United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2020
Access to Consumer Energy Information Act or the E-Access Act This bill revises federal guidelines for state energy conservation plans. The bill authorizes state energy conservation plans to include programs that (1) enhance consumer access to, and understanding of, electric energy and natural gas usage and cost information, including consumers' own residential and commercial retail electric energy and natural gas information; and (2) facilitate the development and adoption of innovative products and services to assist consumers in managing energy consumption and expenditures. The Department of Energy (DOE) must issue guidelines that establish model data sharing standards and policies for states to provide electric and gas consumers with access to retail electric energy information and retail natural gas information. States may submit to DOE a description of their data sharing standards and policies for certification that they meet such guidelines. DOE must periodically review and revise the guidelines to reflect changes in technology, privacy needs, and the market for electric energy and natural gas and related services.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2020
Electric Vehicles for Underserved Communities Act of 2020 This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to assess the state of, challenges to, and opportunities for the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in urban areas, particularly in underserved or disadvantaged communities. If practicable, DOE must ensure that relevant programs provide access to electric vehicle infrastructure, address clean transportation needs, and provide improved air quality in such communities.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2020
This resolution condemns Iran's state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the international covenants on human rights. Further, it calls on Iran to immediately release all imprisoned or detained Baha'is, and it urges the President and the Department of State to impose sanctions on Iranian officials and others who are responsible for serious human rights abuses, including abuses against Iran's Baha'i community.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2020
Connecting America's Active Transportation System Act This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to carry out an active transportation infrastructure investment program to provide competitive grants for states, Indian tribes, multi-county special districts, and local or regional government organizations to construct certain projects to provide safe and connected active transportation facilities, including for sidewalks, bikeways, and trails that connect between destinations within a community or between communities, metropolitan regions, or states. DOT must select grant recipients within 150 days after funds become available under this bill. The bill sets forth various limitations on the use of funds, including that DOT must obligate at least 30% of funds to certain projects, including projects that connect people with public transportation, businesses, workplaces, schools, residences, recreation areas, and other community activity centers; set aside at least $3 million to provide planning grants for eligible organizations to develop plans for active transportation networks and active transportation spines; and set aside at least $2 million to cover the costs of administration, research, technical assistance, communications, and training activities under the program. The federal share of grants must not exceed 80% of the total project cost.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2020
Protecting Community Television Act This bill revises the definition of a franchise fee that is paid by a cable operator or cable subscriber to encompass only a tax, fee, or other monetary assessment that is imposed by a franchising authority or other governmental entity.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2020
Federal Energy and Water Management Performance Act of 2020 This bill revises federal energy and water performance requirements for federal buildings and directs the Department of Energy to implement a Federal Energy Management Program.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2020
Sensible, Timely Relief for America's Nuclear Districts' Economic Development Act of 2020 or the STRANDED Act of 2020 This bill addresses communities affected by stranded nuclear waste. The bill defines stranded nuclear waste as nuclear waste or spent nuclear fuel stored in dry casks or spent fuel pools at the site of an eligible civilian nuclear power plant. Specifically, the bill provides a first-time homebuyer tax credit for homeownership in nuclear affected communities; directs the Economic Development Administration to establish a competitive prize competition to award prizes to affected communities for proposals to carry out alternatives to nuclear facilities, generating sites, and waste sites; and provides grants to nuclear-affected communities to offset the economic and social impacts of stranded nuclear waste on such communities, and to support such communities that are facing decreased tax revenues or assessed valuation as a result of decommissioning a civilian nuclear power plant.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2020
Fair Care for Vietnam Veterans Act This bill provides a presumption of service-connection for Parkinsonism, bladder cancer, hypertension, and hypothyroidism for veterans who served in Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific conditions diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2020
Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2020 This bill establishes new requirements to expand the availability of information on domestic terrorism, as well as the relationship between domestic terrorism and hate crimes. It authorizes domestic terrorism components within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to monitor, analyze, investigate, and prosecute domestic terrorism. The domestic terrorism components of DHS, DOJ, and the FBI must jointly report on domestic terrorism, including white-supremacist-related incidents or attempted incidents. DHS, DOJ, and the FBI must review the anti-terrorism training and resource programs of their agencies that are provided to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies. It creates an interagency task force to analyze and combat white supremacist and neo-Nazi infiltration of the uniformed services and federal law enforcement agencies. Finally, it directs the FBI to assign a special agent or hate crimes liaison to each field office to investigate hate crimes incidents with a nexus to domestic terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2020
Veteran Suicide Prevention Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to complete a review of the deaths of all covered veterans who died by suicide during the five-year period preceding the enactment of this bill. Covered veterans are those who received VA hospital care or medical services during the five-year period preceding the death of the veteran. The VA shall report on the results of the review and make such report publicly available.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2020
