United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2017
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution prohibits construction of the Constitution as forbidding Congress or the states from: (1) imposing reasonable content-neutral limitations on private campaign contributions or independent election expenditures; or (2) enacting systems of public campaign financing, including those designed to restrict the influence of private wealth by offsetting campaign spending or independent expenditures with increased public funding.
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
100 by '50 Act This bill calls for the United States to aggressively reduce carbon pollution as rapidly as practicable and achieve 100% clean and renewable energy by 2050. It provides financial support (e.g., grant programs and loans) for clean and renewable energy, including support for affordable zero-emission vehicle-based public transportation, solar energy, and energy efficiency retrofits in homes. The bill provides job training, unemployment compensation, health benefits, and pension and other benefits and services to adversely affected workers employed in the fossil fuel energy sector. The bill amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to create annual caps on fossil fuel electricity beginning in 2022 and ending in 2050 when it is phased out. The Department of Energy (DOE) must establish a grant program for energy storage and dispatchable energy technologies. The bill provides financial incentives (e.g., tax credits and grants) for clean and renewable energy, energy efficiency improvements, and energy storage. The bill amends the Clean Air Act to establish a zero-emission vehicle standard. In addition, it establishes: (1) a carbon fee to transition the commercial aviation, maritime transportation, and rail sectors away from fossil fuel usage; (2) grant programs for zero-emission vehicles; (3) a national highway decarbonization grant program; and (4) tax credits for electric vehicles, hybrid trucks, biofuels, and alternative fuels. DOE must also establish a zero-emission residential and commercial heating grant program. The bill: (1) terminates specified fossil fuel subsidies, and (2) creates a climate duty for carbon-intensive products imported from other countries. The Department of the Treasury must issue climate bonds. The proceeds of the bonds must be deposited in the Climate Fund, which may be used to carry out the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2017
Code Like a Girl Act This bill directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to award competitive grants to institutions of higher education, local educational agencies, or nonprofit organizations to accelerate research efforts to increase understanding of the factors that contribute to the willingness or unwillingness of girls under the age of 11 to participate in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, including computer science) activities. The NSF shall also award competitive grants to such institutions and organizations to enter into partnerships with local educational agencies to develop and evaluate interventions in pre-K and elementary school classrooms that seek to increase participation by such girls in computer science activities. The NSF must: (1) ensure that the materials developed under a program that are demonstrated as being effective in achieving grant goals are made available free of charge to the public on an Internet website, (2) convene an annual meeting of participating partnerships to foster greater national collaboration, and (3) furnish such partnerships with technical assistance in meeting grant program requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2017
Bikeshare Transit Act of 2017 This bill makes a bikeshare project eligible to be an associated transit improvement project, including one carried out to facilitate a bicycle rental operation that makes bicycles available for public transportation, allows riders to pick up and drop off bicycles, serves a defined geographic area, and facilitates the transit of individuals between various points in the area. Public transportation capital projects shall include any project for the acquisition or replacement of bicycles and related equipment, including technology and vehicles needed to restock stations, and the construction of bicycle-related facilities to facilitate a bikeshare project. The bill also makes eligible for funds under the congestion mitigation air quality improvement program projects or programs that reduce demand for roads through bikesharing.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2017
Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2017 This bill modifies the Supplemental Security Income benefits program, including by raising the asset limit and otherwise revising provisions related to program eligibility.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2017
Help Our Service Members and Citizens Abroad Vote Act This bill modifies provisions relating to the requirement that states transmit absentee ballots to absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters by no later than 45 days before a federal election. Specifically, the bill (1) requires each state to report on the availability, transmission, and receipt of such absentee ballots; and (2) repeals the state hardship exemption.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2017
