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United States · Official source
8,838 records where Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-18] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
This bill directs the United States Postal Service to issue and sell an Alzheimer's Disease Research Semipostal Stamp. Proceeds from the sale of the stamp must be transferred to the National Institutes of Health. The stamp must be made available to the public for six years.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Alzheimer's Caregiver Support Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to make grants to public and nonprofit private health care providers to expand training and support services for families and caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Fairness in Forgiveness Act of 2017 This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include as a public service job for purposes of the public service loan forgiveness program a full-time job as an employee of a management and operating contractor of a national laboratory owned by the Department of Energy. This bill and its amendments take effect as if enacted on October 1, 2007.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2017
Deferment for Active Cancer Treatment Act of 2017 This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow borrowers to defer student loans while they are receiving cancer treatment and during the six months after treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Reaffirms that it is U.S. policy to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiated between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Commends: (1) Israel's efforts to improve bilateral relations with Arab and Muslim-majority states in the region, and (2) steps taken by such states to improve bilateral relations with Israel. Urges: (1) such states and the Palestinian Authority to engage in bilateral and multilateral negotiations with Israel to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and support the normalization of bilateral relations, and (2) the resumption of bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Climate Solutions Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 by directing the Department of Energy (DOE) to promulgate regulations that require the percentage of electric energy generated from renewable sources that is sold at the retail level to increase each year beginning in 2020 so that in 2050 and each subsequent year, the percentage is at least 80%. DOE must also promulgate regulations that set cumulative energy savings targets for retail electric energy and natural gas suppliers that require each supplier to secure annual savings that are achieved through end-use efficiency improvements at customer facilities. For electric energy suppliers, the targets must increase from .25% of sales in 2020 to 1.5% of sales in 2025 and each year thereafter through 2030. For natural gas suppliers, the target must increase from .25% of sales in 2020 to .5% of sales in 2025 and each year thereafter through 2030. DOE must allow suppliers to achieve the targets through a market-based trading system. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must promulgate annual emission reduction targets for each of 2030 through 2050 to ensure that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions: (1) in 2035 are at least 40% below those in 1990, and (2) in 2050 are at least 80% below those in 1990. The EPA must promulgate final regulations to implement those targets within 7 years and review them at least every 5 years thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
This bill amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office, upon receiving a request from Congress, to determine if legislation would reduce spending outside of the 10-year budget window through the use of preventive health and preventive health services.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
To Offer Refugees College Help (TORCH) Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require states to charge in-state tuition rates to refugees, asylees, and special immigrant visa holders if they are lawfully in the United States. This requirement only applies to the first state where the individual lives after being admitted into the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Schedules That Work Act This bill grants an employee the right to request that the employee's employer change the terms and conditions of employment relating to: the number of hours or times the employee is required to work or be on call; the location; the amount of notification the employee receives of work schedule assignments; and minimizing fluctuations in the number of hours the employee is scheduled to work on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The employer, if the request is made, shall engage in a timely, good faith interactive process with the employee that includes a discussion of potential schedule changes that would meet the employee's needs. The bill outlines the process for either granting or denying a change. The employer shall grant a request, unless there is a bona fide business reason for denying it, if the request is made because of the employee's serious health condition, the employee's responsibilities as a caregiver, or enrollment in a career-related educational or training program, or if a part-time employee requests such a change for a reason related to a second job. An employer, if an employee requests a change for any other reason, may deny it for any reason that is not unlawful. The employer shall give the employee the reason for the denial, including whether it was a bona fide business reason. The bill outlines employer requirements for paying reporting time and split shift pay and for giving advance notice of work schedules to retail, food service, or cleaning employees, or the Department of Labor's designated employees, except for those in bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacities. The bill makes it unlawful for any employer or other person to: (1) interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise or the attempt to exercise any right of an employee specified in this bill; (2) retaliate against an employee for exercising the rights granted employees by this bill; or (3) interfere with proceedings or inquiries with respect to violation of an individual's rights under this bill. The bill sets forth administrative enforcement procedures and civil remedies for violation of these prohibitions. Labor must give information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning compliance with this bill. The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of the Census shall: (1) include in the Current Population Survey questions on, among other things, the amount of fluctuation in the number of hours the employee is scheduled to work on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis; and (2) conduct at regular intervals the Contingent Worker Supplement, the Work Schedules and Work at Home Supplement, and other relevant supplements to the Current Population Survey. This bill is inapplicable to any employee covered by a bona fide collective bargaining agreement if its terms govern work scheduling practices.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2017
