Education

GEAR UP for Counseling

United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017

GEAR UP for Counseling This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase requirements for grant recipients under the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP). Specifically, it requires state and partnership GEAR UP grantees to also provide academic and mental health counseling services to participating students. The bill reauthorizes GEAR UP for FY2018-FY2023.

Encourage our Educators Act

United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017

Encourage our Educators Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify provisions of the teacher loan forgiveness program. Specifically, the legislation reduces from five to three years the period of service a full-time teacher must complete consecutively to be eligible for forgiveness under the Federal Family Education Loan or Direct Loan program. It also increases from $5,000 to $17,500 the amount of available loan forgiveness for an elementary or secondary school teacher in any subject. (Currently, forgiveness up to $17,500 is only available for a full-time secondary school math or science teacher or for a special education teacher.) The bill eliminates the prohibition on counting the same qualifying service for both the teacher and the public service loan forgiveness programs.

Early Pell Promise Act

United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017

Early Pell Promise Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Department of Education to carry out a program of grants to state educational agencies under which a student who is in eighth grade and is eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act may be provided a commitment to receive a Federal Pell Grant early in the student's academic career. Pursuant to such a commitment, the student shall receive a Pell Grant during the first two years of attendance at an institution of higher education (IHE) as an undergraduate if the student: files the FAFSA form during the senior year of secondary school and the succeeding year, and enrolls at the IHE not later than three years after receiving a secondary school diploma or after release from the Armed Forces. A student may not receive the early Pell Grant for a succeeding year if the expected family contribution for either year is more than twice the threshold amount for Pell Grant eligibility for that year.

Fair Access to Credit Scores Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017

Fair Access to Credit Scores Act of 2017 This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require certain consumer reporting agencies to disclose, upon request, as part of a consumer's free annual disclosure: (1) the consumer's current credit score, (2) any other information in the consumer's file regarding risk scores or predictors, and (3) any other consumer information the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau considers appropriate with respect to consumer financial education. Consumer reporting agencies shall maintain such scores or predictors in a consumer's file for at least one year after the data is generated.

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives relating to automated external defibrillator (AED) education in the Nation's schools

United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2017

Encourages public schools with automated external defibrillators (AEDs), during time allocated under state law for training personnel in emergency first aid and CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), to train personnel in the use of AEDs.

To repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2017

This bill repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. The repeal is effective on January 1, 2020. Provisions of law amended by the repealed provisions are restored. The budgetary effects of this bill must not be entered on the PAYGO scorecards maintained by the Office of Management and Budget.

Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2017

Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 This bill authorizes a number of programs to enhance weather forecasting and alerts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research must conduct a program to improve forecasting of weather events and their effects, with a special focus on high impact weather events. The National Weather Service must collect and utilize information to make reliable and timely foundational forecasts of subseasonal and seasonal temperature and precipitation. Subseasonal forecasting is forecasting weather between two weeks and three months and seasonal forecasting is between three months and two years. The bill provides for technology transfers between the National Weather Service and private sector weather companies and universities to improve forecasting. NOAA must complete and operationalize the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (a weather satellite program which develops observational techniques using global navigation systems). Additionally, NOAA may contract with the private sector to obtain data for weather forecasting. NOAA must continue its Environmental Information Services Working Group, which advises NOAA on weather research and opportunities to improve communications between weather stakeholders.

Northern Mariana Islands Economic Expansion Act

United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2017

Northern Mariana Islands Economic Expansion Act This bill: (1) requires the Department of Homeland Security to increase the supplemental education fee charged to a prospective employer in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) for each CNMI-Only Transitional Worker who is issued a permit during the transition period to U.S. immigration law, (2) allows such a permit for construction occupations to be issued only to extend a permit first issued before October 1, 2015, and (3) caps the number of permits issued for such nonimmigrant workers for FY2017 at 15,000.

To promote a 21st century energy and manufacturing workforce.