Declares that the House of Representatives has no confidence that President Trump is faithfully executing the office of President. Calls for President Trump to: release his tax returns; place his private business assets in a blind trust or divest from them; donate to the U.S. Treasury any personal profit from foreign patronage of hotels in which he has an ownership interest; refrain from taking any action that results in taxpayer money being spent on goods or services from businesses in which he has an ownership interest; seek congressional consent for any emoluments he has received from foreign countries; refrain from using Twitter inappropriately; support the First Amendment, support freedom of the press, refrain from calling reporting "fake news," refrain from posting video of himself wrestling with a press logo, and stop limiting full electronic press access to White House press briefings; promote democracy, freedom of the press, and human rights in foreign policy; unequivocally acknowledge that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and work to protect our electoral process from future foreign interference; refuse any offer to form a cybersecurity unit with the Russian government to protect the United States from election hacking; respect the independence of our nation's judicial branch; respect Members of Congress and refrain from using derogatory nicknames for them; and conduct foreign policy in a manner that reflects the U.S. traditional role as leader of the free world.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2017
Sustainable, Affordable, Fair, and Efficient (SAFE) National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2017 This bill amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to extend through FY2023 the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). NFIP policy coverage limits for residential and nonresidential buildings are increased. NFIP premiums, surcharges, and fees may not be increased by more than 10% each year. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must provide: (1) loans for mitigation projects, and (2) other financial assistance to qualified households for NFIP premium payments and mitigation projects. The limitation on Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) coverage (offered by NFIP to cover the cost of flood mitigation measures on certain structures) is increased to $100,000 and ICC eligibility is expanded. This bill prevents the Department of the Treasury from charging interest to FEMA on amounts borrowed for NFIP through FY2023. This bill directs FEMA to revise: (1) directives related to the Write Your Own program, (2) specified elements of the claims process, (3) the appeals process for claims and flood map determinations, and (4) certain flood risk zones. FEMA must study business interruption coverage and participation rates in specified flood zones. This bill also makes changes to: (1) FEMA's mitigation assistance programs, (2) the usage and collection of specified surcharges and fees, (3) the scope of coverage available under NFIP, (4) requirements of NFIP engineers and adjusters, and (5) regulations relating to the disclosure of flood risks on rental property. This bill amends the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 to reauthorize through FY2023 the National Flood Mapping Program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2017
Know Your Oil Act This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to issue regulations that require companies that extract, refine, or transport oil or refined products to disclose oil data, including the amounts and sources of greenhouse gas emitted during the oil extraction, refining, and combustion process. DOE must consult with federal agencies and state and tribal governments to carry out this bill. Additionally, DOE must publicly disclose and maintain the data it collects on greenhouse gas emissions and oil field resources.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
Water and Energy Sustainability through Technology Act This bill addresses the link between energy and water systems (energy-water nexus), including: (1) the water needed to produce energy; (2) the energy needed to transport, reclaim, treat, store, and reuse water and wastewater; (3) the energy available in organic wastewaters and wet waste streams (e.g., methane); and (4) the waste heat available in industrial process and cooling water discharges, steam system condensate and cooling water, and thermoelectric cooling water discharge. The bill provides support for increasing: the availability of energy-water nexus data about surface water, groundwater, or recycled water; the use of energy-water nexus technology; the energy efficiency of certain water systems; the use of water efficiency methods and products; water quality; the recharge of groundwater; the ability of water systems to address climate-related impacts on water quality or quantity; and the infrastructure of water and wastewater systems. In addition, the bill establishes a United States-Israel Water Cooperation Working Group to seek to strengthen dialogue between the United States and Israel in order to: (1) improve the use of water resources through water-saving technologies and practices; (2) counter water shortages; (3) modernize pipeline and other applicable infrastructure; and (4) pursue best practices in drip irrigation, water recycling, and desalination. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate certain tax incentives related to the extraction of oil, gas, or certain minerals.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
