United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2018
Supports: (1) the designation of the week of April 29-May 5, 2018, as National Small Business Week, and (2) increasing consumer awareness of the value and opportunity that small businesses bring to their local communities. Celebrates: (1) the entrepreneurial spirit of small business owners of the United States, and (2) the invaluable contributions that small businesses make to the United States as the backbone of the economy. Recognizes the importance of creating a small business climate that allows for sustained entrepreneurial success.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2018
Small Business Advanced Cybersecurity Enhancements Act of 2018 This bill amends the Small Business Act to direct the Small Business Administration in coordination with the Department of Commerce to create a central small business cybersecurity assistance unit and small business cybersecurity assistance units in each small business development center. The units shall serve as the primary interface for small business concerns to receive and share cyber threat indicators and defensive measures with the federal government.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2018
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable John Melcher, Senator from Montana. Declares that when the Senate adjourns April 18, 2018, it stands adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased Senator Melcher.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2018
Agriculture Creates Real Employment Act or the ACRE Act This bill reduces environmental requirements for agricultural producers, including requirements concerning the takings of certain birds at farms or aquaculture facilities, exports of certain sea urchins and sea cucumbers, discharges of pesticides, the use of information and data collected in accordance with certain environmental laws, or oil pollution on farms.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2018
Stephen Michael Gleason Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Stephen Michael Gleason.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2018
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Daniel K. Akaka, Senator from Hawaii. Declares that when the Senate adjourns April 10, 2018, it stands adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased Senator.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2018
Extends deepest condolences and gratitude to the family of Zell Bryan Miller, the former governor and Senator of Georgia. Honors his legacy and life, his commitment to the people of Georgia and the United States, and his service to the Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns April 10, 2018, it stands adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late Senator Miller.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2018
This joint resolution nullifies the rule submitted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and printed in the Congressional Record on December 6, 2017, relating to indirect auto lending and compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. The rule provides guidance for compliance with fair lending requirements for third-party auto lenders.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2018
Equitable Access to Care and Health Act or the EACH Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the religious conscience exemption under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to exempt individuals who rely solely on a religious method of healing and for whom the acceptance of medical health services would be inconsistent with their religious beliefs from the requirement to purchase and maintain minimum essential health care coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2018
Reclamation Title Transfer Act of 2018 This bill authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation to convey to a qualifying entity all U.S. interest in any eligible facility, if: (1) by 90 days before the date on which Reclamation makes the conveyance, it submits to Congress a written notice of the proposed conveyance and a description of the reasons for the conveyance; and (2) a joint resolution disapproving the conveyance is not enacted before the date on which it makes the conveyance. Reclamation must convey with all applicable federal environmental laws before making a conveyance. "Qualifying entity" means an agency of a state or political subdivision of a state, a joint action or powers agency, a water users association, or an Indian tribe or tribal authority that: (1) as of the date of conveyance, is the current operator of the conveyed facility pursuant to a contract with Reclamation; and (2) as determined by Reclamation, has the capacity to continue to manage the conveyed property for the same purposes for which the property has been managed under the reclamation laws. Effective beginning on the date of conveyance, the United States shall not be liable for damages arising out of any act, omission, or occurrence based on prior ownership or operation of the conveyed property.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2018
