United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2018
National Law Enforcement Museum Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins that are emblematic of the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington, DC, and the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers throughout the history of the United States. All sales of such coins shall include specified surcharges, which shall be distributed to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Inc., for educational and outreach programs and exhibits.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2018
Congratulates the students, families, teachers, administrators, and staff of public charter schools across the United States for: (1) making ongoing contributions to public education, (2) making impressive strides in closing the academic achievement gap in U.S. schools, and (3) improving and strengthening the public school system. Expresses support for the ideals and goals of the 19th annual National Charter Schools Week.
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 · 26 April 2018
Main Street Employee Ownership Act of 2018 This bill amends the Small Business Act to expand the authority of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to guarantee loans for qualified employee trusts of a small business to purchase the stock of that business. Specifically, the bill allows the guaranteed loan to also cover transactions costs associated with purchasing the stock. In addition, it allows loans to a small business to be guaranteed if the loan proceeds will: (1) be used to provide loans to a qualified employee trust of the small business to purchase the business's stock, and (2) result in the trust owning at least 51% of the business's stock. The SBA must guarantee loans to cooperatives in which employees are eligible for membership for such stock purchases. The SBA shall: (1) provide outreach and educational materials to licensed small business investment companies to increase investment in transitions to employee-owned businesses, and (2) establish a Small Business Employee Ownership and Cooperative Promotion Program to offer technical assistance and training on the transition to employee ownership through cooperatives and qualified employee trusts. The Administrator of the SBA shall coordinate an interagency working group on employee-owned businesses.
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 · 26 April 2018
Congratulates the University of Notre Dame women's basketball team for its victory in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament claiming the 2018 NCAA Division I title.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2018
National Economic Security Strategy Act of 2018 This bill requires the President to set forth a national economic security strategy to support the national security strategy.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2018
Commission on Retirement Security Act of 2018 This bill establishes within the executive branch the Commission on Retirement Security to: (1) conduct a comprehensive study of the state of retirement security in America, and (2) submit to Congress recommendations on how to improve or replace existing private retirement programs.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2018
Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 This bill provides for the promotion of U.S. values and diplomatic, security, and economic interests in the Indo-Pacific region. It includes statements of policy and measures concerning security assistance and alliances; the U.S. relationship with China, India, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations; the U.S. military presence in the region, as well as the pursuit of arms control; security partnerships in southeast Asia; the commitment to Taiwan; a strategy regarding North Korea; trade agreements and facilitation; and the promotion of human rights and democracy in the region.
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 · 16 April 2018
Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2018 This joint resolution authorizes the President to use all necessary and appropriate force against the Taliban, al Qaeda, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Al Shabaab, Al Qaeda in Syria (including Al Nusrah Front), the Haqqani Network, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb, and other non-state associated forces designated by the President. The joint resolution provides for related congressional review and oversight. The Authorization for Use of Military Force (P.L. 107-40) and the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (P.L. 107-243) are repealed.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2018
Advancing Innovation in Alternative Pain and Addiction Therapies Act This bill requires the Food and Drug Administration to issue guidance clarifying eligibility and criteria for the accelerated approval of non-opioid or nonaddictive drugs to treat pain or substance-use disorders.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2018
This bill requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop guidance regarding how it will assess evidence to support claims of opioid sparing (i.e., the use of drugs that reduce pain while also allowing reduced use or avoidance of oral opioids) for non-opioid or other non-addictive medical products intended to treat pain. The FDA must also develop guidance regarding how it will consider the misuse and abuse of drugs in making certain determinations of safety.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2018
Decentralize Regulatory Agencies, Include the Nation Act of 2018 or the DRAIN Act This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration to jointly develop and implement a plan for relocating nonsecurity agencies outside the National Capital region by the later of October 1, 2029, or the expiration date of the lease for the building in which the nonsecurity agency's headquarters is located. The bill exempts security agencies and nonsecurity agencies specifically exempted by the President from the relocation requirement. A security agency is an agency that receives the majority of its funding from appropriations provided for the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, or for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2018
Department of Veterans Affairs Oversight Enhancement Act of 2018 This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report on its corrective measures any year health care furnished by the VA appears on the high risk list published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The high risk list is a list of programs that are vulnerable to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement or that need transformation. The VA is also required to report annually on the implementation of recommendations from GAO.
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 · 11 April 2018
This joint resolution requires the Department of State to periodically certify to Congress that Saudi Arabia is undertaking: (1) a good faith effort to conduct diplomatic negotiations to end the civil war in Yemen, (2) appropriate measures to increase access for Yemenis to food, fuel, and medicine, and (3) measures to reduce civilian casualties from its military operations in Yemen. If the State Department is unable to so certify, no federal funds may be obligated or expended for U.S. air refueling of non-U.S. aircraft conducting missions in Yemen other than missions related to: al Qaeda, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria; countering the transport or employment of ballistic missiles or components in Yemen; helping coalition aircraft return safely to base in emergency situations; or force protection of U.S. aircraft, ships, or personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2018
Jobs Plus Recovery Act of 2018 This bill directs the Department of Labor to establish a pilot program to award grants to local boards to carry out Jobs Plus Recovery programs (including screening services, an individual treatment and employment plan, outpatient treatment and recovery care, supportive services, and career job training services) through partnerships with specified entities, such as treatment providers and community-based organizations.
