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51 records in US in 2017
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 2017
This bill incrementally lowers, from 70% in FY2019 to 54% in FY2027 and subsequent years, the maximum federal matching rate under Medicaid for Washington, DC.
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 2017
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R.1370) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue Department of Homeland Security-wide guidance and develop training programs as part of the Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4667) making further supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2018, for disaster assistance for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and calendar year 2017 wildfires, and for other purposes; and providing for proceedings during the period from December 22, 2017, through January 7, 2018.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2017
Bipartisan Market Stabilization and Innovation Act of 2017 This bill makes a series of changes relating to health insurance coverage and costs. Among other things, the bill establishes a specific fund to support state initiatives that reduce costs and terminates the medical device excise tax.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2017
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 1) to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2017
Tax Extender Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend various expiring tax deductions, credits, and rules. The bill extends tax credits relating to: Indian employment, railroad track maintenance, mine rescue team training, qualified zone academy bonds, American Samoa economic development, nonbusiness energy property, new fuel cell motor vehicles, two-wheeled plug-in electric vehicles, alternative fuel vehicle refueling property, second generation biofuel producers, biodiesel and renewable diesel, Indian coal facilities, facilities producing energy from renewable resources, energy efficient new homes, and alternative fuels. The bill extends and modifies the tax credits for: residential energy property, investments in energy property, production from advanced nuclear power facilities, and carbon dioxide sequestration. The bill also extends provisions relating to: the tax exclusion for the discharge of principal residence indebtedness; the treatment of mortgage insurance premiums as qualified residence interest; deductions for tuition and related expenses, income attributable to domestic production activities in Puerto Rico, and energy efficient commercial buildings; depreciating or expensing various types of property; timber gains; empowerment zones; the cover over of rum excise taxes to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands; sales or dispositions to implement electric restructuring policies for electric utilities; and the oil spill liability trust fund.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 2017
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act This bill specifies that the tax deduction for certain state, local, and foreign taxes may not be reduced, suspended, or eliminated in any manner.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2017
DIVISION A--DISASTER ASSISTANCE Further Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements, 2017 This division provides $81 billion in FY2018 emergency appropriations to several federal agencies for disaster assistance related to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria; and wildfires that occurred in 2017. (Emergency spending is exempt from discretionary spending limits and other budget enforcement rules.) DIVISION B--DISASTER RECOVERY REFORM ACT This division amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to modify the Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster response and recovery programs. DIVISION C--OTHER MATTERS This division amends the Agricultural Act of 2014 to designate cottonseed as a covered commodity beginning with the 2018 crop year. (Producers of covered commodities are eligible for Department of Agriculture [USDA] price and income support programs such as the Price Loss Coverage program.) It also amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to remove the $20 million cap on annual expenditures for livestock producers under the federal crop insurance program. The bill requires all states to participate in USDA's National Accuracy Clearinghouse, which is a database for states to use to prevent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) participants from receiving duplicative benefits in multiple states. (The clearinghouse is currently a pilot program with five participating states.) DIVISION D--BUDGETARY EFFECTS This division exempts the budgetary effects of division B and each succeeding division of this bill from Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) and other budget enforcement rules.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2017
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 1) to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3312) to amend the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to specify when bank holding companies may be subject to certain enhanced supervision, and for other purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2017
Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make corrections in the enrollment of H.R. 1 (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) to add a new subtitle that includes specified provisions regarding: (1) an expansion of the limitation on deductions for lobbying expenditures, (2) a tax exemption for the production of kombucha, (3) an exclusion from gross income for certain gains from the sale or exchange of virtual currency, (4) and deductions and credits for expenditures in connection with marijuana sales conducted in compliance with state law.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2017
This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to prohibit a state, solely to fund its health insurance exchange, from charging a health insurer a fee or tax for excepted benefits coverage (benefits not subject to requirements under the Act) or on standalone dental plans that are not sold on an exchange.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2017
