United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2018
Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program Authorization Act of 2018 This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide statutory authority for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program (BITMAP). That program was established to address and reduce national security, border security, and terrorist threats before such threats reach the international border of the United States. In carrying out BITMAP operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement must: (1) coordinate foreign and U.S. officials to facilitate the sharing of biometric and biographic information of foreign nationals to identify and screen such nationals for terrorism and threats to national or border security; (2) provide capabilities, including training and equipment, to collect and compare biometric and biographic identification data of foreign nationals to protect against national security, border security, or terrorist threats and illegal entries; and (3) ensure that such data are incorporated into appropriate government databases. Before carrying out BITMAP operations in a foreign country, DHS must enter into an agreement with the government of such country that outlines such operations and must provide the congressional homeland security committees with a copy of the agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2018
TSA Opportunities to Pursue Expanded Networks for Business Act or the TSA OPEN for Business Act . This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to submit to Congress a strategy to diversify the technology stakeholder marketplace that the TSA relies upon to acquire security screening technologies, including by increased participation of small business innovators.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2018
Protect Election Systems from Foreign Control Act This bill amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require state and local governments to ensure that vendors who provide, support, or maintain any component of a voting system used in a federal election are solely owned and controlled by citizens, unless the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grants the vendor a waiver. Vendors must disclose any sourcing of parts from outside the United States or material changes in ownership or control. The Federal Election Commission and DHS shall publish cybersecurity best practices for vendors. Voting systems and vendor information technology infrastructure must be developed and maintained in a manner consistent with the best practices. Vendors must report suspected security incidents.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2018
Allies Countering Extremism Act or the ACE Act This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 regarding the promoting antiterrorism through the international cooperation program to allow France and Germany to be included as foreign partners. The bill authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Department of State and appropriate federal officials, to enter into cooperative activities with foreign partners to strengthen efforts relating to countering violent extremism. Such activities may include: (1) efforts aimed at improving counter-radicalization and counter-messaging methods, and (2) recommendations for incorporating any new findings into national policies for countering violent extremism.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2018
Family Unity Rights and Protection Act This bill requires the Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, State, and Defense to ensure that alien children (i.e., children under the age of 18 removed from their parents or legal guardians at or near a port of entry or within 100 miles of the U.S. border pursuant to a zero tolerance policy for criminal illegal reentry) are reunited at the earliest possible date with their parents and guardians from whom they were separated. It also requires notification of parents and guardians of procedures for reuniting with such children and for the location of such children. The bill requires the creation of an electronic registry for information used to locate such alien children and their parents and guardians. The information in such registry may only be used for locating such children and may not be used in any criminal prosecution or other immigration proceeding. The bill also sets forth conditions on the termination of parental rights in immigration proceedings and requires the consolidation of asylum and immigration proceedings involving alien children.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2018
PreCheck is PreCheck Act of 2018 This bill directs the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to ensure that only travelers who are members of a trusted traveler program are permitted to use TSA PreCheck security screening lanes at TSA checkpoints. Any traveler under the age of 12 or over the age of 75 who is not a member of a trusted traveler program shall be permitted to utilize PreCheck security screening lanes at TSA checkpoints when traveling on the same reservation as a member of a trusted traveler program. The TSA shall implement a risk modified screening protocol for lanes other than designated TSA PreCheck security screening lanes at TSA checkpoints to further segment passengers based on risk. Only low-risk passengers shall be eligible to undergo risk modified screening at TSA checkpoints. The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security must assess whether there has been a systematic pattern of violations of the use of TSA PreCheck security screening lanes at TSA checkpoints during the previous calendar year. The TSA shall complete the implementation of a long-term strategy to increase enrollment in the TSA PreCheck Program and expand the total population of members of trusted traveler programs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2018
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights are human rights and protected by the U.S. Constitution; (2) LGBTQ Pride Month should be celebrated; and (3) all Americans should be treated equally regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2018
Family Unity Rights and Protection Act This bill requires the Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, State, and Defense to ensure that alien children (i.e., children under the age of 18 removed from their parents or legal guardians at or near a port of entry or within 100 miles of the U.S. border pursuant to a zero tolerance policy for criminal illegal reentry) are reunited at the earliest possible date with their parents and guardians from whom they were separated. It also requires notification of parents and guardians of procedures for reuniting with such children and for the location of such children. The bill requires the creation of an electronic registry for information used to locate such alien children and their parents and guardians. The information in such registry may only be used for locating such children and may not be used in any criminal prosecution or other immigration proceeding. The bill also sets forth conditions on the termination of parental rights in immigration proceedings and requires the consolidation of asylum and immigration proceedings involving alien children.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2018
Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2018 or the DISCLOSE Act of 2018 This bill expands the ban on election contributions by foreign nationals to include corporations subject to specified levels of ownership or control by foreign nationals. The bill also expands (1) reporting requirements related to campaign contributions, and (2) disclosure requirements related to the funding sources of political advertisements.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2018
