United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
TIGER Grants for Job Creation Act This bill provides $7.5 billion in supplemental FY2016 appropriations to the Department of Transportation for National Infrastructure Investments under a competitive grant program known as the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. The bill permits the funds to remain available through FY2021. The funding provided by this bill is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. Emergency spending is exempt from limits on discretionary spending and other budget enforcement rules. The funding is only available if the President subsequently designates the amount as an emergency and submits the designation to Congress. The funding is also exempt from sequestration under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. Sequestration is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2015
America's Red Rock Wilderness Act Designates specified lands in the following areas of Utah as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Great Basin, (2) Grand Staircase-Escalante, (3) Moab-La Sal Canyons, (4) Henry Mountains, (5) Glen Canyon, (6) San Juan-Anasazi, (7) Canyonlands Basin, (8) San Rafael Swell, and (9) Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin. Sets forth administrative requirements for: (1) the exchange of state-owned lands within such areas, (2) federal reservation of water rights, (3) measurement of setbacks for roads with wilderness, (4) authorized livestock grazing, and (5) withdrawal of such lands from disposition under certain public land laws.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2015
Every Child Deserves a Family Act Prohibits adoption or foster care placement service entities that receive federal assistance (or that contract with entities receiving such assistance) from using the sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of a prospective adoptive or foster parent, or from using the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child, to: (1) deny a person the opportunity to become an adoptive or foster parent; (2) delay or deny the placement of a child for adoption or into foster care; or (3) require different or additional screenings or procedures for adoptive or foster placement decisions, including whether to seek the termination of birth parent rights or to make a child legally available for adoptive placement. Allows individuals aggrieved by a violation of this Act to bring an action seeking relief in federal court. Directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to publish guidance on legal compliance and to assist entities with casework practices, recruitment efforts, and cultural competency training. Allows HHS to withhold payments under part B (Child and Family Services) or part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to states that fail to comply with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2015
Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act Prohibits sexual orientation or gender identity conversion therapy from being provided in exchange for monetary compensation. Bars advertisements for such therapy that claim to: (1) change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, (2) eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender, or (3) be harmless or without risk. Makes this Act inapplicable to practices that do not seek to change sexual orientation or gender identity if the therapy provides: (1) assistance to an individual undergoing a gender transition; or (2) acceptance, support, and understanding of clients or facilitation of clients' coping, social support, and identity exploration and development, including sexual orientation-neutral interventions to prevent or address unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices. Provides authority to Federal Trade Commission to enforce this Act and treats violations as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2015
Global Respect Act Directs the President to submit to Congress a list of each foreign person that the President determines is responsible, or acted as an agent, for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against an individual in a foreign country based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Makes a listed foreign person ineligible to enter or be admitted to the United States. Requires revocation of any visa issued for such person. Authorizes the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive such prohibition if in U.S. national security interests or if necessary for compliance with the Agreement between the United Nations (U.N.) and the United States regarding the U.N. Headquarters. Requires congressional notification prior to any such waiver. Directs the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor to designate a senior officer or officers to track violence, criminalization, and restrictions on fundamental freedoms in foreign countries based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include information on sexual orientation or gender identity violence or restrictions in the annual country reports on human rights practices.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2015
Medical Debt Act of 2015 This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit a consumer reporting agency from making any consumer report containing information related to: (1) a medical debt (arising from the receipt of medical services, products, or devises) if the date on which the debt was placed for collection, charged to profit or loss, or any similar action antedates the report by less than 180 days, or (2) a fully paid or settled medical debt that had been characterized as delinquent, charged off, or in collection which, from the date of payment or settlement, antedates the report by more than 45 days. The bill also amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to require a debt collector, before informing a consumer reporting agency regarding a medical debt, to notify the consumer in writing that: (1) the debt collector could report the debt to a consumer reporting agency 180 days after the notification is sent, specifying the precise end date of the period; (2) the debt will not be reported if it is settled or paid during the 180-day period; and (3) the consumer may, during the 180-day period, either communicate with an insurance company to determine coverage for the debt or apply for financial assistance. The debt collector may not communicate with or report any information to a consumer reporting agency concerning such a debt during the 180-day period.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2015
Constitutional Amendment Declares that women shall have equal rights in the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction. Prohibits the United States or any state from denying or abridging equal rights under the law on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2015
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of an International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. Encourages: (1) health care providers to offer culturally and clinically competent care to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) community; (2) schools to support the creation of gay-straight alliances to achieve safer learning environments; (3) individuals to learn about national resources for those who identify as LGBT; and (4) the federal government, states, international funding organizations, and U.S. bilateral and multilateral aid efforts to prioritize the health and human rights of LGBT people.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit intentionally engaging in animal crushing in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. (Current law prohibits knowingly creating or distributing an animal crush video.) Adds exceptions for conduct that is for predator or pest control, medical or scientific research, or necessary to protect the life or property of a person from a serious threat caused by an animal.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
Eliminates the time limit for ratification of the equal rights amendment (prohibits discrimination on account of sex) proposed to the states in House Joint Resolution 208 of the 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972. Declares that such amendment shall be part of the Constitution whenever ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
Job Creation through Energy Efficient Manufacturing Act This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a Financing Energy Efficient Manufacturing Program to provide grants to establish or expand programs to finance energy efficiency retrofit, onsite clean and renewable energy, smart grid systems, and alternative vehicle fleet projects for industrial businesses. DOE must establish a process to identify financing opportunities for manufacturing and industrial business with asset portfolios across multiple states. Grant recipients must give a higher priority to those programs that: (1) leverage private and nonfederal sources of funding, and (2) aim to expand the use of energy efficiency project financing using private sources of funding. Grant recipients must also collect, share, and report on data resulting from programs carried out under this bill. DOE must incorporate the data into appropriate DOE databases, with provisions for the protection of confidential business data.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
Freedom from Discrimination in Credit Act of 2015 Amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to expand the categories of prohibited discrimination when extending credit to include discrimination on account of sexual orientation or gender identity. (Currently, such discrimination in credit is prohibited only on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex or marital status, or age.) Provides for such Act to apply whether the basis for certain prohibited forms of discrimination is actual or perceived. Defines: (1) "gender identity" as the gender-related identity, appearance, or mannerisms or other gender-related characteristics of an individual with or without regard to the individual's designated sex at birth; and (2) "sexual orientation" as homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2015
Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to require the licensing of ammunition dealers. Prohibits any person except a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer from: (1) selling ammunition, with an exception for a sale of ammunition to a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer; or (2) engaging in the business of importing or manufacturing ammunition, or in the course of such business, from shipping, transporting, or receiving ammunition. Prohibits a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer from: (1) transferring ammunition to a person unless the licensee, in the physical presence of the person, has verified the person's identity by examining a valid identification document containing a photograph of such person; or (2) selling or delivering any ammunition (currently, any armor-piercing ammunition) to any person unless the licensee notes in his records the person's name, age, and place of residence, if the person is an individual, or the person's identity and principal and local places of business, if the person is a business entity. Applies prohibitions applicable to the shipping or transport of firearms, and record-keeping requirements applicable to the importation, production, shipment, receipt, sale, or other disposition of firearms, to ammunition. Requires each licensee to: (1) prepare a report of multiple sales or other dispositions whenever the licensee sells or otherwise disposes of more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition to an unlicensed person at one time or during any five consecutive business days; and (2) forward such report to the specified office and to the department of state police, the state law enforcement agency, or the local law enforcement agency of the jurisdiction in which the sale took place by the close of business on the day the multiple sale occurs.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2015
Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act Amends federal firearms provisions to expand the definition of: (1) "intimate partner" to include a dating partner or former dating partner; and (2) "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" to include a misdemeanor offense that has, as an element, the use or attempted use of force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon by a dating partner or former dating partner against the victim. Prohibits the sale or other disposition of a firearm or ammunition to, or the possession or receipt of a firearm by, a person who: (1) is subject to a court order, or an ex parte order, that restrains such person from harassing, stalking, threatening, or engaging in other conduct that would put an individual in reasonable fear of bodily injury, including an order issued at the request of an employer on behalf of its employee or at the request of an institution of higher education on behalf of its student, or from intimidating or dissuading a witness from testifying in court; or (2) has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of stalking under federal, state, territorial, or tribal law or of a crime that involves conduct that would be proscribed by prohibitions against stalking if committed within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Raise the Wage Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to: (1) $8.00 an hour on January 1, 2016, or, if later, on the first day of the third month after enactment of this Act; (2) $9.00 an hour after one year; (3) $10.00 an hour after two years; (4) $11.00 an hour after three years; (5) $12.00 an hour after four years; and (6) the amount the Department of Labor determines (based on increases in the median hourly wage of all employees) after five years, and annually thereafter. The federal minimum wage for tipped employees shall increase to $3.15 an hour for one year on January 1, 2016, or the first day of the third month after enactment of this Act, whichever is later. Subsequent annual adjustments of the wage increase, according to a specified formula, shall ensure that it remains equal to the wage in effect under FLSA for other employees. Employers must notify their employees of the right to retain any received tips. The separate minimum wage requirements for tipped employees shall end, effective one day after the hourly wage established for them under this Act takes effect. The Department must publish any increase in the minimum wage in the Federal Register and on the Department's website 60 days before it takes effect.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Breast Cancer Research Stamp Reauthorization Act of 2015 This bill reauthorizes through December 31, 2019, provisions requiring the U.S. Postal Service to issue a special postage stamp for first-class mail that costs more than the regular first-class stamp to raise funds for breast cancer research. Agencies receiving these funds from the Postal Service must use them on breast cancer research.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Recognizes National Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month. Supports the work of the National Institutes of Health in pursuit of medical progress on pediatric stroke.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2015
SAFE Transitional Licensing Act of 2015 This bill amends the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 to provide a temporary license of 120 days for registered loan originators: (1) moving from a financial institution to a state-licensed non-bank originator, or (2) moving interstate to a state-licensed loan originator in another state. Any person registering a registered loan originator with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry shall be subject to this Act and to applicable state law to the same extent as if that registered loan originator was licensed and registered as a state-licensed loan originator.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2015
Protecting America's Workers Act Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to expand its coverage to federal, state, and local government employees. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor, under specified conditions, to cede OSHA jurisdiction to another federal agency with respect to certain occupational standards or regulations for such agency's employees. Declares OSHA inapplicable to working conditions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. Increases protections for whistle blowers under OSHA. Prescribes requirements relating to: a employer's duty to furnish a place of employment free from recognized hazards causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm that the employer creates or controls or in which the employer exposes any individual (not just an employer's employee) performing work there; the posting of employee rights; a site-controlling employer's duty to keep a site log for recordable injuries and illnesses of all employees, including employees of the site-controlling employer or others (including independent contractors) performing work there; employer reporting of employee work-related deaths or hospitalizations; a prohibition against employers adopting or implementing policies or practices that discourage or discriminate against employee reporting of work-related injuries or illnesses; a prohibition against the loss of wages or employee benefits due to an employee participating in a workplace inspection; investigations of incidents resulting in death or the hospitalization of two or more employees which occur in a place of employment; and a prohibition against the issuing, modifying, or settling of unclassified citations for occupational health and safety standard violations. Continues requirements relating to: (1) the rights of an employee (including a former employee or family member in lieu of an employee) who has sustained a work-related injury or illness that is the subject of an inspection or investigation; (2) an employer's right to contest citations and penalties; and (3) periods permitted for an employer to correct serious, willful, or repeated violations pending an employer's contest to a citation and procedures for stays of the time period for abatement of those violations. Increases civil and criminal penalties for certain OSHA violators. States that pre-final order interest on any penalties owed shall begin to accrue on the date a party contests a citation, at an interest rate calculated at the current underpayment rate. Prescribes requirements for the Secretary's evaluation of state occupational safety and health plans as well as workplace health hazard evaluations by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Revises requirements for state plans for the development and enforcement of state occupational safety and health standards in lieu of applicable federal occupational safety and health standards. Requires the Secretary to approve plans that provide for state consideration of repeated occupational safety and health violations committed by an employer within the state as well as those committed under other occupational safety and health plans in states where the Secretary has jurisdiction. Requires a state that has an approved plan for the development and enforcement of occupational safety and health standards to amend its plan to conform to the requirements of this Act within 12 months after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Iran should release all detained U.S. citizens and provide any information it possesses regarding any U.S. citizens who have disappeared within its borders.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2015
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Enhancement Act Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to include the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board as a recipient of: (1) FISA court procedural rule changes, decisions, and pleadings; (2) the Attorney General's annual report to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Court regarding applications and orders for electronic surveillance; (3) the Attorney General's reports to Congress concerning electronic surveillance, physical searches, pen registers and trap and trace devices, production of business records and other tangible things, the number of persons targeted by the government under FISA authorities, and procedures for targeting persons; (4) reports by the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence assessing compliance with minimization procedures for targeting persons reasonably believed to be located outside the United States other than U.S. persons, including reviews of the number of targets who were later determined to be located in the United States; and (5) annual reports of each element of the intelligence community authorized to acquire targeted foreign intelligence information.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2015