Water Supply Infrastructure and Drought Resilience Act of 2018 This bill establishes a pilot project to adjust flood control rule curves at Bureau of Reclamation facilities. The bill amends the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to increase access to Reclamation's WaterSMART program by including within the definition of "eligible applicant" any state, regional, or local authority the members of which include one or more organizations with water or power delivery authority. The bill provides Reclamation with increased flexibility to recharge aquifers. The conveyance of water through a project facility that crosses Bureau of Land Management land for the purpose of aquifer recharge shall not require a new or additional permit or authorization if: (1) the existing project facility has a valid agreement that allows conveyance of water for a purpose other than aquifer recharge, (2) that conveyance does not result in a substantial change to the operation of the project facility, and (3) the entity operating the facility consents to such conveyance. In developing any rule, policy, directive, management plan, or similar federal action relating to the issuance, renewal, amendment, or extension of any permit, right-of-way, or other land use or occupancy agreement, Reclamation shall: (1) recognize the longstanding authority of the states relating to evaluating, protecting, allocating, regulating, permitting, and adjudicating water use; and (2) coordinate with the states to ensure that any such action is consistent with, and imposes no greater restriction or regulatory requirement, than applicable state water law.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2018
Small Business Investment Opportunity Act of 2018 This bill amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to increase the maximum amount of outstanding leverage (i.e., borrowing power) made available to any licensed small business investment company from $150 million to $175 million.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2018
First Amendment Defense Act This bill prohibits the federal government from taking discriminatory action against a person on the basis that such person speaks or acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction that: (1) marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman or two individuals as recognized under federal law, or (2) sexual relations outside marriage are improper. The bill defines "person" as any person regardless of religious affiliation, except publicly traded for-profit entities; federal employees acting within the scope of their employment; federal for-profit contractors acting within the scope of their contract; or hospitals and other health care entities with respect to visitation, recognition of a designated representative for health care decisions, or refusal to provide medical treatment necessary to cure an illness or injury.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2018
United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018 This bill extends security assistance to Israel. Specifically, it extends: foreign military financing assistance to Israel through FY2028, loan guarantees through FY2023, and authority for the war reserves stockpile through FY2023. The President may: enter into a cooperative agreement with Israel for research and joint production of anti-drone defense articles; conduct a joint assessment with Israel regarding which precision guided munitions Israel needs in a sustained armed confrontation with Hezbollah, Hamas, or other groups; and transfer precision guided munitions and defense articles to such stockpile. The bill directs the Department of Defense to provide for the rapid acquisition and deployment of precision guided munitions for U.S. counterterrorism missions or to assist an ally under missile threat from a terrorist organization or a country that supports international terrorism. The President shall report to Congress describing the steps taken to include Israel in the list of countries eligible for the strategic trade authorization exception. Such exception allows a controlled item to be exported without a transaction-specific license. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall continue to work with the Israel Space Agency to pursue peaceful space exploration and science initiatives. The bill also requires the periodic reports on Israel's qualitative military edge to include information about Israel's ability to defend itself from regional state and non-state actors and from drone, cyber, and asymmetric threats.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2018
Fair Agricultural Reporting Method Act or the FARM Act This bill amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to exempt air emissions from animal waste at a farm from specified release notification requirements, recordkeeping requirements, and associated penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2018
Guides and Outfitters Act or the GO Act This bill amends the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to specify the circumstances under which the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) may: (1) issue special recreation permits for federal recreational lands and waters, and (2) change a special recreation permit fee. Interior and USDA may issue special recreation permits: for specialized individual and group use of federal facilities and federal recreational lands and waters; to recreation service providers who conduct outfitting, guiding, and other recreation services on federal recreational lands and waters; and to recreation service providers who conduct recreation or competitive events, which may involve incidental sales on federal recreational lands and waters. USDA and Interior shall implement a program that authorizes temporary permits for new recreational uses of federal recreational lands and waters managed by the Forest Service or the BLM, respectively. Interior and USDA shall revise certain: special land use and special recreation permit regulations to streamline the processes for the issuance and renewal of outfitter and guide special use permits, and cost recovery fee regulations to reduce costs and minimize the burden of cost recovery on small businesses and adverse impacts of cost recovery on jobs in the outfitting and guiding industry and on rural economies.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
Codifying Useful Regulatory Definitions Act or the CURD Act This bills amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish a definition for natural cheese.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018
