The world's political record
Person
![Official portrait of Rep. Himes, James A. [D-CT-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h001047_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
2,658 records where Rep. Himes, James A. [D-CT-4] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Medical FSA Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow amounts in a flexible spending arrangement (FSA) that are not spent for medical care to be distributed to the FSA participant as taxable income after the close of a plan year (currently, such unspent amounts are forfeited). Includes such FSAs in the definition of tax-exempt cafeteria plans.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Investment Adviser Examination Improvement Act of 2013 - Declares the sense of Congress that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should increase the number and frequency of examinations of investment advisers. Amends the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to direct the SEC to collect an annual fee from investment advisers subject to SEC inspection or examination to defray the cost of such inspections and examinations. Exempts certain state-regulated investment advisers from the requirement to pay an annual fee. Prescribes a fee calculation formula. Requires the SEC to make the formula publicly available on its website along with the factors used to reach the fee determination. Requires the Comptroller General to audit biennially the use of such fees, SEC reviews of the fee formula, and any adjustments to it. Makes such fees available to the SEC, without further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, to pay costs associated with inspecting and examining investment advisers.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Military Spouse Job Continuity Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces (military spouse) who moves with such member to another state under a permanent change of station order a tax credit for up to $500 of qualified relicensing costs incurred by such spouse. Defines "qualified relicensing costs" as costs for a state license or certification to engage in the profession that such military spouse engaged in while residing in the former state.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2013
Student Loan Relief Act of 2013 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend the 3.4% interest rate on Federal Direct Stafford loans to loans first disbursed to undergraduate students between July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2015.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2013
Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2013 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to reauthorize for FY2014-FY2017 the grant program for improvements to the criminal history record system. Amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (NICS Act) to: (1) establish a four-year implementation plan to ensure maximum coordination and automation of reporting of records or making records available to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System; (2) direct the Attorney General to make grants to states, Indian tribal governments, and state court systems to improve the automation and transmittal of mental health records and criminal history dispositions; (3) provide for reductions in grant funding to states that have not implemented a relief from disabilities programs; (4) make federal court information available for inclusion in the System; and (5) allow the submission to the System of mental health records that would otherwise be protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to: (1) expand the enforcement authority or jurisdiction of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); (2) allow the establishment, directly or indirectly, of a federal firearms registry; or (3) extend background check requirements to transfers of firearms other than those made at gun shows or over the Internet, or to temporary transfers for purposes including lawful hunting or sporting, or to temporary possession of a firearm for purposes of examination or evaluation by a prospective transferee. National Commission on Mass Violence Act of 2013 - Establishes the National Commission on Mass Violence to study the availability and nature of firearms, including the means of acquiring firearms, issues relating to mental health, and the impacts of the availability and nature of firearms on incidents of mass violence or in preventing mass violence. Requires the Commission to conduct a comprehensive factual study of incidents of mass violence, including incidents not involving firearms, to determine the root causes of such mass violence.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2013
Veteran's I.D. Card Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to issue a veteran's identification card to any veteran who requests such card and is neither entitled to military retired pay nor enrolled in the VA system of patient enrollment. Requires such card, among other things, to: (1) display their name and photograph, and (2) serve as proof that the veteran honorably served in the Armed Forces and has a DD-214 form or other official document in their personnel file that describes their military service. Directs the Secretary to charge a card fee. States that such card shall not serve as proof of entitlement to any benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2013
Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2013 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to reauthorize for FY2014-FY2017 the grant program for improvements to the criminal history record system. Amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to: (1) establish a four-year implementation plan to ensure maximum coordination and automation of reporting of records or making records available to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System; (2) direct the Attorney General to make grants to states, Indian tribal governments, and state court systems to improve the automation and transmittal of mental health records and criminal history dispositions; (3) provide for reductions in grant funding to states that have not implemented a relief from disabilities program; (4) make federal court information available for inclusion in the System; and (5) allow the submission to the System of mental health records that would otherwise be protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to: (1) expand the enforcement authority or jurisdiction of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); (2) allow the establishment, directly or indirectly, of a federal firearms registry; or (3) extend background check requirements to transfers of firearms other than those made at gun shows or over the Internet, or to temporary transfers for purposes including lawful hunting or sporting, or to temporary possession of a firearm for purposes of examination or evaluation by a prospective transferee. National Commission on Mass Violence Act of 2013 - Establishes the National Commission on Mass Violence to study the availability and nature of firearms, including the means of acquiring firearms, issues relating to mental health, and the impacts of the availability and nature of firearms on incidents of mass violence or in preventing mass violence. Requires the Commission to conduct a comprehensive factual study of incidents of mass violence, including incidents not involving firearms, to determine the root causes of such mass violence.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2013
