United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2017
USS Indianapolis Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the House of Representatives and the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design to the crew of the USS Indianapolis, in recognition of their perseverance, bravery, and service. Following the award of the gold medal, it shall be given to the Indiana War Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, where it will be displayed and made available for research. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the Indiana War Memorial Museum should make the gold medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at other locations and events associated with the USS Indianapolis.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2017
This bill provides that the Department of Veterans Affairs per diem payment calculation for an entity receiving homeless veterans shelter grants for a homeless veteran who has care of a minor dependent while receiving services from such entity shall be the sum of the daily cost of care for the veteran plus, for each minor dependent, an amount that equals 50% of the veteran's daily cost of care.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2017
Medicare Beneficiary Opioid Addiction Treatment Act This bill provides for Medicare coverage and payment of methadone (a medication used to treat opioid-use disorder).
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2017
Creating Accountability Measures Protecting University Students Historically Abused, Threatened, and Exposed to Crimes Act or the CAMPUS HATE Crimes Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish measures to hold institutions of higher education accountable for hate crimes that occur on their campuses.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Financial Stability Act of 2010 to require the Financial Stability Oversight Council, in determining whether a nonbank financial company shall be designated as systemically important and consequently be supervised by the Federal Reserve Board and subject to prudential standards, to consider the appropriateness of imposing such standards as opposed to other forms of regulation to mitigate identified risks to U.S. financial stability. Every five years, the council must, upon request by a nonbank financial company, reevaluate such a determination and hold a vote on whether to rescind it. The bill revises procedural requirements related to council determinations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Securing All Livestock Equitably Act of 2017 or the SALE Act of 2017 This bill amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to require all livestock purchased by a dealer in cash sales and all inventories of, or receivables or proceeds from, such livestock to be held by the dealer in a trust until all unpaid cash sellers of the livestock have been paid. The bill exempts from the requirement any dealer whose average annual purchases of livestock do not exceed $500,000.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2017
Tax Equity and Prosperity for Puerto Rican Families Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to make citizens of Puerto Rico eligible for the federal earned income tax credit and allow them to claim the refundable portion of the child tax credit on the same basis as U.S. taxpayers. In making the earned income tax credit applicable to Puerto Rican citizens, the bill modifies credit requirements to allow taxpayers in Puerto Rico to claim the credit at age 21 (rather than age 25) and to allow a credit percentage of 40, without regard to the number of qualifying children claimed by the taxpayer.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2017 This bill directs the President to establish a five-year strategy to accelerate progress toward ending preventable child and maternal deaths within a generation and ensure healthy and productive lives for women and children. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) shall: (1) identify target countries with the greatest need and the highest burden of preventable child and maternal deaths, and (2) designate a current USAID employee serving in the Senior Executive Service or at the level of a Deputy Assistant Administrator or higher to serve concurrently as the Senior Coordinator for Child and Maternal Survival.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2017
This bill amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to revise the quorum requirement for the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States to require the lesser of three members or the number of members holding office on the board (currently, at least three members) for there to be a quorum.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2017
Honors the accomplishments of the nine historically black colleges and universities that celebrated their 150th anniversary during the week of September 24, 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2017
Access to Marketplace Insurance Act This bill requires health insurers to accept, on behalf of individuals enrolled in qualified health plans, cost-sharing payments made by certain third parties (e.g., state and federal government programs) and count such payments toward annual cost-sharing limitations. (Qualified health plans are eligible for subsidies and fulfill an individual's requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage.)