United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2017

This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE), in awarding grants, to prioritize education and training for energy and manufacturing jobs, including by encouraging state and local education agencies to equip students for those jobs and strengthening DOE programs and labs carrying out workforce development initiatives. DOE must prioritize educating and training workers from underrepresented groups such as minorities, women, and veterans. DOE may encourage, but not incentivize or require, any state or school district to adopt a curriculum to equip students with the skills and training necessary to fill employment opportunities in the energy and manufacturing industries. DOE must establish a clearinghouse for information and guidance on job training and other workforce development programs. Additionally, DOE must work with the energy and manufacturing industries, educational institutions, and other governmental agencies to identify areas of workforce need and develop guidelines to implement the best practices for effective job training programs. The bill requires DOE to consider increasing outreach to institutions that serve minority populations. DOE must also give special consideration to dislocated energy and manufacturing workers. The bill does not authorize additional funding to carry out its requirements or authorize the creation of a new workforce development program.

Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2017

Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2017 This bill revises and reauthorizes through FY2021 the Tsunami Warning and Education Act. The tsunami warning systems for the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and for the Atlantic Ocean are consolidated into a single warning system. The system must support international tsunami forecasting and warning efforts. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must support or maintain tsunami warning centers to support the national warning system and develop uniform operational procedures for the centers. Warning centers are given additional responsibilities, including maintaining a fail-safe warning capability and an ability to perform back-up duties for each other. The tsunami hazard mitigation program must provide for: (1) technical and financial assistance; (2) activities to support the development of regional hazard and risk assessments; (3) activities to promote preparedness in at-risk ports and harbors; and (4) dissemination of guidelines and standards for community planning, education, and training products, programs, and tools. The tsunami research program must develop the technical basis for validation of tsunami maps, models, and forecasts. NOAA no longer has to operate an International Tsunami Information Center to improve tsunami preparedness for Pacific Ocean nations. NOAA must: (1) designate an existing working group to serve as the Tsunami Science and Technology Advisory Panel to provide advice on matters regarding tsunami science, technology, and regional preparedness; (2) maintain a coordinating committee to assist in the national tsunami hazard mitigation program; and (3) develop formal outreach activities to improve tsunami education and awareness and foster the development of resilient communities.

Health Care Choice Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2017

Health Care Choice Act of 2017 This bill repeals the health insurance and health coverage expansion requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and related provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. Provisions of law amended or repealed by those provisions are restored. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to provide that the laws of a state designated by a health insurer (primary state) apply to individual health insurance coverage offered by that insurer in any state (secondary state) if the coverage, states, and insurer comply with the conditions of this bill. Insurers are exempted from any secondary state's laws that would prohibit or regulate the operation of the insurer in that state. The primary state is given sole jurisdiction to enforce its covered laws in any secondary state. The Government Accountability Office must study the effect of this bill on specified health insurance issues.

National Clinical Care Commission Act

United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2017

National Clinical Care Commission Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a National Clinical Care Commission to evaluate and recommend solutions regarding better coordination and leveraging of federal programs that relate to supporting clinical care for individuals with complex metabolic or autoimmune disease, diabetes, or complications caused by such diseases. The duties of the commission include: evaluating HHS programs regarding the utilization of preventive health benefits, identifying current activities and gaps in federal efforts to support clinicians in providing integrated care, making recommendations regarding the development and coordination of federally funded clinical practice support tools, recommending clinical pathways for new technologies and treatments, evaluating and expanding education and awareness activities provided to health care professionals, and reviewing and recommending methods for outreach and dissemination of educational resources. The commission must submit an operating plan to HHS and Congress within 90 days of its first meeting. The commission is terminated after it submits a final report, but not later than the end of FY2021.

Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2017

Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2017 This bill revises and reauthorizes through FY2021 the Tsunami Warning and Education Act. The tsunami warning systems for the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and for the Atlantic Ocean are consolidated into a single warning system. The system must support international tsunami forecasting and warning efforts. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must support or maintain tsunami warning centers to support the national warning system and develop uniform operational procedures for the centers. Warning centers are given additional responsibilities, including maintaining a fail-safe warning capability and an ability to perform back-up duties for each other. The tsunami hazard mitigation program must provide for: (1) technical and financial assistance; (2) activities to support the development of regional hazard and risk assessments; (3) activities to promote preparedness in at-risk ports and harbors; and (4) dissemination of guidelines and standards for community planning, education, and training products, programs, and tools. The tsunami research program must develop the technical basis for validation of tsunami maps, models, and forecasts. NOAA no longer has to operate an International Tsunami Information Center to improve tsunami preparedness for Pacific Ocean nations. NOAA must: (1) designate an existing working group to serve as the Tsunami Science and Technology Advisory Panel to provide advice on matters regarding tsunami science, technology, and regional preparedness; (2) maintain a coordinating committee to assist in the national tsunami hazard mitigation program; and (3) develop formal outreach activities to improve tsunami education and awareness and foster the development of resilient communities.

American Health Care Reform Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2017

American Health Care Reform Act of 2017 This bill repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective January 1, 2018. The bill restores provisions amended by the repealed provisions. This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax standard deduction for health insurance. Provisions regarding health savings accounts (HSAs) are revised, including to raise contribution limits and to expand the products and services that may be paid for using an HSA. Group health plans may vary premiums and cost-sharing based on participation in a wellness program. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide grants to states for high risk health insurance pools. Individual health insurance coverage is governed by the laws of a state designated by the health insurance issuer. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services must publish Medicare claims and payment data. This bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide for association health plans, which are group health plans sponsored by certain business associations. Veterans with certain service-related disabilities or who have been awarded a medal of honor must be provided access to medical services though specified entities other than the Department of Veterans Affairs. Independent medical review panels must review health care lawsuits in which the defendant alleges adherence to clinical practice guidelines. Federal courts have jurisdiction over health care lawsuits. This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to revise non-security discretionary spending limits.

Advancing Medical Resident Training in Community Hospitals Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2017

Advancing Medical Resident Training in Community Hospitals Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise payment rules for graduate medical education (GME) costs with respect to a hospital that establishes a new medical residency training program. With respect to a hospital that has not entered into a GME affiliation agreement, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shall establish the hospital's full-time equivalent (FTE) resident amount only after determining that the hospital's medical residency training program trains more than 1.0 FTE resident in a cost reporting period. In the case of a hospital with an approved FTE resident amount based on the training of no more than 1.0 FTE resident in a cost reporting period before October 1, 1997, or 3.0 FTE residents in a cost reporting period after that date, CMS shall provide the hospital an opportunity to have its FTE resident amount reestablished when the hospital begins training FTE residents in excess of the applicable threshold. Current law limits the number, subject to the application of certain adjustments, of FTE residents a hospital may have in allopathic and osteopathic medicine for purposes of Medicare payment. The bill specifies that CMS shall determine a hospital's limitation adjustment only after determining that the hospital's medical residency training program trains more than 1.0 FTE residents in a cost reporting period. In the case of a hospital with a limitation adjustment based on the training of no more than 1.0 FTE resident in a cost reporting period before October 1, 1997, or 3.0 FTE residents in a cost reporting period after that date, CMS shall provide the hospital an opportunity to have its adjustment re-determined when the hospital begins training FTE residents in excess of the applicable threshold.

Veterans' Education Equity Act

United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2017

Veterans' Education Equity Act This bill provides that the monthly housing allowance under the Department of Veterans Affairs Post-9/11 educational assistance program shall be based on the location of the campus where an individual physically participates in a majority of classes rather than the location of the institution of higher learning at which an individual is enrolled.

