WASHINGTON, April 16 -- Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, has introduced legislation (H.R. 649) to "authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating certain lands as the Los Caminos del Rio National Heritage Corridor." The bill was introduced on April 14 and was co-sponsored by Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas. It was referred to the House Natural Resources Committee. For more information, Rep. Henry Cuellar, 2372 Rayburn House Office  more

WASHINGTON, April 16 -- Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., has introduced legislation (H.R. 6497) to "make available insurance coverage for business interruption losses due to national emergencies." The bill was introduced on April 14 and was co-sponsored by Reps. Gil Cisneros, D-Calif., Will Hurd, R-Texas, and Thomas R. Suozzi, D-N.Y. It was referred to the House Financial Services Committee. For more information, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, 1722 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515;  more

WASHINGTON, April 14 -- Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, has introduced legislation (H.R. 6476) to amend the CARES Act "to establish a loan program to provide liquidity to eligible lenders for the purpose of providing loans under the Paycheck Protection Program." The bill was introduced on April 10. It was jointly referred to the House Small Business and Financial Services committees. For more information, Rep. Al Green, 2347 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515; 202/225-7508; or in the   more

WASHINGTON, April 14 -- Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, has introduced legislation (H.R. 6475) to amend the Small Business Act "to expand eligibility for the paycheck protection program." The bill was introduced on April 10. It was referred to the House Small Business Committee. For more information, Rep. Al Green, 2347 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515; 202/225-7508; or in the district office at 3003 S. Loop W., Ste. 460, Houston, TX 77054; 713/383-9234.  more

WASHINGTON, April 16 -- Rep. Josh Harder, D-Calif., has introduced legislation (H.R. 6502) to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 "to provide for deferral of loan repayment for graduates during the period of the coronavirus." The bill was introduced on April 14 and has 12 co-sponsors. Co-sponsors include Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Thomas R. Suozzi, D-N.Y., Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., TJ Cox, D-Calif., Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., Bennie G. Thompso  more

WASHINGTON, April 16 -- Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, has introduced legislation (H.R. 6503) to "provide housing support services to the elderly and individuals with disabilities living in Federal Government housing or federally subsidized housing during the Pandemic or Declared Public Health Emergency." The bill was introduced on April 14. It was referred to the House Appropriations Committee. For more information, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, 2079 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D  more

WASHINGTON, April 16 -- Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, has introduced legislation (H.R. 6505) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 "to clarify the role of the National Biosurveillance Integration Center of the Department of Homeland Security regarding an emerging highly communicable infectious disease event of national concern." The bill was introduced on April 14. It was jointly referred to the House Homeland Security and Energy and Commerce committees. For more information, Rep. She  more

WASHINGTON, April 16 -- Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, has introduced legislation (H.R. 6504) to "direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to develop a plan to improve surveillance with respect to diseases that are viral pandemic threats." The bill was introduced on April 14. It was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. For more information, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, 2079 Rayburn House Off  more

WASHINGTON, April 16 -- Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., has introduced legislation (H.R. 6507) to "direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to automatically extend the period of validity of an alien's employment authorization during an emergency period." The bill was introduced on April 14 and has 14 co-sponsors. Co-sponsors include Reps. Nydia M. Velazquez, D-N.Y., James McGovern, D-Mass., Tony Cardenas, D-Calif., Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., Thomas R. Suozzi, D-N.Y., Gil Cisnero  more

WASHINGTON, April 14 -- Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., has introduced legislation (H.R. 6485) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 "to allow 2020 recovery rebates for individuals filing a joint return if one spouse satisfies the valid identification number requirement." The bill was introduced on April 10 and has 15 co-sponsors. Co-sponsors include Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., Judy Chu, D-Calif., Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., Jackie Speier, D-Cali  more

WASHINGTON, April 16 -- Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., has introduced legislation (H.R. 6510) to "require the Secretary of Agriculture to expand for all the States during the COVID-19 public health emergency declared under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act, the program to approve retail food stores to accept through on-line transactions supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits provided under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008." The bill was introduced on April 14 and has 13 co-s  more

WASHINGTON, April 16 -- Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., has introduced legislation (H.R. 6512) to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 "to require State and local election officials to conduct public education campaigns to notify individuals of changes in the administration of elections for Federal office in response to emergencies affecting public health and safety, to require the websites of such officials to be fully accessible to individuals with disabilities and to meet best practices estab  more

WASHINGTON, April 14 -- Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, has introduced legislation (H.R. 6489) to improve military family readiness. The bill was introduced on April 10 and was co-sponsored by Rep. Trent Kelly, R-Miss. It was referred to the House Armed Services Committee. For more information, Rep. Mac Thornberry, 2208 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515; 202/225-3706; or in the district offices at 620 S. Taylor St., Ste. 200, Amarillo, TX 79101; 806/371-8844; 2525 Kell Blvd., S  more