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2017
Requests the President and directs the Department of the Interior to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of all documents and communications that refer or relate to Executive Order 13792, dated April 26, 2017, which requires Interior to review designations or expansions of certain national monuments under the Antiquities Act since 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish detention standards for each facility at which aliens in DHS custody are detained. Such standards shall provide for at least the level of detainee protections described in the American Bar Association's Civil Immigration Detention Standards. A detained individual who is injured as a result of a violation of such standards may file a claim in U.S. district court. The bill: (1) provides for facility oversight and transparency, (2) phases out the use of private detention facilities and jails for such aliens, and (3) revises procedures for detaining aliens.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
American Miners Pension Act of 2017 This bill amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) to transfer certain funds and provide loans to the 1974 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Pension Plan in order to provide pension benefits for retired coal miners. The bill requires the Department of the Treasury to transfer additional funds from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund and the General Fund of the Treasury to the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan to pay pension benefits required under that plan if the amounts available for transfer under SMCRA's $490 million annual limit exceed the amounts required to be transferred for other purposes (including to the UMWA Health Plans). The bill prohibits the plan from making certain changes to benefits during any year in which a transfer is received. Treasury must make annual loans to the plan equal to the amount certified by the trustees of the plan as necessary to prevent insolvency. The loans may not exceed $600 million per year. The trustees must annually certify that the plan is projected to be solvent and is able to repay the loans under terms specified in the bill. The bill also establishes additional reporting requirements for the plan.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2017
Hurricane Harvey Small Business Recovery Grants Act This bill establishes within the Small Business Administration (SBA) the Office of Hurricane Harvey Small Business Recovery Grants to compensate small businesses, located in a qualified disaster area, for substantial economic injury they suffered resulting from Hurricane Harvey beginning August 25, 2017, and ending August 25, 2018. This compensation (1) excludes interest on the amount of the payment before the settlement or payment of a claim or any punitive or noncompensatory damages; and (2) is limited to $100,000, except in cases where the SBA determines that a greater amount up to $250,000 is appropriate.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2017
Extension of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act This bill amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act to extend preferential duty treatment related to certain apparel items through FY2030.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2017
Healthy Start Reauthorization Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize through FY2023 the Healthy Start for Infants program. (The purpose of this program is to reduce infant mortality and improve perinatal outcomes.)
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2017
Today's American Dream Act This bill establishes new programs or amends existing programs related to workforce and community development. It directs: (1) the Department of Labor to award grants for job skills training for older individuals (older than age 45) and for workers in highly-skilled industries; and (2) the Department of Education to award scholarships to students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) and teaching certifications. The bill also amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) expand and extend the work opportunity tax credit, (2) allow tax credits for wages paid to interns by small business owners, and (3) extend and increase the new markets tax credit. With respect to community development, the bill limits the first-time homebuyer tax credit to residences purchased in economically distressed communities. It requires the Small Business Administration to make grants for commercial investment in economically underserved communities and direct loans to small business concerns. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on efforts to expand access to broadband service. The bill establishes a Commission on Innovation in the Office of Management and Budget to study new and developing technologies. The Department of Health and Human Services must: (1) study characteristics of populations that do not have health insurance coverage, and (2) award grants for free dental health services in underserved communities.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2017
Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma Working Family Tax Relief Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain individuals affected by Hurricanes Harvey or Irma to elect to use earned income from the preceding year for the purpose of determining earned income for the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit. The bill applies to an individual: (1) whose principal place of abode on specified dates was located in the Hurricane Harvey disaster area or the Hurricane Irma disaster area, (2) who was displaced from the place of abode due to the disaster, and (3) who performed substantially all employment services in the disaster area and was so employed on the specified date. The Department of the Treasury must pay to each U.S. possession with a tax system that mirrors federal tax law (mirror code tax system) amounts equal to the loss to the possession due to this bill. For U.S. possessions that do not have a mirror code tax system, Treasury must pay an amount equal to the aggregate benefits that would have been provided to residents of the possession due to this bill if a mirror code tax system had been in effect.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2017
Expresses support for the designation of National Kinship Care Month. Honors the commitment and dedication of kinship caregivers and advocates. Encourages Congress to implement policies to improve the lives of vulnerable children and families.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Common Sense Opportunities Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education (ED) to inform each entity operating programs under the federal TRIO programs (programs designed to identify and provide services for students from disadvantaged backgrounds) of the status of their application for continued funding at least four months (currently eight) prior to the expiration of the funding. The bill establishes a process for applicants to resubmit an application for a grant or contract for higher education resources or student assistance when the application contains a technical error. The bill prohibits ED from rejecting an application solely because it contains a technical error, unless ED notifies the applicant of the error and the applicant does not correct it by the resubmission deadline. ED must submit an annual report that: (1) identifies each entity that received a grant or contract for higher education resources or student assistance and indicates the amount of the grant or contract; and (2) identifies each entity that applied for, but did not receive, such grant or contract and indicates the reason for the rejection of the application. ED must set forth the information separately for each state and local educational agency in the report.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Child Care for Working Families Act This bill provides additional grant funding for child care and preschool programs. It also modifies various requirements for the programs, including policies regarding compensation and training for employees.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2017
Recognizes: (1) the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month; and (2) the integral role of Latinos and their manifold heritage in the economy, culture, and identity of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2017
Carbon Capture Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend and modify the tax credit for carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration. The bill modifies the credit to: allow certain new industrial or direct air capture facilities to qualify for the credit if construction begins before 2024; allow qualified projects to claim the credit for 15 years, beginning on the date the equipment was originally placed in service; increase the credit amounts for certain projects placed in service upon or after the enactment of this bill; expand the purposes for which captured CO2 may be used; modify the requirements for the amount of CO2 that must be captured; specify that the 75 million metric ton cap on the CO2 that may qualify for the credit applies only to projects placed in service before the enactment of this bill; allow the credit to be transferred from the entity that owns and uses the capture equipment to the entity that disposes of or uses the CO2; and allow certain facilities that were placed in service after 2015 and have not previously claimed the credit to be treated as placed in service on the date of the enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2017
This bill provides statutory authority for the Minority Bank Deposit Program (which encourages the use of minority-owned banks, women-owned banks, and credit unions that serve low-income communities).
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2017
Denounces and opposes the violence, xenophobia, and bigotry promoted by white nationalists and neo-Nazis. Urges federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to recognize white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups as terrorist organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2017
Comprehensive Operations, Sustainability, and Transport Act of 2017 This bill modifies Medicare payment rules and reporting requirements with respect to ground-ambulance services.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2017
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the application of Medicare competitive acquisition rates to complex, rehabilitative, manual wheelchairs and accessories. (A competitive bidding program has replaced the use of established fee schedule amounts to determine payments under Medicare for certain durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs.)
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2017
Pre-Registration Of Voters Everywhere Act or the PROVE Act This bill requires each state to implement a process to allow an individual who has turned 16 years old to register to vote in federal elections that occur after the individual turns 18 years old.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2017
Local Coverage Determination Clarification Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the process by which Medicare administrative contractors (MACs) issue and reconsider local coverage determinations (LCDs) that: (1) are new, (2) restrict or substantively revise existing LCDs, or (3) are otherwise specified in regulation. (MACs are private insurers that process Medicare claims within specified geographic areas.) Before such an LCD may take effect, the MAC issuing the determination must, with respect to each geographic area to which the determination applies: publish online a proposed version of the determination and other specified, related information; convene one or more public meetings to review the draft determination, receive comments, and secure the advice of an expert panel; post online a record of the minutes from each such meeting; provide a period for submission of written public comments; and post online specified information related to the rationale for the final determination. Upon the filing of an applicable request by an interested party with regard to the reconsideration of a specified LCD, the MAC that issued the determination shall: provide specified information related to whether the determination failed to correctly apply