United States · United States Congress · 22 August 2018
Department of Transportation Reports Harmonization Act This bill makes certain Department of Transportation (DOT) reports available online and eliminates specified DOT advisory councils and committees. The bill terminates the Northeast Corridor Safety Committee once positive train control, an automated safety control, is fully implemented on the Northeast rail corridor. Additionally, the advisory board for the National Rail Cooperative Research Program is terminated effective January 1, 2019. The program is no longer receiving appropriations. The bill requires the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), as parts of its grant request, to report on the status of efforts to improve safety and security along the Northeast Corridor. The bill requires changes to charges and fees for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy to be posted online. DOT must publish on its website the biennial report on how federal agencies are coordinating environmental review for transportation projects. DOT must publish on its website the highway safety performance of each state. This requirement replaces the biennial report DOT was required to submit to Congress. The Government Accountability Office must report on state highway safety programs.
United States · United States Congress · 16 August 2018
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Paul Laxalt, former Member of the Senate. Extends deepest condolences and gratitude to his family. Honors Paul Laxalt's legacy, life, service to the Senate, and commitment to the people of Nevada and the United States. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on August 16, 2018, it stands adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late Paul Laxalt.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2018
This bill amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to revise the rules regarding the eligibility of national grasslands for grazing leases and permits.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2018
Sanction Terrorist Operations Using Human Shields Act of 2018 or the STOP Using Human Shields Act This bill provides for the imposition of sanctions on members of foreign terrorist organizations, including Hamas and Hizballah, and other foreign persons, agencies, or instrumentalities of foreign states with regard to use of civilians, other specially protected persons, or specially protected property to shield lawful targets from attack or to deliberately cause casualties to such persons or the destruction to such property during an armed conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2018
Taxpayer First Act of 2018 This bill modifies several administrative procedures and policies of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The bill includes provisions regarding programs that assist taxpayers in filing returns; relief from joint and several liability for a joint tax return; whistle-blower protections; the retention of electronic records; rehiring, removing, or transferring IRS employees; limitations on the access of non-IRS employees to tax returns and return information; the filing requirements for tax-exempt organizations; IRS audit criteria; protections against identity theft and tax refund fraud; penalties for the improper disclosure or use of information by preparers of tax returns; transferring appropriations between IRS accounts to combat tax fraud; streamlined critical pay authority for certain IRS information technology positions; an Internet platform for Form 1099 filings; and the electronic filing of tax returns.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2018
Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement Act of 2018 or READI Act This bill amends the Warning, Alert, and Response Network Act to include emergency alerts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a type of alert that subscribers of commercial mobile service licensees may not block from their devices (currently, alerts from the President may not be blocked). The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must adopt regulations that encourage states to establish a State Emergency Communications Commission (SECC) and provide that each SECC meets at least annually to review and update its Emergency Alert System Plan (State EAS Plan). The FCC must approve or disapprove the updated plan. FEMA shall develop and issue guidance for state, tribal, and local governments relating to emergency alerts. The FCC shall complete: (1) a rulemaking proceeding to establish a system to receive from FEMA or state, tribal, or local governments reports of false alerts under the emergency alert system (EAS) or the Wireless EAS to record such false alerts and examine their causes; (2) a rulemaking proceeding to modify the EAS to provide for repeating messages while an alert remains pending; and (3) an inquiry to examine the feasibility of establishing systems and signaling to offer EAS alerts to audio and video streaming services delivered over the Internet.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2018
Commemorates the lives, careers, and service of the five victims of the Capital Gazette shooting in Annapolis, Maryland. Honors the survivors of the attack and the families of the victims and pledges continued support for their recovery. Thanks law enforcement officers and other emergency first responders for their heroic actions. Reaffirms the commitment of the Senate to defending the first amendment of the Constitution of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2018
Streamlining The Rapid Evolution And Modernization of Leading-edge Infrastructure Necessary to Enhance Small Cell Deployment Act or the STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require that the regulation of the placement, construction, or modification of small personal wireless service facilities by any state or local government: (1) not unreasonably discriminate among providers of the same service using comparable equipment, and (2) only permit a state or local government to approve or deny a permit or other permission to deploy such a facility. A state or local government may charge a fee to consider an application for such placement, construction, or modification, or to use a right-of-way or a facility in a right-of-way owned or managed by the state or local government if the fee is: (1) competitively neutral, technology neutral, and nondiscriminatory; (2) publicly disclosed; and (3) based on actual and direct costs. The Government Accountability Office shall study and report on deployment of broadband infrastructure on tribal land or near trust land.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2018