This resolution recognizes (1) National Mentoring Month, and (2) the staff and volunteers at quality mentoring programs who help young people reach their full potential.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2020
This concurrent resolution directs the President to terminate the use of U.S. Armed Forces in hostilities against Iran unless (1) Congress has declared war or specifically authorized such use in statute, or (2) such use is necessary and appropriate to defend against an imminent armed attack upon the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2020
No War Against Iran Act This bill prohibits the obligation or expenditure of federal funds for any use of military force in or against Iran unless Congress has either declared war or enacted specific statutory authorization for such use. An exception is made for a presidential exercise of power to introduce Armed Forces into hostilities (or situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated) when there is a national emergency created by an attack upon the United States. The bill further states that no prior authorizations of military force (e.g., against Iraq) may be construed to authorize the use of military force against Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 23 December 2019
Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2019 This bill indefinitely extends Medicare coverage of immunosuppressive drugs for kidney transplant recipients for individuals who do not have other coverage. Under current law, Medicare coverage is limited to 36 months following a transplant.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 2019
Community Energy Savings Program Act of 2019 This bill directs the Department of Energy to establish a grant program for states and Indian tribes to provide loans to consumers and communities that want to implement cost-effective energy efficiency measures.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2019
Protect Broadband Funding Act This bill prohibits the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from implementing a proposed rule that would establish a cap on the Universal Service Fund, the mechanism through which the FCC provides support for the distribution of telecommunications services.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2019
This resolution recognizes the fourth anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Agreement, an international agreement to keep global temperature from rising 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels, and recommends that the United States remain a signatory to the global warming agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2019
Wood Heaters Emissions Reduction Act of 2019 or the WHERA Act This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement programs and authorize policy to reduce emissions from wood heaters. Specifically, the bill requires the EPA to establish a grant program to provide funding for programs designed to (1) incentivize homeowners to replace old wood heaters with more efficient, cleaner-burning heaters; (2) achieve significant reductions in emissions from wood heaters; (3) help homeowners transition to safer and more efficient heating sources; and (4) support retailers, installers, and manufacturers that sell and make more efficient certified clean heaters. The EPA must also establish a program to (1) inform stakeholders of the benefits of replacing wood heaters that do not meet specified emission reductions standards, (2) develop nonfinancial incentives to promote the proper installation and use of certified clean heaters, and (3) consult with Indian tribes to implement programs and actions to reduce wood heater emissions. Finally, the bill authorizes the EPA to accept wood heater emissions reductions Supplemental Environmental Projects.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2019
Diversifying by Investing in Educators and Students to Improve Outcomes For Youth Act or the Diversify Act This bill increases the maximum grant award under the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program. The TEACH program awards grants to college students who plan to teach in low-income areas. The bill also exempts the TEACH program from sequestration, which is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2019
Protect SNAP Act This bill prohibits the Department of Agriculture from modifying work requirements for able-bodied adults receiving benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program). The bill also prohibits the use of federal funds (including fees) to implement or enforce the Food and Nutrition Service rule titled Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Requirements for Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents , published on February 1, 2019.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2019
Forestry Renewal Act This bill makes permanent the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council. The council shall meet at least twice a year. The bill removes the ceiling on the amount that may by transferred by the Department of Agriculture to the Reforestation Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2019
This resolution expresses disapproval for the President's notification to the United Nations of his intent to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement and commends the entities that have expressed their support for the Paris Agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 2019
International Violence Against Women Act of 2019 This bill provides for a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. The bill establishes in the Department of State an Office of Global Women's Issues, which shall be headed by an Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues. The Ambassador-at-Large shall (1) coordinate U.S. government efforts regarding gender equality and the advancement of women and girls in foreign policy, and (2) develop or update periodically a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. The bill establishes in the U.S. Agency for International Development the position of Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment who shall direct policies, programs, and funding regarding gender equality and women's empowerment. The bill requires that U.S. assistance made available for humanitarian relief, conflict mitigation, and post-conflict reconstruction prevents and responds to violence against women and girls. The Department of State shall also identify incidents that occur during armed conflict and implement emergency responses.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2019