qualifying relevant evidence, exceeds the scope of its intended purpose, fails to apply as intended, or is otherwise erroneous; preserve the determination, modify the determination, or rescind the determination in part; and make publicly available a written description of such action. An interested party may appeal a reconsideration decision to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The CMS shall appoint a Medicare Reviews and Appeals Ombudsman to carry out specified duties with regard to LCDs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Securing and Heightening the Integrity of our Elections and Lawful Democracy Act This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to include among the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) responsibilities relating to intelligence and analysis and infrastructure protection the coordination of cybersecurity efforts between DHS and political campaign committees in order to: develop a program to update computer security at political campaign committees, share information on cybersecurity risks with such committees, provide guest lecturer programs in which professional computer security experts instruct campaign professionals on how best to defend against cybersecurity risks, and establish an Election Security Board of Advisors to make recommendations about securing elections against cybersecurity risks.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
E-Security Fellows Act This bill directs the Election Assistance Commission to establish and operate the E-Security Fellows Program to provide training on best practices for election cybersecurity to individuals working on political campaigns.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
American Hope Act of 2017 This bill amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to allow a state to extend higher-education benefits to state residents regardless of whether they are lawfully present in the United States. In addition, the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to cancel the removal, and adjust the status, of certain residents who entered the United States as children prior to 2017. An individual whose status has been so adjusted shall be considered to have obtained conditional permanent-resident status, valid for a period of eight years and subject to termination on the basis of specified deportable conduct. In order for an individual's conditional status to become permanent, the individual must timely file with DHS a petition indicating, among other specified information, that the individual has maintained conditional permanent-resident status for at least three years. Any period of time in which the individual was granted deferred action pursuant to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy shall count toward this three-year period. Information furnished by an individual in such a petition may not be used by an officer or employee of the United States to initiate removal proceedings. The bill also: (1) allows DHS to establish a competitive grant program for the provision of nonprofit assistance to eligible applicants for conditional permanent-resident status; (2) establishes the Presidential Award for Business Leadership in Promoting American Citizenship; (3) allows the Department of Education to develop an open-source, electronic English-learning program; (4) specifies requirements related to federal higher-education assistance for individuals with conditional permanent-resident status; and (5) requires the Government Accountability Office to report on specified data related to the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Addiction Recovery for Rural Communities Act This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide financial assistance for the construction of facilities and systems in rural areas for substance-use disorder services. In selecting recipients of loans and grants to establish community facilities, USDA must give priority to developers of facilities that: (1) provide substance use disorder prevention, treatment, or recovery services; and (2) employ staff with expertise and training in identifying and treating individuals with substance-use disorders. In providing grants to establish individual and family health education programs, USDA must give priority to entities intending to use the funds for substance-use disorder education, treatment, and prevention.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Home Visiting Works Act of 2017 This bill reauthorizes through FY2022 the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration. In addition, the bill increases, from 3% to 6%, the percentage of program funds set aside for Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Finally, the bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to exempt the program from sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Awareness Month. (PCOS is caused by a hormone imbalance. Symptoms can include infertility, weight gain, excess hair growth, and acne.) Recognizes the need for further research, improved treatment and care options, and a cure for PCOS. Acknowledges the struggles affecting all women and girls afflicted with PCOS.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Rightsizing Pension Premiums Act of 2017 This bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to: (1) modify the formula that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) uses to calculate the funded percentage of single-employer pension plans, and (2) reduce single-employer PBGC premiums for pension plans that are sponsored by certain small employers or have specified PBGC funded percentages. The bill also prohibits the budget effects of provisions that change PBGC premiums from being counted for the purposes of determining budget points of order for legislation in the House or the Senate. (The PBGC is a federal agency that insures the benefits of private sector, defined benefit pension plans. The PBGC is financed by insurance premiums paid by sponsors of the plans, investment income, assets from pension plans taken over by the PBGC, and recoveries from the companies formerly responsible for the plans.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2017