National Quantum Initiative Act This bill directs the President to implement a National Quantum Initiative Program to, among other things, establish the goals and priorities for a 10-year plan to accelerate the development of quantum information science and technology applications. The bill defines "quantum information science" as the storage, transmission, manipulation, or measurement of information that is encoded in systems that can only be described by the laws of quantum physics. The National Science and Technology Council shall establish a Subcommittee on Quantum Information Science, including membership from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to guide program activities. The President must establish a National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee to advise the President and subcommittee on quantum information science and technology research and development. NIST shall carry out specified quantum science activities and convene a workshop to discuss the development of a quantum information science and technology industry. The National Science Foundation shall: carry out a basic research and education program on quantum information science and engineering, and award grants for the establishment of Multidisciplinary Centers for Quantum Research and Education.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2018
Securing All Livestock Equitably Act of 2018 or the SALE Act of 201 8 This bill amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to require all livestock purchased by a dealer in cash sales and all inventories of, or receivables or proceeds from, such livestock to be held by the dealer in a trust until all unpaid cash sellers of the livestock have been paid. The bill exempts from the requirement any dealer whose average annual purchases of livestock do not exceed $250,000. A dealer and cash seller may voluntarily waive the requirement using a written agreement that meets specified requirements. The bill also specifies requirements regarding enforcement, preserving a trust, notifying lien holders, and purchasing or transferring livestock that is subject to a trust.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2018
Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to extend protective custody over alien children under age 18 who are accompanied by a parent and apprehended at the border or are seeking admission to the United States at a port of entry. DHS must temporarily house an alien child under age 18 in a family residential center during the pendency of civil or criminal proceedings. DHS must increase the number of available beds in family residential centers. The Department of Justice must increase the number of immigration judge teams to conduct prioritized proceedings for accompanied alien children and families apprehended at the southwest border or who are seeking admission to the United States at a port of entry.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2018
Tribal School Federal Insurance Parity Act This bill amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to allow tribes or tribal organizations that receive grants under the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988 to participate in the Federal Employee Health Benefits program.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2018
Prioritizing Help to Businesses Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide states which have low unemployment rates of 3.5% or lower with up to 1,500 additional H-2B visas (temporary nonagricultural workers) per fiscal year. Such visas shall be exempt from the overall H-2B annual visa limit of 66,000. The bill sets forth a formula to distribute such visas throughout the fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2018
Strengthening the Cooperative Observer Program Act of 2018 This bill directs the National Weather Service (NWS) to make improvements to the Cooperative Observer Program, including by: furnishing support to state-coordinated programs relating to the program and states and regions where observations provided through the program are scarce; working with state weather service headquarters to increase participation in the program and to add stations in such states and regions; prioritizing the recruitment of new program volunteers; and ensuring that integrated reporting is available for qualitative observations that cannot be automated, such as snow observations and hazardous weather events so that they can be reported and uploaded quickly and easily. The NWS must coordinate with state and regional offices regarding the status of program stations at least every 180 days. The NWS shall also coordinate with other federal agencies, including the Forest Service, the Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Geological Survey, in leveraging opportunities to expand the program and to more effectively use its existing infrastructure, weather stations, and staff.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2018
Tribal Employment and Jobs Protection Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the definition of "applicable large employer" for purposes of the employer health care mandate under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA): (1) any Indian tribal government or subdivision, (2) any tribal organization, or (3) any corporation or partnership if more than 50% of the equity interest of such an entity is owned by an Indian tribal government or tribal organization. An applicable large employer is defined by PPACA as an employer who employs 50 or more full-time employees who provide services on average at least 30 hours per week.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2018