Reaffirms: (1) the bipartisan commitment of the United States to promote the safety, health, and well-being of refugees; and (2) the goals of World Refugee Day. Recognizes those who have risked their lives to provide life-saving assistance and to help protect people displaced by conflict. Calls upon the U.S. government to: uphold its international leadership role in responding to displacement crises with humanitarian assistance for, and protection of, the most vulnerable populations; work in partnership with the international community to find solutions to existing conflicts and to prevent new conflicts; continue to support the efforts of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and to advance the work of nongovernmental organizations to protect refugees regardless of their country of origin or religious beliefs; and continue to mitigate, through humanitarian and development support, the burden placed on frontline refugee host countries that absorb the majority of the world's refugees.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2017
Expresses strong disapproval of the President's announcement to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change. Commends the group of states, cities, colleges and universities, businesses, investors, and individuals who have publicly expressed their support for such agreement. Urges the President to reverse his decision and maintain U.S. participation in such agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
Climate Change National Security Strategy Act of 2017 This bill requires the National Security Advisor and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to jointly establish an interagency Climate and National Security Working Group, which must develop an action plan on current and projected climate-related impacts on national security interests. Specified federal departments and agencies must each develop a plan that ensures that such impacts are identified and considered in the development and implementation of relevant national security doctrine, policies, and plans. The plans must be updated at least annually.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover medically necessary cranial prostheses (e.g., wigs) as durable medical equipment under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States Act of 2017 or the CARERS Act of 2017 This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide that the Act's regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties do not apply to a person who produces, possesses, distributes, dispenses, administers, tests, recommends, or delivers medical marijuana in compliance with state law. The bill also: excludes "cannabidiol" (CBD) from the definition of "marijuana"; limits the concentration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in CBD to 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis; and deems marijuana grown or processed to make CBD, in accordance with state law, to comply with the THC concentration limit unless the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) determines state law to be unreasonable. The bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to terminate the Public Health Service's interdisciplinary review process that is used to evaluate applications for medical marijuana research. The DEA must license manufacturers and distributors of marijuana for medical research; HHS must register practitioners to conduct research; and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must authorize VA health care providers to provide recommendations and opinions to veterans regarding participation in their states' marijuana programs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
Mental Health in Schools Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to revise a community children and violence program to assist local communities and schools in applying a public health approach to mental health services, including by: (1) revising eligibility requirements for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement; and (2) providing for comprehensive school mental health programs that are culturally and linguistically appropriate, trauma-informed, and age appropriate. A comprehensive school mental health program funded under this bill must assist children in dealing with trauma and violence. The bill makes only certain partnerships that include a state educational agency and one or more educational agencies, with a local agency serving as lead partner, eligible for funding. They include public or private entities that use evidence-based intervention. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shall develop a fiscally appropriate process for evaluating grant program activities, including the development of: (1) guidelines for the submission of program data by recipients; and (2) outcome measures to be applied by recipients in evaluating programs, including student and family measures and local educational measures.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
IDEA Full Funding Act This bill amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to reauthorize and make appropriations for the grant program to assist states and outlying areas in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities. The bill sets the amount to be appropriated for each fiscal year from FY2018-FY2026 as the greater of: (1) a specified amount, or (2) a specified percentage of an amount determined pursuant to a formula that multiplies the number of children receiving special education services by the average per-pupil expenditure in public elementary and secondary schools. The bill appropriates funds for FY2027 and each subsequent fiscal year equal to the greater of a specified amount or 40% of the amount determined using such formula. Amounts appropriated shall be expended consistent with pay-as-you-go requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2017