Small Business Credit Availability Act This bill amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to reduce the required asset-coverage ratio applicable to a Business Development Company (BDC) from 200% to 150% if: (1) the BDC makes specified disclosures on its website and to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); and (2) the modified asset-coverage ratio is approved by the required majority of the BDC's directors, general partners, or shareholders (as applicable). The SEC must allow BDCs to use securities offering and proxy rules that are available to other issuers.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2018
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for any person to perform or attempt to perform an abortion if the probable post-fertilization age of the fetus is 20 weeks or more. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. The bill provides exceptions for an abortion: (1) that is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, or (2) when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. A physician who performs or attempts to perform an abortion under an exception must comply with specified requirements. A woman who undergoes a prohibited abortion may not be prosecuted for violating or conspiring to violate the provisions of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2018
Calls for honoring the 232nd anniversary of the enactment of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on Religious Freedom Day, January 16, 2018. Affirms that: religious freedom includes the right of individuals of any faith and individuals of no faith to live, work, associate, and worship in accordance with their beliefs; all people of the United States can be unified in supporting religious freedom because it is a fundamental human right; and the American people will remain forever unshackled in matters of faith.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2018
Small Business 7(a) Lending Oversight Reform Act of 2018 This bill amends the Small Business Act to provide statutory authority for the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Credit Risk Management and the SBA Lender Oversight Committee. For FY2018 and each ensuing fiscal year, the SBA may, with congressional approval, increase the cap for general business loans if the cap will be reached within that fiscal year. An increase may only be implemented once each fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2017
Declares that: (1) the United States should not tolerate the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK's) possession of nuclear weapons or continued development of nuclear weapon and ballistic missile capabilities; (2) the United States and the international community should develop and implement the strictest sanctions regime and exhaust every reasonable diplomatic option to achieve the dismantlement of the DPRK's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs; and (3) the U.S. government should plan for every military contingency necessary to defend the American people and ensure regional and global security. Acknowledges that the Republic of Korea and Japan would likely face immediate retaliation by the DPRK in response to any potential U.S. military action and, therefore, any such action should be coordinated with those governments. Asserts that Congress should be consulted prior to any use of military force, recognizes that Congress possesses the authority under Article I of the Constitution to declare war, and affirms that congressional authorization is needed prior to any pre-emptive or preventative ground war on the Korean Peninsula initiated by U.S. forces.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2017
Repeal Insurance Plans of the Multi-State Program Act of 2017 or the RIP MSP Act This bill repeals a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that allows the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to enter into contracts with health insurance issuers to offer multi-state plan options. OPM must report about specified efforts in its process to wind down the multi-state program. The bill rescinds specified unobligated funds that were provided to OPM for staffing and administering the multi-state program.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2017
FLTFA Reauthorization Act This bill amends the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA) to reauthorize and make permanent the program for the completion of appraisals and satisfaction of other legal requirements for the sale or exchange of public land identified for disposal in approved land use plans under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. The bill makes the FLTFA inapplicable to land eligible for sale under specified public land laws.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Protect Collaboration for Healthier Forests Act This bill directs the Forest Service to establish within its Region 1 under an arbitration pilot program an alternative dispute resolution process in lieu of judicial review for the arbitration of projects that: are developed through a collaborative process, are carried out under the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, or are identified in a community wildfire protection plan, have as a purpose hazardous fuels reduction or mitigation of insect or disease infestation, and are located in a wildland-urban interface.