Student Protection and Success Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make an institution of higher education (IHE) ineligible for federal student financial aid programs for two fiscal years if a certain percentage of its students are not able to start repaying the principal of their loans by specified deadlines. The Department of Education must award grants to IHEs that have a strong record of supporting low- and moderate-income students. The bill funds the grants by requiring IHEs with certain nonrepayment loan balances to make risk-sharing payments. Grants may be used to increase college access and success for the students using investments and practices such as: awarding additional need-based financial aid, enhancing academic and student support services, and accelerated learning opportunities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2017
Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax credits for: (1) energy storage technologies, and (2) battery storage technology. The bill expands the tax credit for investments in energy property to include equipment that: (1) receives, stores, and delivers energy using batteries, compressed air, pumped hydropower, hydrogen storage (including hydrolysis), thermal energy storage, regenerative fuel cells, flywheels, capacitors, superconducting magnets, or other technologies identified by the Internal Revenue Service; and (2) has a capacity of at least five kilowatt hours. The bill also expands the tax credit for residential energy efficient property to include expenditures for battery storage technology that: (1) is installed on or in connection with a dwelling unit located in the United States and used as a residence by the taxpayer, and (2) has a capacity of at least three kilowatt hours.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2017
Small businesses Add Value for Employees Act of 2017 or the SAVE Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the requirements for employer-established individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and pension plans. With respect to SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) IRAs, the bill: repeals restrictions on rollovers to retirement plans, allows employers to terminate the plan at any time during the year, repeals the increased penalty on early distributions, and allows additional contributions. The bill also: establishes automatic deferral IRAs to permit the automatic enrollment of employees earning at least $5,000 for the preceding year, establishes secure deferral arrangements for automatically enrolling employees at a rate of at least 6% of pay with annual increases and specified matching contributions, allows small employers a tax credit for the cost of adopting safe harbor requirements for automatic contribution arrangements, allows unused benefits in a flexible spending arrangement to be transferred to a retirement or deferred compensation plan, increases the tax credit for small employer pension plan startup costs, and establishes multiple small employer retirement plans that provide for automatic employee contributions. The Department of the Treasury must: (1) modify requirements for the timing of notices to participants in automatic contribution pension plans, and (2) develop specified financial educational materials. The bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to: (1) exempt IRAs that permit payroll deductions from additional pension plan requirements, (2) require disclosures relating to lifetime income from pension plans and annuities, and (3) set forth safe harbor criteria for the selection of an annuity contract and an insurer.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2017
Prioritizing Energy-Efficient Renewables Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the tax credits for producing electricity from wind, geothermal energy, hydropower, and marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy facilities; (2) repeal the tax deduction for intangible drilling and development costs for oil and gas wells; (3) repeal the tax deduction for income attributable to the production, refining, transportation, or distribution of oil, natural gas, or any primary product thereof; and (4) repeal the percentage depletion allowance for oil and gas wells.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2017
DIVISION A--FURTHER ADDITIONAL CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018 Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 This division amends the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 to provide continuing FY2018 appropriations to most federal agencies through January 19, 2018 (December 22, 2017, under current law). It prevents a partial government shutdown that would otherwise occur when the existing continuing resolution expires because the FY2018 appropriations bills have not been enacted. It also exempts security spending from sequestration (automatic spending cuts) for FY2018 and delays the sequestration for nonsecurity spending. DIVISION B--DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS This division provides appropriations to the Department of Defense for the remainder of FY2018, including emergency appropriations for missile defense programs. DIVISION C--CHAMPIONING HEALTHY KIDS ACT Continuing Community Health And Medical Professional Programs to Improve Our Nation, Increase National Gains, and Help Ensure Access for Little Ones, Toddlers, and Hopeful Youth by Keeping Insurance Delivery Stable Act of 2017 or the CHAMPIONING HEALTHY KIDS Act This division extends the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through FY2022 and also extends several other public health programs. The division also increases Medicaid funding for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands through FY2019 and modifies the Medicaid payment reductions for disproportionate-share hospitals (which receive additional payment under Medicaid for treating a large share of low-income patients). In addition, the bill: modifies the grace period for paying health insurance premiums under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, reduces appropriations for the Prevention and Public Health Fund, alters third-party liability rules under Medicaid and CHIP, modifies the treatment of lottery winnings and other lump-sum income under Medicaid income eligibility rules, and eliminates Medicare premium subsidies for beneficiaries with annual incomes exceeding $500,000. DIVISION D--OTHER MATTERS This division provides funding for the Veterans Choice Program, which allows veterans to receive health care from providers outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to suspend the employer mandate for health insurance coverage until January 1, 2019. The bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to delay for one year, until after December 31, 2020, the implementation of the excise tax on high cost employer-sponsored health coverage (commonly referred to as the Cadillac tax).
