This Week in Congress: May 19, 2014

This week, the House is expected to consider 18 bills, ranging from human trafficking to appropriations.

Legislation under consideration this week includes:

H.R. 1726: awards a Congressional Gold Medal to the 65th Infantry Regiment, known as the Borinqueneers, a regiment of mostly Puerto Ricans who served in WWI, WWII, and the Korean War.

H.R. 2203: awards a Congressional Gold Medal to golfer Jack Nicklaus in recognition of his service to the Nation in promoting excellence, good sportsmanship, and philanthropy.

H.R. 2939: awards a Congressional Gold Medal to Shimon Peres, who was instrumental in the founding of Israel.

H.R. 3658: awards a Congressional Gold Medal to the Monuments Men in recognition of their role in the preservation, protection and restitution of works of art and artifacts of cultural importance during and after World War II.

H.R. 1209: awards a Congressional Gold Medal to the World War II members of the “Doolittle Tokyo Raiders” for outstanding heroism, valor, skill, and service to the United States in conducting the bombings of Tokyo.

S. 309: awards a Congressional Gold Medal to the World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol.

H.R. 685: awards a Congressional Gold Medal to the American Fighter Aces in recognition of their military service in defense of the nation.

H.R. 4268: provides that the weight limits established in federal law for the Interstate Highway System will not apply to United States Route 78 in Mississippi from mile marker 0 to mile marker 113 if that section of highway is designated part of the interstate system.

Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (H.R. 3530): creates a new victim-centered grant program to provide assistance to states and local law enforcement to bolster the investigation and prosecution of sex trafficking and to help the victims of such crimes. It also strengthens the ability of law enforcement to investigate and prosecute sex trafficking — including by targeting individuals who purchase sex from human trafficking victims in an effort to reduce "demand" and by making it easier for states to obtain wiretapping authority in cases of sex trafficking.

Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act (H.R. 3610): encourages states to enact "safe harbor" laws that better protect minors who are victims of sex trafficking by giving states that enact such laws priority for federal grants under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. It also makes trafficking victims eligible to participate in the federal Jobs Corps program.

Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation (SAVE) Act (H.R. 4225): makes it a crime to advertise sex either with minors or with individuals who are being prostituted through force, fraud or coercion. This offense would apply to both online and traditional print advertisements.

Preventing Sex Trafficking and Improving Opportunities for Youth in Foster Care Act (H.R. 4058): requires states to take steps to prevent, identify and address sex trafficking of youth in foster care, including by developing policies for assisting victims of sex trafficking.

International Megan’s Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex Trafficking (H.R. 4573): seeks to diminish child sex tourism both overseas and in the United States by creating a center within the Homeland Security Department to notify foreign governments of U.S. child-sex offenders who are traveling to their countries so that they can be monitored, and by encouraging foreign nations to establish similar notification systems when known child-sex offenders are planning to travel to the United States.

H.Res. 573: condemns the abduction of female students by armed militants from the terrorist group known as Boko Haram in northeastern provinces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Conference Report to the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (H.R. 3080): authorizes 34 water resources projects, costing an estimated $12 billion, but requires the deauthorization of at least $18 billion in previously authorized projects that were never started or haven't received funding in the past six years.

H.R. 4031: allows the Veterans Affairs (VA) secretary to remove any individual from the Senior Executive Service if the secretary determines that the individual's performance warrants such removal. The bill is a response to recent reports that as many as 40 veterans died while waiting for appointments for medical care at a VA facility in Phoenix, Ariz.

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (H.R. 4435): authorizes a total of $592.9 billion for discretionary defense programs in FY 2015 — $2.7 billion less than the president's request.

Possible consideration of USA FREEDOM ACT (H.R. 3361): replace the NSA’s controversial bulk collection program with a system allowing the government to query telephone metadata from phone companies on a case-by-case basis, after receiving approval from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. I voted to advance this bill as a member of the House Intelligence Committee.