Medicare Diabetes Prevention Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to provide coverage of diabetes prevention program services to an eligible diabetes prevention program individual. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the criteria for a diabetes prevention program in accordance with the standards under the National Diabetes Prevention Program established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Excludes items and services under a diabetes prevention program from the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system. Includes: (1) items and services under a diabetes prevention programs among federally qualified health center services, (2) rates of referrals of eligible individuals to diabetes prevention programs among the quality measures for covered professional services in the Medicare physician quality reporting system, and (3) an individual's diabetes risk assessment in the individual's Medicare personalized prevention plan. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the National Diabetes Prevention Program presents an opportunity for states to reduce the incidence of diabetes among individuals enrolled in their Medicaid programs under SSAct title XIX.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2015
Research for All Act of 2015 This bill directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that the clinical trials for products granted expedited approval to treat a serious or life-threatening condition are sufficient to determine the safety and effectiveness of the products for men and women using subgroup analysis. This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the FDA, at the request of the drug sponsor, to facilitate development and expedite review of a new drug that is: intended to avoid serious adverse events or to treat a serious or life-threatening condition, intended for safer or more effective treatment for either men or women than a product approved to treat the general population or the other sex, and supported by results of clinical trials that separately examine outcomes for men and women. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to ensure that, when appropriate, basic research projects include both male and female cells, tissues, or animals. In such projects, results must be disaggregated according to sex and sex differences must be examined and analyzed. NIH must update guidelines on inclusion of women and minorities in research. The Department of Health and Human Services may support the continued operation and expansion of Special Centers of Research on Sex Differences. The Government Accountability Office must update the reports entitled “Women's Health: NIH Has Increased Its Efforts To Include Women in Research” and “Women's Health: Women Sufficiently Represented in New Drug Testing, But FDA Oversight Needs Improvement,” and include specified examinations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2015
Equitable Access to Care and Health Act or the EACH Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the religious conscience exemption under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to exempt individuals who rely solely on a religious method of healing and for whom the acceptance of medical health services would be inconsistent with their religious beliefs from the requirement to purchase and maintain minimum essential health care coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2015
Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal, beginning with taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, the excise tax on employer-sponsored health care coverage for which there is an excess benefit (high-cost plans).
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2015
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to Edwin Cole "Ed" Bearss in recognition of his contributions to the preservation of American Civil War history and his continued efforts to bring our nation's history alive for new generations through his interpretive storytelling.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2015
Condemns the government of Iran's state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights. Calls on the government of Iran to release the 7 imprisoned Baha'i leaders, the 12 imprisoned Baha'i educators, and all other prisoners held on account of their religion. Urges the President and the Secretary of State to utilize available authorities, including the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, to impose sanctions on officials of the government of Iran and other individuals directly responsible for serious human rights abuses, including abuses against the Baha'i community.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2015
American Soda Ash Competitiveness Act Sets at 2%, for a five-year period, the royalty rate on the quantity or gross value of the output of sodium compounds and related products at the point of shipment to market from federal land.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2015
Refuge From Cruel Trapping Act Amends the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to prohibit the use or possession of body-gripping traps in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Imposes on persons who possess or use such traps in the System: (1) for a first offense, a civil fine of up to $500 for each body-gripping trap possessed or used; and (2) for subsequent offenses, a civil fine of up to $1,000 for each body-gripping trap possessed or used, imprisonment for up to 180 days, or both such a civil fine and imprisonment. Makes any body-gripping traps that are possessed or used in violation of this Act, and any wildlife captured by the use of such traps, including the pelts and raw fur, subject to civil forfeiture. Requires persons found to be in violation of such prohibition to pay all associated court costs.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2015
Brownfields Redevelopment Tax Incentive Reauthorization Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2019 the election to expense (i.e., deduct in the current taxable year) environmental remediation costs (i.e., costs for the abatement or control of hazardous substances at a qualified contaminated site). Makes this Act applicable to expenditures paid or incurred after December 31, 2011.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2015