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to temporarily permit tax-favored health savings accounts, Archer Medical Savings Accounts, health flexible spending arrangements, and health reimbursement arrangements to be used to purchase over-the-counter medicine that is not prescribed by a physician. The bill applies during the period beginning on January 1, 2018, and ending on December 31, 2019.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2022 the moratorium on the excise tax on the sale of certain medical devices. (Under current law, the moratorium applies to sales during the period beginning on January 1, 2016, and ending on December 31, 2017.)
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow distributions from qualified tuition programs (known as 529 plans) to be used for certain expenses associated with registered apprenticeship programs. The bill expands the definition of "qualified higher education expenses" for which tax-free distributions are allowed to include books, supplies, and equipment required for the enrollment or attendance of a designated beneficiary in an apprenticeship program registered and certified with the Department of Labor.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2017
Nuclear Powers America Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for investments in qualified nuclear energy property placed in service before January 1, 2024. The credit applies to any amounts paid or incurred for refueling or other specified expenditures for a nuclear power plant for which an application for license renewal was or will be submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission before January 1, 2024.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2017
Disaster Response Workforce Flexibility Act of 2017 This bill authorizes employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) performing duties directly related to, or in support of, disaster preparation, response, and recovery efforts to be paid an amount of premium pay during fiscal years 2017 or 2018 to the extent that the total of basic pay and such premium pay for any pay period does not exceed the annual rate of basic pay for level II of the Executive Schedule. Such additional pay shall not be considered to be basic pay and shall not be used in computing a lump-sum payment for accumulated and accrued annual leave upon separation from service.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2017
Defending Special Education Students and Families Act of 2017 This bill amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to authorize appropriations for grants to assist states in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities. For FY2018-FY2022, the bill authorizes specified amounts. For FY2023 and each subsequent fiscal year, the bill authorizes amounts using a specified formula. The bill also amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to modify the discretionary spending limits for FY2018-FY2021. For each fiscal year, the bill decreases the limit for security spending by a specified amount and increases the limit for nonsecurity spending by the same amount. The nonsecurity spending increases are the same amounts as are authorized in the bill for additional funding under the IDEA in those fiscal years.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2017
DHS Overseas Personnel Enhancement Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), by 90 days after the submission of the 3-year strategy for DHS international programs required under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, to brief the congressional homeland security committees regarding DHS personnel with primary duties that take place outside of the United States. DHS shall also submit to the congressional homeland security committees a plan to enhance the effectiveness of DHS personnel at foreign locations that includes proposals to improve efforts of DHS personnel for providing foreign partner capacity development and furthering the counterterrorism mission of DHS.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2017
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 477) to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to exempt from registration brokers performing services in connection with the transfer of ownership of smaller privately held companies; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3971) to amend the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to modify the requirements for community financial institutions with respect to certain rules relating to mortgage loans, and for other purposes; and providing for consideration of the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 123) making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2018.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2017
Superfund Polluter Pays Restoration Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) reinstate the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate beginning 60 days after enactment of this bill; (2) increase such rate from 9.7 cents to 15.8 cents per barrel of crude oil (adjusted for inflation after 2018); (3) reinstate and increase the rates of tax on taxable chemicals (adjusted for inflation after 2018); and (4) modify the definition of "crude oil" to include any bitumen or bituminous mixture, any oil derived from such mixture (including oil derived from tar sands), and any oil derived form kerogen-bearing sources (including oil derived from oil shale). The bill amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to allow the use of the Superfund for environmental remediation without further appropriation.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for increasing research activities (known as the research and experimentation tax credit), to: increase the alternative simplified credit rate to match the rate of the regular credit; allow taxpayers to use reasonable estimation techniques in lieu of contemporaneous accounting to measure employee hours per business component; allow employees engaging in the direct supervision or direct support of research activities which constitute qualified research to be included in the research expense calculation without regard to the employee's position or management level; allow the credit to be used for research related to the adaptation of an existing business component to a particular customer's requirement or need, cost reduction, or obsolescence mitigation; and allow taxpayers to make an election for a reduced credit (in order to be allowed a full deduction for research expenses) on an amended tax return. The bill also allows a business-related tax credit equal to 10% of the qualified connective manufacturing equipment expenditures made by the taxpayer during the year. The credit applies to expenditures relating to the purchase or installation of: (1) industrial equipment components that contain a microprocessor and can be connected to an electronic communication network; and (2) software, routing, or local area network components necessary to connect the components to an electronic communication network.