Improved Soil Moisture and Precipitation Monitoring Act of 2018 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to implement a strategy for improving the accuracy of the U.S. Drought Monitor by increasing the geographic resolution of rural in-situ soil moisture profile observation or other soil moisture profile measuring devices. USDA must prioritize adding in-situ soil moisture profile monitoring stations in states that have experienced D3 (extreme drought) or D4 (exceptional drought) within any six month period from 2016 to the present. USDA shall develop standards for: the integration of data that is derived from citizen science (open collaborations through which individuals or organizations participate voluntarily in the scientific process) into the Drought Monitor models, including data from the Cooperative Observer Program of the National Weather Service; and the collection of soil moisture data that is based on readily available equipment. USDA shall direct the Farm Service Agency and the Risk Management Agency of USDA to use the Drought Monitor in the profile monitoring stations added by this bill, data from the Cooperative Observer Program, and any other applicable data in establishing loss assistance and grazing rates.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2018
Enhancing Patient Access to Non-Opioid Treatment Options This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to develop guidance for states on non-opioid treatments that may be provided under Medicaid.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2018
Telehealth for Children’s Access to Services and Treatment Act or the TeleCAST Act This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to report on children's access to substance use disorder services under Medicaid. The report must include an analysis of: (1) state options to improve access, such as via telehealth services at school-based health centers in underserved areas; and (2) reimbursement rates for substance use disorder services. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must report on ways to reduce barriers to the use of telehealth services for children with substance use disorders under Medicaid. The report must include an analysis of the differences between telehealth and in-person services with respect to specified metrics (e.g., costs and quality of care).
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2018
Medicaid Substance Use Disorder Treatment via Telehealth Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to develop guidance for states on how to obtain federal reimbursement under Medicaid for substance use disorder telehealth services, including services provided in school-based health centers.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2018
Expanding Telehealth Response to Ensure Addiction Treatment Act or the eTREAT Act This bill expands the availability of substance use disorder telehealth services under Medicare. Under current law, telehealth services are generally covered under Medicare only if such services are received by beneficiaries at specified types of sites that are located in rural areas. The bill exempts substance use disorder telehealth services from these requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2018
Comprehensive Screenings for Seniors Act of 2018 This bill requires the initial examinations for new enrollees and annual wellness visits under Medicare to include: (1) a screening for potential substance use disorders, and (2) a review of any current opioid prescriptions.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2018
Veterans Fair Debt Notice Act of 2018 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to collaborate with veterans service organizations to write a standard letter to be provided to individuals who owe debts to the VA. Such letter shall be written in plain language and shall include a notice of the debt and a clear explanation of: (1) why the individual owes such money, and (2) available options. The VA shall develop a method by which individuals may elect to receive debt notification letters by electronic means and shall ensure that the letter is delivered: (1) by both standard mail and electronic means to individuals who have made such election, and (2) only by standard mail to individuals who have not made such election.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2018
Designates the week of May 1-May 7, 2018, as National Physical Education and Sport Week. Encourages school districts to implement physical education programs and classes.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2018
This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require a person engaged in the provision of broadband Internet access service to publicly disclose accurate and relevant information about network management practices, performance, and commercial terms of its broadband Internet access services, and to restrict such a person from: blocking lawful content, applications, or services; prohibiting the use of non-harmful devices; throttling lawful traffic by selectively slowing, speeding, degrading, or enhancing Internet traffic based on source, destination, or content; and engaging in paid prioritization.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2018
STB Information Security Improvement Act This bill requires the Surface Transportation Board to develop a timeline and plan to implement the recommendations of the Department of Transportation in Report No. FI2018002 concerning information security.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2018
Fighting Opioid Abuse in Transportation Act This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to publish a final rule revising regulations for alcohol and controlled substances testing to designate rail mechanical employees and yardmasters as railroad employee responsible for safety-sensitive functions. The General Accountability Office shall review DOT's Drug and Alcohol Testing Management Information System and submit to Congress a report on the review, including appropriate recommendations. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall determine whether a revision of the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs to expand the opiate category on the list of authorized drug testing to include fentanyl is justified, based on the reliability and cost-effectiveness of available testing. If the expansion of the opiate category is determined to be justified, HHS shall publish a final notice of the revision of the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs to expand the opiate category on the list of authorized drug testing to include fentanyl. If the expansion of the opiate category is determined to be justified, and DOT concurs with that determination, DOT shall publish a final rule revising regulations for procedures for transportation workplace drug and alcohol testing programs to include fentanyl in DOT's drug-testing panel, consistent with the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs as revised by HHS. HHS shall: (1) submit to Congress a report on the status of the hair testing guidelines, and (2) publish a final notice of the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs using Oral Fluid.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2018
