An Act to Designate the United States Postal Facility Located At… – On June 13, President Barack Obama signed into law 13 separate bills to change the names of 13 different post offices around the United States. The Acts were sponsored by various House Representatives and Senators from both parties.

Native American Children’s Safety Act (S. 184) – The Department of Human Services disqualifies anyone seeking to be a foster parents who has been convicted of theft, sexual-based offenses or assault. Unfortunately, until this Act was signed into law on June 3, people with previous convictions for violent crimes could and did receive approval to become foster parents of Native American children by tribal social service agencies. In previous cases, tribal social services did not have this requirement in place and children have died of abuse and neglect. The bill was sponsored by Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND).

Trauma Systems and Regionalization of Emergency Care Reauthorization Act (H.R. 648) – This bill is designed to address the fact that 45 million Americans do not live within one hour of a trauma center. Sponsored by Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX), who is also a physician, the Act would reauthorize existing trauma center grants (through FY2020), improve emergency medical services in rural areas, fund pilot projects for new models of emergency care, and require that all burn centers meet standards set out by the American Burn Association. The bill passed in the House on March 16 and is currently with the Senate for consideration.

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (H.R. 4909) – This is the annual federal spending bill that sets funding levels and outlines spending priorities for the military. The current version of this bill would authorize $602 billion in military spending for 2017, keep Guantanamo Bay open, not include women in the military draft, and overrule last year’s executive order barring federal military contractors from discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), passed in the House on May 18 and is currently with the Senate for consideration.

Democracy Day Act of 2015 (S. 1969) – This bill, sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), would designate the Federal election day as a public holiday in order to facilitate the entire American workforce with the means to participate in national and local elections. If passed, this bill would authorize the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in every even-numbered year as a national holiday. The bill was assigned to a congressional committee on August 5, 2015, but as yet has not been submitted to either the House or Senate.

National Bison Legacy Act (H.R. 2908) – Sponsored by Rep. Lacy Clay Jr. (D-MO), this bipartisan bill was easily passed by both the House and Senate and was signed into law on May 9. It authorizes the North American bison as the national mammal of the United States, now joining the bald eagle as America’s symbolic animal; the oak as the national tree; and the rose as the national floral emblem.

Transnational Drug Trafficking Act of 2015 (S. 32) – This bill was co-authored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA). The act permits the Justice Department to prosecute foreign drug traffickers, including chemical producers from other countries who illegally ship precursor chemicals (for example: cold medicines to be turned into meth) into the United States, knowing these chemicals will be used to make illegal drugs. The bill was signed into law by the president on May 16.

Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act (H.R. 5053) – Under current law, tax-exempt groups and organizations don’t have to reveal their donors to the public, but they do have to report to the Internal Revenue Service the names of any donors who contribute more than $5,000 each year. This new bill would no longer require 501(c) charities to identify contributors in annual tax returns. The law is specifically intended to shield large donations to organizations that contribute to political campaigns. Historically, 501(c) organizations were not large contributors to election campaigns. However, these organizations – which include PACs – spent more than $300 million in the 2012 election year. In late April the bill, which is sponsored by Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), moved from a congressional committee to the House/Senate for consideration.

Used Car Safety Recall Repair Act (S. 900) – Following April’s largest safety recall in American history (Takata air bags installed in 34 million vehicles), this bill would mandate that used cars with recalled parts cannot be resold until they are repaired – the same requirement that currently applies to new cars. It is estimated that 23 percent of cars with recalled parts do not get fixed, in part because they are sold on the used market. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) in April and has been assigned to a congressional committee for consideration.

Democracy Restoration Act of 2015 (H.R. 1459) – If enacted, this bill would permit 4.4 million ex-felons who have served their time to vote in federal elections, a right many are presently barred from doing. Presently, each state sets its own rules for voting eligibility. For example, Vermont and Maine allow current incarcerated prisoners to vote, while Florida, Kentucky and Iowa ban those with felony convictions from voting for life. The bill, sponsored by Rep. John Conyers Jr. (R-MI), was assigned to a congressional committee in March, which will consider it before possibly sending it on to the House or Senate as a whole.

Evidence-Based Policymaking Commission Act of 2016 (H.R. 1831) – This bipartisan bill, sponsored by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), was signed into law by the President on March 30. The legislation establishes a 15-member commission within the executive branch (appointed by the President and congressional leaders) that will focus on the development of Evidence-Based Policymaking. The committee will study data sources to better influence the course of performance-based budgeting and policymaking. In other words, less politics and back-office deals and more data-driven and evidence-based decision making. The commission will be responsible for the data inventory, data infrastructure, database security and statistical protocols related to federal policymaking.

Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016 (S. 483) – This Act is designed to help prevent deaths caused by prescription drug abuse. It authorizes the creation of a more collaborative partnership between drug manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacies and federal enforcement and oversight agencies to develop initiatives to prevent prescription drug abuse and diversion and ensure patient access to necessary medications. The bipartisan bill was sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and passed by Congress on April 12. It is currently awaiting the President’s signature.

Adding Zika Virus to the FDA Priority Review Voucher Program Act (S. 2512) – Sponsored by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), the Act amends the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to add the Zika virus to the list of tropical diseases under the priority review voucher program. This program awards a voucher to the sponsor of a new drug that is approved to prevent or treat a tropical disease. In turn, the voucher entitles the drug creator to a quick review process (under six months) by the Food and Drug Administration for a future new drug. The bill was passed by Congress on April 12 and is presently awaiting signature by the President.

Social Security Parent Penalty Repeal Act (H.R. 4529) – Sponsored by Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-FL), this bill would amend the Social Security Act to provide for an annual increase to beneficiary benefits. The bill would allow for the exclusion of a certain number of childcare years from the benefit computation formula. Specifically, up to two years per child (for a maximum of five years in total) in which the beneficiary was the primary caregiver for a dependent under six years of age for at least half the year and earned no income in each of those years. The bill is proposed to go into effect in 2017 for all present and future beneficiaries; eligible exclusion years would begin at 1951. The bill was assigned to a congressional committee on February 10 for consideration before possibly sending it on to the House or Senate.

Edward “Ted” Kaufman and Michael Leavitt Presidential Transitions Improvements Act of 2015 (S. 1172) – The objective of this bill is to improve the process of transitioning from an incumbent presidential administration to a new one. It amends the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 to direct the President to plan and coordinate activities to facilitate an efficient transfer of power to his or her successor via these actions: not later than six months before a presidential election, establish and operate a White House transition coordinating council; establish and operate an agency transition directors council. In addition, the General Services Administration must designate a senior career appointee to carry out the duties and authorities of GSA relating to presidential transitions, serve as the coordinator for transition planning across agencies, ensure that agencies comply with all statutory requirements relating to transition planning and reporting, and act as a liaison to eligible candidates. This legislation was sponsored by Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE) and was enacted after being signed by the President on March 18.

Directing Dollars to Disaster Relief Act of 2015 (S. 2109) – This legislation was sponsored by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI). The bill directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a plan to reduce administrative costs related to providing assistance for major disasters. It will design a system to track administrative cost data disseminated by public assistance, individual assistance, hazard mitigation and mission assignment programs. The Act mandates that FEMA issue a report containing this information to Congress each year by Nov. 30, as well as make it publicly available on its website. This report will include an assessment of whether or not FEMA met its strategic goals for cost mitigation for the year, including any reasons why it did not. The bipartisan bill was passed by Congress and subsequently signed by the president on Feb. 29.

Presidential Allowance Modernization Act (H.R. 1777 and S. 1411) – In light of the lucrative fees that former U.S. presidents command for speaking engagements after they leave office, this bill is designed to reduce the annual ex-president pension based on the amount of income they receive independently each year. Presently, the Former Presidents Act of 1958 grants former presidents an annual pension of $203,700 (2016) for life. This proposed legislation would reduce that annual amount by however much an ex-president makes above $400,000 a year. For example, say an ex-president makes $600,000 in a year. Since this is $200,000 more than the $400,000 base point, his pension would be reduced by $200,000. In other words, he wouldn’t receive any pension at all for that year, and that money would be available for other government programs. However, this bill does increase the annual annuity amount a surviving spouse of a former president would receive once he passes away. That amount would increase from the current $20,000 to $100,000 a year. This bill passed in the House on Jan. 11 and is with the Senate for consideration.

Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015 (S. 2123 and H.R. 3713) – Lawmakers from both parties and both chambers of Congress recently introduced legislation to ease some federal sentencing guidelines for drug-related crimes, including reducing the sentences of drug-related convictions for some current prisoners. Its objective is to decrease the rate of incarcerations due to drug-related crimes, which have skyrocketed in recent years. Be aware, however, that the bill would have limited impact since it applies only to federal prisons. Presently, federal prisons hold about 205,000 people compared to the 2.4 million incarcerated in state prisons and local jails across the country. As of 2014, there were 237,000 people in state prisons, 95,000 in federal prisons, and 5,000 held in juvenile facilities for drug offenses. Both bills are currently under consideration in their respective houses.

Judicial Redress Act of 2015 (H.R. 1428) – This bill, which was signed into law by the president on Feb. 24, permits European citizens to sue the United States for unlawful disclosure of personal information obtained in connection with international law enforcement efforts. This new legislation abuts the current Privacy Act, in which only U.S. citizens and legal residents can bring claims against the federal government for unauthorized disclosure of their personal information. This bipartisan legislation was sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI).