United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2015
Hygiene Assistance for Families of Infants and Toddlers Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to make grants to states to conduct demonstration projects to implement and evaluate strategies to help families address the diapering supply needs of eligible children. Title XI of the Social Security Act is amended to exempt diaper benefits from the territorial payment ceiling.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2015
Equity and Excellence in American Education Act of 2015 This bill authorizes the Department of Education (ED) to establish and administer several new grant programs. ED shall carry out the Equity and Excellence Initiative to provide grants to states to match each state's enhanced investment in meaningful educational opportunities for children who attend targeted schools. A "targeted school" is a public elementary or secondary school at which a specified percentage of students: (1) are eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch; (2) qualify as limited English proficient; or (3) are racial or ethnic minorities, Indian, or migratory. Schools may use these grant funds to implement systems-based reforms and initiatives to enhance student achievement. A state that receives grant funds must meet specified maintenance of effort requirements. If ED determines that a state has failed to invest sufficient resources to create meaningful educational opportunities for all children attending targeted schools in that state, ED is authorized, through the Educating Every Child Initiative, to make grants directly to local educational agencies for distribution to targeted schools. A state in which targeted schools receive grant funds must meet specified funding obligations with respect to those schools. ED is also authorized to establish the Equitable and Sustainable Fiscal Policy Program to provide technical assistance grants to support state fiscal reform efforts aimed at ensuring meaningful educational opportunities for all children. The bill establishes various reporting requirements for ED and for grant recipients. ED must develop accountability metrics to measure grant performance.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2015
Orca Responsibility and Care Advancement Act of 2015 This bill amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to prohibit taking, importing, or exporting the killer whale (orcinus orca) species, or any product that contains that species, for public display purposes. The bill amends the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit any person from artificially inseminating or breeding that species for exhibition purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2015
Students Before Profits Act of 2015 This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education (ED) to recalculate the cohort default rate and redetermine title IV eligibility for an institution of higher education (IHE) that engages in default manipulation. ED may impose enhanced civil penalties and sanctions on IHEs and officers for substantial misrepresentation or other serious violations of title IV requirements. The bill requires ED to establish the Student Relief Fund, financed by civil penalties, to provide financial relief to students enrolled in an IHE that is sanctioned or fails to comply with title IV requirements. If ED takes an enforcement action (e.g., heightened financial oversight) against a proprietary (i.e., for-profit) IHE, then ED may hold the executive officer of such proprietary IHE personally liable for financial losses related to the enforcement action. Additionally, ED may pursue claims against an IHE's executive officers and board of directors to recover discharged federal student loans. A proprietary IHE must, as a condition of continued eligibility to participate in title IV programs, prohibit an individual who defrauds students from being a member of the board of directors or an executive officer of the institution.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2015
Supports the goals of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Honors those working domestically and internationally to eliminate violence against women and girls. Encourages the President to: address the needs of women and girls experiencing violence through funding for participatory survivor-led programs; prioritize protections for women and children in fragile and conflict zones; address increased rates of violence against marginalized women due to race, ethnicity, gender and sexual identity, and socioeconomic status; and increase opportunities for women and girls worldwide, including opportunities for education and economic participation.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2015
Gun Violence Research Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to specifically include injuries from gun violence as a research subject for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nothing in the CDC's research authorization may be construed to authorize support for advocacy or promotion of gun control. The CDC must improve the National Violent Death Reporting System, particularly through the voluntary participation of additional states. Nothing in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act may be construed to prohibit a health care provider from discussing guns or gun safety with a patient or reporting a patient's threat of violence.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2015
Office of Strategic Services Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires 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 the members of the Office of Strategic Services in recognition of their service and contributions during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2015
Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement Act This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to revise several provisions related to the child and adult care food program. Under current law: (1) an institution that provides child or day care under the program may be reimbursed for up to two meals and one supplement per day per child; and (2) a family or group day care home sponsoring organization may receive the same maximum reimbursement, but only with respect to a child maintained in a child care setting for at least eight hours per day. The bill eliminates this distinction between institutions and sponsoring organizations, and increases maximum reimbursement for both to: (1) two meals and one supplement or one meal and two supplements per day per child; or (2) three meals and one supplement or two meals and two supplements per day per child, for each child maintained in a child care setting for at least eight hours per day. A determination of a for-profit day care center's eligibility to participate in the program shall be in effect for six months. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must issue guidance and, as appropriate, regulations to assist in ensuring a fair and effective process for the identification, review, and correction of serious program deficiencies. USDA shall establish an advisory committee to examine the feasibility of reducing unnecessary or duplicative paperwork for those participating or seeking to participate in the program.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2015
Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument Act This bill establishes the Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument in Arizona. The Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), with respect to lands under their respective jurisdictions, shall manage the Monument to conserve, protect, and enhance its natural resources and values. Interior and USDA shall collaborate with the Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument Advisory Council (established by this Act) to develop a plan for the protection and management of the Monument.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2015