Stephanie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independence Reauthorization Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2017

Stephanie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independence Reauthorization Act of 2017 This bill reauthorizes through FY2022 and otherwise amends the Assets for Independence Act, which provides for demonstration projects to fund individual development accounts (IDAs). (IDAs are matched savings accounts through which low-income individuals may save targeted amounts for qualifying purposes such as first-time home ownership or post-secondary education.) With respect to IDAs, the bill expands: (1) qualifying educational expenses; and (2) qualifying expenses for home replacement, repair, or improvement. In addition, with respect to demonstration projects, the bill: (1) requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to give special consideration to applications from victims of domestic violence, individuals who are or have been in foster care, and certain other categories of individuals; (2) revises income-eligibility requirements; (3) modifies procedures related to terminated projects; and (4) revises other specified requirements and limitations. An individual who is a recent or current victim of domestic violence shall not, for purposes of project participation, fail to qualify as a first-time homebuyer by reason of having a co-ownership interest in a principal residence with a person who committed domestic violence against the individual. HHS may use funds appropriated under the Act to cover certain necessary training costs. HHS is authorized to waive certain project requirements and limitations.

Right Start Child Care and Education Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2017

Right Start Child Care and Education Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the rates and maximum allowable amount of the tax credit for employer-provided child care facilities; (2) increase the eligibility threshold amount and rate of the household and dependent care tax credit and make such credit refundable; (3) allow a new $2,000 annual tax credit for three years for child care providers who hold a bachelor's degree in early childhood education, child care, or a related degree and who provide at least 1,200 hours of child care services in a taxable year; and (4) increase the tax exclusion for employer-provided dependent care assistance.

HOT-R Act

United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2017

Honoring Our Trust Relationships Act of 2017 or the HOT-R Act This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to exempt specified American Indian and Alaska Native programs from sequestration, including programs administered by the Departments of the Interior, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, and Health and Human Services. (Sequestration is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals.)

Student Job Protection Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2017

Student Job Protection Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude students who are employed by an institution of higher education (IHE) and carrying what the school considers a full-time academic workload at the IHE from being counted as full-time employees in calculating the IHE's shared responsibility regarding health care coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

To prevent the territories of the United States from losing current Medicaid funding.

United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2017

This bill amends the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 to require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to annually allocate, to each U.S. territory, at least as much Medicaid funding for primary care services as was allocated to the territory in 2017.

REAL Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2017

Restoring Education And Learning Act of 2017 or the REAL Act of 2017 This bill amends title IV (Student Aid) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to eliminate the provision that prohibits Pell Grant eligibility for individuals incarcerated in a federal or state penal institution and for sex offenders subject to civil commitment following incarceration.

DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR 2019

United States · United States House of Representatives · 3 January 2017

EFFECT Act

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Expediting Funding For Efficient Contracting Tribes Act or the EFFECT Act This bill amends the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to permit an Indian tribe to submit a request for expedited review of the tribe's proposed annual funding agreement to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives. If the committees assent to the request, the Department of the Interior must waive part or all of the review period for the agreement and set or amend the effective date of the agreement, as specified by the committees.

Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act This bill amends the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to permit the Native residents of each of the Native villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell, Alaska, to organize as urban corporations and to receive certain settlement land. These urban corporations may establish a settlement trust to promote the health, education, and welfare of the trust beneficiaries, and preserve the Native heritage and culture of their communities.

Supporting America's Young Entrepreneurs Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Supporting America's Young Entrepreneurs Act of 2017 This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make eligible for deferment and cancellation under the Federal Direct Loan program a borrower who is an employee or founder of a small business start-up in a distressed area. It also amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from an individual's gross income the amount of such canceled student loan debt. The bill establishes a Federal Direct Refinanced Private Loan program to refinance private education loans. Finally, it establishes a young entrepreneurs business center within the Small Business Administration to certify small business start-ups, identify distressed areas, and approve loan cancelation for founders of small business start-ups.

ObamaCare Repeal Act

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

ObamaCare Repeal Act This bill repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of their enactment. Provisions of law amended by those Acts are restored.

To expand the workforce of veterinarians specialized in the care and conservation of wild animals and their ecosystems, and to develop educational programs focused on wildlife and zoological veterinary medicine.