President John F. Kennedy Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 silver coins in commemoration of President John F. Kennedy. The bill requires all sales of such coins to include a surcharge of $10 per coin, which shall be paid by Treasury to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation to support the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2017
LGBT 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 establish data standards that require: a determination of which existing data sets exclude information about sexual orientation and gender identity; an identification, and a use, of appropriate methods to include questions on sexual orientation and gender identity in surveys that facilitate categorization and voluntary participation and that preserve privacy and confidentiality; and a routine assessment of needed changes in survey methods related to asking such questions. Agencies that publish reports relying on survey demographic data must include information on sexual orientation and gender identity. Individuals shall not be: (1) required by this bill to disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity to an agency; or (2) subjected to fines or penalties for refusing to answer, or providing a false answer to, any survey question regarding gender identity or sexual orientation. Nothing in this bill shall be construed to permit the use of such collected information in a manner that would adversely affect an individual.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2017
Requests the President and directs the U.S. Attorney General to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of any document or communication in their possession that refers or relates to: the firing of James B. Comey as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the participation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions in Comey's removal, the scope or application of Sessions's recusal from investigations of matters related to the presidential campaign and the application of such recusal to Comey's removal, the scope or application of executive privilege as applied to Sessions's testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on June 13, 2017, President Trump's Twitter statement on May 12, 2017, that "James Comey better hope that there are no tapes of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!", any system used by the White House to secretly record conversations between the President and Comey, and any contemporaneous account of meetings between such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2017
Water Advanced Technologies for Efficient Resource Use Act of 2017 This bill codifies the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) WaterSense program, which identifies, labels, and promotes water efficient products, buildings, landscapes, and services. This bill also establishes a program to provide financial incentives for consumers to purchase and install residential water efficient products and services labeled under the WaterSense program. In order to meet procurement requirements for a water consuming product or service, federal agencies must purchase a WaterSense product or service, or a Federal Energy Management Program designated product. Agencies do not have to procure those products or services if they are not cost-effective, or not reasonably available. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of individual taxpayers any amount received under an incentive program for the purchase and installation of residential water efficient products and services.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2017
Supporting Working Moms Act of 2017 This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to extend the requirement that certain employers provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child to bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity employees or outside salesmen who are exempt from federal labor laws that limit the number of hours in a workweek.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2017
Second Chance for Students Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify federal student aid eligibility for a student who is convicted of a drug offense involving marijuana possession. Under current law, a drug offense conviction involving the sale or possession of a controlled substance triggers a suspension of federal student aid eligibility for a specified period of time. This bill allows a student who is convicted of a drug offense involving marijuana possession, without the intent to distribute, to resume or retain federal student aid eligibility while completing a drug rehabilitation program.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2017 This bill amends various provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, including by: (1) expanding the types of actions that would justify a court retaining jurisdiction to prevent a state or political subdivision from using new devices to limit the right to vote; and (2) imposing notice requirements on a state or political subdivision that makes changes to voting procedures, polling-place resources, or district boundaries. The bill also changes the calculation for determining whether a state or political subdivision is subject to preclearance requirements (i.e., requirements for certain jurisdictions to receive preapproval from the Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before making legal changes that would affect voting rights).