Congressional Oversight to Start Taxpayer Savings Resolution or COST Savings Resolution - Amends Rule X (Organization of Committees) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require each standing committee (except the Committee on Appropriations) with the proper jurisdiction, after the Comptroller General reports annually to Congress on federal programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives with duplicative goals and activities, to conduct hearings on the report's recommendations for consolidation and elimination of the program or agency.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2013
Breast Cancer Patient Protect Act of 2013 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group or individual health plan that provides medical and surgical benefits to ensure that inpatient (and in the case of a lumpectomy, outpatient) coverage and radiation therapy are provided for breast cancer treatment. Prohibits such a plan from: (1) restricting benefits for any hospital length of stay to less than 48 hours in connection with a mastectomy or breast conserving surgery or 24 hours in connection with a lymph node dissection, insofar as the attending physician, in consultation with the patient, determines such stay to be medically necessary; or (2) requiring that a provider obtain authorization from the plan for prescribing any such length of stay. Requires such a plan to: (1) provide notice to each participant and beneficiary regarding the coverage required under this Act, and (2) ensure that coverage is provided for secondary consultations. Prohibits a health plan from taking specified actions to avoid the requirements of this Act. Allows a health insurance issuer that provides individual health insurance coverage to nonrenew or discontinue an individual's coverage based on the intentional concealment of material facts regarding a health condition related to the condition for which coverage is being claimed.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
Health Outcomes, Planning, and Education for Alzheimer's Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for comprehensive Alzheimer's disease diagnosis and services.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2013 or the PAST Act - Amends the Horse Protection Act (HPA) to replace the Designated Qualified Persons program responsible for inspecting horses for soring with a new inspection system. (The soring of horses is any of various actions taken on a horse's limb to produce a higher gait that may cause pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness.) Directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prescribe regulatory requirements to license, train, assign, and oversee persons who are to be hired by the management of horse shows, exhibitions, sales, or auctions and are qualified to detect and diagnose sore horses or otherwise inspect horses at such events. Prohibits issuing a license to any person unless such person is free from conflicts of interest. Authorizes USDA to revoke a license for unsatisfactory performance. Requires USDA to give a preference to persons who are licensed or accredited veterinarians in issuing the licenses. Requires USDA to assign USDA-licensed inspectors after receiving notice that management intends to hire the inspectors. Directs an inspector to issue a citation for violations and notify USDA of the violations within five days of the citation being issued. Requires USDA to: (1) publish on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's website information on violations of such Act; and (2) disqualify a horse that is sore for specified time periods that increase after the first, second, and third instance. Prohibits a person in any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction from causing or directing a horse to become sore for the purpose of showing, exhibiting, selling, auctioning, or offering for sale the horse. Prohibits showing, exhibiting, selling, or auctioning a Tennessee Walking, a Racking, or a Spotted Saddle horse with: (1) an action device that causes friction by rotating around a horse's leg or sliding up and down the leg or strikes the hoof, coronet band, fetlock joint, or pastern of the horse; or (2) a weighted shoe, pad, wedge, hoof band, or other device or material if it is constructed to artificially alter a horse's gait and is not strictly protective or therapeutic. Increases the maximum criminal penalties and maximum civil liability penalties for certain HPA violations. Authorizes USDA to disqualify a violator from: (1) transporting or arranging for the transportation of a horse to or from a show, exhibition, sale, or auction; (2) personally giving instructions to an exhibitor; or (3) being knowingly present in a warm-up area, inspection area, or other area that spectators are not permitted. Permits USDA to permanently disqualify a person with at least three violations after notice and an opportunity for a hearing.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2013