Central America Family Protection and Reunification Act This bill states that it shall be: (1) U.S. policy to not separate immigrant families as a deterrent and to reunite families that were separated due to the criminal prosecution of parents for illegal entry, and (2) Department of State policy to prioritize supporting governments and citizens to facilitate reunification of such families. The State Department shall submit to Congress: reports concerning gender-based violence in the Northern Triangle (the region encompassing Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador); reports concerning gang and organized-crime related violence in the Northern Triangle; strategies to use portions of funds for the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America to combat gender-based violence in the Northern Triangle, as well as to address the damage to the health and well-being of children and caregivers caused by separating children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. The State Department shall establish an office to study serious crimes committed against aliens who were removed from the United States and against U.S. citizens who left the United States because of having an alien parent who was removed from the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2018
Keep Families Together Act This bill prohibits an agent or contractor of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, or the Department of Health and Human Services from removing a child who is under the age of 18 and has no permanent immigration status from his or her parent or legal guardian at or near the port of entry or within 100 miles of the U.S. border unless: an authorized state court determines that it is in the child's best interests to be removed; a state or county child welfare official with expertise in child trauma and development determines that it is in the child's best interests to be removed because of abuse or neglect; or the Chief Patrol Agent or the Area Port Director authorizes separation based on a documented finding that the child is a trafficking victim or is at significant risk of becoming a victim, a strong likelihood exists that the adult is not the parent or legal guardian, or the child is in danger of abuse or neglect. A child may not be removed from a parent or guardian unless an independent licensed child welfare expert authorizes the separation within 48 hours of such removal. An agency may not remove a child from a parent or legal guardian solely for the policy goals of deterring migration to the United States or of promoting immigration law compliance. The bill sets forth presumptions: (1) in favor of family and sibling unity and parental rights, and (2) that detention is not in the best interests of families and children. The bill limits the prosecution of asylum seekers.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2018
Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act This bill specifies that individuals with metastatic breast cancer are not subject to certain waiting periods for disability insurance benefits under the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program and related Medicare coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2018
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 51 Willow Street in Lynn, Massachusetts, as the "Thomas P. Costin, Jr. Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2018
Scientific Assistance for Very Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales Act of 2018 or the SAVE Right Whales Act This bill requires the Department of Commerce to provide financial assistance for the conservation of North Atlantic right whales ( Eubalaena glacialis ).
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2018
International Human Rights Defense Act of 2018 This bill establishes in the Department of State a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex) Peoples who shall serve as the principal State Department advisor regarding human rights for LGBTI people and represent the United States in diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights of LGBTI people. The special envoy shall periodically provide Congress with a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTI people. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development may provide assistance to prevent and respond to such activities against LGBTI people. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended to require that annual country reports on human rights practices include information on criminalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2018
Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Act of 2018 This bill directs the Department of State to: (1) establish and monitor the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership to coordinate U.S. counterterrorism, military, and law enforcement programs and activities in the Sahel, Maghreb, and adjacent regions of Africa; (2) submit a related counterterrorism strategy to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 2018
Enhancing the Strength and Capacity of America's Primary Evacuation Routes Act or the ESCAPE Act This bill directs the Department of Transportation to establish a competitive grant program to provide grants for resilience projects that strengthen and protect evacuation routes that are essential for providing and supporting mass evacuations caused by emergency events. The bill defines "resilience project" to mean a project: (1) with the ability to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to changing conditions and withstand, respond to, and recover rapidly from disruptions; and (2) designed and built to address current and future vulnerabilities to an evacuation route.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2018
Women Veterans Access to Quality Care Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) establish standards to ensure that all VA medical facilities have the structural characteristics necessary to adequately meet the gender-specific health care needs of veterans at such facilities, including privacy, safety, and dignity; (2) integrate such standards into its prioritization methodology with respect to requests for funding major medical facility projects and major medical facility leases; and (3) report on such standards, including regarding the facilities that fail to meet such standards and the costs of projects and leases required to meet them. The VA shall: (1) establish policies for environment of care inspections at VA medical centers, which shall include an alignment of inspection requirements with the women's health handbook of the Veterans Health Administration; and (2) certify that such policies have been finalized and disseminated to such centers. The VA shall: (1) use health outcomes for women veterans furnished health care by the the VA in evaluating the performance of VA medical center directors, (2) publish on its website information on such performance and on health outcomes for women veterans for each VA medical facility, (3) ensure that every VA medical center has a full-time obstetrician-gynecologist, and (4) carry out a pilot program to increase the number of residency program positions and graduate medical education positions for obstetrician-gynecologists at VA medical facilities in at least three Veterans Integrated Service Networks. The VA must develop procedures to share information that includes military service and separation data, personal email addresses and telephone numbers, and mailing addresses of veterans with state veterans agencies in electronic format as a means of facilitating the furnishing of assistance and benefits to such veterans. A veteran may elect to prevent his or her information from being shared. The bill requires the VA to carry out an examination of whether VA medical centers are able to meet the health care needs of women veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2018
Naloxone Guidelines Act of 2018 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidelines for prescribing an opioid overdose reversal drug (e.g., naloxone). The guidelines must address issues relating to the distribution, education, and safety of opioid overdose reversal drugs, including: co-prescription with an opioid; safe dosages; prescription for non-patients; and standing orders (i.e., orders that allow dispensing without a prescription).