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Wildlife Veterinarians Employment and Training Act or the Wildlife VET Act This bill authorizes the Department of the Interior to award grants to wildlife or veterinary institutions to create additional clinical and research positions for wildlife and zoological veterinarians. Preference must be given to institutions that will create positions in areas of need, including wildlife disease research and training, disease surveillance, ecology and wildlife population management, and conservation and management of the health of endangered, threatened, and sensitive species. Interior must establish: (1) the Wildlife and Zoological Veterinary Workforce Loan Repayment Program to pay educational loans of eligible individuals for a doctoral degree in veterinary medicine or a graduate degree in veterinary medicine, and (2) the Wildlife and Zoological Veterinary Workforce Scholarship Program to award students enrolled in an accredited school or college of veterinary medicine scholarships. Those loans may be repaid and the awards may be given only if the recipient of the loan or the award agrees to serve for at least four consecutive years at a wildlife or veterinary institution as a wildlife or zoological veterinarian. Interior must also: (1) establish a pilot program to award grants to accredited schools and colleges of veterinary medicine to develop or improve new or existing curricula that specialize in wildlife or zoological veterinary medicine, and (2) award grants to eligible wildlife or veterinary institutions to establish or expand training programs that will enhance the ability of a trainee to practice as a wildlife or zoological veterinarian.

Increasing Access to Voluntary Screening for HIV/AIDS and STIs Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Increasing Access to Voluntary Screening for HIV/AIDS and STIs Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) and title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require Medicare and state Medicaid programs to provide routine HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening services. State Medicaid programs must provide these services without cost sharing for the screened individual. The bill amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code to require group health plans and health insurers to provide coverage for routine HIV/AIDS and STI screening under no less favorable terms than other routine health screenings. The bill prohibits activities to avoid these requirements. State Medicaid programs may receive enhanced federal matching funds for covering individuals with HIV/AIDS whose income and resources do not exceed the limits for disabled individuals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must track STI screening trends and other information regarding people with disabilities and women who have sex with women. The CDC must work with others to: (1) make sex education materials accessible to the deaf and hearing loss community and to people with intellectual disabilities, (2) track access to women's health services for women with severe mobility impairments, (3) increase the number of people in public health careers who are deaf or living with hearing loss, (4) ensure that cervical cancer screening guidelines state that women who have sex with women should be subject to the same screening as women who have sex with men, and (5) improve information collection concerning STIs in transgender communities.

Services for Ending Long-Term Homelessness Act

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Services for Ending Long-Term Homelessness Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to design national strategies and implement programs to address chronic homelessness. To promote an end to chronic homelessness, the Department of Health and Human Services must award grants to provide: mental health services; substance use disorder treatment; integrated, coordinated treatment for co-occurring disorders; health education; services designed to help individuals and families make progress toward self-sufficiency; and other supportive services that promote an end to chronic homelessness. Priority for grants is given to applicants that target services to individuals and families who have experienced more homelessness, use more public emergency care, or have a history with the criminal justice system.

Byron Nash Renal Medullary Carcinoma Awareness Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Byron Nash Renal Medullary Carcinoma Awareness Act of 2017 This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to pay states 50% of their costs for providing education on the risk of renal medullary carcinoma to individuals with sickle cell disease. (Renal medullary carcinoma is a rare kidney disease usually found in individuals with the sickle cell trait.)

Breath of Fresh Air Act

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Breath of Fresh Air Act This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a grant program for local educational agencies (LEAs) to purchase, and train school personnel to use, nebulizers. Each grant recipient must demonstrate that, with respect to each of its schools that is to use the nebulizers: (1) a full-time certified nurse is on staff, (2) trained personnel and other resources necessary for nebulizer use are in place, (3) emergency services personnel are notified of nebulizer locations, (4) nebulizers are integrated into the school's emergency response procedures, and (5) procedures are in place to notify parents of the availability of nebulizers and to inform them how to provide the school with their child's prescription asthma medication and authorization to use a nebulizer to assist their child. The bill gives grant priority to LEAs that: (1) serve areas where the prevalence of asthma is at least 10% higher than the national average; (2) do not already have at least one nebulizer in each of their schools; (3) serve schools that typically have a significant number of students, staff, and visitors present during the day; and (4) have not received funds under the Rural Access to Emergency Devices Act.