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day. Encourages state and local governments to recognize and support such a day. Promotes effective and comprehensive HIV prevention education programs as a tool to ensure that all people in the United States are educated about HIV. Urges youth-friendly and accessible health care services to better provide for the early identification of HIV through voluntary routine testing and to connect those in need to clinically and culturally appropriate care and treatment as early as possible. Commends the work of AIDS service organizations, community and faith-based organizations, and school-based health centers that are providing youth-friendly, effective, prevention, treatment, care, and support services to young people living with and vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Recognizes the importance of interventions that address young people's structural barriers to living healthy lives. Prioritizes youth leadership and development to ensure youth involvement in decisions that impact their health and well-being as well as to advance a pipeline for the next generation of HIV/AIDS professionals as a necessary means to achieving an AIDS-free generation.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend the 3.4% interest rate on Federal Direct Stafford loans to loans first disbursed to undergraduate students between July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2015.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2013 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Benefits) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to extend the months of coverage of immunosuppressive drugs for kidney transplant patients. Amends SSA title XVIII (Medicare) to make eligible for enrollment in Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance), solely for the purpose of such drug coverage, every individual whose insurance benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) have ended by reason of a kidney transplant or the end of any requirement for a regular course of dialysis. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to determine a monthly premium rate for such individuals equal to 35% of the monthly actuarial rate for enrollees age 65 and over. Prescribes a formula for detemination of a government contribution to such a premium.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2013 - Declares that, notwithstanding the presidential sequestration order issued on March 1, 2013, the budgetary resources sequestered for payments for drugs and biologicals under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act shall be available for obligation for drugs and biologicals furnished on or after enactment of this Act in the same amount and manner as if such order had not been issued. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make any payments under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) that may be required to reimburse for reductions in payments made under the sequestration order for drugs and biologicals furnished on or after April 1, 2013, and before enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Air Traffic Control Tower Funding Restoration Act - Amends the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 to increase funding to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for air traffic organization activities. Allocates certain appropriations for contract tower program for contract towers in operation as of February 1, 2013. Specifies offsetting rescissions from FY2013 FAA appropriations for facilities and equipment and for research, engineering, and development.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Recognizes the significance of Equal Pay Day to illustrate the disparity between wages paid to men and women.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2013
Jobs Originated through Launching Travel Act of 2013 or JOLT Act of 2013 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Secretary of State (Secretary) to establish a pilot fee-based premium processing service to expedite visa interview appointments. Authorizes the Secretary to collect and set fee amounts. Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to admit into the United States a qualifying Canadian citizen over 50 years old and spouse for a period not to exceed 240 days if the person maintains a Canadian residence and owns a U.S. residence or has rented a U.S. accommodation for the duration of such stay. Directs the Secretary to require overseas visa processing posts to make public the availability of visa appointments during periods of low demand to encourage visa applicants to apply when interview wait times are lowest. Revises the visa waiver program to: (1) authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate any country as a program country; (2) adjust visa refusal rate criteria, including addition of a 3% maximum overstay rate; and (3) revise probationary and termination provisions. Directs the Secretary to require U.S. diplomatic and consular missions to: (1) conduct nonimmigrant visa application interviews expeditiously, consistent with national security requirements and in recognition of resource allocation considerations; and (2) set a goal of interviewing 90% of all nonimmigrant visa applicants, worldwide, within 10 days of application receipt. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and conduct a pilot program for processing visas using secure remote videoconferencing technology, and (2) seek to coordinate enrollment and interview processes for individuals eligible for both a U.S. visa and enrollment in the Global Entry program.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2013
Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2013 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Benefits) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to extend the months of coverage of immunosuppressive drugs for kidney transplant patients. Amends SSA title XVIII (Medicare) to make eligible for enrollment in Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance), solely for the purpose of such drug coverage, every individual whose insurance benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) have ended by reason of a kidney transplant or the end of any requirement for a regular course of dialysis. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to determine a monthly premium rate for such individuals equal to 35% of the monthly actuarial rate for enrollees age 65 and over. Prescribes a formula for detemination of a government contribution to such a premium.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2013
Restoring Confidence in Our Democracy Act - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to set forth special rules for electioneering communications, especially targeted communications, which national banks, corporations, and labor organizations are prohibited from paying for. Defines "targeted communications" as electioneering communications distributed from a television or radio broadcast station or provider of cable or satellite television service and, in the case of a communication which refers to a candidate for an office other than President or Vice President, is targeted to the relevant electorate. Prohibits independent expenditures by national banks, corporations, and labor organizations. Applies certain limitations on contributions made by any person to a political committee to any contribution to a political committee which accepts donations or contributions that do not comply with contribution or source prohibitions (or made to any account of a political committee established to accept such noncompliant donations or contributions).