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act This bill amends the Truth in Lending Act to allow institutions with less than $10 billion in assets to waive ability-to-repay requirements for certain residential-mortgage loans. Other mortgage-lending provisions related to appraisals, mortgage data, employment of loan originators, manufactured homes, and transaction waiting periods are also modified. The bill amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to exempt banks with assets valued at less than $10 billion from the "Volcker Rule," which prohibits banking agencies from engaging in proprietary trading or entering into certain relationships with hedge funds and private-equity funds. Certain banks are also exempted by the bill from specified capital and leverage ratios, with federal banking agencies directed to promulgate new requirements. The bill amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to reduce inspection requirements and environmental-review requirements for certain smaller, rural public-housing agencies. Provisions relating to enhanced prudential regulation for financial institutions are modified, including those related to stress testing, leverage requirements, and the use of municipal bonds for purposes of meeting liquidity requirements. The bill requires credit reporting agencies to provide credit-freeze alerts and includes consumer-credit provisions related to senior citizens, minors, and veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
This bill directs the Department of the Interior, if the J.R. Simplot Company offers to convey three identified parcels of land, to convey to the Simplot Company two identified parcels of federal land within the Pocatello Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management in Idaho. The bill states that the exchange of such federal and nonfederal lands shall not constitute a major federal action for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
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 · 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 · 31 October 2017
SCORE for Small Business Act of 2017 This bill amends the Small Business Act to (1) reauthorize through FY2020 the Service Corps of Retired Executives program, (2) rename the program as the SCORE program, and (3) establish SCORE volunteer requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2017
Designates the week of October 30-November 3, 2017, as National Veterans Small Business Week. Supports the goals and ideals of such week. Celebrates the millions of people in the United States, especially veterans and their spouses, who benefit from Small Business Administration programs. Expresses appreciation for the continued service to the United States by the nation's veterans through small business ownership and entrepreneurship.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2017
Wildland Fires Act of 2017 This bill requires the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture (USDA) to conduct a cost review each fiscal year of each wildfire covering an area greater than 100,000 acres. Appropriations for wildfire management operations in USDA's or Interior's Wildland Fire Management accounts that are not expended for a fiscal year may be available for wildfire risk reduction projects on federal land. Interior and USDA shall: (1) publish a map depicting at-risk communities (as re-defined by this bill), including tribal communities; and (2) furnish financial assistance to such communities adjacent to federal land for wildfire planning and preparations. Interior and USDA shall: (1) establish a pilot program to reduce the risk of wildfires to communities in the wildland-urban interface and reestablish natural fire regimes outside such interface, and (2) implement the program to treat specified federal land composed primarily of ponderosa or Jeffrey pines by September 30, 2027. The bill establishes the Pilot Monitoring Committee to monitor the impacts on wildfire risk and the ecological effects of the projects being implemented under such program. Interior and USDA: (1) may issue stewardship contracts or enter into stewardship agreements for up to 10 years to conduct prescribed fires on federal lands, and (2) shall establish a pilot program for awarding contracts or agreements of up to 20 years to carry out restoration projects or hazardous fuels reduction projects on federal lands. The National Forest Foundation shall establish a program to certify as a collaborative a group of interested persons that is interested in assisting USDA and Interior in increasing the quantity of projects or activities such departments carry out on an individual unit of National Forest System land or public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management in accordance with the applicable management plan.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2017
SBIR and STTR Oversight and Pilot Program Extension Act of 2018 This bill amends the Small Business Act to extend through FY2018 pilot programs under the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR), specifically: phase flexibility that allows, under specified conditions, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Defense, and the Department of Education to each provide a small business award under Phase II (research and development) of the SBIR program for a project whether or not the business was provided an award under Phase I (proof of concept); awards for technology development, testing, evaluation, and commercialization assistance for SBIR and STTR Phase II technologies or to support the progress of research, research and development, and commercialization conducted under SBIR or STTR programs to Phase III (commercialization); the NIH Phase 0 Proof of Concept Partnership to accelerate the creation of small businesses and the commercialization of research innovations from qualifying institutions; and the authority of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to allow federal agencies to use up to 3% of SBIR program funds for administrative, oversight, and contract processing costs. The SBA shall establish the Regional SBIR State Collaborative Initiative Pilot Program to provide awards to specified regional collaboratives to address the needs of small businesses in order to: be more competitive in the proposal and selection process for SBIR and STTR program awards, and increase technology transfer and commercialization.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2017