Restoring Main Street Investor Protection and Confidence Act Amends the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 to redefine "net equity." Bases the determination of net equity, the positions, options, and contracts of a customer reported to the customer as held by the debtor, and any indebtedness of the customer to the debtor, upon: (1) the information contained in the last statement issued by the debtor to the customer before the filing date; and (2) any additional written confirmations of the customer's positions, options, contracts, or indebtedness received after such last statement but before the filing date. Makes an exception to this requirement when a debtor's records indicate a higher value. Requires determination of the customer's net equity using the debtor's books and records instead of the customer's last statement when the debtor's books and records indicate that the net value of a customer's positions, options, and contracts reported to the customer as held by the debtor, and any indebtedness of the customer to the debtor, is greater than the customer's net value as calculated on the basis specified by this Act. Prohibits reliance on the final statement of the debtor to customer, however, if the customer: (1) knew the debtor was involved in fraudulent activity with respect to any of its customers which reasonably indicated a fraud adversely affecting a substantial number of customers; or (2) as a registered broker, dealer, or investment adviser under specified securities laws, or a person required to be so registered, knew, or should have known, that the debtor was involved in a fraudulent activity and did not notify the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or law enforcement personnel. Prohibits a trustee in bankruptcy in a liquidation proceeding from recovering any property transferred by the debtor to a customer before the filing date unless, at the time of such transfer, the customer meets the same criteria regarding actual or constructive knowledge of the debtor's involvement in fraudulent activity. Prescribes alternative methodologies for allocation of customer property to customers by a trustee in a liquidation proceeding. Requires public notice and comment as a prerequisite to court approval of a proposed allocation methodology. Transfers from the SIPC to the SEC authority to nominate to a court persons for appointment as trustee for the liquidation of a debtor's business and as attorney for the trustee. Prohibits a trustee from serving in multiple liquidations if the trustee is currently serving as such under this Act for the liquidation of the business of another debtor. Sets forth requirements for trustee and attorney compensation. Requires the SIPC to issue quarterly public reports on its payments to the trustee, as well as all other costs in connection with the liquidation proceeding. Defines as a "customer" of the debtor under such Act: (1) any person that had cash or securities that were converted or otherwise misappropriated by the debtor (or any person who controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with the debtor, if such person was operating through the debtor), irrespective of whether the debtor held or otherwise had custody, possession, or control of that cash or securities; and (2) any other person the SIPC deems a customer of the debtor. Authorizes the SEC as well as the SIPC (as under current law) to apply for a protective decree on an SIPC member's behalf with any court of competent jurisdiction. Prescribes the timing of: (1) SIPC advances, and (2) payments to customers. Conditions the SEC authorization to make loans to the SIPC upon an SEC determination that the SIPC is unable to borrow in the public debt markets at reasonable terms (both as to yield and maturity). Requires the SEC to inspect SIPC members periodically to ensure that the information they provide to customers is accurate. Requires the self-regulatory organization to which an SIPC member belongs, or in which it is a participant, to inspect or examine the member to assess its financial stability as well as ensure that the information the member provides to customers is accurate.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2015
Safeguard American Food Exports Act of 2015 Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem equine (horses and other members of the equidae family) parts to be an unsafe food additive or animal drug. Prohibits the knowing sale or transport of equines or equine parts in interstate or foreign commerce for purposes of human consumption.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2015
Supplemental Trade Review, Oversight, Noncompliance and General Enforcement Resources Act of 2015 or the STRONGER Act of 2015 Establishes in the U.S. Treasury the Trade Agreements Enforcement Trust Fund. Directs the Department of the Treasury to transfer to the Trust Fund an amount equal to $15 million of the countervailing duties and antidumping duties received in the Treasury for each fiscal year beginning after enactment of this Act. Limits the total amount of funds in the Trust Fund to $30 million. Authorizes the President to make sums in the Trust Fund available to: (1) the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to take specified actions relating to enforcement of free trade agreements; and (2) the USTR, the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Labor, and other departments and agencies with relevant expertise to take specified actions relating to implementation assistance and local capacity building under such agreements. Prohibits amounts made available in the Trust Fund from being used to negotiate any new free trade agreement. Directs the President to establish a permanent interagency committee to ensure that actions taken under under this Act relating to implementation assistance and local capacity building are effectively prioritized, targeted, coordinated, and implemented. Requires the United States to promote aid effectiveness and accountability through transparency, monitoring, evaluation, learning, and fostering local ownership and implementation of U.S. assistance through such activities by requiring the interagency committee to: (1) publish timely, comprehensive, and detailed information regarding such activities on a quarterly basis, consistent with the U.S. commitment to full compliance with the International Aid Transparency Initiative; (2) conduct evaluations that are independent, methodologically rigorous, made public in their entirety, and transmitted to the International Aid Transparency Initiative Registry; and (3) develop and implement procedures for ensuring that data and evaluation results inform decisionmaking and lead to the revision and promotion of best practices among relevant executive branch agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2015
Recognizes the Khmer, Laotian, Hmong, and Montagnard Freedom Fighters and the people of Cambodia and Laos for their support and defense of the U.S. Armed Forces and freedom in Southeast Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2015
This bill amends the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 to repeal provisions providing for the sale of federal property and assets supporting the Department of Homeland Security's Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2015
Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia Diagnosis and Treatment Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish and implement a hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT, a genetic vascular bleeding disorder that causes abnormalities of the blood vessels) initiative to improve early detection, screening, and treatment of people who suffer from HHT, focusing on advancing HHT research and increasing physician and public awareness of HHT. Directs HHS to establish the HHT Coordinating Committee to develop and coordinate implementation of a plan to advance research and understanding of HHT, including by conducting or supporting research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and making recommendations regarding NIH research grants relating to HHT. Requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to carry out activities with respect to HHT, including conducting surveillance and establishing an HHT resource center to provide comprehensive education on and disseminate information about HHT to health professionals, patients, industry, and the public. Requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to award grants for HHT research, including an analysis of health care expenditures associated with untreated HHT and costs associated with preventable medical events among Medicare beneficiaries with HHT.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2015
Equality for All Resolution of 2015 Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals are valuable, contributing members of society who deserve equal treatment under the law. Declares that: (1) discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is a serious problem; (2) existing federal protections are inadequate to ensure nondiscrimination; and (3) Congress should pass legislation that prohibits such discrimination in areas including credit, employment, education, federally funded programs, housing, jury service, and public accommodations. Encourages states to prohibit such discrimination and to reject laws that undermine nondiscrimination protections.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2015
Recognizes the hardships that people with disabilities must overcome every day. Reaffirms support of the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Recommends that the United States Postal Service and federal agencies install power-assisted doors at post offices and other federally funded facilities to ensure equal access for all people. Pledges to continue to identify and remove the barriers that prevent equal access to federal government services.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the House should strive to create, debate, and adopt policy solutions to achieve a National Strategic Agenda with the goals of: creating 25 million new jobs over the next 10 years, balancing the federal budget by 2030, securing Medicare and Social Security for the next 75 years, and making the United States energy secure by 2024.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2015
Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to make permanent the authorization for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Requires not less than 1.5% of the annual authorized funding amount or $10 million, whichever is greater, to be used for projects that secure recreational public access to existing federal public land for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2015
James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program Fund indefinitely and index appropriations to the medical care component of the consumer price index for urban consumers. Makes funding available for: a quality assurance program for services delivered by health care providers, the WTC Program annual report, WTC Health Program Steering Committees, and contracts with Clinical Centers of Excellence. Amends the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act to make individuals (or relatives of deceased individuals) who were injured or killed in the rescue and recovery efforts after the aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, eligible for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. Allows individuals to file claims for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 anytime after regulations are updated based on the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010. Removes the cap on payments under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. Adds the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program Fund to the list of accounts that are not subject to budget sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2015
Federal Savings Association Charter Flexibility Act of 2015 This bill amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to permit a federal savings association to elect to operate subject to supervision by the Comptroller of the Currency with the rights and duties of a national bank.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2015
Community Economic Opportunity Act of 2015 This bill amends the Community Services Block Grant Act to revise the Act and reauthorize it through FY2023. States must adopt performance requirements and performance benchmarks to be included as part of the performance measurement system under this Act. States that receive grants must reserve 2% of the funds for a new Community Action Innovations Program (CAIP) and use not less than 90% of the remainder to make subgrants to eligible entities to enable the entities to implement programs, projects, or services to reduce poverty. Authority is repealed for specific nationally administered grants for: (1) community food and nutrition programs, (2) national or regional programs designed to provide instructional activities for low-income youth, and (3) demonstration partnership agreements addressing the needs of the poor. A state may use certain grant funds for training and technical assistance to eligible entities and innovative projects to reduce poverty conditions. Two or more eligible entities shall receive state assistance to merge if the geographic areas of the state they serve can be more effectively served under a single corporate structure. The same assistance must be given any eligible public organization that determines the area it serves can be more effectively served if it becomes a private public charity. An incentive is repealed for states to enact a charity tax credit. The Department of Health and Human Services must conduct, in at least one-third of the states in each fiscal year, evaluations (including investigations) of state compliance with the Community Services Block Grant Program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2015