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2013
World War II Merchant Mariner Service Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to accept additional documentation for verifying that an individual performed honorable service as a coastwise merchant seaman during the period beginning on December 7, 1941, and ending on December 31, 1946, for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits under the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977. Requires such documentation to include Social Security Administration (SSA) records and validated testimony in the case of the absence of Coast Guard shipping or discharge forms, ship logbooks, documents, or other official employment records. Requires the Secretary, when determining whether to recognize service allegedly performed during such period, to recognize masters of seagoing vessels or other command officers who were authorized to document an individual for purposes of hiring for or discharging from the merchant marine. Considers any service so recognized as active-duty service for purposes of veterans' burial benefits. Makes such veterans eligible for any appropriate military medals, ribbons, and decorations. Requires the Secretary to verify that an individual performed such service under honorable conditions without regard to their sex, age, or disability during the service period.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2013
Healthy Families Act - Requires certain employers, who employ 15 or more employees for each working day during 20 or more workweeks a year, to permit each employee to earn at least 1 hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Declares that an employer shall not be required to permit an employee to earn more than 56 hours of paid sick time in a calendar year, unless the employer chooses to set a higher limit. Allows employees to use such time to: (1) meet their own medical needs; (2) care for the medical needs of certain family members (including a domestic partner or the domestic partner's parent or child); or (3) seek medical attention, assist a related person, take legal action, or engage in other specified activities relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Prohibits an employer from interfering with an employee's exercise of such rights. Directs the Secretary of Labor to exercise certain investigative and enforcement authority for employees covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991. Grants the same authority, for employees under their jurisdiction, to the Librarian of Congress, the Comptroller General (GAO), the Board of Directors of the congressional Office of Compliance, and the Merit Systems Protection Board. Authorizes civil actions by employees, individuals, or their representatives for damages or equitable relief against employers who violate this Act. Waives a state's sovereign immunity with respect to a suit brought by an employee of a federally-assisted state program or activity for relief authorized under this Act. Requires the Commissioner of Labor Statistics to annually compile information on paid sick time and the Comptroller General to study related matters. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining more generous leave policies.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2013
Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to include as a "countervailable subsidy" requiring action under a countervailing duty or antidumping duty proceeding the benefit conferred on merchandise imported into the United States from foreign countries with fundamentally undervalued currency. Defines "benefit conferred," in cases where the currency of a foreign country is exchanged for foreign currency (i.e., U.S. dollars) obtained from export transactions, as the difference between: (1) the amount of currency provided by a foreign country in which the subject merchandise is produced, and (2) the amount of currency such country would have provided if the real effective exchange rate of its currency were not fundamentally undervalued. Declares that the fact that such a subsidy is also provided in circumstances not involving export shall not, for that reason alone, mean it cannot be considered export contingent and actionable under a countervailing duty and antidumping duty proceeding. Requires the administering authority to determine that the currency of a foreign country is fundamentally undervalued if for an 18-month period: (1) the government of the country engages in protracted, large-scale intervention in one or more foreign exchange markets; (2) the country's real effective exchange rate is undervalued by at least 5%; (3) the country has experienced significant and persistent global current account surpluses; and (4) the country's government has foreign asset reserves exceeding the amount necessary to repay all its debt obligations falling due within the coming 12 months, 20% percent of the country's money supply, and the value of the country's imports during the previous 4 months. Requires the use, for calculating a country's "real effective exchange rate undervaluation," of certain guidelines of the Consultative Group on Exchange Rate Issues of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or, if those guidelines are not available, generally accepted economic and econometric techniques and methodologies. Requires the use, also, of inflation-adjusted, trade-weighted exchange rates. Applies the amendments made by this Act to goods from Canada and Mexico.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2013
Coltsville National Historical Park Act - Establishes the Coltsville National Historical Park as a unit of the National Park System in Connecticut. Requires the Park to provide interpretation and viewing of specified sites, including the East Armory and Colt Park. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to enter into a written agreement with the Connecticut State Library, Wadsworth Atheneum, and the Colt Trust, or other public entities, as appropriate, to gain access to Colt-related artifacts to have them on display in the East Armory or within the Park. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with the owners of any properties within the Historic District or any nationally significant properties within the Park under which the Secretary may identify, interpret, restore and provide technical assistance for the preservation of such properties. Requires any federal funds under such an agreement to be matched on a one-to-one basis by non-federal funds. Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance and public interpretation of related historic and cultural resources within the Historic District. Requires the Secretary to complete and submit to Congress a management plan for the Park with the advice of the Coltsville National Historical Park Advisory Commission established by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2013
Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a process which subjects to a single, combined maximum annual limit, applied incrementally, the number of additional documentation requests made to a hospital by Medicare administrative contractors, recovery audit contractors, or Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) program contractors pursuant to prepayment and postpayment audits requiring a hospital to submit a medical record for audit purposes. Directs the Secretary also to establish a distinct additional documentation request limit, computed according to a specified formula, for each hospital claim type for each hospital for a 45-day period in a year. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the Medicare Integrity Program and use of recovery audit contractors. Requires the Secretary to ensure that recovery audit contracts include certain mandatory terms and conditions pertaining to: (1) penalties for certain compliance failures, (2) penalties for overturned appeals, (3) postpayment and prepayment audits, and (4) guidelines for prepayment review. Directs the Secretary to publish on the Internet website of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services information on recovery audit contractor performance regarding: (1) audit rates, denials, and appeals outcomes; and (2) independent performance evaluations. Deems to be an original claim for Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) payment a resubmitted hospital claim for Medicare part A payment for inpatient hospital services which a recovery audit contractor determines: (1) were not medically necessary and reasonable based on the site of service, but (2) would be medically necessary and reasonable in an outpatient setting of the hospital. Requires payment to be made for such a resubmitted claim for all furnished items and services for which payment may be made under Medicare part B. Deems to be a reopened claim, for purposes of a hospital's ability to resubmit a claim for Medicare payment in timely fashion, any claim that is the subject of an audit by a recovery audit contractor or a Medicare administrative contractor. Requires contracts for a recovery audit contractor to require that a physician review each denial of a claim for medical necessity made by an employee of the contractor who is not a physician. Subjects to administrative and judicial review the Secretary's compliance with guidelines for reopening and revising benefit determinations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2013
Expresses support for the designation of National Stroke Awareness Month. Encourages: (1) support for the efforts, programs, services, and advocacy of organizations that work to enhance public awareness of stroke; and (2) continued coordination and cooperation between government, researchers, families, and the public to improve treatments and prognoses for individuals who suffer strokes.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require states to direct their local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish policies that prevent and prohibit conduct, including bullying and harassment, that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to: (1) limit students' ability to participate in, or benefit from school programs; or (2) create a hostile or abusive educational environment that adversely affects their education. Requires LEAs to also provide: (1) students, parents, and educational professionals with annual notice of the conduct prohibited in their discipline policies; (2) students and parents with grievance procedures that target such conduct; (3) the public with annual data on the incidence and frequency of that conduct at the school and LEA level; and (4) discipline policies that minimize the removal of students from instruction and prevent disproportionate punishment. Requires: (1) the Secretary of Education to conduct, and report on, an independent biennial evaluation of programs and policies to combat bullying and harassment in elementary and secondary schools; and (2) the Commissioner for Education Statistics to collect state data, that are subject to independent review, to determine the incidence and frequency of the conduct prohibited by LEA discipline policies.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2013 - 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 (SNF).
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Personalize Your Care Act of 2013 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to cover a Voluntary Advance Care Planning Consultation. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to eligible entities to: (1) establish statewide programs for physician orders for life-sustaining treatment, or (2) expand or enhance existing programs for physician orders for life-sustaining treatment. Directs the Secretary to adopt, by rule, standards for a qualified electronic health record, with respect to patient communications with a health care provider about values and goals of care, to adequately display the patient's current: (1) advance directive, and/or (2) physician order for life-sustaining treatment. Requires under Medicare and Medicaid that an advance directive validly executed outside the state in which the directive is presented must be given effect by a service provider or an organization to the same extent as an advance directive validly executed under the law of the state in which it is presented. Requires that, in the absence of a validly executed advance directive, any authentic expression of a person's wishes with respect to health care be honored.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Medicare Access to Radiology Care Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize Medicare payment for the services of qualified radiologist assistants.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require an applicant for approval of a new animal drug that is a medically important antimicrobial to demonstrate that there is a reasonable certainty of no harm to human health due to the development of antimicrobial resistance attributable to the nontherapeutic use of the drug. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to refuse approval if the applicant fails to make such a demonstration. Defines “medically important antimicrobial” as a drug intended for use in food-producing animals and composed wholly or partly of: (1) any kind of specified antibiotics, including penicillin and tetracycline; or (2) a drug from an antimicrobial class that is listed on the World Health Organization’s list of critically important antimicrobials. Requires the Secretary to withdraw approval for the nontherapeutic use in food-producing animals of a medically important antimicrobial marketed for human use unless the Secretary makes a final written determination that, based on either the application holder's demonstration or an HHS risk analysis, there is a reasonable certainty of no harm to human health due to the development of antimicrobial resistance attributable to the drug's nontherapeutic use. Requires the Secretary to rescind approval of an exemption for investigational use of, or of approval of a new drug application for, a medically important antimicrobial for its nontherapeutic use in a food-producing animal two years after the exemption is granted or the application for approval is submitted. Exempts from this requirement any drugs for which there has been found a reasonable certainty of no harm to human health. Prohibits the administration of a medically important antimicrobial (including by means of animal feed) to a food-producing animal for nonroutine disease control unless there is a significant risk that a disease or infection present on the premises will be transmitted to the food-producing animal. Requires the administration of the antimicrobial to be: (1) necessary to prevent or reduce the risk of transmission; (2) for the shortest duration possible to prevent or reduce the risk of transmission; and (3) at a scale no greater than the barn, house, or pen level and to the fewest animals possible to prevent or reduce the risk of transmission.