Recognizes the historical significance and supports the continued celebration of Juneteenth Independence Day, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2017
Fair COLA for Seniors Act of 2017 This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to, with respect to OASDI benefits: (1) apply a 3.9% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for the second half of 2017, and (2) revise the computation of COLAs to use the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2017
Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2017 This bill directs the chief election official of each state to establish and operate an automatic voter registration system for federal elections. The system shall obtain information about eligible voters from contributing state agencies, including all agencies required by federal law to provide voter registration services. The Election Assistance Commission shall make grants to assist states in implementing the bill.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2017
Medicare Access to Rural Anesthesiology Act of 2017 This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide Medicare payment on a reasonable-cost basis for anesthesia services furnished by an anesthesiologist in a rural hospital. Specifically, the CMS shall provide payment for such services in the same manner as payment is provided under current law for services furnished in a rural hospital by a certified registered nurse anesthetist.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2017
Children's Act for Responsible Employment of 2017 or the CARE Act of 2017 This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to redefine "oppressive child labor," for purposes of the Act's child labor prohibitions, as the employment of any employee who is: 16 or 17 years of age in any occupation found by the Department of Labor to be particularly hazardous or detrimental to such employee's health or well-being; 14 or 15 years of age, unless the employment is confined to periods which do not interfere with the employee's schooling, health, and well-being; or under age 14. The bill revises exemptions for child agricultural employment. The bill increases civil penalties for child labor violations and imposes new criminal penalties for repeated or willful violations of child labor prohibitions that result in serious illness or injury of an employee under age 18. Labor shall revise regulations to prohibit the employment of children under age 18 in duties involving the handling of pesticides.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2017
Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically For Engagement Act of 2017 or the COVFEFE Act of 2017 This bill amends provisions governing presidential records to: (1) revise the definition of "documentary material" to include social media; (2) revise the definition of "presidential records" to include any personal and official social media account; and (3) define "social media" as any form of electronic communication (such as a website for social networking and microblogging) through which users create an online community to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos).
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Disarm Hate Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to prohibit firearm sale or transfer to and receipt or possession by an individual who has: (1) been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor hate crime, or (2) received from any court an enhanced hate crime misdemeanor sentence. The term "convicted in any court of a misdemeanor hate crime" means a conviction for a misdemeanor offense that has, as an element, that the conduct was motivated by hate or bias because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person. The term "received from any court an enhanced hate crime misdemeanor sentence" means the imposition of an enhanced sentence for a misdemeanor that involves violence and is based, in whole or in part, on conduct motivated by hate or bias because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Wildfire Disaster Funding Act This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to require specified adjustments to discretionary spending limits in FY2017-FY2026 to accommodate appropriations for wildfire suppression operations in the Wildland Fire Management accounts at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the Department of the Interior. If USDA or Interior determines that supplemental appropriations are necessary for wildfire suppression operations, the bill requires the relevant department to submit to Congress a request for the funding and a plan for obligating the funds. The bill also requires the President's budget to include the average costs for wildfire suppression over the previous 10 years.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
SUper Pollutant Emissions Reduction Act of 2017 or the SUPER Act of 2017 This bill requires the President to establish the Task Force on Super Pollutants to: review existing and potential policies and measures that promote the reduction of short-lived climate pollutants, in part by identifying and evaluating programs and activities of the federal government that contribute to a reduction; identify and recommend specific federal programs and activities that are duplicative and that can be consolidated to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness; identify gaps where programs do not exist and recommend programs and activities to fill these gaps to reduce short-lived climate pollutants, with an emphasis on industry standards and public-private partnerships; identify activities where reductions in those pollutants can continue to spur innovation and job creation and increase U.S. competitiveness in the global market for new technologies to replace those using short-lived climate pollutants; identify, compile, evaluate, and develop best practices for reducing those pollutants; and report to Congress on its findings and recommendations. A "short-lived climate pollutant" is black carbon, methane, hydrofluorocarbons, tropospheric ozone and its precursors, or emissions from banks of ozone-depleting substances.