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Do No Harm Act This bill makes the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) inapplicable to federal laws (or implementations of laws) that: protect against discrimination or the promotion of equal opportunity, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, Executive Order 11246 (concerning equal employment opportunity), the Violence Against Women Act, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) rules entitled "Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity"; require employers to provide wages, other compensation, or benefits, including leave; protect collective activity in the workplace; protect against child labor, abuse, or exploitation; or provide for access to, information about, referrals for, provision of, or coverage for, any health care item or service. Under current law, RFRA prohibits the government from substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest when using the least restrictive means. The bill makes RFRA inapplicable to: (1) terms requiring goods, services, functions, or activities to be performed or provided to beneficiaries of government contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or awards; or (2) denials of a person's full and equal enjoyment of a government-provided good, service, benefit, facility, privilege, advantage, or accommodation. To assert a RFRA claim or defense in a judicial proceeding, the government must be a party to the proceeding.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2017
Disaster Assistance Equity Act of 2017 This bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to modify the definition of "private nonprofit facility" to include any facilities (including roads, bridges, sewer systems, and other critical community infrastructure) owned or operated by a common interest community that provide essential services of a governmental nature. The bill also defines additional terms under such Act, including "condominium" and "housing cooperative." "Common interest community" is defined as: (1) any nonprofit mandatory membership organization comprised of owners of real estate (other than a condominium or housing cooperative) described in a declaration or created pursuant to a covenant or other applicable law with respect to which a person, by virtue of the person's ownership of a unit, is obligated to pay for a share of real estate taxes, insurance premiums, maintenance or improvement of, or services or other expenses related to, common elements, other units, or any other real estate other than the unit described in the declaration; and (2) a condominium project that is comprised entirely of detached single family units or that is comprised of four or more multi-unit housing structures and that owns or operates facilities that provide essential services of a governmental nature. The bill amends such Act to provide that for purposes of the provision of federal disaster assistance with respect to residential elements that are the legal responsibility of an association for a condominium or housing cooperative, the terms "individual" or "household" include the association. The President must determine the maximum amount of assistance that any such association may receive under such Act for a single disaster.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2017
Zero Tolerance for Domestic Abusers Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to: state that the term "intimate partner" includes a dating partner and any other person subject to a protection order under state domestic or family violence law; and expand the term "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" to include the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, by a current or former intimate partner. The bill makes it a crime to knowingly sell or dispose of a firearm to a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of stalking. It also makes it a crime for such convicted stalker to receive or possess a firearm.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2017
Anti-Voter Suppression Act This bill nullifies Executive Order 13799 (titled "Establishment of Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity") and specifies that no funds shall be made available by any act of Congress to the commission described in the order or to any similar commission established for studying voter fraud.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2017
Every Kid Outdoors Act This bill directs the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and the Army to establish the Every Kids Outdoors program to provide fourth graders free access to federal lands and waters to which the public has access. Such Departments shall issue such students annual passes, upon request, which shall allow free access to: a per-vehicle fee area for the student and any passengers accompanying the student in a private, noncommercial vehicle or for up to three adults accompanying the student on bicycles; or a per-person fee area for the student and up to three adults accompanying the student. In carrying out such program, such departments: may collaborate with state park systems that opt to implement a complementary Every Kid Outdoors State park pass, shall maintain a publicly available website that provides information about the program, may provide visitor services, and may support approved partners of the federal lands and waters by furnishing them with opportunities for participation in the program.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Protecting Honest Fishermen Act of 2017 This bill expands requirements related to the safety, traceability, and labeling of commercially marketed seafood, including by requiring the labeling for such seafood to indicate whether the seafood was previously frozen and whether it was harvested in a different country from the one in which it was processed.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Preventing Diabetes in Medicare Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend Medicare coverage for medical nutrition therapy services to beneficiaries with pre-diabetes or risk factors for developing type-2 diabetes.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Medicare Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act of 2017 This bill provides for Medicare coverage of dental, vision, and hearing care. With respect to such care, the bill establishes special payment rules, limitations, and coinsurance requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