Expanding Care for Veterans Act

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Expanding Care for Veterans Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop a plan to expand the scope of VA's research and education on, and delivery and integration of, complementary and alternative medicine services. The VA shall carry out, through its Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation, a three-year program to: (1) assess the feasibility and advisability of integrating the delivery of selected complementary and alternative medicine services with other VA health care services for veterans, and (2) identify and resolve barriers to providing such services and integrating them with other VA health services. Such program shall be conducted at not fewer than 15 VA medical centers by integrating the provision of complementary and alternative medicine services with other VA health care services provided to veterans who have a mental health condition, experience chronic pain, or have a chronic condition. Veterans' participation shall be voluntary. The VA shall contract with a qualified independent entity for comprehensive studies of the barriers encountered by veterans in receiving, and by administrators and clinicians in providing, complementary and alternative medicine services through the VA. Such studies shall be conducted through surveys of veterans and VA administrators and clinicians. The VA shall carry out a three-year program awarding grants to public or private nonprofit entities to assess the feasibility and advisability of using wellness programs to complement the provision of mental health care to veterans and family members who are eligible for readjustment counseling from the VA.

To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the use of Post-9/11 Educational Assistance to pursue independent study programs at certain educational institutions that are not institutions of higher learning.

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

This bill permits veterans to use Department of Veterans Affairs post-9/11 educational assistance for an accredited independent study program (including open circuit television) at an educational institution that is an area career and technical education school or a postsecondary vocational school providing postsecondary level education.

Teacher Victims' Family Assistance Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Teacher Victims' Family Assistance Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Education to provide assistance to the immediate families of teachers or other elementary and secondary school employees who are killed by another person's violent act while performing school duties. Such assistance includes funeral assistance, a death benefit, living assistance, and undergraduate education assistance for dependents. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from income tax: (1) the victim's compensation from school employment in the year of death, and (2) the victim's family assistance. The bill also establishes the Teacher Victims' Family Trust Fund funded with an excise tax increase on ammunition.

Funding for Student Scholarships for the 1890s Land-Grant African-American Colleges and Universities Act

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Funding for Student Scholarships for the 1890s Land-Grant African-American Colleges and Universities Act This bill amends the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to establish and provide funding for a grant program within the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for scholarships for students at 1890 land-grant colleges and universities (historically black colleges and universities established under the Second Morrill Act of 1890). USDA may award the scholarships to students who: (1) are seeking to attend such a college or university, and (2) intend to pursue a career in the food and agricultural sciences.

A concurrent resolution setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2017 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2018 through 2026.

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Establishes the congressional budget for the federal government for FY2017 and sets forth budgetary levels for FY2018-FY2026. Recommends levels and amounts for FY2017-FY2026 in both houses of Congress for: federal revenues, new budget authority, budget outlays, deficits, public debt, debt held by the public, and the major functional categories of spending. Recommends levels and amounts for FY2017-FY2026 in the Senate for Social Security and Postal Service discretionary administrative expenses. Includes reconciliation instructions directing the Senate Finance Committee; and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee to each submit deficit reduction legislation to the Senate Budget Committee by January 27, 2017. Includes reconciliation instructions directing the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee to each submit deficit reduction legislation to the House Budget Committee by January 27, 2017. (Under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, reconciliation bills are considered by Congress using expedited legislative procedures that prevent a filibuster and restrict amendments in the Senate.) Establishes: (1) a deficit-neutral reserve fund for health care legislation, and (2) a reserve fund for health care legislation. (The reserve funds provide the chairmen of the congressional budget committees with flexibility in applying budget enforcement rules to health care legislation that meets specified criteria. Under the reserve funds, the chairmen may revise committee allocations, aggregates and other appropriate levels in this resolution, and the pay-as-you-go [PAYGO] ledger in the Senate.)

