United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2019
Fair and Open Skies Act This bill prohibits the Department of Transportation (DOT) from issuing a foreign air carrier permit or an exemption from certain air carrier certificate requirements under the United States-European Union Air Transport Agreement of April 2007, unless DOT finds that issuing the permit or exemption would be consistent with Article 17 bis of the agreement, which provides that opportunities created by the agreement do not undermine labor standards or the labor-related rights and principles contained in the laws of the respective parties to the agreement; and imposes conditions on the permit or exemption necessary to ensure compliance with Article 17 bis . The bill modifies policy considerations relating to air carrier certificates to require DOT to consider preventing entry into U.S. markets by flag of convenience carriers (i.e., foreign air carriers established in a country other the home country of their majority owner in order to avoid regulations of the home country) and preventing the undermining of labor standards. In carrying out such air carrier certificate requirements, DOT must consider preventing entry of flag of convenience carriers into U.S. markets as being in the public interest and consistent with public convenience and necessity for safety in air transportation and air commerce. In formulating U.S. international air transportation policy relating to the elimination of discrimination and unfair competition, the Department of State and DOT must include in their considerations the undermining of labor standards.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2019
Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act of 2019 This bill expands Medicare coverage of chiropractic services to include all services provided by chiropractors, rather than only subluxation corrections through manual manipulation of the spine.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2019
Allied Health Workforce Diversity Act of 2019 This bill allows the Department of Health and Human Services to provide grants to accredited education programs to increase diversity in the physical-therapy, occupational-therapy, audiology, and speech-language pathology professions. Grants may be used to provide scholarships or to support recruitment and retention of students from underrepresented groups.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2019
This resolution expresses support for the designation of Journeyman Lineman Recognition Day. (A journeyman lineman is a person who builds and maintains electrical power systems.)
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2019
This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that global warming has resulted in a climate emergency that demands a massive-scale mobilization of U.S. resources to halt, reverse, mitigate, and prepare for the consequences of the emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 5 July 2019
Climate Risk Disclosure Act of 2019 This bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require an issuer of securities to annually disclose information regarding climate change-related risks posed to the issuer, including an issuer's strategies and actions to mitigate these risks. Among other things, issuers must (1) report their direct and indirect greenhouse-gas emissions, (2) disclose their fossil fuel-related assets, and (3) establish standards regarding the social cost of carbon.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2019
Safe Hydration is an American Right in Energy Development Act of 2019 This bill requires hydraulic fracturing operations to test for and report on underground sources of drinking water that are contaminated by such operations. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the geological formation. Specifically, this bill revises requirements governing state underground injection control programs. In order to obtain primary enforcement responsibility for such programs, states must prohibit the underground injection of fluids or propping agents pursuant to hydraulic fracturing operations related to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities unless the hydraulic fracturing operations agree to test for and report on contamination of drinking water. Hydraulic fracturing operations are exempted from those testing and reporting requirements if there is no accessible underground source of drinking water within a radius of one mile of the site where the operations occur. The Environmental Protection Agency must establish and maintain a publicly accessible and searchable database of the testing results.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
Greg LeMond Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to Greg LeMond, in recognition of his contributions to the nation as an athlete, activist, role model, and community leader.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
Bolstering Long-Term Understanding and Exploration of the Great Lakes, Oceans, Bays, and Estuaries Act or the BLUE GLOBE Act This bill addresses data collection and monitoring of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts. Specifically, the bill increases domestic and international coordination to enhance data management and monitoring of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts; creates the Interagency Ocean Exploration Committee to promote the exploration and improved understanding of the oceans; revises the Ocean Policy Committee to the Committee on Ocean Policy; establishes a technology innovation task force to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop a workforce development program, including to support undergraduate and graduate education in fields related to the advancement of the monitoring, collection, synthesis, and analysis of data regarding the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts; requires NOAA to ensure that a goal of its cooperative institutes is to advance or apply emerging technologies; requires NOAA to establish opportunities to engage indigenous, subsistence, and fishing communities to better understand their needs; institutes an ocean innovation prize to catalyze the rapid development and deployment of data collection and monitoring technology; reauthorizes several NOAA programs, including the Ocean Exploration Program; directs relevant federal agencies to measure the value and impact of industries related to the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts on the U.S. economy; and requires the National Academy of Sciences to assess the potential for an Advanced Research Projects Agency-Oceans.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