United States · United States Senate · 5 December 2017
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2017
DIVISION A--FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018 Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 This division amends the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 to extend the expiration date of the FY2018 Continuing Resolution (CR) from December 8, 2017, to December 22, 2017. The division provides continuing appropriations for federal agencies through the earlier of December 22, 2017, or the enactment of the applicable appropriations legislation. It prevents a government shutdown that would otherwise occur when the existing CR expires because none of the 12 FY2018 regular appropriations bills that fund the federal government have been enacted. DIVISION B--CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM (CHIP) ALLOCATION REDISTRIBUTION SPECIAL RULE This division amends title XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program [CHIP]) of the Social Security Act to establish a special rule, with respect to the first quarter of FY2018, for the redistribution of unused CHIP allotments to state child health plans experiencing emergency shortfalls. Specifically, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must redistribute unused allotments to each such state in an amount equal to the state's emergency shortfall before the CMS may redistribute the allotments to any state that is experiencing a nonemergency shortfall.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2017
REIT Parity Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the taxation of rent received by a real estate investment trust (REIT) from real property leased to a taxable REIT subsidiary, to apply the current rules for lodging facilities and health care property to parking facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2017
This bill amends title XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program [CHIP]) of the Social Security Act to establish a special rule, with respect to the first quarter of FY2018, for the redistribution of unused CHIP allotments to state child health plans experiencing emergency shortfalls. Specifically, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must redistribute unused allotments to each such state in an amount equal to the state's emergency shortfall before the CMS may redistribute the allotments to any state that is experiencing a nonemergency shortfall.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2017
Retirement Plan Simplification and Enhancement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to modify requirements and tax provisions regarding retirement plans. With respect to employer-provided retirement plans, the bill modifies requirements regarding: automatic enrollment; coverage rules for long-term, part-time workers; employer contributions; the timing for adopting a qualified retirement plan; correcting errors; financial incentives for contributing to a plan; the portability of lifetime income and managed account investment options; distribution options; notices and disclosures to participants; interest rates for defined benefit plans; and due dates for employer pension contributions. The bill also: repeals the maximum age for traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA) contributions, modifies the rollover options that are available to nonspouse beneficiaries, increases the age at which participants are required to begin taking distributions, exempts participants with retirement plan balances that do not exceed $250,000 from the required minimum distribution rules, expands tax credits for small employers that adopt certain retirement plans, makes the saver's tax credit available on Form 1040-EZ, modifies the required minimum distribution requirements for life annuities, modifies the requirements for qualifying longevity annuity contracts, modifies the rules for fiduciaries who make economically targeted investments, and establishes an Office of the Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate within the Internal Revenue Service.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2017
Automatic Retirement Plan Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require certain employers to maintain automatic contribution retirement plans for employees. Governments, churches, small employers (10 or fewer employees), certain new businesses, and employers who already maintain certain retirement plans are exempt from the requirement. Automatic contribution retirement plans are defined contribution plans, which must meet specified requirements regarding the eligibility of employees to enroll, automatic enrollment, investments, lifetime income, and fees. The bill also: imposes an excise tax on employers who fail to maintain an automatic contribution plan; increases the dollar limitation for the tax credit for small employer pension plan startup costs; allows a tax credit for small employers who adopt automatic contribution retirement plans; modifies certain nondiscrimination rules that would otherwise apply to the automatic contribution plans; modifies certain fiduciary, qualification, and administrative rules that apply to multiple employer plans; allows states to continue certain programs that require automatic contribution plans; allows a refundable tax credit for certain retirement savings contributions and requires the Department of the Treasury to pay the credit as a contribution to the applicable retirement account; and provides for the portability of lifetime income investment options by permitting a rollover into another retirement plan if the investment is no longer authorized to be held as an investment option under an employer-sponsored plan.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2017
Stop Tax Breaks for Sexual Misconduct Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a tax deduction for trade or business expenses paid or incurred for: (1) liability insurance providing coverage with respect to sexual misconduct by an employee; or (2) damages, settlement costs, or attorney's fees with respect to sexual misconduct by an employee. The bill also excludes from gross income amounts received as damages or settlement payments on account of injuries due to sexual misconduct.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2017
Stop Tax Subsidies for Sexual Abusers and Harassers Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a tax deduction for: (1) any settlement or payment related to sexual harassment or sexual abuse if the settlement or payment is subject to a nondisclosure agreement, or (2) attorney's fees related to such a settlement or payment.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2017
Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2017 This bill requires the salaries of Members of Congress to be reduced in any year that follows a year in which there was a federal budget deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2017
Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2017 This bill amends the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 to: (1) exclude the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from specified activities that it currently carries out in conjunction with the the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and (2) increase and extend funding through FY2024. The Corps shall approve specified water infrastructure projects and issue guidance on information required to be included in applications for projects requiring its approval. The EPA (currently, the Corps and the EPA): may enter into agreements to make secured loans, and shall establish a uniform system to service the federal credit instruments made available; may collect and spend fees, subject to specified limitations, and may appoint a financial entity to assist in servicing the federal credit instruments; shall set aside for each fiscal year at least 15% of the amounts made available for that fiscal year for small community water infrastructure projects; and shall publish pilot program implementation reports on a public Internet site. The bill modifies the date of the Government Accountability Office report to Congress on projects receiving assistance under the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2017
Settlement Tax Deductions are Over for Predators Act or the STOP Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny a trade or business expense deduction for any amount paid or incurred on account of a judgment or settlement originating from, or to require the non-disclosure of or otherwise prevent, a claim or accusation of sexual abuse or sexual harassment (including unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature).
United States · United States House of Representatives · 29 November 2017
United States · United States Congress · 29 November 2017
Medical Innovation Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require certain drug manufacturers to make payments to fund research supported by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A drug manufacturer with over $1 billion in net income in a fiscal year that has entered into a settlement agreement in the previous five years with a federal agency regarding specified violations must pay 0.75%-1.5% of its net income to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for each of its covered blockbuster drugs. A covered blockbuster drug is a drug that has at least $1 billion in net sales in a year and was developed, in whole or in part, through federal investments in medical research, including a drug for which a patent contains information that relates to, or is based upon, federally funded research. Each fiscal year, HHS must publish a list of manufacturers that make payments, each manufacturer's covered blockbuster drugs, and payment amounts. Payments are divided between the FDA and the NIH in proportion to the discretionary funding of those agencies, excluding FDA user fees. Payments are not disbursed if appropriations for the FDA or the NIH are lower than in the prior fiscal year. The FDA's priority use for payments must include advancing regulatory science for medical products. The NIH's priority use for payments must include supporting: (1) research that fosters radical innovation, (2) research that advances fundamental knowledge and technology, (3) research related to diseases that disproportionately account for federal health care spending, and (4) early career scientists. A covered blockbuster drug for which a manufacturer has not made a required payment is considered misbranded and may not be sold until payment is made.