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Automatic Voter Registration Act This bill amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require state motor vehicle authorities, upon receiving certain identifying information with respect to an individual requesting motor vehicle authority services, to transmit the information to the state election official. The state election official shall then notify the individual that unless the individual declines to be registered to vote in federal elections in the state, the individual shall be automatically registered unless the individual does not meet voter registration eligibility requirements or is already registered to vote. A state may not use any identifying information regarding an individual's citizenship status for any purpose other than determining whether the individual is eligible to vote in federal elections.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2017
Voices for Veterans Act This bill: (1) expands the membership of the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans to include veterans who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, and (2) extend the Commission through December 31, 2019.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2017
Abolish Human Trafficking Act of 2017 This bill sets forth a variety of measures to address the prevention and punishment of human trafficking and to assist trafficking victims. Included among these are provisions concerning: restitution for victims; funding of investigations of offenses relating to sexual abuse of children; grants to states and localities and other entities for victim service assistance; training of health, victim service, and federal law enforcement personnel, including through the use of a victim screening protocol by the Department of Homeland Security; penalties imposed for slavery offenses, sex trafficking of children, and repeat convictions for transportation for illegal sexual activity and related crimes; travel for the purpose of engaging in any illicit sexual conduct; designation of additional Department of Justice resources for prosecution and service coordination; penalties for offenses involving organized human trafficking, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or transportation for prostitution or any illegal sexual activity; and studies of the physical and psychological effects of serious harm to victims.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2017
Western Water Recycling and Drought Relief Act This bill amends the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Department of the Interior to participate in the design, planning, and construction of recycled water system facilities in California in cooperation with: the cities of Benicia, Brentwood, Redwood City, Pleasanton, Hayward, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, and Turlock; the Dublin San Ramon Services District and the Dublin San Ramon Services District/East Bay Municipal Utility District Recycled Water Authority; the Santa Clara Valley Water District; the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District; the Delta Diablo; the Ironhouse Sanitary District; the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency; the San Jose Water Company; and the West Bay Sanitary District. The bill also authorizes Interior to participate in the design, planning, and construction of recycled water system facilities in Hawaii in cooperation with Hawaii Water Service Company, Waikoloa. The federal share of each project is limited to 25%. Interior must: (1) enter into individual agreements with the Western Recycled Water Coalition participating agencies to fund such projects (as well as existing projects done in cooperation with the California cities of Palo Alto, Mountain View, Pittsburg, Antioch, Redwood City, and San Jose and the Delta Diablo Sanitation District, the North Coast County Water District, the South County Regional Wastewater Authority, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District); and (2) include in such agreements a provision for the reimbursement of design, planning, and construction costs. The bill increases the authorization of appropriations for the recycled water system facilities of: (1) Antioch and the Delta Diablo Sanitation District, and (2) the South County Regional Wastewater Authority and the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2017
Helping Overcome Trauma for Children Alone in Rear Seats Act or the HOT CARS Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Transportation to issue a final rule to require that all new passenger motor vehicles weighing less than 10,000 pounds be equipped with a system for rear seating positions to alert (by an auditory and visual alert that may be combined with a haptic alert) the motor vehicle operator to check rear designated seating positions after the vehicle motor is deactivated. A state shall use a portion of its highway safety program funds to educate the public on the risks of leaving a child or unattended passenger in a vehicle after the vehicle motor is deactivated.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2017
Standing Against Dirty Diplomacy Act or the SADD Act This bill amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to prohibit the Export-Import Bank from guaranteeing, insuring, extending credit, or participating in the extension of credit in connection with the purchase or sale of any good or service for a high carbon intensity project that: (1) is designed to generate electricity, and (2) if completed would produce at least 500 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated by the project.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2017
Humane Cosmetics Act This bill prohibits testing cosmetics on animals, effective on the date that is one year after enactment of this bill. No cosmetic may be sold or transported if the final product or any component was developed or manufactured using animal testing after that date, effective three years after enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2017