National Opposition to Hate, Assault, and Threats to Equality Act of 2019 or the NO HATE Act This bill establishes various grants within the Department of Justice for states and units of local government to improve law enforcement activities to address hate crimes, including by improving the reporting of hate crime data to relevant national systems. It also allows a court to order, as a penalty for a violation of a federal hate crime statute, a defendant to participate in educational classes or community service related to the community harmed by the defendant's offense as part of a supervised release.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 2019 This bill prohibits commercial conversion therapy, which is a practice or treatment designed to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity or otherwise change behaviors, thoughts, or expressions related to gender or sexual attraction. This prohibition does not apply to treatment that assists an individual undergoing a gender transition or facilitates identity exploration and development.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2019
Students and Young Consumers Empowerment Act This bill establishes the Office for Students and Young Consumers within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and eliminates the position of Private Education Loan Ombudsman. Currently, the Private Education Loan Ombudsman provides assistance to borrowers of private education loans. The Office for Students and Young Consumers must provide assistance to borrowers of private or federal student loans and enter into an information-sharing agreement with the Department of Education. The office must also report annually regarding campus banking and the student loan marketplace.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
Combating Deceptive Immigration Enforcement Practices Act of 2019 This bill bars immigration officers or agents of the Department of Homeland Security from wearing clothing, accessories, or other items bearing the word police while performing duties under the immigration laws.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
This resolution expresses support for (1) equal rights and protections for all people, regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity; and (2) the designation of LGBTQ Equality Day on June 26 to commemorate Supreme Court decisions handed down on that day in 2003, 2013, and 2015. The resolution also acknowledges the need for further legislation to ensure that people in the United States are free from all forms of discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
Safeguard our Elections and Combat Unlawful Interference in Our Democracy Act or the SECURE Our Democracy Act This bill directs the Department of State to identify each foreign person who engaged in U.S. election interference since January 1, 2015. The bill imposes financial and immigration sanctions on these individuals. Specifically, such individuals shall be ineligible to receive a U.S. entry visa and any current visa shall be revoked. The Department of the Treasury must (1) freeze and prohibit a listed foreign person's transactions in property and property interests that are in the United States, and (2) require financial institutions to certify that they have frozen all such assets.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
Restore Honor to Service Members Act This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to review the discharge characterization of a service member who was discharged on the basis of sexual orientation (i.e., on the basis of Don't Ask Don't Tell or a similar policy) if the service member requests such a review. If the service member's discharge is characterized as other than honorable, and if there were no aggravating circumstances that would have independently caused the discharge to be characterized as other than honorable, then DOD must change its characterization of the discharge to honorable.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2019
LGBTQ Data Inclusion Act This bill requires federal agencies that collect information through a survey that includes demographic data (where subjects self-report information or a proxy provides information about the subject or responds for all persons in a household) to review existing data sets to determine in which data sets information about sexual orientation and gender identity is not included, and to assess needed changes in survey methods related to asking questions on sexual orientation and gender identity. Agencies that publish reports relying on survey demographic data must include information on sexual orientation and gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2019
America's Call To Improve Opportunities Now for National Service Act or the ACTION for National Service Act This bill (1) converts the Corporation for National and Community Service into the National and Community Service Administration; (2) reauthorizes programs carried out by the administration; (3) establishes a National Service Foundation to accept and administer gifts on behalf of the administration; and (4) modifies the calculation of national service educational awards. Furthermore, the bill creates a 21st Century American Service Outreach Program to notify individuals age 17 and not more than age 30 about their eligibility to participate in national service programs,; increases living stipends for such volunteers and the cap on such full-time positions; provides a living allowance to members of the National Civilian Community Corps, under specified conditions; and provides an exclusion from gross income, for income tax purposes, for such educational awards and living allowances.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2019
Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act of 2019 This bill prohibits strikes by certain individuals and requires the issuance of rules that provide for federal minimum standard collective bargaining rights and procedures. The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) shall determine for each state whether the laws of such state substantially provide for each of the minimum standard collective bargaining rights and procedures specified by this bill, including the right of public employees and supervisory employees to self-organize, form or join a labor organization, or collectively bargain. The FLRA must issue rules and take actions to establish and administer bargaining rights and procedures for those states that do not substantially provide for them. No employers, emergency services employees, or law enforcement officers may engage in a lockout, strike, or any other organized job action that would probably result in a measurable disruption of the delivery of emergency or public safety services. Furthermore, no labor organization may be the cause of a violation of such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2019
