This bill approves and implements a new trade agreement between the United States and Taiwan, negotiated by the American Institute in Taiwan and Taiwan's Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office. The agreement aims to strengthen economic ties by addressing areas like supply chain security, investment screening, health, science, technology, and the digital economy. The bill establishes requirements for the President to consult with Congress before implementation, submit reports on how the agreement benefits US workers and businesses, and provide transparency about future trade negotiations. It also clarifies that the agreement doesn't override US or state laws and requires any future agreements to follow a similar approval process with congressional review.
This bill directs the U.S. Treasury to mint commemorative coins marking the Marine Corps' 250th anniversary in 2025. It authorizes three coin types: $5 gold coins (max 50,000), $1 silver coins (max 400,000), and half-dollar coins (max 750,000), with surcharges of $35, $10, and $5 respectively. The surcharge proceeds will fund the Marine Corps Heritage Center's educational programs, with no net cost to taxpayers as the Treasury must recover all minting costs through the surcharges. The coins can only be issued during 2025, and the Treasury must ensure all costs are covered before distributing funds to the Heritage Foundation.
The Veterans' COLA Act of 2023 increases compensation rates for veterans with service-connected disabilities and for survivors of certain disabled veterans, effective December 1, 2023. These increases will be calculated using the same percentage as the Social Security Act's cost-of-living adjustment for that year. The bill affects veterans receiving disability compensation under section 1114 of Title 38, as well as survivors receiving dependency and indemnity compensation under sections 1311, 1313, and 1314. Specific provisions include adjustments to wartime disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, clothing allowances, and survivor benefits. The Department of Veterans Affairs will publish the adjusted rates in the Federal Register by the date required for Social Security Act adjustments.
The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 provides a temporary increase to the U.S. debt ceiling through January 1, 2025, with a mechanism to restore the debt limit on January 2, 2025. It establishes discretionary spending limits for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, setting specific amounts for security and non-security categories ($886.3 billion and $703.7 billion for 2024, respectively). The bill includes provisions to rescind billions of dollars in unobligated funds from various federal accounts and creates a new Administrative Pay-As-You-Go requirement for agencies to offset increases in direct spending. These provisions directly affect federal budget management, spending decisions, and the government's approach to debt management.
This bill terminates the national emergency declared by the President on March 13, 2020, under the National Emergencies Act. It ends the executive branch's authority to use emergency powers related to that specific declaration. The resolution passed both chambers in early 2023 and took effect April 10, 2023, without creating new policies or affecting specific groups.
H.J. Res. 26 is a congressional disapproval resolution blocking the District of Columbia Council's approval of its Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 (D.C. Act 24-789). It directly affects the District of Columbia by preventing the new criminal code from taking effect, as Congress disapproved the Council's action under the Home Rule Act. The resolution formally rejects the Council's enactment of the code, which was transmitted to Congress on January 27, 2023. This procedural action stops the District from implementing the revised criminal code without further congressional action.
Justice for Victims of War Crimes Act This act broadens the scope of individuals who are subject to federal prosecution for war crime offenses. Currently, the federal war crimes statute provides federal jurisdiction over war crime offenses committed anywhere (i.e., inside or outside the United States) if the victim or offender is a member of the Armed Forces or a U.S. national. First, this act extends federal jurisdiction over war crime offenses committed anywhere to offenses where (1) the victim or offender is an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence; or (2) the offender is present in the United States, regardless of the nationality of the victim or the offender. Second, the act expands federal jurisdiction over war crime offenses to include offenses that occur in whole or in part within the United States, regardless of whether the victim or offender is a member of the Armed Forces, a U.S. national, or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. The act allows an indictment for certain war crime offenses to be instituted any time, making the statute of limitations inapplicable. To undertake a prosecution for war crime offenses, the act requires written certification that prosecution is in the public interest and is necessary to secure substantial justice. The certification is not subject to judicial review.
Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research Reauthorization Act of 2022 or the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act This act reauthorizes through FY2028 and modifies pediatric cancer research and related programs, including to expand collection of and access to relevant biospecimens and to support the transition of pediatric cancer survivors to primary care.
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021 This act provides for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley. After it is awarded, the medal shall be given to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Hazard Eligibility and Local Projects Act This act makes an entity seeking assistance under a hazard mitigation assistance program eligible to receive such assistance for certain projects already in progress. Specifically, this act covers a project that is an acquisition and demolition project for which an entity began implementation, including planning or construction, before or after requesting assistance for the project under a hazard mitigation assistance program; and qualifies for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must have determined that the project qualifies for a categorical exclusion, is compliant with applicable floodplain management and protection of wetland regulations and criteria, and does not require consultation under any other environmental or historic preservation law or regulation or involve any extraordinary circumstances. FEMA must report to Congress, within 180 days of enactment and annually thereafter for three years, on use of the authority under this act. Such authority terminates three years after enactment.
Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area Act This act directs the Department of the Interior to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating a study area comprised of cities and counties in Virginia and counties in North Carolina as a National Heritage Area to be known as the Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area. The study shall include analysis, documentation, and determinations on whether the study area (1) has an assemblage of natural, historic, and cultural resources that represent distinctive aspects of the people and culture of the United States; and (2) are worthy of recognition, conservation, interpretation, and continuing use.
Billy's Law or the Help Find the Missing Act This act provides statutory authority for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to maintain the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) consistent with its existing purpose and structure. NamUs is a national information clearinghouse and resource center for cases involving missing persons and unidentified or unclaimed remains. NamUs is administered by the National Institute of Justice within DOJ. The act also establishes new requirements. First, it requires a law enforcement agency that submits a missing child report to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) to also submit the missing child report to NamUs. The NCIC is a computerized index of criminal justice data and files for reports of missing and unidentified persons. Current law requires law enforcement agencies to submit missing child reports to the NCIC database but not to the NamUs databases. Second, the act establishes requirements to facilitate data sharing between the NCIC database and the NamUs databases with respect to missing and unidentified persons. Specifically, the act requires DOJ to give the National Institute of Justice access to the NCIC missing person and unidentified person records for the purpose of validating cases and reconciling data with NamUs. Additionally, the act requires DOJ to assess the NCIC and NamUs systems and governing statutes, policies, and procedures and create a plan for NCIC to automatically transmit certain records to NamUs. Third, the act requires DOJ to report to forensic medicine service providers and law enforcement agencies on best practices for collecting, reporting, and analyzing data and information on missing persons and unidentified human remains. DOJ must also report to Congress biennially on the status of the NCIC database and the NamUs databases. The report must describe the process of information sharing between the NCIC database and NamUs databases.
