient and energy-saving information technologies.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2019
Never Again Education Act This bill creates the Holocaust Education Assistance Program Fund for the Department of Education (ED) to (1) award grants to eligible entities to carry out Holocaust education programs, and (2) conduct periodic regional workshops to provide teachers with technical assistance on how to incorporate Holocaust education within state and local education standards. The fund may accept donations and in-kind contributions. ED shall (1) create and maintain a Holocaust education program website containing resources for middle grades and high schools; and (2) establish the Holocaust Education Advisory Board to advise on developing application criteria for the fund's grants, to advise on content for the Holocaust education program website, and to lead efforts to solicit donations for the fund.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2019
Deepfake Report Act of 2019 This bill requires the Science and Technology Directorate in the Department of Homeland Security to report at specified intervals on the state of digital content forgery technology. Digital content forgery is the use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques, to fabricate or manipulate audio, visual, or text content with the intent to mislead.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2019
Electronic Court Records Reform Act of 2019 This bill directs the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, in coordination with the General Services Administration, to consolidate the Case Management/Electronic Case Files system into one system. Additionally, it establishes certain requirements for the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system, including the following: documents filed with a federal court must be publicly accessible upon filing, and documents on PACER must be available to the public and to parties before the court free of charge.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2019
This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal to commemorate Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, J. Christopher Stevens, and Sean Smith, four Americans killed in the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. (Stevens was the U.S. Ambassador to Libya at the time, Smith was an officer in the Foreign Service, and Doherty and Woods were both government contractors and former Navy SEALs.) After the medal has been awarded, it shall be given to the Central Intelligence Agency Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2019
Build America, Buy America Act This bill requires federal infrastructure programs to provide for the use of materials produced in the United States. Each federal agency must submit to the Office of Management and Budget and to Congress a report that identifies each federal financial assistance program for infrastructure administered by the agency and (1) identify domestic content procurement preferences applicable to the assistance, (2) assess the applicability of such requirements, (3) provide details on any applicable domestic content procurement preference requirement, and (4) include a description of the type of infrastructure projects that receive funding under the program. Each agency shall ensure that none of the funds made available for such a program may be used for a project unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured products used in the project are produced in the United States, subject to waivers where inconsistent with the public interest, where not produced in sufficient quantities or satisfactory quality, or where such inclusion will increase the cost of the project by more than 25%.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
Dollar-for-Dollar Deficit Reduction Act The bill establishes a framework to require legislation that increases or suspends the public debt limit to include spending reductions that are equal to or greater than the projected increase in debt that will occur under the legislation. The bill allows the spending reductions to be phased in over a 10-year period.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
Save Our Seas 2.0 Act or the SOS 2.0 Act This bill establishes requirements and incentives to reduce, recycle, and prevent marine debris (e.g., plastics), including requirements to establish a Marine Debris Response Trust Fund, a Marine Debris Foundation, a Genius Prize for Save Our Seas Innovations, a strategy to improve waste management and recycling infrastructure, a Waste Management Revolving Fund for states, a Waste Management Infrastructure Grant program, a Drinking Water Infrastructure Grant program, a Wastewater Infrastructure Grant program, and a Trash-Free Water Grant program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
Federal Permitting Reform and Jobs Act This bill revises the program responsible for federal coordination and review of major infrastructure projects, including by making this program permanent and by expanding the types of projects eligible for the program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
Provide Accurate Information Directly Act or PAID Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to identify, in response to an inquiry from certain non-group health plans (e.g., liability insurers), whether an individual was enrolled in Medicare, Medicare Advantage, or the Medicare prescription drug benefit during the preceding three-year period.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2019
Fallen Journalists Memorial Act of 2019 This bill authorizes the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work on eligible federal land in commemoration of the sacrifices made by journalists for a free and independent press.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2019