United States · United States Congress · 29 November 2017
Medical Innovation Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require certain drug manufacturers to make payments to fund research supported by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A drug manufacturer with over $1 billion in net income in a fiscal year that has entered into a settlement agreement in the previous five years with a federal agency regarding specified violations must pay 0.75%-1.5% of its net income to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for each of its covered blockbuster drugs. A covered blockbuster drug is a drug that has at least $1 billion in net sales in a year and was developed, in whole or in part, through federal investments in medical research, including a drug for which a patent contains information that relates to, or is based upon, federally funded research. Each fiscal year, HHS must publish a list of manufacturers that make payments, each manufacturer's covered blockbuster drugs, and payment amounts. Payments are divided between the FDA and the NIH in proportion to the discretionary funding of those agencies, excluding FDA user fees. Payments are not disbursed if appropriations for the FDA or the NIH are lower than in the prior fiscal year. The FDA's priority use for payments must include advancing regulatory science for medical products. The NIH's priority use for payments must include supporting: (1) research that fosters radical innovation, (2) research that advances fundamental knowledge and technology, (3) research related to diseases that disproportionately account for federal health care spending, and (4) early career scientists. A covered blockbuster drug for which a manufacturer has not made a required payment is considered misbranded and may not be sold until payment is made.
United States · United States Congress · 29 November 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the tax deduction for lobbying expenditures to influence the legislation of any local council or similar governing body, including an Indian tribal government.
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 2017
Veteran Entrepreneurs Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business-related tax credit of up to $400,000 for 25% of the franchise fees paid or incurred by an eligible veteran for the purchase of a franchise. The bill reduces the amount of such credit if the veteran does not own 100% of the stock or capital or profits interest of the franchisee. An "eligible veteran" is a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service; was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable; and who pays or incurs a franchise fee in connection with a franchise agreement with a franchisor. The veteran may elect to transfer the credit to an eligible franchisor in exchange for a discount in the franchise fee commensurate with the value of the credit. The Small Business Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs must provide information about the tax credit allowed by this bill to veterans service organizations and veteran advocacy groups.
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 2017
Reducing Long-Term Unemployment Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend until December 31, 2018, the suspension of employment and railroad retirement taxes for employers who hire unemployed individuals. The aggregate reduction in taxes from such suspension is limited to $5,000 per employee. The bill modifies the unemployment requirement to require a signed affidavit from the unemployed individual that, during the entire 27-week period ending on the hiring date, such individual: (1) was receiving federal or state unemployment compensation, or (2) was unemployed and would have received unemployment compensation except for having exhausted the right to receive such compensation during such period.
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 2017
Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to limit the aggregate amount of a partner's annual tax deductions for qualified conservation contributions of a partnership to 2.5 times the partner's adjusted basis in the partnership. (Under current law, a "qualified conservation contribution" is the contribution of a qualified real property interest to a qualified organization exclusively for conservation purposes.) The limitation applies for the first five years after the individual becomes a partner in the partnership. It does not apply to certain family partnerships.
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 2017
Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Equitable Rebuild Act of 2017 This bill provides for additional disaster-recovery assistance and other assistance to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands with respect to infrastructure, health care, agriculture, education, economic development, and environmental remediation, among other sectors. Specifically, regarding both territories, the bill: provides for the use of certain emergency assistance to rebuild electric grids; establishes several grant programs to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy; subject to specified oversight requirements, increases funding for transportation infrastructure, telecommunications systems, housing, and community development; increases funding for the Medicaid and Medicare programs; temporarily increases social-services block-grant allotments; increases funding for, and otherwise revises, rural and agricultural programs; increases funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs; provides for aid to the Head Start program, elementary and secondary education programs, and higher education programs; increases funding for training and employment services; modifies provisions concerning the earned-income tax credit, the child tax credit, and unemployment assistance; increases funding for economic and community development programs; increases funding for environmental remediation; and otherwise modifies provisions related to emergency funding and disaster-recovery assistance. In addition, the bill: extends Medicaid waiver authority to all territories, provides for Medicaid disproportionate share hospital allotments to the territories, and otherwise revises the Medicaid and Medicare programs with respect to the territories; extends participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to all territories; modifies provisions concerning the application of certain workers' protections in Puerto Rico; and requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to submit to Congress a long-term disaster-relief plan with respect to Puerto Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands.