United States Coast Guard Commemorative Coin Act Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue in commemoration of the United States Coast Guard: (1) $5 gold coins, (2) $1 silver coins, and (3) half-dollar clad coins. Requires the design of such coins to be emblematic of the traditions, history, and heritage of the Coast Guard, and its role in securing our nation since 1790. Prescribes design requirements. Restricts the issuance of such coins to the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2018. Prescribes the sale price of the coins and coin surcharges. Requires such surcharges to be paid by the Secretary to the National Coast Guard Museum Association to help finance the design and construction of the National Coast Guard Museum. Directs the Secretary to ensure that minting and issuing coins under this Act will not result in any net cost to the federal government.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2015
Paycheck Fairness Act Amends the portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 known as the Equal Pay Act to revise remedies for, enforcement of, and exceptions to prohibitions against sex discrimination in the payment of wages. Revises the exception to the prohibition for a wage rate differential based on any other factor other than sex. Limits such factors to bona fide factors, such as education, training, or experience. States that the bona fide factor defense shall apply only if the employer demonstrates that such factor: (1) is not based upon or derived from a sex-based differential in compensation, (2) is job-related with respect to the position in question, (3) is consistent with business necessity, and (4) accounts for the entire deferential in compensation at issue. Makes such defense inapplicable where the employee demonstrates that: (1) an alternative employment practice exists that would serve the same business purpose without producing such differential, and (2) the employer has refused to adopt such alternative practice. Revises the prohibition against employer retaliation for employee complaints. Prohibits retaliation for inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing the wages of the employee or another employee in response to a complaint or charge, or in furtherance of a sex discrimination investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, or an investigation conducted by the employer. Makes it unlawful to require an employee to sign a contract or waiver prohibiting the employee from disclosing information about the employee's wages. Makes employers who violate sex discrimination prohibitions liable in a civil action for either compensatory or (except for the federal government) punitive damages. States that any action brought to enforce the prohibition against sex discrimination may be maintained as a class action in which individuals may be joined as party plaintiffs without their written consent. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to seek additional compensatory or punitive damages in a sex discrimination action. Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to train EEOC employees and affected individuals and entities on matters involving wage discrimination. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities for negotiation skills training programs for girls and women. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Education to issue regulations or policy guidance to integrate such training into certain programs under their Departments. Directs the Secretary to conduct studies and provide information to employers, labor organizations, and the general public regarding the means available to eliminate pay disparities between men and women. Establishes the Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace for an employer who has made a substantial effort to eliminate pay disparities between men and women. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require the EEOC to issue regulations for collecting from employers compensation data and other employment-related data (including hiring, termination, and promotion data) disaggregated by the sex, race, and national origin of employees for use in the enforcement of federal laws prohibiting pay discrimination. Directs: (1) the Commissioner of Labor Statistics to continue to collect data on woman workers in the Current Employment Statistics survey, (2) the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to use specified types of methods in investigating compensation discrimination and in enforcing pay equity, and (3) the Secretary to make accurate information on compensation discrimination readily available to the public. Directs the Secretary and the Commissioner [ sic ] of the EEOC jointly to develop technical assistance material to assist small businesses to comply with the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2015
Insider Trading Prohibition Act This bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to prohibit any person from trading securities or effectuating such trades while in possession of related material, nonpublic information, or while either knowing or recklessly disregarding that the information has been obtained wrongfully, or that the transactions would constitute a wrongful use of such information. It shall also be unlawful for any person whose own securities transactions violate this Act to communicate wrongfully to another person material, nonpublic information relating to either those transactions or the market for them if the other person: purchases, sells, or causes the purchase or sale of, any security or security-based swap or enters into or causes the entry into any security-based swap agreement, to which such communication relates; or communicates the information to another person who makes or causes such a transaction while in possession of such information. The other person's ensuing purchase, sale, or entry while in possession of such information must also be reasonably foreseeable. A standard and a knowledge requirement are prescribed for acts constituting unlawful trading in securities. A person who has neither participated in, profited from, nor induced violations of this Act is shielded from liability even though that person controls or employs the violator. The Securities and Exchange Commission is authorized to exempt from this Act persons, securities, or transactions, subject to any necessary or appropriate terms and conditions, if it determines that the exemption is not inconsistent with the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2015
Biennial Budgeting and Enhanced Oversight Act of 2015 This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Congressional Budget Impoundment and Control Act of 1974, and the Rules of the House of Representatives to change the process for the President's budget submission, congressional budget resolutions, appropriations bills, and government strategic and performance plans from the current annual process to a biennial process, in which a biennium is the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. The House Budget Committee must use the second session of each Congress to study issues with long-term budgetary and economic implications. The bill creates a point of order in the House and Senate against authorizations of appropriations that do not include specific authorizations covering at least each fiscal year in one or more bienniums.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2015