Protecting Access to Lifesaving Screenings Act of 2019 or the PALS Act This bill makes a series of changes relating to health insurance coverage of screening mammography. Specifically, the bill requires that any provision of law referring to current recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) with respect to breast cancer screening mammography be administered as if (1) the provision referred to USPSTF recommendations last issued before 2009; and (2) those recommendations applied to any screening mammography modality, including any digital modality of such a procedure. This requirement shall also apply to the Veterans Health Administration's policy on mammography screening for veterans. In addition, the bill preserves Medicare coverage for screening mammography, without a requirement for coinsurance, and expands the definition of screening mammography to include any digital modality of such a procedure. Further, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may not decrease the frequency with which screening mammography may be paid by Medicare for a woman over 39 years of age. In 2009, the USPSTF updated its guidelines to recommend against routine screening mammography for women between 40 to 49 years of age and to recommend biennial, instead of annual, screening mammography for most women between 50 to 74 years of age. In 2015, through the appropriations process, a three-year moratorium was placed on implementing the guidelines; the moratorium was subsequently renewed until January 1, 2020.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2019
Enrollment Reshaping Entry For Older, Retiring Members Act or the Enrollment REFORM Act This bill establishes and otherwise modifies requirements relating to coordinated coverage between employer health insurance and Medicare. Specifically, the bill prohibits employer-sponsored health plans for certain smaller employers from reducing benefits for employees who are eligible for Medicare but have not yet enrolled. Additionally, for purposes of calculating the Medicare late enrollment penalty, an individual seeking to demonstrate proof of enrollment in an employer-sponsored health plan may not be required to provide proof for more than the immediately preceding 36-month period, with specified exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2019
Combating Meth and Cocaine Act This bill authorizes the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to award grants to states for the treatment and prevention of opioid-use disorders. Funds may be used for activities including education, treatment, and medical screenings related to opioid-use disorders, as well as for referrals to behavioral health services and recovery support. Grants also may be used to prevent or treat cocaine- or methamphetamine-use disorders.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2019
Improve Well-Being for Veterans Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to award grants for a period of three years to eligible entities for the provision of suicide prevention services to veterans and their families. Under the bill, eligible entities include tribally designated housing entities, community-based organizations, and other private entities that meet certain requirements. Entities must submit an application to receive financial assistance that includes a description of the services they propose to provide, among other elements. The bill requires the VA to equitably distribute grants across geographic regions and areas with the most need. Additionally, the VA shall give preference to entities that are experienced in providing suicide prevention services. Entities receiving funding must notify service recipients that funding is wholly or partially from the VA.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2019
Go to High School, Go to College Act of 2019 This bill requires the Department of Education to carry out a pilot program that awards College in High School Federal Pell Grants to high school students for enrollment in and completion of postsecondary courses offered through dual or concurrent enrollment programs or early college high schools.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2019
Treatment Family Care Services Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue guidance outlining opportunities for states to fund treatment family care services through Medicaid, the Payments for Foster Care and Permanency program, or other HHS programs. Treatment family care services are structured, daily emotional and behavioral services and interventions provided in a home-based setting for children less than 21 years old. Additionally, HHS must develop and issue guidance about best practices for states to establish treatment family care services programs.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2019
Electronic Signature Standards Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to establish uniform guidance for the use of electronic signatures with respect to any request for disclosure of a taxpayer's return or return information.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2019
Secure Federal Leases from Espionage And Suspicious Entanglements Act or the Secure Federal LEASEs Act This bill instructs the General Services Administration (GSA), the Architect of the Capitol, or any federal agency (other than the Department of Defense) that has independent statutory leasing authority (federal lessee), before entering into a lease agreement or approving a novation agreement with an entity involving a change of ownership under a lease that will be used for high-security leased space, to require the entity to identify the immediate or highest-level owner of the space and disclose whether that owner is a foreign person or entity, including the country associated with the ownership entity. A federal lessee shall require the entity to (1) provide such identification and disclosure when first submitting a proposal in response to a solicitation for offers issued by the federal lessee; and (2) update such information annually, including the list of the immediate or highest-level owners of that entity or the information required to be provided related to each such owner. The GSA shall develop a government-wide proposal for identifying all immediate, highest-level, or beneficial owners of high-security leased spaces before entering into a lease agreement to accommodate a federal tenant. The bill provides a rule for language in a lease agreement (concerning restriction of access to high-security space) between a federal lessee and an entity to accommodate an agency in a building or improvement used for high-security leased space.