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Small Business Capital Access and Job Preservation Act - Amends the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to exempt private equity fund investment advisers from its registration and reporting requirements, provided that each private equity fund has not borrowed and does not have outstanding a principal amount exceeding twice its invested capital commitments. Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to promulgate final rules that: (1) require such investment advisers to maintain records the SEC determines necessary, taking into account fund size, governance, investment strategy, and risk; and (2) define the term "private equity fund" for purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2013
Safeguard American Food Exports Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the sale or transport of equines (horses and other members of the equidae family) or their parts (including flesh, meat, and viscera), or the importing or exporting of equines or their parts into or out of the United States, by any person who knows or should have known that such equines are to be slaughtered for human consumption as food.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2013
National Diabetes Clinical Care Commission Act - Establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) the National Diabetes Clinical Care Commission to evaluate and make recommendations regarding better coordination and leveraging of federal programs that relate in any way to supporting appropriate clinical care for people with pre-diabetes and diabetes. Sets forth the duties of the Commission, which shall include: (1) evaluating HHS programs, (2) identifying current activities and critical gaps in federal efforts to support clinicians in providing care to people with pre-diabetes and diabetes, (3) recommending how an outcomes-based registry may be developed and then used to evaluate various care models and methods, (4) evaluating and expanding education and awareness to health care professionals regarding clinical practices for the prevention of diabetes and the precursor conditions of diabetes, and (5) reviewing and recommending appropriate methods for outreach and dissemination of educational resources related to diabetes prevention and treatments. Requires the Commission to submit an operating plan to the Secretary and Congress within 90 days of its first meeting.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2013
Condemns Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights. Calls on Iran to release all prisoners held solely on account of their religion. Calls on the President and Secretary of State, in cooperation with responsible nations, to condemn Iran's continued violation of human rights and demand the release of prisoners held solely on account of their religion. Urges the President and Secretary to impose sanctions on Iranian government officials and other individuals directly responsible for serious human rights abuses, including abuses against the Baha'i community of Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2013
Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to: (1) $8.20 an hour on the first day of the third month after the enactment of this Act; (2) $9.15 an hour after one year; (3) $10.10 an hour after two years; and (4) the amount determined by the Secretary of Labor (based on increases in the Consumer Price Index) after three years, and annually thereafter. Increases the federal minimum wage for tipped employees to $3.00 an hour for one year on the first day of the third month after the enactment of this Act. Provides a formula for subsequent annual adjustments of the wage increase to ensure that it remains equal to 70% of the wage in effect under FLSA for other employees. Directs the Secretary of Labor, 60 days before any increase in the minimum wage, to publish it in the Federal Register and on the Department of Labor's website.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2013
Swaps Regulatory Improvement Act - Amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act with respect to the prohibition against certain federal assistance to swaps entities, namely the use of any advances from specified Federal Reserve credit facilities or discount windows, or Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance or guarantees, for the purpose of: (1) making any loan to, or purchasing any stock, equity interest, or debt obligation of, any swaps entity; (2) purchasing the assets of any swaps entity; (3) guaranteeing any loan or debt issuance of any swaps entity; or (4) entering into any assistance arrangement (including tax breaks), loss sharing, or profit sharing with any swaps entity. Extends to any major swap participant or major security-based swap participant that is an uninsured U.S. branch or agency of a foreign bank the exemption from the prohibition against federal assistance to swaps entities which is currently limited to any major swap participant or major security-based swap participant that is an FDIC-insured bank or savings association. Designates both uninsured U.S. branches or agencies of a foreign bank and insured depository institutions as "covered depository institutions." Requires any covered depository institution exempted from the prohibition to limit its swap and security-based swap activities to hedging and similar risk mitigating activities (as under current law), non-structured finance swap activities, or certain structured finance swap activities. (Defines "structured finance swap" as a swap or security-based swap based on an asset-backed security [or group or index primarily composed of asset-backed securities].) Qualifies a structured finance swap activity for the exemption if: (1) it is undertaken for hedging or risk management purposes, or (2) each asset-backed security underlying the structured finance swap is of a credit quality and of a type or category with respect to which the prudential regulators have jointly adopted rules authorizing such a swap or security-based swap activity by covered depository institutions. Repeals the exemption from the prohibition for any insured depository institution that limits its swap and security-based swap activities to acting as a swaps entity for: (1) swaps or security-based swaps involving rates or reference assets that are permissible for investment by a national bank; or (2) credit default swaps, including those referencing the credit risk of asset-backed securities unless they are cleared by a derivatives clearing organization or a clearing agency registered, or exempt from registration, under the Commodity Exchange Act or the Securities Exchange Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2013