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
Testing, Evaluating, and Strengthening Treatments Act or the TEST Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2022 the National Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Laboratory grant program and otherwise revises the program, including by adding a matching funds requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2018
Advancing Emergency Preparedness Through One Health Act of 2018 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, in coordination with other specified agencies and departments, to develop, publish, and submit to Congress a national One Health Framework for coordinated federal activities under the One Health Program, which encourages collaborative efforts to help better prevent, prepare for, and respond to zoonotic disease outbreaks. The framework must (1) describe existing efforts and contain recommendations for building upon and complementing the activities of federal entities; and (2) establish specified goals, including advancing the scientific understanding of the connections among human, animal, and environmental health.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2018
Eliminating Opioid Related Infectious Diseases Act of 2018 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to expand its grant program for combating hepatitis C infections to include other infections associated with injection drug use.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2018
Supporting Kinship Connections Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to provide grants for developing, enhancing, or evaluating kinship navigator programs; such programs help grandparents and other relative caregivers find and use services to meet the needs of the caregivers and the children they are raising.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2018
This joint resolution requires the Department of State, by 30, 180, and 360 days after this bill's enactment, to submit to Congress certifications of whether the government of Saudi Arabia is undertaking: (1) a good faith effort to conduct diplomatic negotiations to end the civil war in Yemen, and (2) appropriate measures to increase access for all Yemenis to food, fuel, and medicine. If the State Department is unable to certify that such government is taking such action, no federal funds may be obligated or expended for U.S. air refueling of Saudi-led coalition non-U.S. aircraft conducting missions in Yemen other than missions related to: al Qaeda, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria; Iranian terrorist activities in Yemen; countering the transport, assembly, or employment of Iranian ballistic missiles or components in Yemen; helping coalition aircraft return safely to base in emergency situations; or force protection of U.S. aircraft or personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2018
School Safety and Mental Health Services Improvement Act of 2018 This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow state and local educational agencies to use certain federal funds for activities related to school safety, including: (1) infrastructure improvements to prevent, mitigate, or respond to incidents of school violence; and (2) professional development for school personnel in mental-health awareness, crisis response, and other programs designed to reduce and prevent school violence. The bill also amends the Public Health Service Act to expand the programs for which the Department of Health and Human Services may provide financial support to assist local communities in helping children deal with violence. Such programs may include those designed to provide mental-health and substance-use disorder assessments, crisis-intervention training, counseling, treatment, and referral. The President must convene an interagency task force to address school safety.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2018
This bill authorizes the Federal Aviation Administration to carry out a pilot program to provide grants to support the education and recruitment of aviation maintenance technical workers and the development of the aviation maintenance industry workforce.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2018
Protecting Communities and Preserving the Second Amendment Act of 2018 This bill reauthorizes grant programs, creates new criminal offenses, and makes several other changes related to the sale, transfer, and possession of firearms. Among other things, the bill does the following: modifies and reauthorizes grants under the NICS Act Record Improvement Program, modifies and reauthorizes the Secure Our Schools grant program, removes certain restrictions on interstate firearms transactions, and creates stand-alone criminal offenses for trafficking in firearms and straw purchasing of firearms.
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 · 5 March 2018
Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018 or the STOP School Violence Act of 2018 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to revise and reauthorize through FY2028 the Secure Our Schools grant program.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2018
Foreign Agents Registration Amendments Act of 2018 This bill establishes, in the National Security Division of the Department of Justice, a new section to enforce laws against suspected operatives or unregistered agents of foreign governments. Additionally, it removes the exemption from lobbyist registration requirements for certain foreign agents.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2018
Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act of 2018 or the BUILD Act of 2018 This bill establishes the United States International Development Finance Corporation to facilitate the participation of private sector capital and skills in the economic development of countries with low- or lower-middle-income economies and countries transitioning from nonmarket to market economies in order to complement U.S. assistance and foreign policy objectives. The corporation may: (1) make loans or loan guarantees, (2) as a minority investor acquire equity or financial interests in entities, (3) provide insurance or reinsurance to private sector entities and qualifying sovereign entities, (4) provide technical assistance, (5) administer special projects, (6) establish enterprise funds, (7) issue obligations, and (8) charge service fees. The corporation shall terminate on September 30, 2038. The corporation shall not provide assistance to: (1) a country whose government has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism, or (2) a private sector entity that is engaged in monopolistic practices. The bill prescribes transitional provisions, including transferring to the corporation the functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (which is subsequently terminated) and specified elements of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2018
National FFA Organization's Federal Charter Amendments Act This bill revises the charter of the National FFA Organization (Future Farmers of America). Such revisions include (1) making it a purpose of the organization to be an integral component of agricultural education, and (2) removing the Secretary of Education as the chair of the National FFA Board of Directors.