Health Equity and Access under the Law for Immigrant Women and Families Act of 2017 or the HEAL Immigrant Women and Families Act of 2017 This bill amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act to extend Medicaid and CHIP coverage to aliens lawfully present in the United States who otherwise meet eligibility requirements. This applies to individuals granted deferred action or other federally authorized presence but not to nonimmigrants (e.g., individuals with a temporary worker visa). Individuals granted federally authorized presence, except nonimmigrants, are eligible for health insurance exchanges and reduced cost sharing under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and premium subsidies under the Internal Revenue Code.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2017
Amends Rule XI (Procedures of Committees and Unfinished Business) of the Rules of the House of Representatives. Requires the Speaker, whenever a moment of silence related to a tragedy in the United States or its territories involving gun violence occurs on the floor of the House, to announce on the next legislative day the standing committee (or subcommittee) designated to hold a hearing on the event.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2017 This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl in recognition of his acts of valor during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2009 to require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to conduct and update at least once every seven years an ocean acidification coastal community vulnerability assessment with a corresponding public report. The assessment must identify: (1) U.S. coastal communities that are most dependent on coastal and ocean resources that may be impacted by ocean acidification; (2) the nature of those communities' social and economic vulnerabilities; (3) impacts from changes in ocean and coastal marine resources that are not managed by the federal government; and (4) key knowledge gaps where research could be devoted to better understand the possible ocean acidification impacts, risks, threats, and possible adaptation strategies for the communities. In carrying out the ocean acidification coastal community vulnerability assessment, NOAA must collaborate with state and local government entities that are conducting or have completed vulnerability assessments, strategic research planning, or other similar activities related to ocean acidification and its impacts on coastal communities. NOAA's ocean acidification program is expanded to include an ongoing mechanism that allows affected industry members, coastal stakeholders, non-federal resource managers, and outside scientific experts not employed by the federal government to provide input on research, data, and monitoring necessary to support on-the-ground management, decision making, and adaptation related to ocean acidification and its impacts. The strategic plan for ocean acidification research and monitoring developed by the Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology of the National Science and Technology Council must make recommendations for research to address the key knowledge gaps identified in the community vulnerability assessment report.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Save Our Seas Act of 2017 or the SOS Act of 2017 This bill amends the Marine Debris Act to revise the Marine Debris Program to require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to work with: (1) other agencies to address both land- and sea-based sources of marine debris, and (2) the Department of State and other agencies to promote international action to reduce the incidence of marine debris. The bill also revises the program by allowing NOAA to make sums available for assisting in the cleanup and response required by severe marine debris events. NOAA must prioritize assistance for activities that respond to a severe marine debris event in: (1) a rural or remote community, or (2) a habitat of national concern. The bill urges the President to: (1) work with foreign countries that contribute the most to the global marine debris problem in order to find a solution to the problem; (2) study issues related to marine debris, including the economic impacts of marine debris; and (3) encourage the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to consider the impact of marine debris in relevant future trade agreements. The Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee must expand to include a senior official from the State Department or from the Department of the Interior. This bill reauthorizes for FY2018-FY2022: (1) the Marine Debris Program, (2) an information clearinghouse on marine debris, and (3) enforcement of laws about discarded marine debris from ships.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Economic Growth and Development Act This bill requires the President to establish a primary interagency mechanism to coordinate U.S. development assistance programs carried out by federal agencies overseas with private sector investment activities. The mechanism shall: streamline the private-sector liaison, coordination, and investment promotion functions of such agencies; facilitate the use of development and finance tools across such agencies to attract greater participation in development activities by the private sector; and establish a single point of contact for U.S. private sector entities pursuing partnership opportunities with such agencies. Federal agencies planning or providing U.S. development assistance overseas shall ensure that: (1) a rigorous analysis of the constraints to economic growth and investment within a recipient country guides any U.S. development strategy, and (2) U.S. development strategies are coordinated with private sector activities in such countries. Each analysis shall identify and analyze: (1) the constraints posed by inadequacies in critical infrastructure, the education system, the rule of law, the tax and investment codes, or the customs or regulatory regimes in the recipient country; and (2) the particular economic sectors that are central to achieving economic growth in the recipient country. The results of each analysis shall be: (1) incorporated into any relevant development strategy, and (2) used to guide the allocation of resources by federal agencies planning or providing U.S. development assistance overseas.