Help Separated Families Act of 201 9 This bill prohibits states from disqualifying a prospective adoptive or foster parent based on that person's immigration status. It also expands the requirements for state foster-care cases in which a parent has been detained or deported as the result of an immigration proceeding. Specifically, states may not initiate a proceeding to terminate the parental rights of a parent who has been detained or deported unless the state has made reasonable efforts to (1) locate the parent, (2) notify the parent about the proceeding, (3) provide the parent with appropriate services, and (4) reunify the parent and child. States also must (1) ensure that case managers can communicate in separated children's native language, (2) provide assistance for separated children to accompany their parent to the family's country of origin, (3) keep information about such children confidential, and (4) publish a list of legal services available to separated children. Further, case management plans must provide (1) the location of the child's parent who has been detained or deported, and (2) a written record of information about such child that is disclosed to government agencies or nonlegal guardians. The bill requires states to accept specified forms of foreign identification to complete background checks for prospective foster care placements. States also must notify prospective foster or adoptive relatives that such relatives' immigration status will not be requested except with respect to eligibility for certain social services.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2019
Stopping Bad Robocalls Act This bill updates various policies and regulations relating to robocalls. Specifically, the bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to protect consumer privacy as it relates to robocalls. The FCC must update regulations involving certain robocalls that are exempt from criminal liability to include specific requirements identifying classes of parties who may make such calls, parties who may be called, and how many times they may be called. Additionally, the bill removes the requirement that a citation be issued prior to a forfeiture penalty being imposed in cases where violations involving illegal robocalls have been intentional and where inaccurate caller identification information has been provided. The bill also implements a three-year statute of limitation for such violations requiring notice, and a four-year statute of limitation where an intentional violation has occurred. The FCC must promulgate regulations to address requirements for effective call authentication technology as well as to establish a process to streamline the ways in which a private entity may voluntarily share with FCC information relating to an illegal call or text or for calls with misleading or inaccurate caller identification information. Finally, the bill requires the FCC to ensure robocall blocking services provided on an opt-out basis are provided free of cost with transparency and redress options for consumers and callers.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2019
Coral Reef Sustainability Through Innovation Act of 2019 This bill authorizes the federal agencies on the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, which includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to carry out prize competitions that promote coral reef research and conservation. The prize competitions must be designed to help the United States achieve its goal of developing new and effective ways to advance the understanding, monitoring, and sustainability of coral reef ecosystems. Priority is given to establish programs that address communities, environments, or industries that are in distress due to the decline or degradation of coral reef ecosystems.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2019
Stop Child Summer Hunger Act of 201 9 This bill requires the Department of Agriculture to establish a program providing eligible households with summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards in order to give children access to food during the summer months to (1) reduce or eliminate children's food insecurity and hunger, and (2) improve their nutritional status. An "eligible household" is a household that includes one or more children who are eligible to receive free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs. The amount on each summer EBT card is set at $150 per child in 2020, with adjustments thereafter reflecting changes in reimbursement rates for school meals under the school lunch program. If children are enrolled to receive free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs, they must be enrolled in this program without further application. Summer EBT cards may be used only to purchase food from retail food stores that have been approved for participation in the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program).
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2019
This resolution recognizes Immigrant Heritage Month in honor of the accomplishments of immigrants and their children in shaping the history and culture of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2019
STEM to STEAM Act of 2019 This bill includes (1) among the purposes for which the National Science Foundation shall award competitive, merit-reviewed grants the support of the integration of art and design in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) educational programs; and (2) among activities supported by such grants the design and testing of programming that integrates art and design in STEM education in order to promote creativity and innovation.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2019
Building STEAM Education Act of 2019 This bill requires (1) the STEM Education Advisory Panel to consider ways of integrating art and design into STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education programs to promote innovation; (2) the National Science Foundation's Math and Science Partnership program to develop a STEM educational curriculum that incorporates art and design to promote creativity and innovation; and (3) teacher institutes for the 21st century, which provide professional development to teachers, to have a component that includes the integration of art and design principles and processes.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2019
This resolution reaffirms the bipartisan commitment to promoting the safety, health, education, and well-being of refugees and persons displaced by war, persecution and violence. It also calls upon the Department of State and the Ambassador to the United Nations to continue supporting robust funding for refugee protection and humanitarian response overseas and resettlement in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2019
Affordability is Access Act This bill establishes several requirements relating to health-insurance coverage of, and access to, over-the-counter contraceptives. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury to specify that private health-insurance plans must cover over-the-counter contraceptives that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), even without a prescription. Under current law, private health-insurance plans (with some exceptions) must cover FDA-approved prescription contraceptives, without cost-sharing requirements. The bill also prohibits retailers from interfering with an individual's access to oral contraceptives that are meant for routine, daily use and are FDA-approved for use without a prescription.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2019