RAISE Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Reforming Alternatives to Incarceration and Sentencing to Establish a Better Path for Youth Act of 2017 or the RAISE Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to permit a court to impose a sentence below the mandatory minimum for certain nonviolent youth offenses if the mandatory minimum is unjust to the youth and not necessary to protect public safety. The term "youth" means an individual prosecuted or sentenced for a criminal offense committed at age 21 or younger. The bill requires the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to release early, subject to a period of pre-release custody, a nonviolent youth offender who has: (1) completed one half or more of his or her prison term, and (2) received no disciplinary violations for violent conduct in the last two years. A court may reduce the prison term of a youth who has completed 20 years of such prison term if: (1) compelling evidence warrants a sentence reduction, and (2) the youth poses no public safety danger. Additionally, a court must treat as discretionary a mandatory life prison term for a youth offender and impose an appropriate sentence after considering the youth's age. It limits to 30, 60, or 90 days the maximum prison term imposed on a defendant who commits a first, second, or third technical violation of a probation condition. The BOP must separately designate youth correctional facilities, minimize contact between youth and other offenders, and establish youth education, skills training, reentry, and mental and emotional health programs. The Department of Justice must establish pilot programs for diversion of high-risk, victimized, and primary caretaker youth. The BOP must establish pilot programs on youth mentorship, government service, and animal service. This bill's provisions apply to youth involved in the federal criminal justice system before, on, or after enactment.

United States Virgin Islands College Access Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

United States Virgin Islands College Access Act of 2017 This bill directs the U.S. Virgin Islands to award grants to public four-year institutions of higher education (IHEs) located in a state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or Guam to cover the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition and fees for students who have: (1) been domiciled in the Virgin Islands for at least the 12 months preceding their enrollment in the IHE; and (2) received on or after January 1, 2013, a secondary school diploma or its equivalent while domiciled there. The Government Accountability Office must monitor the program's effectiveness in expanding educational opportunities for such students.

Haitian Educational Empowerment Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Haitian Educational Empowerment Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of State to establish a scholarship program for eligible Haitian students who were enrolled as full-time students in a Haitian or U.S. university or institution of higher education and whose studies were interrupted as a result of the January 12, 2010, earthquake or the October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew. A Haitian student who receives such a scholarship shall return to Haiti upon completion of an undergraduate or graduate degree. The State Department may make grants to institutions of higher education that have enrolled a significant number of Haitian students who were enrolled as full-time students in a Haitian university at the time of such earthquake or hurricane. Such grants shall be used to provide social and educational support services.

Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Act of 2017 This bill amends the General Education Provisions Act to prohibit the Department of Education (ED) from providing funding to any state or local educational agency (LEA) that allows its school personnel to inflict corporal punishment upon a student. ED may award three-year grants to states or LEAs to assist them with improving school climate and culture. Grants must be used to implement school-wide positive behavior programs.

Housing Fairness Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Veterans, Women, Families with Children, Race, and Persons with Disabilities Housing Fairness Act of 2017 or the Housing Fairness Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to conduct a nationwide testing program to: (1) detect and document differences in the treatment of persons seeking to rent or purchase housing or obtain or refinance a home mortgage loan; (2) measure patterns of adverse treatment because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability status, or national origin of a renter, home buyer, or borrower; and (3) measure the prevalence of such discriminatory practices across housing and mortgage lending markets. The Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 is amended to require that only qualified private nonprofit fair housing enforcement organizations receive funds under the fair housing initiatives program for investigations of violations of the rights granted under the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Private entities that formulate or carry out programs to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices must be nonprofit in order to be eligible for contracts to establish or support education and outreach programs. HUD shall implement a competitive matching grant program to assist public and private nonprofit organizations in: (1) conducting comprehensive studies of the causes and effects of housing discrimination and segregation on education, poverty, and economic development or on veterans and military personnel; and (2) implementing pilot projects that test solutions to help prevent or alleviate housing discrimination and segregation.