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2018
Unexploded Ordnance Removal Act This bill directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop a strategy for removing unexploded ordnance in Syria and Iraq that includes an assessment of areas of ordnance concentration, proximate schools, hospitals, or civil-service buildings and a time line for the strategy's implementation. DOD may coordinate with foreign countries and multilateral institutions in developing and implementing the strategy.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2018
Deployed Civilian Parity Act This bill states that the terms governing the termination of residential or motor vehicle leases and telephone service contracts with respect to servicemembers who receive military orders shall apply in the same manner and to the same extent to civilian employees of combat support agencies who are assigned to work in a combat theater of operations for a period of 120 days or more.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2018
Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2018 or the BURMA Act of 2018 This bill provides humanitarian assistance for Burma (Myanmar) and Bangladesh and imposes sanctions on Burmese military or security officials responsible for serious human rights abuses. The bill provides humanitarian assistance for Burma, Bangladesh, and the surrounding region, including assistance for the Rohingya minority. The Department of State, the Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Agency for International Development shall jointly submit to Congress a strategy for promoting economic growth in Burma.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2018
Kittens In Traumatic Testing Ends Now Act of 2018 or the KITTEN Act of 2018 This bill amends the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit the Department of Agriculture from using cats in experiments that may cause pain or stress, unless the pain or stress is a result of a physical exam or training program.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2018
Fighting Medicare Fraud Act of 2018 This bill expands the authority of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to exclude from participation in federal health programs certain affiliates of a sanctioned entity. (A "sanctioned entity" is one that has been convicted of one of several specified crimes or excluded from participation under either Medicare or a state health care program.) In addition, the bill requires Medicare Advantage organizations to report instances of fraud or abuse to the CMS within 60 days.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2018
Burn Pits Accountability Act This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) and the military departments to evaluate whether each member of the Armed Forces has been (1) based or stationed where an open air burn pit was used to dispose of waste, or (2) exposed to toxic airborne chemicals. Members located where an open burn pit was used or exposed to toxic airborne chemicals must be enrolled in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, unless the member elects not to enroll. The evaluations must be included in periodic health assessments, physical exams conducted immediately prior to separation from active duty, and deployment assessments. DOD must share the results of the evaluations with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2018
Welcomes the U.S.-North Korea summit which follows the South Korea-North Korea summit on April 27. Urges the President, the Supreme Leader of North Korea, and regional leaders to engage diplomatically to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2018
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to enter into an agreement with the city of Vallejo, California, for the transfer to the VA of Mare Island Naval Cemetery in Vallejo, California, to be maintained as a national shrine.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2018
Comprehensive Addiction Resources Emergency Act of 2018 This bill establishes a series of grant programs to assist localities with addressing the opioid epidemic, such as through prevention and treatment services, training centers, and research activities.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2018
Disabled Access Credit Expansion Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for expenditures by an eligible small business to provide access to disabled individuals, to: (1) increase from $10,250 to $20,500 the annual dollar limitation for eligible access expenditures, (2) require the $20,500 limit to be adjusted for inflation after 2018, and (3) increase from $1 million to $2.5 million the gross receipts limitation for an eligible small business.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2018
Recognizes Estonia's, Latvia's, and Lithuania's 100th anniversary of independence, the 27th anniversary of their independence from the Soviet Union, and their political, economic, social, and military progress. Reiterates support for the European Deterrence Initiative as a means to enhance deterrence and increase military capabilities on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's eastern flank.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2018
Reaffirms that the trade and investment partnership between the United States and the European Union is critical to the economic and national security of the United States. Urges the President to prioritize the principles of fair trade in commercial relationships and to immediately issue a permanent exemption from steel and aluminum import tariffs for the European Union.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2018
Student Non-Discrimination Act of 2018 This bill prohibits discrimination, under a federally assisted program, against public school students on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or that of their associates. The bill authorizes federal departments and agencies to terminate the educational assistance of recipients found to be violating this prohibition. An aggrieved individual may assert a violation of this bill in a judicial proceeding and recover reasonable attorney's fees.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2018