Condemns the attack at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 1, 2017, and honors the memory of the victims killed. Expresses hope for the recovery of those injured, and applauds the efforts of law-enforcement and counterterrorism officials and emergency-medical and healthcare professionals in response to the attack.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Wildfire Mitigation Assistance Act This bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President, whether or not a major disaster is declared, to provide hazard mitigation assistance in any area or related area affected by a fire for which fire management assistance was provided under such Act. The President may establish a minimum amount of hazard mitigation assistance to be provided for a wildfire or fire complex. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shall submit an annual report on projects carried out, and funding provided, pursuant to this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for any person to perform or attempt to perform an abortion if the probable post-fertilization age of the fetus is 20 weeks or more. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. The bill provides exceptions for an abortion: (1) that is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, or (2) when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. A physician who performs or attempts to perform an abortion under an exception must comply with specified requirements. A woman who undergoes a prohibited abortion may not be prosecuted for violating or conspiring to violate the provisions of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2017
Leverage to Enhance Effective Diplomacy Act of 2017 or the LEED Act This bill directs the President to: (1) impose property-blocking sanctions against the North Korean government, business entities that trade with North Korea, including specified Chinese entities, and affiliated persons or entities; (2) prohibit the opening, and strictly control the maintaining in the United States, of correspondent or payable-through accounts by a foreign financial institution that assisted in the importation, sale, or transfer of North Korean goods or services; and (3) impose specified sanctions against a person that imports, purchases, or transfers goods or services from the North Korean government or from such entities or affiliates. The North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 is amended to extend assistance for human rights and democracy programs. The bill prescribes reporting requirements with respect to North Korea's ballistic missile and missile fuel program. The Department of State shall: (1) brief Congress on the status of U.S. diplomatic engagement with North Korea and of detained U.S. citizens, and (2) develop a diplomatic strategy to end the transfer of rocket fuels and chemical precursors to North Korea. The State Department may reduce its diplomatic presence in, and terminate or reduce foreign assistance to, countries that are not cooperating with diplomatic and economic efforts to isolate North Korea.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2017
Federal Firearms Licensee Protection Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to modify criminal penalties for an offense involving the theft of a firearm from a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer, or from their business premises. Specifically, the bill: increases from 10 to 20 years the maximum prison term, and creates a 3- or 5-year mandatory minimum prison term for an offense that occurs during the commission of a burglary or robbery. An attempt to commit an offense is subject to the same penalties as a substantive offense.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2017
Wildfire Disaster Funding Act This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to require specified adjustments to discretionary spending limits in FY2017-FY2026 to accommodate appropriations for wildfire suppression operations in the Wildland Fire Management accounts at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the Department of the Interior. If USDA or Interior determines that supplemental appropriations are necessary for wildfire suppression operations, the bill requires the relevant department to submit to Congress a request for the funding and a plan for obligating the funds. The bill also requires the President's budget to include the average costs for wildfire suppression over the previous 10 years.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2017
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of Pete V. Domenici, former member of the U.S.Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns September 13, 2017, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late Senator Domenici.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2017
Freedom of Commerce Act This bill amends the Federal Switchblade Act to repeal provisions restricting the sale, transport, and distribution of switchblade knives.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2017
Employee Rights Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act to: (1) make it an unlawful labor practice for a labor organization to interfere (currently, restrain or coerce) with the rights of employees to organize and collectively bargain; (2) require union recertification after a turnover in the workforce exceeding 50% of the bargaining unit; (3) require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to give 14 days advance notice before a hearing investigating an election petition; and (4) require an employer to provide the NLRB with a list consisting only of employee names and addresses of all eligible voters within seven days after an NLRB determination of the appropriate bargaining unit or an agreement on eligible voters. The bill: (1) grants union and nonunion employees the right to vote by secret ballot on whether to ratify a collective bargaining agreement or engage in a strike, (2) prohibits the use of union dues for any purpose not directly related to collective bargaining, (3) prohibits a strike without the consent of a majority of all represented employees determined by secret ballot, and (4) prohibits the use or threat of force or violence to obtain the right to represent employees.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2017