Refugee Protection Act of 2019 This bill provides protections for aliens such as asylum seekers and contains other provisions. The bill's provisions include eliminating the general requirement that an asylum seeker apply for asylum within one year of arriving in the United States; prohibiting requiring an asylum seeker to provide corroborating evidence of persecution if such evidence is not reasonably obtainable; waiving certain grounds of inadmissibility or deportability for qualifying refugees seeking permanent resident status; requiring the Department of Justice to appoint counsel to a child or particularly vulnerable individual in certain immigration proceedings; increasing the annual cap on principal nonimmigrant U visas (victims of crimes) from 10,000 to 20,000; prohibiting the removal of an alien with certain pending immigration applications, such as a U visa application; imposing limits on when an alien may be removed from the United States in a proceeding without the alien present; establishing a presumption that the least restrictive conditions necessary should be imposed in custody proceedings for asylum seekers, including release if appropriate; establishing that the maximum number of refugees admitted each fiscal year shall be no less than 95,000; directing the Department of State to help other governments increase their capacity to care for and accept refugees; directing the State Department to establish refugee processing centers in other countries in North and Central America; and authorizing the Department of Homeland Security to provide special immigrant status to qualified aliens who assisted U.S. efforts in Syria and admit up to 5,000 such aliens each fiscal year for five years.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2019
Closing the Homework Gap Through Mobile Hotspots Act This bill requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to establish the Mobile Hotspot Grant Program. Under the program, the NTIA may provide grants to eligible institutions (e.g., elementary and secondary schools, universities, Indian Tribes, or libraries) to facilitate a mobile hotspot program that provides students with a portable hotspot device for connecting to the internet. The NTIA shall prioritize institutions that will provide hotspots to the highest number of low-income students and, to the extent practicable, shall disburse at least 5% of grant funds to Indian Tribes and 5% to U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2019
100% Clean Economy Act of 2019 This bill establishes requirements to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. Specifically, the bill sets a national goal of achieving a 100% clean economy (i.e., economy-wide, net-zero greenhouse gas emissions) by no later than 2050. Each federal agency must develop and implement a plan to rapidly achieve the national goal. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must monitor, evaluate, and report on the progress of the United States in achieving the national goal. In addition, the EPA must establish the Clean Economy Federal Advisory Committee to make recommendations to the EPA on one or more interim greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals for the United States to achieve before achieving the national goal. After obtaining the committee's recommendations, the EPA must recommend to Congress one or more interim goals.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2019
Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act of 2019 This bill modifies and reauthorizes through FY2025 the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, which provides community-based services for runaway or homeless youth who are in need of temporary shelter, counseling, or aftercare services. Specifically, the bill makes grants for centers and services for five-year terms and such grants must include trauma-informed and culturally-competent services, as appropriate. Grant recipients must make services accessible to runaway or homeless youth who are victims of sexual abuse, exploitation, or trafficking. Grant recipients also must collect, and keep confidential, specified aggregated data about the demographics of program participants. The bill requires grants for home-based services to (1) include suicide prevention, (2) provide staff training about trauma-informed care, and (3) ensure eligibility for youth at risk of separation from their family. The bill also revises and expands the transition living grants program to provide five-year grants to support long-term residential services for older homeless youth. Additionally, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to coordinate with specified agencies to deliver programs for runaway and homeless youth and provide five-year grants for technical assistance to regional nonprofit organizations to implement trauma-informed programs for such youth. Further, the bill authorizes five-year grants for the sexual abuse prevention program and the national communications system to connect runaway and homeless youth with their families and service providers. The bill also prioritizes grants for research and evaluation projects that examine the intersection of human trafficking and youth homelessness populations, among other provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2019
Growing Renewable Energy through Existing and New Environmentally Responsible Fuels Act or the GREENER Fuels Act This bill revises the renewable fuel program, including to eliminate the volume standards applicable to corn-starch ethanol and extend the volume standards applicable to cellulosic biofuel.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2019
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3703 North Main Street in Farmville, North Carolina, as the "Walter B. Jones, Jr. Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2019
Put Patients First Act This bill prohibits the application of the rule issued by the Department of Health and Human Services on May 21, 2019, that strengthens the enforcement of conscience and anti-discrimination laws related to the rights of covered health care providers to refuse to participate in certain procedures, such as abortions, sterilization, or assisted suicide.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2019
This resolution reaffirms the goals of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, which include ensuring international reproductive rights and the right to bodily autonomy for all people. The resolution urges the United States to demonstrate its commitment to these goals.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2019
This joint resolution eliminates the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on sex. The amendment was proposed to the states in House Joint Resolution 208 of the 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972. The amendment shall be part of the Constitution whenever ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2019
Medical Innovation Act of 2019 This bill requires certain drug manufacturers to make payments to fund research supported by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A drug manufacturer with over $1 billion in net income in a fiscal year that has entered into a relevant settlement agreement regarding specified violations must pay 0.75%-1.5% of its net income to the Department of Health and Human Services for each of its covered blockbuster drugs. A covered blockbuster drug is a drug that has at least $1 billion in net sales in a year and was developed, in whole or in part, through federal investments in medical research. Payments are divided between the FDA and the NIH in proportion to the discretionary funding of those agencies, excluding FDA user fees. Payments are not disbursed if appropriations for the FDA or the NIH are lower than in the prior fiscal year. Priorities for payments must include advancing regulatory science for medical products and research related to diseases that disproportionately account for federal health care spending. A covered blockbuster drug for which a manufacturer has not made a required payment is considered misbranded and subject to prohibitions on introducing or receiving misbranded drugs in interstate commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2019