Protecting Rational Incentives in Newsprint Trade Act of 2018 or the PRINT Act This bill directs the Department of Commerce to conduct a study of, and to report to Congress regarding, the economic well-being, health, and vitality of the newsprint industry and the local newspaper publishing industry in the United States, including an assessment of: the trends in demand for newsprint and traditional printed newspapers, in demand for digital or online consumption of news, and in the U.S. pulp and paper industry and the effect of declining demand for newsprint on the health of such industry; measures undertaken by printers and newspaper publishers to reduce costs in response to increased costs for newsprint in the United States, and whether such measures have harmed local news coverage or reduced employment in the newspaper and publishing industries; whether measures undertaken by publishers and printers to reduce costs have harmed local businesses that advertise in local newspapers; and the global production capacity for newsprint in light of the declining demand for newsprint. Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission may not give effect to an affirmative determination in an antidumping or countervailing duty investigation relating to imports of uncoated groundwood paper until the President certifies that he has received the report and has concluded that giving effect to the determination is in the economic interest of the United States. Until such time as the President issues the certification, the administering authority shall order a rate of zero for deposits posted in such an investigation.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2018
Music Modernization Act This bill makes various changes to copyright law related to sound recordings, including providing protection for sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, creating a system for paying royalties to producers and sound engineers, and establishing a statutory blanket license for digital music services. The blanket license allows music services to distribute sound recordings covered by the license without negotiating for the rights for each individual recording, as long as the music service complies with the license's requirements, such as paying the required royalties.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2018
New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act of 2018 This bill allows meat and poultry products inspected by State Meat and Poultry Inspection programs to be sold in interstate commerce. (Under the inspection programs, the Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service allows states that meet certain requirements to inspect meat and poultry. The state-inspected products are currently limited to intrastate commerce, unless a state opts into a separate Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program.)
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2018
Agriculture Risk Coverage Improvement and Innovation Act of 2018 This bill reauthorizes and modifies Department of Agriculture commodity programs, including the Agriculture Risk Coverage Program and the Price Loss Coverage Program. The bill modifies payment calculations, coverage levels, and other requirements of the Agriculture Risk Coverage Program.
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 · 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 · 22 March 2018
Conservation Reserve Program Improvement and Rural Water Systems Access Act of 2018 This bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to reauthorize through FY2023 and modify the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). (CRP provides payments to farmers who agree to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and plant species that will improve environmental health and quality.) The bill authorizes USDA to designate areas of special economic sensitivity as economic priority areas for CRP allocations. These areas include areas with actual and significant declining habitat for specifies of economic significance. A "species of economic significance" is a wildlife specifies: (1) for which CRP is critical to maintaining its habitat, and (2) that the governor of a state verifies provides more than $150 million each year to the economy of the state from hunting and related activities. Additionally, the bill: (1) authorizes cost-share assistance for fencing and water distribution practices, and (2) modifies policies regarding grazing and the mechanical harvesting of vegetative cover on CRP land. The bill also amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to prohibit the Forest Service from charging rural water districts or associations rental fees for rights-of-way for rural water pipelines that cross National Forest System land.
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 · 1 March 2018
Agriculture Data Act of 2018 This bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to collect, review, analyze, and disseminate certain data on the impact of conservation practices on farm and ranch profitability, including the effect on crop yields, soil health, and other risk-reducing factors. The bill also requires USDA to establish a conservation and farm productivity data warehouse to make the results of the data collection and analysis available to academic institutions and researchers. USDA must also provide technical assistance, including through internet-based tools, based on the analysis conducted and other relevant data, to assist producers in improving sustainable production practices that increase yields and enhance environmental outcomes.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2018
This joint resolution extends the sympathies of Congress to the family of the Reverend William "Billy" F. Graham, Jr., and honors his life, his ministry, and his contributions to North Carolina, the United States, and the moral and religious life of millions of individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 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.
![Official portrait of Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/t000250_200.jpg)