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Federal Student Loan Refinancing Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow borrowers that received loans under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (DL) or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program on or after July 1, 2006, to consolidate those loans as Federal Direct Consolidation Loans. It directs the Department of Education (ED) to consolidate DLs, and send a completed loan consolidation application to FFEL borrowers, within 90 days of this bill's enactment. It gives FFEL borrowers six months after their receipt of such application to endorse it and submit it to ED if they wish to consolidate their loans. The bill sets the interest rate on Federal Direct Consolidation Loans at 4% or, if the weighted average of the interest rates of the loans being consolidated is less than 4%, the lesser of: (1) that weighted average, or (2) an interest rate equal to 0.4% of the principal balance of the consolidation loan at the time of consolidation. It adds an origination fee equal to 0.4% of the principal balance of the consolidation loan at the time of consolidation if an FFEL is being consolidated. It reduces the interest rate on a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan by 0.25% if one or more of the loans being consolidated is an FFEL held by an eligible lender. The bill prohibits any benefit a borrower is receiving or earning when issued a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan from being affected by the consolidation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
STEM Opportunities Act of 2017 This bill provides for guidance, data collection, and grants related to women and minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics at institutions of higher education and at federal science agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Venezuela Humanitarian Assistance and Defense of Democratic Governance Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of State to work through nongovernmental organizations to provide public health commodities, basic food commodities, and related technical assistance to Venezuela. The State Department shall submit a multi-year strategy to Congress that: (1) describes how the United States will secure international support for the provision of humanitarian assistance to Venezuela, and (2) identifies governments that will provide financial and technical assistance. The President shall use U.S. influence to place the humanitarian and political crisis in Venezuela on the United Nations Security Council agenda and to secure a statement urging the Venezuelan government to allow the delivery of humanitarian relief. If the government of Venezuela refuses to allow such delivery, the President shall use U.S. influence to secure a U.N. Security Council resolution: (1) directing the government of Venezuela to allow access for humanitarian agencies; and (2) calling on such government to allow the delivery of food and medicine, end human rights violations, agree to free elections, cease violence, and release all political prisoners. The State Department shall work: (1) with the Organization of American States to ensure international observation that contributes to free and transparent electoral processes in Venezuela, and (2) to defend internationally recognized human rights for the people of Venezuela, support the efforts of independent media outlets to share information beyond the limited channels made available by the Venezuelan government, facilitate open access to the Internet, and combat government corruption. The State Department shall report to Congress regarding: (1) the involvement in corruption of senior Venezuelan officials, including members of the National Electoral Council, the judicial system, and government security forces; and (2) Russian cooperation with the government and armed forces of Venezuela. The bill amends the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 to: (1) direct the President to impose sanctions on any current or former official of the Venezuela government who is determined to have perpetrated significant acts of public corruption or actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions, and (2) extend the requirement to impose sanctions under such Act until December 31, 2022.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2017 This bill authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to confer blue card status upon an alien who: (1) has performed specified periods of U.S. agricultural employment or is a qualifying alien's spouse or child, (2) has been physically present in the United States for a qualifying period, (3) applied for such status during the application period, (4) is not ineligible under specified grounds for such status, (5) has passed security and law enforcement clearances, and (6) has paid the required fees and penalties. Blue card status is limited to eight years. A blue card alien (individual) may: (1) work in the United States, and (2) travel from and return to the United States, including commuting to the United States from a foreign residence. DHS shall adjust an individual's blue card status to lawful permanent resident status if the individual: (1) performs a specified period of qualifying agricultural employment, (2) applies before the expiration of his or her blue card status, and (3) pays a required fine and satisfies any federal tax liability. The bill also provides for status adjustment of such an individual's qualifying spouse and child. The bill enumerates: (1) grounds for revocation of blue card status or denial of permanent resident status, (2) protections for aliens apprehended before or during the application period or in removal proceedings, and (3) employer protections. Such an individual: (1) is ineligible for any federal means-tested benefit, and (2) may correct certain social security records. DHS shall report to Congress, after six months and annually for the next eight years, on the blue card program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to modify the prohibition on firearm sale or transfer to or purchase or possession by an individual who is subject to a court order that restrains the individual from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of an intimate partner. Specifically, the bill revises the elements of a qualifying court order. It also broadens the definition of "intimate partner" to include a dating partner or former dating partner. Additionally, the bill expands the categories of prohibited persons (i.e., persons barred from receiving or possessing a firearm) to