Nuclear Cooperation Reform Act of 2018 This bill imposes additional requirements for Congressional approval of nuclear cooperation agreements with foreign countries, such as a requirement for the foreign country to have acceded to various international agreements relating to weapons development and proliferation.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2018
Global Fragility and Violence Reduction Act of 2018 This bill directs the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to: (1) establish the Global Initiative to Reduce Fragility and Violence, related to reducing and addressing the causes of violence, violent conflict, and fragility, with a focus on 10 pilot countries to be determined by USAID; and (2) develop and submit to Congress an initial interagency implementing strategy which shall include individual pilot country plans. The bill provides for initiative and pilot plan updates. The Government Accountability Office shall review U.S. government activities in each pilot country.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2018
Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act This bill authorizes the Department of the Interior to award offshore wind career training grants to eligible entities (i.e., institutions of higher education or labor organizations) to develop, offer, or improve educational or career training programs that provide skills that are useful for employment in the offshore wind industry.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2018
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act This bill reaffirms the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe reservation as trust land in Massachusetts. In addition, the bill requires actions, including actions pending in federal court, relating to the land to be dismissed.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2018
Directing Implementation of Sanctions and Accountability for Russian Mischief Act or the DISARM Act This bill directs the President to impose property-blocking and U.S. entry sanctions against certain senior Russian foreign political figures or oligarchs and parastatal entities (and associated individuals) not currently subject to sanctions.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2018
Tip Income Protection (TIP) Act of 2018 This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 with respect to the definition of wage to provide that except in the case of the pooling of tips, all tips received by any employee, including an employee that is not a tipped employee, shall be the property of, and retained by, the employee, including in the case of an employer that pays a tipped employee a cash wage that equals or exceeds the minimum wage.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2018
Keeping Guns from High-Risk Individuals Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to expand the categories of prohibited persons (i.e., persons who are prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm or ammunition) to include the following: (1) persons convicted of a crime of violence in the most recent 10-year period; (2) persons under age 25 who have been adjudicated as having committed an offense that would have been a crime of violence if committed by an adult; (3) persons convicted, during a consecutive 3-year period in the most recent 10-year period, of two separate offenses involving drug or alcohol possession or distribution; and (4) persons convicted of stalking.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2018
Undo Sabotage and Expand Affordability of Health Insurance Act of 2018 This bill makes a series of changes relating to health insurance coverage, costs, and funding mechanisms. Among other things, the bill expands requirements relating to coverage of preexisting conditions to include short-term, limited-duration insurance and also establishes a national reinsurance program.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2018
Firearm Safety Act of 2018 This bill amends the Consumer Product Safety Act to allow the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue safety standards for firearms and firearm components.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2018
This bill requires the Surgeon General to report annually to Congress on the effects of gun violence on public health and the status of actions taken to address those effects.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2018
United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018 This bill extends Military Financing Program grants for Israel through FY2023. The Department of Defense shall conduct a joint assessment with Israel regarding: (1) precision guided munitions needed by Israel in a sustained armed confrontation with Hezbollah and other armed groups and terrorist organizations, and (2) related U.S. assistance and resupply planning. The President may utilize the Special Defense Acquisition Fund to transfer precision guided munitions and related defense articles and services to reserve stocks for Israel. Authorities for loan guarantees and the war reserves stockpile for Israel are extended through FY2023. The Department of Homeland Security shall establish a seven-year grant program with Israel to support: (1) cybersecurity research and development, and (2) commercialization of cybersecurity technology. The U.S. Agency for International Development may enter into memoranda of understanding with Israel to advance common goals on energy, agriculture and food security, democracy, economic growth, education, and health. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shall continue to work with the Israel Space Agency to pursue peaceful space exploration and science initiatives. The President may enter into a cooperative project agreement with Israel to carry out research and joint production of defense articles and services to detect and destroy unmanned aerial vehicles (i.e., drones) that threaten the United States or Israel. The bill states that it is U.S. policy to ensure that Israel maintains its qualitative military edge.
![Official portrait of Rep. Keating, William R. [D-MA-9]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/k000375_200.jpg)