Global Respect Act This bill imposes visa-blocking sanctions on foreign persons responsible for or complicit in violating the human rights of individuals due to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics. The President shall report and periodically update a list of foreign persons responsible for such human rights violations and apply sanctions accordingly. The Department of State shall designate at least one senior officer who shall be responsible for tracking violence and discrimination against individuals based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics in foreign countries.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2019
No Federal Funds for Public Charge Act of 2019 This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to implement, administer, enforce, or carry out the proposed Department of Homeland Security rule entitled Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds . The rule makes aliens who are likely at any time to become a public charge and receive certain public benefits inadmissible.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2019
Land and Water Conservation Fund Permanent Funding Act This bill makes permanent, beginning in FY2020, funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The President shall annually submit to Congress specified details regarding the allocation of funds to the LWCF. Congress may provide for alternate allocations using specified procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2019
Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2019 or the BURMA Act of 2019 This act imposes sanctions, limits security assistance, authorizes assistance, and requires the establishment of various programs and strategies related to Burma (Myanmar). The President shall impose sanctions against current or former officials who are responsible for or who supported serious human rights abuses in Burma, as well as against entities controlled by such officials and military-linked entities that provide such officials significant financial benefits. The sanctions shall include asset blocking and visa blocking. The bill authorizes humanitarian aid for Burma, Bangladesh, and the surrounding region for various purposes, including aid for ethnic minorities targeted by Burma's military and support for voluntary resettlement of displaced persons. The bill also prohibits security assistance for or security cooperation with Burma's military and security forces, with exceptions for certain existing programs related to training, research, and reconciliation. The Department of State shall maintain a publicly available website listing entities in Burma's gemstone sector that meet certain transparency and due-diligence requirements related to ownership, control, and supply-chain standards. The State Department shall also issue guidance for U.S. companies as to best practices for supply-chain due diligence when dealing with Burmese gemstone entities. The State Department shall report to Congress on topics including (1) accountability for war crimes in Burma, (2) a strategy for promoting economic development in Burma, and (3) a strategy for U.S. engagement with Burma's military and security forces.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2019
Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act This bill removes limitations on the civil liability of gun manufacturers and the disclosure of gun trace data in civil actions. Specifically, the bill repeals the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which prohibits civil actions against a firearm or ammunition manufacturer, seller, importer, dealer, or trade association for damages resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of a firearm. Additionally, the bill states that firearms trace data maintained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is not immune from legal process. Such data is subject to discovery; is admissible as evidence; and may be used, relied on, or disclosed in a civil action or administrative proceeding.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2019
Marine Energy Research and Development Act of 2019 This bill directs the Water Power Technologies Office of the Department of Energy to carry out a program to accelerate the introduction of marine energy production into the United States energy supply while fostering accelerated research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of technology, including programs to to identify and study critical short- and long-term needs to create a sustainable marine energy supply chain based in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2019
Restoring Overtime Pay Act of 2019 This bill requires the Department of Labor to update the salary threshold applicable to bona fide executive, administrative, and professional employees for purposes of determining eligibility for overtime pay. The bill adopts rulemaking promulgated by Labor in 2016 that established the threshold for exempting such employees from overtime requirements at the 40th percentile of earnings for full-time salaried employees in the lowest-wage census region. The bill also requires updates to the threshold amount every three years. In addition, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shall publish quarterly on its public website data on the weekly earnings of nonhourly, full-time salaried workers by census region.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2019
Safe Disposal of Opioids Act of 2019 This bill directs the Department of Justice to award grants to establish or maintain disposal sites for unwanted prescription medications. Additionally, the bill imposes a fee on the sale of an active opioid by the manufacturer, producer, or importer. The Department of Health and Human Services must establish a mechanism to provide discounts to patients to ensure that they do not pay the fee.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2019
Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2019 This bill increases and revises requirements for the refundable earned income and child tax credits. It also makes similar revisions to the earned income tax credit for residents of Puerto Rico. The bill authorizes the Department of the Treasury to regulate the practice of tax return preparers and impose sanctions upon preparers found to be incompetent or disreputable. The Government Accountability Office must study and report on the sharing of information between Treasury and states regarding identification numbers issued to tax return preparers and minimum standards for preparers.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2019
Expanding Findings for Federal Opioid Research and Treatment Act or the EFFORT Act This bill directs the National Science Foundation to support merit-reviewed and competitively awarded research on the science of opioid addiction.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2019
This concurrent resolution celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. The resolution also honors the bravery and skill of the crew of Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong, Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins; and commends the efforts of all individuals of the United States who contributed to the achievement of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