include persons who have been convicted of: (1) a misdemeanor crime of stalking, or (2) a crime involving conduct that would have been stalking if committed within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption Act or the PRIME Act This bill amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to expand the exemption of custom slaughtering of animals from federal inspection requirements. Under current law, the exemption applies if the meat is slaughtered for personal, household, guest, and employee uses. The bill expands the exemption to include meat that is: slaughtered and prepared at a custom slaughter facility in accordance with the laws of the state where the facility is located; and prepared exclusively for distribution to household consumers in the state or restaurants, hotels, boarding houses, grocery stores, or other establishments in the state that either prepare meals served directly to consumers or offer meat and food products for sale directly to consumers in the state. The bill does not preempt any state law concerning: (1) the slaughter of animals or the preparation of carcasses, parts thereof, meat and meat food products at a custom slaughter facility; or (2) the sale of meat or meat food products.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Medicaid Coverage for Addiction Recovery Expansion Act This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to allow states to provide medical assistance to adults for residential addiction treatment facility services under the Medicaid program if such services are offered as part of a full continuum of evidence-based treatment services. "Residential addiction treatment facility services" are medically necessary inpatient services provided in an accredited, size-limited facility for the purpose of treating a substance use disorder within a specified time period. The provision of medical assistance for such services to an individual shall not prohibit federal financial participation for medical assistance with respect to other services provided to the individual within the same time period. Subject to specified conditions, a woman who is eligible for medical assistance on the basis of being pregnant may remain eligible for residential addiction treatment facility services for specified time periods without regard to eligibility limits that would otherwise apply as a result of her pregnancy ending. In addition, the bill establishes a grant program for states to expand infrastructure and treatment capabilities of existing youth addiction treatment facilities that: (1) provide addiction treatment services to youths under Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and (2) are located in communities with high numbers of medically underserved populations of at-risk youths. At least 15% of grant funds awarded to a state must be used for making payments to rural facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Expresses the sense of Congress regarding requirements and priorities for any infrastructure plan passed by Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Establishes the House Select Committee on Gun Violence Prevention to investigate and report on: the causes of mass shootings, methods to improve the federal firearms purchaser background check system, connections between access to firearms and dangerously mentally ill individuals, strengthening federal penalties for trafficking and straw purchasing of firearms, closing loopholes that allow some domestic abusers continued access to firearms, linkages between firearms and suicide, gun violence's effect on public health, the correlation between state gun violence prevention laws and the incidence of gun violence, the importance of having reliable and accurate information on gun violence and its toll on our nation, the implementation of effective gun violence prevention laws in accordance with the Second Amendment to the Constitution, and rates of gun violence in large metropolitan areas.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2017
Raise the Wage Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the federal minimum wage for regular employees over a 7-year period, for tipped employees, and for newly hired employees who are less than 20 years old. The bill sets forth a schedule of annual increases in the federal minimum wage for individuals with disabilities. The Department of Labor shall no longer issue special certificates for the payment of subminimum wages to such individuals after the final wage increase under this bill for such individuals takes effect. Labor shall provide, upon request, technical assistance and information to employers to: (1) help them transition their practices to comply with wage increases and other requirements under this bill for individuals with disabilities, and (2) ensure continuing employment opportunities for such individuals. The bill eliminates the separate minimum wage requirements for tipped, newly hired, and disabled employees. After a specified period, these employees shall be paid the same minimum wage as regular employees. Labor must publish any increase in the minimum wage in the Federal Register and on its website 60 days before it takes effect.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2017
Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act of 2017 This bill modifies provisions relating to coverage for and access to treatment for chronic kidney disease, including Medicare payment provisions for renal dialysis services.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2017
Gun Violence Restraining Order Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to prohibit the sale, transfer to, receipt of, or possession of a firearm by a person who is subject to a gun violence prevention order. A gun violence prevention order is a court order that prohibits an individual from owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm. The bill authorizes the Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services to make grants to states that have in effect legislation that: (1) authorizes a family member, or a law enforcement officer, to apply for a gun violence prevention order against an individual who may pose a significant risk to themselves or others; (2) authorizes a law enforcement officer to temporarily seize firearms from that individual, subject to a warrant; and (3) requires law enforcement agencies to comply with certain requirements.