Emergency Fuel Reduction Act of 2017 This bill amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to categorically exclude an authorized hazardous fuel reduction project from the environmental review requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 if the project: involves the removal of insect-infested trees, dead or dying trees, trees presenting a threat to public safety or electrical reliability, or the removal of other hazardous fuels threatening certain infrastructure; is conducted on federal land that is not located in the wildland-urban interface, is located within at least 1.5 miles of nonfederal land, and on which conditions are determined to pose a risk to adjacent nonfederal land; or treats 10,000 acres or less of federal land that is at particular risk for wildfire, contains threatened and endangered species habitat, or provides conservation benefits to a species that is not listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, but is under consideration to be listed, or a state-listed or special concern species. The bill does not apply to federal land that is wilderness, on which the removal of vegetation is specifically prohibited, or that is within a national monument.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2017
CBO Show Your Work Act This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to make available to Congress and the public each fiscal model, policy model, and data preparation routine that the CBO uses to estimate the costs and other fiscal, social, or economic effects of legislation. For each estimate of the costs and other fiscal effects of legislation, the CBO must also disclose, in a manner sufficient to permit replication by individuals not employed by the CBO, the data, programs, models, assumptions, and other details of the computations used to prepare the estimate. For data that may not be disclosed, the CBO must make available to Congress and the public: a complete list of all data variables for the data; descriptive statistics for all data variables for the data, to the extent that the descriptive statistics do not violate the rule against disclosure; a reference to the statute requiring that the data not be disclosed; and contact information for the individual or entity who has unrestricted access to the data.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2017
Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act This bill amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to issue one-year permits allowing Washington, Oregon, Idaho, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, and the Cowlitz Indian Tribe to kill sea lions in a portion of the Columbia River or certain tributaries in order to protect fish from sea lion predation. Permits may be issued to kill sea lions only if the sea lions are part of a population that is not depleted. The permits may authorize the lethal taking of 100 sea lions or fewer. The cumulative annual taking of sea lions each year under all such permits is limited to 10% of the annual potential biological removal level. Permit holders must be trained in natural resource management. These permits are exempted from environmental review requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for five years. NOAA may suspend the issuance of the permits if, within five years, lethal removal authority is no longer necessary to protect fish from sea lion predation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2017
Taylor Force Act This bill: (1) calls on the Palestinian Authority's (PA) to stop making payments to terrorists in Israeli prisons and to the families of deceased terrorists as an incentive to commit acts of terror, (2) calls on countries to cease providing direct budgetary assistance to the PA until it stops all such payments, (3) urges the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (U.N.) and the Department of State to highlight the issue and urge other nations to call for an end to such payments, and (4) expresses support for creation of a general welfare system for all Palestinian citizens. Certain assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 that directly benefits the PA may not be made available for the West Bank and Gaza unless the State Department certifies that the PA: is taking steps to end acts of violence against U.S. and Israeli citizens perpetrated by individuals under its jurisdictional control, such as the March 2016 attack that killed former Army officer Taylor Force; has terminated payments for acts of terrorism against U.S. and Israeli citizens to any individual who has been fairly tried and imprisoned for such acts, to any individual who died committing such acts, and to family members of such an individual; and has revoked any law, decree, or document authorizing or implementing a system of compensation for imprisoned individuals that uses the sentence or incarceration period to determine compensation. Certain assistance under such Act for the West Bank and Gaza may not be made available unless the State Department certifies, every 180 days, that the PA is taking verifiable steps to end acts of violence against Israeli and U.S. citizens by individuals under its jurisdictional control.
![Official portrait of Sen. Risch, James E. [R-ID]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/r000584_200.jpg)