America's Call To Improve Opportunities Now for National Service Act or the ACTION for National Service Act This bill amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to reestablish the Corporation for National and Community Service as an independent executive agency called the National and Community Service Administration. An individual who successfully completes a term of full-time national service shall be entitled to a national service educational award equal to twice the amount of tuition for the institution of higher education where the individual is enrolled, not to exceed twice the average in-state tuition. Current law limits the award's value to the maximum amount of a Federal Pell Grant that an individual is eligible to receive in the aggregate. Within the administration, the bill establishes an interagency working group to evaluate specified issues related to: (1) eligibility for tuition and student loan repayment assistance with regard to participation in certain national or volunteer service programs, (2) the advisability of granting federal hiring preference to certain volunteer program participants, and (3) methods for increasing the participation of seniors in national service programs. The National Service Foundation, a nonprofit corporation established by the bill, shall accept and administer gifts made in connection with the administration. The bill expresses support for the authorization of appropriations sufficient to provide, within 10 years, volunteer service opportunities for at least 1 million volunteers in full-time national service annually. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude AmeriCorps educational awards from gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Citizenship Empowerment Act This bill requires state chief election officials to distribute mail voter registration forms to each person who becomes a U.S. citizen at a naturalization ceremony at the ceremony's conclusion.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Recognizes National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. Recognizes the rate at which individuals are affected by eating disorders and the inadequate rate at which such individuals seek treatment. Acknowledges that eating disorders can be successfully treated and that individuals with eating disorders can and do recover.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of Defense should review exceptions to citizenship, residency, and disqualification standards for enlistment in the Armed Forces to make a determination regarding the enlistment of aliens who possess an employment authorization document issued under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program established by the Department of Homeland Security on June 15, 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2017
Condemns the recent attack on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, that resulted in the death of Lt. Richard Collins III and other hate-motivated incidents. Acknowledges the efforts undertaken by university officials in responding to racism, extremism, and hate and creating safer campuses. Recognizes the persistent and growing threat posed by hate speech, efforts by extremist organizations to specifically target young people, and the normalization of these practices. Expresses that the House of Representatives remains committed to offering solutions that promote open, tolerant, and safe learning environments that fully respect diversity on college campuses.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2017
Tibetan Refugee Assistance Act of 2017 This bill makes 3,000 immigrant visas available in FY2017-FY2019 for individuals who were born in Tibet and have been continuously residing in India or Nepal prior to the date of the enactment of this Act. An individual shall be considered to be a native of Tibet if such individual was born in Tibet or is the son, daughter, grandson, or granddaughter of an individual born in Tibet. The bill provides derivative status for accompanying/following spouses and children.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2017
Audit the Pentagon Act of 2017 This bill requires a .5% reduction in Department of Defense (DOD) discretionary budget authority if DOD has not submitted a financial statement by March 2 of a fiscal year for the previous fiscal year or such financial statement has not received an unqualified or qualified audit opinion by an independent auditor. This reduction does not apply to military, reserve, and National Guard personnel accounts or the Defense Health Program account. The bill permits the President to waive any reduction in DOD budget authority if the reduction would harm national security or military personnel deployed in combat zones.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2017
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 LGBT Equality Day on June 26 to commemorate Supreme Court decisions handed down on that day in 2003, 2013, and 2015. 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 · 23 June 2017