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 2017
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce tax rates and modify policies, credits, and deductions for individuals and businesses. With respect to individuals, the bill: replaces the existing tax brackets (10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%, and 39.6%) with new tax brackets (10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 38.5%); increases the standard deduction; suspends the deduction for personal exemptions; allows a deduction for business income of pass-through entities (i.e., partnerships, S corporations, limited liability companies, sole proprietorships); increases the child tax credit and allows a credit for dependents who are not children; suspends the deduction for state and local taxes not incurred in carrying on a trade or business or an activity for the production of income; suspends the deduction for home equity loan interest; repeals the penalty for individuals who fail to maintain minimum essential health coverage as required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as the individual mandate); suspends the overall limitation on certain itemized deductions; suspends the alternative minimum tax for individuals; and doubles the basic exemption amount for the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Many of the provisions in the bill that affect individual taxpayers expire after 2025. For businesses, the bill: permanently reduces the corporate tax rate from a maximum of 35% to a flat 20% rate, permanently repeals the alternative minimum tax for corporations, allows increased expensing of the costs of certain property, repeals the deduction for income attributable to domestic production activities, modifies the net operating loss deduction, limits the deductibility of net interest expenses to 30% percent of the business's adjusted taxable income, and modifies the taxation of foreign income. The bill also: (1) repeals or modifies several additional credits and deductions for individuals and businesses, (2) directs the Department of the Interior to implement an oil and gas leasing program for the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska, and (3) directs the Department of Energy to draw down and sell oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2017
Health Care Sharing Fairness Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for amounts paid as a member of a health care sharing ministry for: (1) the sharing of the medical expenses of fellow members, and (2) administrative fees of the health care sharing ministry.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Bureau of Reclamation and Bureau of Indian Affairs Water Project Streamlining Act This bill accelerates the Department of Interior's review, including environmental review, of feasibility studies for water projects for the reclamation of arid lands under the Reclamation Act of 1902 (project studies). Each future project study must have a maximum federal cost of $3 million. The bill exempts certain surface water projects, water recycling projects, and water supply projects from specified provisions of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. The bill authorizes the Equus Beds Division of the Wichita Project, the Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System, the Shasta Lake Water Resources Investigation, and Phase III of the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project. The bill establishes a process for Interior to deauthorize certain reclamation programs or projects for which no funds were obligated during the current fiscal year or the last five preceding fiscal years.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Protecting America and American Workers Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the diversity immigrant program effective on the first day of the first fiscal year after the date on which the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security jointly determine that such immigrant visas are no longer necessary to offset certain status adjustments under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. Until such time and effective on October 1, 2018, the annual number of diversity program visas is reduced from 55,000 to 5,000. Beginning in FY2019, 8,000 of such former diversity visas shall be allocated annually to each of three employment-based immigrant categories for a total of 24,000 additional visas each year.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2017
Removing Nuclear Waste from our Communities Act of 2017 This bill amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to authorize the Department of Energy (DOE) to enter into new contracts (or modify existing contracts) with the licensee of an interim consolidated storage facility in order to take title to and store in it either high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel of domestic origin. The bill defines: "interim consolidated storage facility" as a facility licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the storage of high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel received from DOE or from two or more persons that generate or hold title to such fuel generated at a civilian nuclear power reactor, and "high-level radioactive waste" as including Greater than Class C waste. The bill assigns priority to storage of such waste and spent fuel located on sites without an operating nuclear reactor and with over 15 million residents within a 50-mile radius. The bill makes appropriations targeted for the Nuclear Waste Fund available to pay for costs in connection with storage in an interim consolidated storage facility. Beginning in FY2020 DOE shall not expend, on fees for dry modes of storage of high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel, any amounts exceeding the cumulative amount of interest generated by the fund each fiscal year.