Strong Families Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow certain employers a business-related tax credit for a specified percentage (not to exceed 25%) of the amount of wages paid to their employees during any period (not exceeding 12 weeks) in which such employees are on family and medical leave, (2) limit the allowable amount of such credit with respect to any employee to the product of the normal hourly wage rate of such employee for each hour (or fraction thereof) of actual services performed for the employer and the number of hours (or fraction thereof) for which family and medical leave is taken, and (3) terminate such credit five years after the enactment of this bill. The Government Accountability Office shall complete a study on the effectiveness of the tax credit for paid family and medical leave.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
African Growth and Opportunity Act and Millennium Challenge Act Modernization Act or the AGOA and MCA Modernization Act This bill directs the President to establish a website for the collection and dissemination of information regarding the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The Department of State is urged to promote the use by eligible sub-Saharan African countries of the benefits available under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The President is urged to: facilitate trans-boundary trade among eligible sub-Saharan African countries; provide training for business and government trade officials on accessing AGOA benefits; provide capacity building for African entrepreneurs and trade associations on production strategies, quality standards, and market development; provide capacity building training to promote product diversification and value-added processing; and provide capacity building and technical assistance funding to help African businesses and institutions comply with U.S. counter-terrorism policies. The Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 is amended to permit an eligible country that has entered into a Millennium Challenge Compact to enter into one additional compact under specified conditions. The bill establishes, beginning with FY2013, new assistance criteria for a low-income or a lower middle income candidate country eligible to enter into a Millennium Challenge Compact with the United States. The Millennium Challenge Corporation shall: (1) before selecting a compact country, provide the Board of Directors with information regarding the country's treatment of civil society; and (2) submit an assessment of the feasibility of developing partnerships at the sub national level within candidate countries.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Modernization of Medical Records Access for Veterans Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out in at least one Veterans Integrated Services Network a pilot program for at least a 12-month period during which veterans enrolled in the VA's patient enrollment system will use a portable medical records storage system to store and share with VA health care providers and community health care providers records of their individual medical histories. The VA shall seek to enter into a contract, using competitive procedures, with an appropriate entity to furnish such storage system. The bill specifies system requirements, including: (1) the capability to store at least four gigabytes of electronic health records on a physical device no larger than a credit card, and (2) the capability to be used by substantially all electronic health records systems certified by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT on or before January 1, 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Opioid and Heroin Abuse Crisis Investment Act of 2017 This bill amends the 21st Century Cures Act to make appropriations for FY2019-FY2023 for state grants to address the opioid abuse crisis. States receiving a grant must report on substance abuse services provided to underserved populations, including Native Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2017
Furthering Access to Coordinated Treatment for Seniors Act of 2017 or the FACTS Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow Medicare prescription drug plan (PDP) sponsors to access certain Medicare claims data. Specifically, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must establish a process for PDP sponsors to request, beginning in plan year 2020, standardized extracts of claims data for Medicare hospital and medical services. PDP sponsors may use such data: (1) to optimize therapeutic outcomes through improved medication use, (2) to improve care coordination so as to prevent adverse health outcomes, or (3) for any other purpose determined appropriate by the CMS. PDP sponsors may not, however, use such data: (1) to inform coverage determinations; (2) to conduct retroactive reviews of medically accepted indications determinations; (3) to direct enrollment changes; (4) to inform marketing of benefits; or (5) for certain other purposes affecting the security of personal health information, as determined by the CMS.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2017
Dream Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to cancel removal and grant lawful permanent resident status on a conditional basis to an alien who is inadmissible or deportable or is in temporary protected status who: (1) has been continuously physically present in the United States for four years preceding this bill's enactment; (2) was younger than 18 years of age on the initial date of U.S. entry; (3) is not inadmissible on criminal, security, terrorism, or other grounds; (4) has not participated in persecution; (5) has not been convicted of specified federal or state offenses; and (6) has fulfilled specified educational requirements. DHS shall cancel the removal of, and adjust to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence on a conditional basis, an alien who was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status unless the alien has engaged in conduct that would make the alien ineligible for DACA. DHS may not: (1) grant conditional permanent resident status without the submission of biometric and background data, and completion of background and medical checks; and (2) disclose or use information provided in applications filed under this bill or in DACA requests for immigration enforcement purposes. The bill prescribes the conditions under which DHS: (1) may terminate a person's conditional permanent resident status, and (2) shall adjust a person's conditional status to permanent resident status. The bill: (1) sets forth documentation requirements for establishing DACA eligibility, and (2) repeals the denial of an unlawful alien's eligibility for higher education benefits based on state residence.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2017