Students Voicing Opinions in Today's Elections (VOTE) Act

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Students Voicing Opinions in Today's Elections (VOTE) Act This bill directs the Election Assistance Commission to carry out a pilot program providing funds, during FY2017, to local educational agencies (LEAs) for initiatives that provide 12th graders with voter registration information. LEAs must consult with their state and local election officials in developing the initiatives.

America RISING Act of 2017

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

America Realizing the Informational Skills and Initiative of New Graduates Act of 2017 or America RISING Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services to jointly establish a grant program to defray the costs paid by: (1) employers to compensate recent college graduates; and (2) recent college graduates to enroll in postsecondary education courses in mathematics, science, engineering, or technology.

Electing Members to certain standing committees of the House of Representatives.

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Elects specified Members to the following House Committees: (1) Appropriations, (2) the Budget, (3) Education and the Workforce, (4) Energy and Commerce, (5) Financial Services, (6) Foreign Affairs, (7) Homeland Security, (8) House Administration, (9) Natural Resources, (10) Oversight and Government Reform, (11) Rules, (12) Small Business, and (13) Ways and Means.

Electing Members to certain standing committees of the House of Representatives.

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Elects specified Members to the House Committees on: (1) Agriculture; (2) Appropriations; (3) Armed Services; (4) the Budget; (5) Education and the Workforce; (6) Energy and Commerce; (7) Ethics; (8) Financial Services; (9) Foreign Affairs; (10) Homeland Security; (11) House Administration; (12) the Judiciary; (13) Natural Resources; (14) Oversight and Government Reform; (15) Rules; (16) Science, Space, and Technology; (17) Small Business; (18) Transportation and Infrastructure; (19) Veterans' Affairs; and (20) Ways and Means.

Iran Ballistic Missile Sanctions Act

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017

Iran Ballistic Missile Sanctions Act This bill amends the Iran-Iraq Arms Non-Proliferation Act of 1992 to cover ballistic missile or related technology. The Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 is amended to: (1) extend the Act through December 31, 2031, and (2) require sanctions on Iran and related entities and persons for actions to acquire or develop ballistic missiles and launch technology. The Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 is amended to direct the President to report to Congress biannually on: (1) identified persons that have knowingly aided Iran in developing its ballistic missile program, and (2) Iran-North Korea ballistic missile cooperation. The President shall block and prohibit all transactions in property and property interests in the United States of any identified person. An identified person, with certain exceptions, shall be excluded from U.S. entry. The President shall prohibit the opening and prohibit or impose strict conditions on the maintaining in the United States of a correspondent account or a payable-through account by a foreign financial institution that knowingly conducts or facilitates a significant financial transaction for an identified person. The President shall block and prohibit all transactions in property and property interests in the United States of: any entity owned in part by the Aerospace Industries Organization, the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, or the Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group, or collectively by a group of individual investors in such groups; or any person that controls or is a board member of such an entity. The Department of the Treasury shall submit to Congress a list of entities (and their officers) in which the Aerospace Industries Organization, the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, the Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group, or any agent or affiliate has a specified minimum ownership interest. The President shall: certify to Congress biannually that each person listed in an annex of certain United Nations Security Council Resolutions is not involved with the development of or transfer to Iran of ballistic missiles, related technology, or components; but issue sanctions on any persons involved in those activities and prohibit associated financial transactions in the United States. The President shall report to Congress: (1) biannually a list of sectors of the Iranian economy involved with the development of or transfer to Iran of ballistic missiles or technology; and (2) annually a list of all foreign persons involved with the development of ballistic missiles, technology, or components in those sectors, namely: automotive, chemical, computer science, construction, electronic, energy, metallurgy, mining, petrochemical, research (including universities and research institutions), and telecommunications. The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 is amended to cover the acquisition or development of ballistic missiles, capabilities, and launch technology. The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is amended to require each issuer of securities to disclose to the Securities and Exchange Commission whether it knowingly engaged in any activity involving sectors of Iran that support its ballistic missile program for which sanctions may be imposed.