Low Value Shipment Regulatory Modernization Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) should encourage other countries, through bilateral, regional, and multilateral fora, to establish commercially meaningful de minimis values for express and postal shipments of articles that are exempt from customs duties and certain entry documentation requirements, as appropriate. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase from $200 to $800 for 2014, and to $800 adjusted annually for inflation after 2014, the aggregate retail value in the country of shipment of articles that may be imported duty-free into the United States by one person on one day.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2013
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the federal government and state governments should make the transition of a member of the Armed Forces and the member's spouse from military to civilian life as seamless as possible by creating opportunities for them to earn civilian occupational credentials and licenses, with an emphasis on well-paying industries and occupations that have a high demand for skilled workers; (2) the federal government should assist state governments in translating military training and experience into credit towards professional licensure; and (3) state governments should streamline approaches for assessing the equivalency of military training and experience and accelerate occupational licensing processes for members, veterans, and their spouses.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2013
Medicare Diabetes Prevention Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage of diabetes prevention program services to an eligible diabetes prevention program individual. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) 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 (CDC). 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 that the National Diabetes Prevention Program presents an opportunity for states to reduce the incidence of diabetes among individuals enrolled in their Medicaid programs.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2013
United States Postal Service Stabilization Act of 2013 - Amends provisions concerning the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS), with respect to employees of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), to: (1) provide a new formula for calculating employee pension contributions using the normal-cost percentage method multiplied by the aggregate amount of basic pay payable to employees of USPS and the Postal Regulatory Commission, and (2) provide for the use of excess FERS contributions to pay USPS debt obligations and make pension contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2013
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 · 5 March 2013
Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvements Act of 2013 - Includes fertility counseling and treatment within authorized Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical services. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish such counseling and treatment, including the use of assisted reproductive technology, to a spouse or surrogate of a severely wounded, ill, or injured veteran who has an infertility condition incurred or aggravated in the line of duty and who is enrolled in the VA health care system, as long as the spouse and veteran apply jointly for such counseling and treatment. Authorizes the Secretary to pay to any such veteran an amount to assist in the adoption of one or more children. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report annually to the congressional veterans committees on the counseling and treatment provided under this Act; (2) prescribe regulations on the furnishing of such counseling, treatment, and adoption assistance; and (3) coordinate the furnishing of such counseling and treatment with that provided by the Department of Defense (DOD). Directs the Secretary to facilitate research conducted collaboratively by the Secretaries of Defense and Health and Human Services (HHS) in order to improve VA's ability to meet the long-term reproductive health care needs of veterans who have a service-connected genitourinary disability or a condition that was incurred or aggravated in the line of duty, such as a spinal cord injury, that affects the veterans' ability to reproduce. Requires the Secretary to enhance the capabilities of the VA women veterans contact center: (1) to respond to requests for assistance with accessing VA health care and benefits, and (2) for referral to community resources to obtain assistance with services not furnished by the VA. Amends the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 relating to a pilot program of group retreat reintegration and readjustment counseling for women veterans recently separated from service to: (1) increase from at least 3 to at least 14 the number of locations for such counseling, and (2) extend the pilot program for an additional 2 years. Directs the Secretary to carry out a pilot program of providing child care assistance to veterans receiving or in need of VA readjustment counseling and related mental health services. Directs the Secretary to impose, as a contract condition, a contractor user fee with respect to each contract entered into by the VA for a good or service. Provides for the determination of fee amounts. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such fee if the contractor is an individual or a small business. Establishes in the Treasury the Department of Veterans Affairs Fertility Counseling and Treatment Fund. Provides for the deposit into such Fund of all contractor user fee amounts.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2013
United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2013 - Declares that Israel is a major strategic partner of the United States. Amends the Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 to extend authority to: (1) make additions to foreign-based defense stockpiles, and (2) transfer certain obsolete or surplus Department of Defense (DOD) items to Israel. Authorizes the President to carry out U.S.-Israel cooperative activities and to provide assistance for cooperation in the fields of energy, water, homeland security, agriculture, and alternative fuel technologies. Amends the the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to extend the grant program for U.S.-Israeli cooperation on research, development, and commercialization of renewable energy or energy efficiency. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States and Israel should increase cyber-security cooperation. Urges the President to provide assistance for enhancement of the David's Sling Weapon System, the joint United States-Israel Arrow Weapon System, and the Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system. States that it shall be U.S. policy to include Israel in the visa waiver program when Israel satisfies such program's inclusion requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2013