Fair and Clear Campaign Transparency Act This bill directs the Federal Communications Commission to require certain online public inspection files to be made available to the public in a machine-readable format that supports automated searching, bulk downloading, aggregation, manipulation, sorting, and analysis. Online public inspection files (including political files that contain records of requests to purchase broadcast time by or on behalf of candidates for public office or to communicate a message relating to a political matter of national importance) are files that must be uploaded to the internet by television broadcast stations, AM or FM radio broadcast stations, cable operators, direct broadcast satellite service providers, or satellite digital audio radio service providers.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2019
Honest Campaigns Act of 2019 This bill directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revise its sponsorship identification rules. Specifically, the FCC must require a disclosure announcement for broadcast or origination cablecasting matter that is political or that involves the discussion of a controversial issue of public importance to include the names of significant donors to the person whose identity is required to be disclosed in such an announcement.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2019
Medication Access and Training Expansion Act of 2019 or the MATE Act of 2019 This bill requires prescribers of controlled substances, as a condition of obtaining or renewing their registration with the Drug Enforcement Administration, to complete specified education or training on the prevention, treatment, and management of opioid-use and other substance-use disorders. This education and training shall also satisfy the training requirements currently needed to obtain waivers to prescribe certain medication-assisted treatments for opioid-use disorders in settings other than opioid treatment programs.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2019
Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2019 This bill establishes several requirements for prescription drug plans under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Specifically, the bill requires prescription drug plans to allow any pharmacy located in a health professional shortage area, a medically underserved area, or a rural area to be included as an in-network pharmacy if the plan already has other in-network pharmacies in the same area. The bill also establishes certain standards for prescription drug plans regarding pharmacy reimbursements and related disclosures. Among other things, the bill prohibits prescription drug plans from reimbursing a pharmacy in an amount that is less than the amount the pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) reimburses an affiliated pharmacy (i.e., a pharmacy that has a shared ownership interest with the PBM) for the same services.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2019
Safeguarding Medicare Access to Respiratory Therapy Act of 2019 This bill establishes certain requirements relating to Medicare coverage of ventilators. Specifically, the bill (1) excludes ventilators and other covered respiratory items, as specified, from Medicare's competitive acquisition program (in which rates are set through a competitive bidding program rather than by an established fee schedule); and (2) requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to establish a technical expert panel to review, and make recommendations regarding, national coverage determinations with respect to Medicare coverage of ventilators and other specified respiratory devices.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2019
Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention, and Reform Act of 2019 This bill establishes a series of requirements relating to coverage of ground ambulance services under Medicare. Specifically, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must continue to designate an area as a rural or qualified rural area that is eligible for increased payment under Medicare, even if the area would otherwise no longer qualify for such designation, if the area has a specified population density. The CMS must also establish an administrative process to allow ambulance service providers to appeal a change in an area's designation. The bill also requires the CMS to (1) expand to all states a prior authorization model for repetitive scheduled nonemergent ambulance transport, in accordance with specified limitations, if such an expansion has not already occurred by a certain date; (2) increase payment rates for ground ambulance services; and (3) eliminate certain administrative requirements for such services.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2019
This resolution expresses support for the designation of BatWeek and acknowledges the important role bats play as pollinators and pest control for agriculture.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2019
Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies for Health Act of 2019 or the CONNECT for Health Act of 2019 This bill expands coverage of telehealth services under Medicare. Among other things, the bill allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to waive certain restrictions, such as geographic restrictions, for services provided in high-need health professional shortage areas; excludes mental health and emergency medical services, as well as services provided at rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers, and Indian Health Service facilities, from such geographic restrictions; and allows the CMS to generally waive coverage restrictions during national emergencies. Additionally, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission must report on information relating to the access of Medicare beneficiaries to telehealth services at home. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation may also test alternative payment models relating to expanded telehealth services.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2019
This bill establishes additional requirements for prescription drug plan (PDP) sponsors that use formularies under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Specifically, the bill requires PDP formularies to include covered generic drugs and biosimilars for which the wholesale acquisition cost is less than that of the reference (i.e., brand-name) product. PDP sponsors must also establish specific cost-sharing tiers that apply lower cost-sharing requirements for such covered generic drugs and biosimilars as compared to those for brand-name products. The bill also prohibits PDP sponsors from instituting certain requirements relating to access to such covered generic drugs and biosimilars that are more restrictive than those for brand-name products (e.g., prior authorization requirements).