TSP Modernization Act of 2017 This bill modifies the rules relating to withdrawals from the Thrift Savings Plan accounts of former federal employees and Members of Congress. Under current law, such employees and Members may make only one partial withdrawal upon reaching age 59-1/2 while employed or one withdrawal after retirement. The bill permits an unlimited number of such withdrawals. The bill also eliminates: (1) the automatic annuity as a default option if the plan participant does not make an election to establish an annuity, and (2) the limitation on age-based in-service withdrawals.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Saving America's Pollinators Act of 2017 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to suspend the registration of members of the nitro group of neonicotinoid insecticides that are registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) for use in seed treatment, soil application, or foliar treatment on bee-attractive plants, trees, and cereals until the EPA determines that the insecticides will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on pollinators. The determination must be based on: an evaluation of the published and peer-reviewed scientific evidence on whether the use or uses of those neonicotinoids cause unreasonable adverse effects on pollinators, including native bees, honeybees, birds, bats, and other species of beneficial insects; and a completed field study that meets the criteria required by the EPA and evaluates residues, chronic low-dose exposure, and cumulative effects of multiple chemical exposures. The EPA may not issue new registrations of the neonicotinoid pesticides for any seed treatment, soil application, and foliar treatment on bee-attractive plants, trees, and cereals under FIFRA until it has made the determination with respect to the insecticide. For purposes of protecting and ensuring the long-term viability of native bees and other pollinators, the Department of the Interior must: (1) regularly monitor the health and population status of native bees, (2) identify the scope and likely causes of unusual native bee mortality, and (3) submit to Congress and make public an annual report on the health and population status of native bees.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) cover marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services under Medicare, (2) exclude such services from the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system, and (3) authorize marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors to develop discharge plans for post-hospital services.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Justin Smith Morrill Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Justin Smith Morrill, a United States Senator from Vermont, for his lasting contributions to higher education opportunity for all Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2017
Voter Empowerment Act of 2017 Voter Registration Modernization Act of 2017 This bill amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require states to make available online voter registration. The federal criminal code is amended to prohibit hindering, interfering with, or preventing voter registration. The Help America Vote Act of 2002 is amended to require states to promote access to voter registration and voting for individuals with disabilities. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must support pilot programs enabling individuals with disabilities to register and vote at their residences. The bill reauthorizes support for state and local governments to ensure voting access for individuals with disabilities. States must notify individuals convicted of a criminal offense under state law, upon release or upon sentence to probation, of their right to vote in federal elections. Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2017 This bill revises auditing requirements for voting systems. Voting systems must use individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots. The National Science Foundation must support the study and development of accessible ballot voting and best practices to enhance the accessibility of voting for certain individuals. With exceptions, states must audit federal election results. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is amended to extend the guarantee of voting residency to family members of absent military personnel. The EAC must support poll-worker recruitment and training and develop materials for a model program. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is amended to prohibit a chief state election administration official, unless the official or a family member is a candidate, from taking part in political management or in a political campaign for federal office over which the official has supervisory authority. The EAC is reauthorized and its exemption from certain contracting requirements is repealed.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2017 This bill states that it is U.S. policy to regard the prevention of genocide and other atrocity crimes as a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility. The President shall instruct the Department of State to establish a Mass Atrocities Task Force to strengthen State Department efforts and assist other agency efforts at atrocity prevention and response. The Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended to provide for the training of Foreign Service Officers in conflict and atrocity crimes prevention. The Director of National Intelligence is encouraged to include in his or her annual testimony to Congress on threats to U.S. national security: (1) a review of countries and regions at risk of atrocity crimes; and (2) specific countries and regions at immediate risk of atrocity crimes, including most likely pathways to violence, specific risk factors, potential perpetrators, and at-risk target groups. The bill establishes the Complex Crises Fund to enable the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development to support programs and activities to prevent or respond to emerging or unforeseen foreign challenges and complex crises overseas, including potential atrocity crimes. Fund amounts may not be expended for lethal assistance or to respond to natural disasters.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
Combating the President's Voter Suppression Commission Act This bill declares that no federal funds may be used to carry out Executive Order 13799 (establishing the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity).