Ensuring Access to Quality Complex Rehabilitation Technology Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover, as medical and other health services, complex rehabilitation technology items designed and configured for a specific qualified individual to meet that individual's unique: (1) medical, physical, and functional needs related to a medical condition; and (2) capacities for basic activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental ADLs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) designate complex rehabilitation technology items (excluding adaptive equipment to operate motor vehicles or certain prosthetic devices and orthotics); and (2) establish eligibility criteria for them. Prescribes requirements for payments for CRT items. Directs the Secretary to establish standards for clinical conditions for CRT item payment as well as quality standards for suppliers of such items. Directs the Secretary to establish a Healthcare Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) coding subset that uses specified HCPCS codes for CRT items. Requires payment for replacement of a CRT item (or any part of one), without regard to certain continuous use or useful lifetime restrictions established for items of durable medical equipment (DME), if a qualified ordering practitioner determines that a replacement item (or part) is necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2013
Authorizes the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation to establish a commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia to commemorate the formation of the Peace Corps and to honor the ideals upon which it was founded. Prohibits the use of federal funds to pay any expense to establish the commemorative work.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2013
Stop AIDS in Prison Act of 2013 - Directs the Bureau of Prisons to develop a comprehensive policy to provide HIV testing, treatment, and prevention for inmates in federal prisons and upon reentry into the community. Requires such policy to include provisions for: (1) testing of inmates upon intake and counseling; (2) HIV/AIDS prevention education; (3) HIV testing of prisoners annually upon request or upon exposure to HIV; (4) HIV testing of pregnant inmates; (5) comprehensive medical treatment of inmates who test positive for HIV and confidential counseling on managing their medical condition and preventing its transmission to other persons; (6) protection of confidentiality; (7) testing, counseling, and referral prior to reentry into the community; (8) allowing inmates the right to refuse routine HIV testing; (9) excluding as "routine" the testing of an inmate who may have transmitted HIV to any U.S. officer or employee or to any person lawfully present but not incarcerated in a correctional facility; and (10) timely notification of test results. Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) require HIV testing for all federal prison inmates upon intake regardless of length of sentence or risk factors, (2) allow inmates to decline testing prior to release from incarceration, and (3) make HIV testing part of the routine health screening conducted at intake. Requires the Bureau to report on: (1) testing, treatment, and prevention education programs for hepatitis and other diseases transmitted through sexual activity and intravenous drug use; and (2) the incidence among prison inmates of diseases transmitted through sexual activity and intravenous drug use.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2013
Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a 30% tax credit for investment in a qualifying offshore wind facility (an offshore facility using wind to produce electricity), and (2) direct the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a qualifying credit for offshore wind facilities program to consider and award certifications for investments eligible for such a credit to qualifying offshore wind facility sponsors. Requires the Secretary to review credits allocated under this Act periodically and authorizes the Secretary to make additional allocations and reallocations of such credits upon determining that: (1) the limit on the total amount of megawatt capacity for offshore facilities with respect to which credits may be allocated under the program has not been attained, or (2) scheduled placed-in-service dates of previously certified facilities have been significantly delayed and the applicant will not meet the required timeline.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2013
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that in this Congress the Committee on Agriculture should not propose any reduction in the availability or amount of benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) and that the House should reject any proposed legislation that seeks to do so.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2013
Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of State to determine if Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) meets the criteria for designation as a foreign terrorist organization and: (1) if so, designate the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization; and (2) if not, report to Congress concerning those criteria which have not been met. Expresses the sense of Congress regarding the imposition of sanctions on certain Iranian government persons responsible for, or complicit in, human rights abuses, diversion of food and medicine, and censorship. Amends the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 to subject to mandatory sanctions a financial institution that facilitates a significant transaction or provides significant financial services for a person that: (1) is subject to human rights-related sanctions, or (2) exports sensitive technology to Iran and is subject to the prohibition on procurement contracts. Amends the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 to authorize the President to impose sanctions on a foreign person that knowingly conducted or facilitated a significant financial transaction with the Central Bank of Iran or other Iranian financial institution subject to sanctions for the purchase of goods (other than petroleum or petroleum products) or services by or from a person in Iran, or on behalf of a person in Iran. Excludes from such sanctions a transaction for the sale of agricultural commodities, food, medicine or medical devices to Iran. Directs the President to impose specified sanctions on a foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitated a significant financial transaction on behalf of any person directly or indirectly owned or controlled by an Iranian person included on the list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Revises the exception to the imposition of sanctions for purchases of Iranian petroleum or petroleum products. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should coordinate with the European Union (EU) and its member states to restrict Iran's access to the euro currency. Directs the President to develop a National Strategy on Iran that provides strategic guidance for addressing threats posed by Iran. Directs the President to report to Congress every 60 days regarding the Iranian nuclear timetable and the projected economic effects of international sanctions on Iran. Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to Congress regarding presidential implementation of specified sanctions on Iran.