Trade Act of 2015 (H.R. 1314) – To date, this controversial bill was passed in both the House and the Senate, but the Senate made changes and sent it back to the House on May 22. The Senate combined the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) into the same bill. The TPA would grant the President the authority to enter into trade agreements with foreign nations, and enable Congress to “fast-track” trade deals with a simple up-or-down vote. The TAA would provide benefits for workers and firms that are negatively affected by trade agreements. In the past, these two components combined pacified both sides of the political fence, as the TPA leads to new trade agreements and the TAA mitigates the effect of outsourcing. This time, however, the House passed the TPA but not the TAA – due to Democratic opposition – so the bill did not move forward on June 15. Although Democrats overwhelmingly support the TAA, they voted against it to tank the whole bill. The House separated the TPA into a separate bill and sent it back to the Senate.

Country of Origin Labeling Amendments Act of 2015 (H.R. 2393) – Sponsored by Rep. Michael Conaway (R-TX), this Act would repeal the U.S. requirement for meat products (beef, pork and chicken) to be labeled with their country of origin, including where the animal was bred, raised and slaughtered. The bill follows a World Trade Organization ruling in favor of the Canadian government after it filed a complaint that the U.S. labeling policy discriminates against meat products from border countries. The bill passed in the House on June 10 and was sent to the Senate for consideration.

Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2015 (H.R. 2051) – Also sponsored by Rep. Michael Conaway (R-TX), this Act would reauthorize the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act, which is scheduled to expire in September. It would increase the requirements for livestock transaction reporting for packers and importers of cattle, swine and lamb to the USDA. This bill passed in the House on June 9 and went to the Senate.

Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (H.R. 2596) –  On June 16, the House passed this bill authorizing funding in fiscal year 2016 for the CIA, the FBI and 11 other intelligence-related agencies. It was passed with 15 amendments accepted and one rejected. The bill is now with the Senate.

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (H.R. 1735) – Both the House and the Senate have passed this comprehensive defense spending bill. It authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy. This bill, sponsored by Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), passed in the House and the Senate, but the Senate made changes and sent it back to the House on June 18.

Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 (H.R. 160) – This bill passed in the House on June 18 and was sent to the Senate. Sponsored by Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN), the Act would amend the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the excise tax on medical device manufacturers and importers.

Federal Vehicles Repair Cost Savings Act of 2015 (S. 565) – Sponsored by Junior Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), this bill passed in the Senate on June 15 and went to the House next. It is designed to encourage the use of remanufactured parts in federal vehicles in an effort to reduce operation and maintenance costs associated with the Federal fleet.

Fallen Heroes Flag Act of 2015 (H.R. 723) – Introduced by Rep. Pete King (R-NY), this Act passed in the House on May 12 and goes to the Senate next. The bill enables immediate family of firefighters, law enforcement officers, members of rescue squads or ambulance crews, and public safety officers who are killed in the line of duty to request and receive a Capitol-flown flag.

Don’t Tax Our Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act (H.R. 606) – This bill, sponsored by Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN), was passed by Congress on May 14 and was sent to the President. It would exclude from gross income all death benefits paid to surviving dependents of a public safety officer who died in the line of duty.

Defending Public Safety Employees’ Retirement Act (H.R. 2146) – This bill would waive the 10 percent penalty tax on early distributions from a government retirement plan for qualified public safety employees who have reached age 50, including for federal law enforcement officers, customs and border protection officers, federal firefighters, and air traffic controllers. It is sponsored by Rep. David Reichert (R-WA) and passed in the House on May 12. It goes to the Senate next for consideration.

Boosting Rates of American Veteran Employment Act (H.R. 1382) – Sponsored by Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY), this bill would authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to give a preference to vendors that employ veterans when awarding a government contract for the procurement of goods or services. It passed in the House on May 18 and then went to the Senate.

Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1508) – This Act would promote the development of a commercial space industry in the United States for resource exploration and utilization in outer space. Sponsored by Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL), it was reported on by Committee on May 13 and assigned to the House/Senate for consideration.

SPACE Act of 2015 (H.R. 2262) – Sponsored by Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), this bill also is designed to facilitate the development of a commercial space industry by encouraging private sector investment and creating more stable and predictable regulatory conditions. It was reported on by Committee on May 13 and sent to the House/Senate for consideration.

America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1806) – This Act would provide for technological innovation through Federal funding for basic research, fundamental scientific discovery, and development with the ultimate goal of improving U.S. competitiveness on a global scale. This bill is sponsored by Lamar Smith (R-TX) and was assigned to the House/ Senate for consideration on April 22.

Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 2) – Introduced on March 24 by Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX), this bill passed the House and Senate on April 14 and has been sent to the President. This Act permanently repeals Medicare’s controversial physician payment system based on a sustainable growth rate, and is designed to strengthen Medicare access by improving physician payments. Specifically, the bill calls for the establishment of a Merit-Based Incentive Payment system under which physicians (as well as physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists and certified registered nurse anesthetists) would receive annual payment increases or decreases based on their performance. This legislation also authorizes the nationwide development of interoperable certified electronic health records technology by Dec. 31, 2018, among other provisions.

Mortgage Choice Act of 2015 (H.R. 685) – This Act would also adjust the Truth in Lending Act to exclude the cost of title insurance from the points and fees limit on mortgages. Presently, lenders may not charge points and fees of more than 3 percent of the loan amount, including charges by affiliated settlement service providers. This bill offers a loophole that removes the 3 percent cap, so lenders may be able to charge higher fees on title insurance policies. It also modifies the conditions under which federal departments and agencies may exempt a streamlined refinancing from the income verification requirement.

Capital Access for Small Community Financial Institutions Act of 2015 (H.R. 299) – Sponsored by Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH), this bill passed in the House on April 13 and goes to the Senate next for consideration. It amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to treat certain privately insured credit unions as insured depository institutions for purposes of determining eligibility membership in a federal home loan bank.

Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act of 2015 (H.R. 1058) – This Act would assign the Commissioner of Internal Revenue with the task of ensuring that Internal Revenue Service employees are familiar with and act in accord with certain taxpayer rights. These rights include the right to be informed, to be assisted, to be heard, to pay no more than the correct amount of tax, to an appeal, to certainty, to privacy, to confidentiality, to representation, and to a fair and just tax system. The bill, which is sponsored by Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), passed in the House on April 15 and goes to the Senate next for consideration.

Summaries for the Fair Treatment for All Gifts Act (H.R. 0014) – Also sponsored by Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), this bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for gifts made to specified tax-exempt organizations, including: (1) social welfare organizations; (2) labor, agricultural and horticultural organizations; and (3) business leagues, chambers of commerce, real estate boards, boards of trade and professional football leagues. It was introduced on February 26, passed in the House on April 15 and is now in the Senate for consideration.

Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act (H.R. 1013) – House Representative for Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District, Jared Polis (R), introduced this bill. It was assigned to a congressional committee on Feb. 20 for consideration as to whether or not to send it on to the House or Senate. The bill is designed to basically decriminalize marijuana at the Federal level and assign the power to regulate marijuana to individual states. The bill is named to remind congressmen that this is the same process used to regulate alcohol. Today, the distribution of marijuana is still a federal offense, regardless of the laws of individual states. Yet, like many laws, it is not enforced when distributed in accordance with state law. Currently, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical purposes in some form, and four states (Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington) have legalized it for recreational use.

Marijuana Tax Revenue Act (H.R. 1014) – In February, House Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced this bill to impose a federal excise tax on the retail sale of marijuana for non-medical purposes, as well as an occupational tax for state-licensed marijuana businesses. However, note that the commercial tax would be applied only if Congress votes to legalize marijuana nationwide.

Secret Science Reform Act of 2015 (H.R. 1030) – This bill passed in the House on March 18 and is now in the Senate for consideration. Introduced by Lamar Smith (R-TX), this bill prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency from proposing, finalizing or disseminating regulations based upon science that is “not transparent or reproducible.” In other words, it would not allow the EPA to make decisions based on studies that involve sensitive personal information that guarantees the privacy of volunteers. Moreover, the EPA may not spend more than $1 million per fiscal year carrying out this Act. This bill is opposed by many science and environmental groups. Opponents say the true objective of the bill is to restrain agency power in favor of industries normally subject to increased environmental legislation.

Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (S. 754) – Introduced by Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), this is a new bill designed to improve cybersecurity in the United States through enhanced sharing of information about cybersecurity threats. The bill was forwarded from committee to the House or Senate for consideration on March 17.

Office of Compliance Administrative and Technical Corrections Act of 2015 (H.R. 1213) – Introduced by Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI), this bill was enacted after being signed by the President on March 20. The bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) to revise its procedures for mediation and hearings. The Executive Director of the Office of Compliance must develop a master list of qualified mediators and appoint mediators from this list. Furthermore, between 30 and 90 days after the end of a mediation period, a CAA-covered legislative branch employee must elect either to file a complaint with the office or file a civil action in the proper U.S. district court.