Protecting Cyber Networks Act Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to require the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to develop and promulgate procedures to promote: (1) the timely sharing of classified and declassified cyber threat indicators in possession of the federal government with private entities, non-federal government agencies, or state, tribal, or local governments; and (2) the sharing of imminent or ongoing cybersecurity threats with such entities to prevent or mitigate adverse impacts. Requires the procedures to provide for: (1) notification to entities when the federal government has shared indicators in error or in contravention of law; and (2) the federal government, prior to sharing indicators, to remove personal information of, or information identifying, a specific person not directly related to a cybersecurity threat. Permits private entities to monitor or operate defensive measures to prevent or mitigate cybersecurity threats or security vulnerabilities, or to identify the source of a threat, on: (1) their own information systems; and (2) with written authorization, the information systems of other private or government entities. Allows non-federal entities to share and receive indicators or defensive measures with other non-federal entities or appropriate federal entities, but does not permit non-federal entities to share directly with components of the Department of Defense (DOD), including the National Security Agency (NSA). Requires recipients to comply with lawful restrictions that sharing entities place on the sharing or use of shared indicators or defensive measures. Requires non-federal entities monitoring, operating, or sharing indicators or defensive measures: (1) to implement security controls to protect against unauthorized access or acquisitions; and (2) prior to sharing an indicator, to take reasonable efforts to remove personal information of, or information identifying, a specific person not directly related to a cybersecurity threat. Permits state, tribal, or local agencies to use shared indicators (with the consent of a non-federal entity sharing the indicators) to prevent, investigate, or prosecute a felonious criminal act. Directs the President to submit to Congress procedures for the receipt of cyber threat indicators and defensive measures by the federal government. Requires the procedures to ensure that: (1) cyber threat indicators shared by a non-federal entity with the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of the Treasury, and the DNI (but not DOD, including the NSA) are shared in real-time with all such appropriate federal entities; (2) such indicators are provided to other relevant federal entities; (3) there is an audit capability; and (4) there are appropriate sanctions for federal officers, employees, or agents who use shared indicators or defensive measures in an unauthorized manner. Requires DOJ to develop and periodically review privacy and civil liberties guidelines to govern the receipt, retention, use, and dissemination of cyber threat indicators by federal entities. Establishes within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence a Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center (CTIIC) to serve as the primary organization within the federal government for analyzing and integrating all intelligence possessed or acquired by the United States pertaining to cyber threats. Requires the CTIIC to: (1) ensure that appropriate agencies receive all-source intelligence support to execute cyber threat intelligence activities and perform independent, alternative analyses; (2) disseminate threat analysis to the President, federal agencies, and Congress; and (3) coordinate federal cyber threat intelligence activities and conduct strategic planning. Authorizes indicators or defensive measures to be disclosed to, retained by, and used by, consistent with otherwise applicable federal law, any agency or agent of the federal government solely for: protecting an information system or information that is stored on, processed by, or transiting an information system from a cybersecurity threat or security vulnerability or identifying the source of a cybersecurity threat; responding to, prosecuting, or otherwise preventing or mitigating a threat of death or serious bodily harm or an offense arising out of such a threat; responding to, or otherwise preventing or mitigating, a serious threat to a minor, including sexual exploitation and threats to physical safety; or preventing, investigating, disrupting, or prosecuting specified criminal offenses relating to fraud and identity theft, serious violent felonies, espionage and censorship, or trade secrets. Allows a person to bring a private cause of action against the federal government if an agency intentionally or willfully violates DOJ's privacy and civil liberties guidelines. Provides liability protections, if the following activities are conducted in good faith in accordance with this Act, to: (1) private entities monitoring information systems; or (2) non-federal entities sharing, receiving, or failing to act upon shared indicators or defensive measures. Prohibits this Act from being construed to: (1) authorize the federal government to conduct surveillance of a person or allow the intelligence community to target a person for surveillance; (2) limit lawful disclosures of communications or records, including reporting of known or suspected criminal activity, by a non-federal entity to another non-federal entity or the federal government; or (3) permit the federal government to require a non-federal entity to provide information to the federal government.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2015
Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act Repeals certain provisions which require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military retired pay or who would be entitled to retired pay except for being under 60 years of age. Prohibits requiring repayment of certain amounts previously paid to SBP recipients in the form of a retired pay refund. Repeals the optional authority of (and instead requires) the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay an annuity to a member's dependent children when there is no eligible surviving spouse. Directs the Secretary concerned to restore annuity eligibility to a surviving spouse who earlier agreed to transfer such eligibility to a surviving child or children of a member.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2015
Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to deem an individual receiving outpatient observation services in a hospital to be an inpatient with respect to satisfying the three-day inpatient hospital requirement in order to entitle the individual to Medicare coverage of any post-hospital extended care services in a skilled nursing facility.
![Official portrait of Rep. Himes, James A. [D-CT-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h001047_200.jpg)