Stop Infant Mortality And Recidivism Reduction Act of 2017 or the SIMARRA Act This bill directs the Bureau of Prisons to establish a pilot program to allow incarcerated women who give birth and children born during such incarceration to reside together in a separate prison housing unit. It sets forth inmate eligibility criteria and program participation requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2017
Megan Rondini Act This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services to designate a hospital as a "SAFE-ready facility" if the hospital: (1) employs or contracts with a sexual-assault forensic examiner, or (2) uses a telemedicine system of such examiners. Subject to civil penalties, and as a condition of participation in the Medicare program, a hospital that has an emergency department but is not designated as a SAFE-ready facility must meet certain requirements. Specifically, with respect to an individual who comes to the hospital's emergency department for treatment relating to sexual assault, the hospital must (regardless of whether the individual is eligible for Medicare): inform the individual that the hospital is not a SAFE-ready facility; provide the name and location of the nearest SAFE-ready facility; inform the individual that the individual may elect either to receive treatment at the hospital or to be stabilized and transferred to the nearest SAFE-ready facility; and if the individual elects to be transferred, obtain the individual's written consent for the transfer, contact the nearest SAFE-ready facility to confirm that a sexual-assault forensic examiner or telemedicine system is available, and stabilize and transfer the individual. In addition, a hospital with an emergency department must develop and implement a plan to train relevant personnel on sexual-assault forensic-evidence collection.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2017
Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education Extension Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to extend and expand funding through FY2020 for graduate medical education programs at teaching centers (which train medical residents in primary care specialties). The bill allows funds to be used for maintaining, expanding, and establishing graduate medical residency programs.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2017
Ensuring Access to Air Ambulance Services Act of 2017 This bill makes a series of changes relating to payment of air ambulance services under Medicare, including by establishing certain cost-reporting requirements for providers.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Strengthening Taxpayer Rights Act of 2017 This bill modifies requirements for the preparation of tax returns and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) procedures for the collection of taxes. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: apply tax preparer penalties for the understatement of a taxpayer's liability and other violations to other submissions to the IRS, in addition to tax returns or refund claims; increase tax preparer penalties for gross misconduct and other violations; require identifying numbers to be included for all submissions to the IRS by tax return preparers (limited to tax returns or refund claims under current law); limit the disclosure of taxpayer information to the express purpose for which the taxpayer granted consent; provide for de novo review by the Tax Court of IRS innocent spouse relief determinations; specify that the determination of whether or not a debt has been discharged may not be based solely on a nonpayment period; and restrict the authority of the IRS to use a levy after the collection period has expired. The bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to reduce from seven years to two years the period that a tax lien may appear on a taxpayer's credit report.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Affirms U.S. leadership and commitment to improving access to quality education for the poorest and most marginalized children and youth worldwide. Supports the mission and goals of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) to mobilize global and national efforts to contribute to the achievement of equitable, quality education and learning. Recognizes that U.S. investments in bilateral basic education are complemented by GPE's education systems approach and convening authority. Encourages continued commitment and investments by the U.S. government, international donors, private foundations, and private sector donors through the GPE to the global effort to promote children and youth attending school.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2017
Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to allow the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) to subject a bank holding company to enhanced supervision if: (1) the company has been identified as a global systemically important company; or (2) the risk of the company's financial distress, or the nature of the company's activities, could pose a threat to the financial stability of the United States. Currently, companies are subject to this type of oversight if they possess at least $50 billion in assets or are a nonbank financial company under the FRB's supervision. The Financial Stability Oversight Council must approve of any metrics used by the FRB in determining by regulation that a category of bank holding companies is subject to enhanced supervision. Under this bill, companies subject to enhanced supervision may be required to limit mergers and acquisitions, restrict products offered, or maintain a certain debt ratio. The FRB must publish the list of companies that have been identified as requiring enhanced supervision.