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 · 12 February 2018
National Guard and Reserves Benefits Parity Act This bill makes reserve component members who are deployed to support pre-planned operations of a combatant command eligible for: (1) non-reduction in pay while serving in the uniformed services or National Guard, (2) consideration of active duty service to reduce the age for retired pay , and (3) the high-deployment allowance for lengthy or numerous deployments and frequent mobilizations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2018
Advancing Cutting Edge Research Act or the ACE Research Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to expand the National Institutes of Health's unique research initiatives to include cutting-edge research that: (1) fosters scientific creativity and increases fundamental biological understanding leading to the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of diseases and disorders; or (2) is urgently required to respond to a public health threat. (Unique research initiatives may be supported through transactions other than contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements.)
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2018
Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act This bill requires the Department of the Treasury, in furtherance of efforts to prevent the financing of terrorism, money laundering, or related illicit finance and to make financial institutions' required compliance with sanctions more easily understood, to submit within 270 days and annually thereafter for the next two years a report regarding: the funds or other assets held in U.S. and foreign financial institutions that are directly or indirectly controlled by specified Iranian officials; any equity interest such official has in an entity on Treasury's list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons or in any other sanctioned entity; how such funds, assets, or equity interests were acquired and used; new methods used to evade anti-money laundering and related laws, including recommendations to improve techniques to combat illicit uses of the U.S. financial system by such officials. recommendations for revising U.S. economic sanctions against Iran to prevent Iranian officials from using funds or assets to develop and procure ballistic missile technology and commit human rights abuses; the effectiveness of U.S. economic sanctions against Iran and how Treasury assesses such effectiveness; and recommendations for improving Treasury's ability to develop and enforce additional economic sanctions against Iran if so ordered by the President. The unclassified portion of the report shall be made available to the public and posted on Treasury's website in downloadable English, Farsi, Arabic, and Azeri versions.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2018
Reaffirms the U.S. commitment to the Republic of Korea to support, participate in, and help ensure the security of the 23rd Olympic Winter Games. Recognizes the importance of such games as a leading international sporting event that can contribute to peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, in Northeast Asia, and around the world. Reaffirms that the United States, the Republic of Korea, and other partners remain committed to pursuing the policy of maximum pressure and engagement toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Expresses hope that the games will contribute to the decision by the DPRK to engage in negotiations that will result in complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Wishes the Republic of Korea success in preparing for and hosting such games.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2018
Innovation Zone Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to replace the Experimental Sites Initiative of the Department of Education (ED) with an innovation zone initiative consisting of voluntary experiments by participating institutions of higher education. Under the experiments, ED and the institutions may test the effectiveness of statutory and regulatory flexibility that aims for: (1) an increase in student success (e.g., reductions in student loan debt and increases in student retention and job placement rates); and (2) a reduction of regulations on institutions or ED, without harm to students.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2018
Designates the week of January 21-January 27, 2018, as National School Choice Week. Encourages all parents to learn more about the educational options available.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2018
Condemns: (1) the violence and displacement inflicted on Burma's (Myanmar's) Rohingya and other ethnic minorities, and (2) the attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army militant group. Calls for an immediate halt to all hostilities by Burmese authorities. Calls on: the government of Burma to allow full access to Rakhine State and to ensure the full participation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and that the voices of refugees are represented, the UNHCR and international nongovernmental organizations to play a role in monitoring repatriation efforts by the governments of Bangladesh and Burma, and the United Nations to consider the feasibility of Bangladesh's proposal for a safe zone or for a peacekeeping mission to protect vulnerable communities under international supervision. Commends: (1) the positive role of the government of Bangladesh in receiving Rohingya refugees and urges that government to continue allowing the full participation of the UNHCR and human rights organizations in accessing refugee camps, and (2) the Bangladesh's efforts to provide shelter and relief for such refugees. Calls for any return of Rohingya to include specified guarantees. Recognizes that any forced relocation of Rohingya refugees into areas not of their choosing is unacceptable. Calls on the government of Burma to: allow for a flexible and practical approach to dealing with evidence of Rohingya residence in Burma; address root causes consistent with the Rakhine Advisory Commission recommendations and fully implement such recommendations; address the issue of statelessness for the Rohingya, the deprivation of rights, and institutionalized and pervasive discrimination; and release journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. Calls on the government of Bangladesh to ensure that all refugees have freedom of movement and are not subject to unsafe, involuntary, precipitous, or uninformed returns to Burma.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2018
Kennedy-King Establishment Act of 2018 This bill establishes the Kennedy-King National Historic Site in Indiana as a unit of the National Park System for the preservation, protection, and interpretation of the site of the speech given by Senator Robert F. Kennedy on April 4, 1968, that is associated with the Kennedy-King Park in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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 · 4 January 2018
Good Accounting Obligation in Government Act or the GAO-IG Act This bill requires each federal agency, in its annual budget justification, to include a report on: (1) each public recommendation of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that is classified as "open" or "closed, unimplemented"; (2) each public recommendation for corrective action from the agency's office of the inspector general (OIG) for which no final action has been taken; and (3) the implementation status of each such recommendation. Each agency shall also provide a copy of this information to its OIG and to the GAO.