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2019
Syrian Partner Protection Act This bill authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide special immigrant status to qualified aliens who assisted U.S. efforts in Syria against the Islamic State. (A special immigrant is qualified to become a permanent resident) A qualifying alien is a Syrian national (or stateless person who habitually resided in Syria) who (1) partnered with or worked for the United States in Syria in a sensitive and trusted capacity (such as an interpreter) on or after January 1, 2014, for at least one year, and (2) provided documented service to U.S. efforts against the Islamic State. The spouse or child of such an alien shall also qualify for special immigrant status. DHS may admit up to 4,000 principal aliens under this bill each fiscal year for the five fiscal years after this bill's enactment. Unused visas at the end of a fiscal year shall carry forward and be available the next year. Aliens admitted under this bill shall not be subject to other numerical limitations. If a qualifying alien applying for special immigrant status under this bill is in imminent danger, the Department of State shall provide protection to that alien. An alien who has received special immigrant status under this bill shall be eligible for benefits generally available to admitted refugees, such as resettlement assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2019
Rebuild Rural America Act of 2019 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture to establish the Rural Innovation and Partnership Administration and the Rural Future Partnership Fund to provide five-year renewable block grants to certified rural regions to implement locally-developed regional revitalization plans.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2019
Seeding Rural Resilience Act This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to implement a public service announcement campaign to address the mental health of farmers and ranchers, including television, radio, print, outdoor, and digital public service announcements. Additionally, USDA must establish a voluntary program to train employees of the Farm Service Agency, the Risk Management Agency, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service in the management of stress experienced by farmers and ranchers, including the detection of stress and suicide prevention; and convene a task force of agricultural and rural stakeholders at the federal, state, and local levels to assess the causes of mental stress in farmers and ranchers and identify best practices for responding to such stress.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2019
SOS: Sustaining Outpatient Services Act This bill allows for payment under the Medicare prospective payment system for hospital outpatient department services of certain items and services that are furnished at off-campus outpatient departments. Specifically, the bill allows for payment of items and services for which payments to physician specialists (under the Medicare physician fee schedule) did not exceed $2 million during the previous year.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2019
FEMA Climate Change Preparedness Act This bill requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to (1) revise its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan to ensure that the plan explicitly mentions climate change and addresses the implications of climate change on homeland security and near- and long-term national disaster risk; and (2) ensure that future strategic plans do likewise. The Department of Homeland Security must establish, as a subcommittee of the National Advisory Council, the Climate Change Subcommittee, which shall advise FEMA on how to best incorporate climate change, including risk assessments and strategies for adaptation and mitigation, into and throughout FEMA's policies, plans, programs, and operations. FEMA must publish as a report, submit to specified congressional committees, and make available to Congress and the public, a comprehensive assessment of climate change risks and preparedness.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2019
Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act This bill expands special education and related services for students who are deaf or hard of hearing, for students with visual disabilities, and for children and youth who are deaf-blind. The individualized education program for each child who is visually and/or hearing impaired must include specified components and must provide the child with instruction that meets the child's unique learning needs. In addition, a state's closure of a special school serving deaf or blind children shall count as a reduction of its financial support for special education and related services. Among other provisions, the bill authorizes support, including grants for training special education personnel, to be used in preparing individuals to become qualified teachers and early intervention specialists for children with hearing disabilities. The bill establishes within the Department of Education the Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and Educational Excellence to better support students with visual disabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2019
Timely ReAuthorization of Necessary Stem-cell Programs Lends Access to Needed Therapies Act of 2019 or the TRANSPLANT Act of 2019 This bill modifies and reauthorizes through FY2025 the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program, which provides support to patients who need a potentially life-saving bone marrow transplant or umbilical cord blood transplant. The bill also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a periodic review of the science of using adult stem cells and birthing tissues in therapeutic treatments.
![Official portrait of Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/fd3cb364b8bf93c25834cff750637802_200.jpg)