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
Strengthening Loan Forgiveness for Public Servants Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Department of Education (ED) to cancel 15%, 15%, 20%, 20%, and 30% of the amount a borrower owes after 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 years of public service employment, respectively, on a William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan made after this bill's enactment. (Currently, the balance of a borrower's Direct Loan is canceled if the borrower is not in default and has made 120 monthly payments on such loan while employed as a public service employee.) The bill: (1) requires borrowers availing themselves of such loan cancellation to submit an employment certification form that includes self-certification of employment and employer certification of employment dates, and (2) places the borrower's loan in deferment during the period in which the borrower is employed in an eligible public service job if the borrower submits such form to ED. If a portion of a loan is canceled for any year, the interest on such loan for such year must be canceled.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
Calls for an end to the dog and cat meat industry. Urges the governments of China, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, India, and all other nations to: (1) adopt and enforce laws banning the dog and cat meat trade, (2) increase efforts to prevent any leather or fur byproducts of such trade from entering international markets, and (3) use their food safety laws to crack down on the sale of dog and cat meat. Affirms the U.S. commitment to the protection of animals and to advancing the progress of animal protection around the world. Urges executive branch officials to include the dog and cat meat trade on the agenda for discussion with the officials of countries that have a dog or cat meat industry.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act This bill requires the United States to forgive any overpayment of military retired or retainer pay for any period after the death of the recipient through the last day of the month in which such death occurs, if such payment is electronically deposited to a joint account bearing the name of the decedent and the decedent's designated beneficiary. The bill provides a special effective date for the first annuity payment to a survivor under the Survivor Benefit Plan when an overpayment is so forgiven.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
Border Enforcement Accountability, Oversight, and Community Engagement Act of 2017 This bill establishes: (1) the Department of Homeland Security Border Oversight Commission, and (2) a northern border subcommittee and a southern border subcommittee within the commission. The commission and the subcommittees shall: (1) recommend border enforcement policy improvements; (2) evaluate policies of federal agencies operating along the borders to protect due process and human rights of border residents and visitors, protect land owner private property rights, and reduce the number of migrant deaths; (3) recommend safety improvements for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel; and (4) evaluate training and the extent to which CBP supervisory and management personnel practices encourage workforce development and promote field safety. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended to rename the position of Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the Ombudsman for Border and Immigration Related Concerns. Related function and administrative provisions are revised, including requiring the ombudsman to establish a Border Community Liaison Office in each Border Patrol sector on the northern and southern borders. The bill sets forth specified training and continuing education requirements for CBP personnel. DHS shall submit to Congress an assessment of current guidelines for managing ports of entry under DHS control. The bill requires: (1) the CBP to report to Congress regarding deaths occurring along the U.S.-Mexico border and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review such report; (2) the GAO to examine the extent to which the CBP has clarified use of force policies and DHS to require the CBP to implement any recommendations contained in such examination; and (3) the CBP to report to Congress on body camera use.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2017
This bill establishes a U.S. Green Bank that provides financial support to assist regional, state, and local institutions finance: (1) clean energy (e.g., solar or wind energy) projects, or (2) energy efficiency projects that reduce energy use or substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Department of the Treasury must issue green bonds to provide the bank with: (1) an initial capitalization of $10 billion; and (2) additional capitalization, upon the bank's request, of no more than $50 billion in aggregate at any one time. The bill also establishes in the Treasury a revolving Green Bank Establishment Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 390 West 5th Street in San Bernardino, California, as the "Jack H. Brown Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to allow a representative official of an Indian tribe, with authorization from the governing body of the tribe, to request one or more polling places to be located on tribal lands. The state or political subdivision shall provide each requested polling place at no expense to the Indian tribe if certain criteria are met. A federal court shall retain jurisdiction to enforce constitutional voting guarantees, but also certain violations of the Act as well as of any federal prohibition against discrimination on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group, for an appropriate period to prevent commencement of new devices to deny or abridge the right to vote. Any state (and all of its political subdivisions) shall be subject to certain requirements for a 10-year period if: 15 or more voting rights violations occurred there during the previous 25 years; or 10 or more violations occurred during the previous 25 years, at least one of which was committed by the state itself (as opposed to a political subdivision within it). A state or political subdivision that obtains a declaratory judgment that it has not used a device to deny or abridge the right to vote shall be exempt from such requirements unlessas specified. This bill prescribes transparency requirements regarding any changes to specified matters. Department of Justice authority to assign observers receives new extensions. Courts shall grant preliminary injunctive relief if a complainant raises a serious question whether the challenged covered practice violates the Act or the Constitution and, on balance, the hardship imposed upon the defendant by the relief will be less than the hardship on the plaintiff if the relief were not granted.
![Official portrait of Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-18]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/671024d7ec807bca66057fcb_200.jpg)