Living Shorelines Act of 2019 This bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to award grants to state or local governments, Indian tribes, or nonprofit organizations to (1) implement climate-resilient living shoreline projects; and (2) encourage innovation in the use of natural materials to protect coastal communities, habitats, and natural system functions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
Every Child Deserves a Family Act This bill prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or religion in the provision of child welfare programs and services by entities receiving federal funding. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must provide technical assistance to help states follow this requirement, including (1) guidance for bringing state laws into compliance, (2) developing training to increase cultural competency related to social identity, and (3) training for judges and attorneys involved in child welfare cases, among other supports. Additionally, HHS must establish the National Resource Center on Safety, Well-Being, Placement Stability, and Permanency for LGBTQ Children and Youth Involved with Child Welfare Services to provide training, technical assistance, and guidance to applicable state and local agencies and service providers. Further, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act may not be the basis for challenging the application or enforcement of this bill. The Government Accountability Office must study and report on states' compliance with the requirements of the bill no later than three years after enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
Opioid Treatment Surge Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to assess market-share-based fees, for the next 10 years, on drug manufacturers that have produced opioid drugs since 1999. Opioid drugs manufactured to treat opioid addiction, cancer patients, or hospice patients are, however, exempt from this assessment. All assessed fees must be used for the substance abuse prevention and treatment block grant program.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2019
This resolution (1) recognizes World Oceans Day and affirms the individual and collective duty, both nationally and internationally, to protect, conserve, maintain, and rebuild our oceans and its resources; and (2) expresses commitment to increasing the investment of federal funds into scientific research and monitoring to better understand the changing oceans.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2019
Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2019 This bill authorizes and establishes procedures for federal courts to issue extreme risk protection orders. An extreme risk protection order is a federal court order that prohibits a person from purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm or ammunition. A family or household member, or a law enforcement officer, may petition for an extreme risk protection order with respect to an individual who poses a risk to themselves or others. The bill also expands the categories of persons who are prohibited from purchasing, shipping, transporting, possessing, or receiving a firearm or ammunition. Specifically, it adds, as a new category, persons who are subject to an extreme risk protection order.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2019
Respond, Innovate, Succeed, and Empower Act of 2019 or the RISE Act of 2019 This bill establishes requirements for institutions of higher education (IHEs) concerning students with disabilities. Specifically, the bill requires IHEs to allow students to use certain documents, such as individualized education programs, to establish their disabilities. In addition, IHEs must make the process for determining the eligibility for accommodations transparent. Finally, IHEs must submit key data related to their undergraduate students with disabilities for inclusion in federal postsecondary institution data collection efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2019
Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2019 This bill revises provisions of the low-income housing tax credit and renames it as the affordable housing credit . The bill increases the per capita dollar amount of the credit and its minimum ceiling amount beginning in 2019 and extends the inflation adjustment for such amounts. The bill modifies tenant income eligibility requirements and the average income formula for determining such income. It also revises rules for student occupancy of rental units and tenant voucher payments and prohibits any refusal to rent to victims of domestic abuse. The bill further modifies the credit to establish a 4% minimum credit rate for certain housing projects, repeal the qualified census tract population cap, prohibit local approval and contribution requirements, increase the credit for certain projects designated to serve extremely low-income households, increase the credit for certain bond-financed projects designated by state agencies, eliminate the basis reduction for properties that receive certain energy-related tax benefits, and increase the population cap for difficult development areas (i.e., areas with high construction, land, and utility costs relative to area median gross income). The bill also includes Indian and rural areas as difficult development areas and modifies other requirements relating to casualty losses, acquisition credits, and foreclosures.
United States · United States Congress · 30 May 2019
Permanently Authorizing PILT Act This bill permanently reauthorizes the Payment in Lieu of Taxes Program. This program compensates local governments for tax revenue lost due to tax-exempt federal lands within their boundaries.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2019
H-4 Employment Protection Act of 2019 This bill prohibits the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from amending or repealing the rule entitled Allowing Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses to Apply for Employment Authorization , and requires DHS to apply the rule as in effect on May 26, 2015. The rule was implemented on May 26, 2015, and authorizes employment for H-4 visa spouses of H-1B visa nonimmigrants (specialty occupations) who are in the process of becoming lawful permanent residents or who have H-1B status under the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2019
Better Energy Storage Technology Act or the BEST Act This bill addresses grid-scale energy storage systems. The bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish within its Office of Electricity a research, development, and demonstration program for grid-scale energy storage systems. DOE must enter into agreements to carry out not more than five demonstration projects and develop a 10-year strategic plan and cost targets for grid-scale energy storage systems.
![Official portrait of Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b001278_200.jpg)