Lifespan Respite Care Reauthorization Act of 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to extend lifespan respite care programs (services for family caregivers of children and adults with special needs) through FY2020. Each state agency awarded a grant or cooperative agreement for lifespan respite care must collect, maintain, and report to the Department of Health and Human Services data and records to enable monitoring and evaluation of the lifespan programs and activities.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2015
Honors the historic role of Yitzhak Rabin for his service to the Israeli people and extends condolences to his family and the people of Israel on the twentieth anniversary of his death. Supports the close ties and special relationship between the United States and Israel. Supports community leaders and government officials who work to encourage Israeli-Palestinian coexistence and cooperation. Condemns all acts of terrorism. Reaffirms the commitment of the House of Representatives to building a just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians based on two states for two peoples.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2015
Calls on the President to convene international negotiations to stop the civil war in Syria. Requests that these negotiations: stabilize the country and provide for political change towards a popularly supported, accountable Syrian leadership; implement measures to protect, and stem the flow of, refugees from Syria and provide for their return; and create a coordinated international strategy for the defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Calls on other nations that have an interest or involvement in the region and conflict to join these negotiations and commit to transitioning from the current al-Assad government and countering ISIL.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2015
Community College to Career Fund Act This bill amends the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to direct the Department of Labor to award competitive grants to eligible community colleges, four-year public institutions of higher education, tribal colleges or universities, private or nonprofit two-year institutions of higher education in specified U.S. territories, or a consortium of any of them, in partnership with employers or an employer or industry partnership representing multiple employers, in order to develop, offer, improve, and provide educational or career training programs for workers. The governor of the state in which at least one of these entities is located shall establish criteria for an educational or career training program leading to a recognized postsecondary credential for which an eligible entity submits a grant proposal.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that a working families agenda is established to: raise the minimum wage, strengthen workers' right to organize, and protect workers from misclassification; provide workers with paid sick days, paid family leave, flexible and stable schedules, access to high-quality early learning opportunities, and affordable child care; and strengthen the law guaranteeing equal pay for equal work, ensure specified rights for pregnant workers, and ensure workers have explicit protections from discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. Declares the sense of the House furthermore that hearings and votes should be held on specified House bills, including H.R. 2150, the Raise the Wage Act, and H.R. 1439, the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (FAMILY Act).
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2015
Honors the 50th anniversary of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Acknowledges those whose support and efforts led to passage of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Recognizes the significant investment the Higher Education Act of 1965 has made in the lives of American students, families, and this nation as a whole. Encourages all Americans to recognize and celebrate the important historical milestone represented by the passage of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and its ideals of improving educational access and affordability.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2015
Annuity Safety and Security Under Reasonable Enforcement Act of 2015 or the ASSURE Act of 2015 Amends the Truth in Lending Act to direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to issue regulations requiring any payment to a recipient of a federal or military pension (a benefit recipient) that diminishes the benefit recipient's ability to control payments from such pension to be treated as an extension of credit. Requires financial institutions to include the terms of such credit in consumer information disclosures. Prohibits the annual percentage rate of interest on such arrangements from exceeding the federal funds rate plus 6% or an equivalent aggregate amount of cash and property. Specifies conditions under which payment of consideration in exchange for the retired pay of enlisted military members is prohibited from assignment under veterans' benefits laws. Prohibits individuals from making allotments or assignments from annuities under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS), including any agreement under which another person acquires for consideration the right to receive payment from such annuities as well as any arrangement for collateral for security for such an agreement. Exempts union dues or payments to employee organizations from such prohibitions. Authorizes benefit recipients, individuals entitled to military retired pay, and annuity recipients to bring a private legal action in federal or state court against an assignee engaging in prohibited assignments. Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to direct the CFPB to issue regulations requiring persons offering federal or military pension-related products to provide additional disclosures when advertising or selling such products to allow consumers to understand how their pension relates to the product.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2015
Security and Financial Empowerment Act of 2015 This bill amends the Violence Against Women Act to require the National Resource Center on Workplace Response provide information and assistance through domestic violence or sexual assault coalitions and survivor service organizations. These organizations and coalitions shall provide resource materials and assistance to employees, employers, and labor organizations to aid in efforts to develop adequate workplace responses to domestic and sexual violence. In addition, the bill requires employers to provide employees 30 days of leave per year, including 56 hours of earned paid leave, which can be used as a result of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking of an employee or an employee's family member. States may provide nonrecurring short-term emergency benefits to employees using such leave. Survivors' Employment Sustainability Act The Survivors' Employment Sustainability Act prohibits employers, public benefit agencies, and insurers from discriminating against survivors of: domestic violence, dating or sexual violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Under the Internal Revenue Code, employers must give unemployment compensation to survivors who are separated from work due to conditions related to the individuals being survivors. The bill amends title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of the Social Security Act to require state agency personnel that administer TANF programs to be adequately trained to assist survivors seeking assistance. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must study the barriers survivors encounter to maintain economic security. HHS may arrange financial literacy support for survivors. The Department of Labor must establish a public outreach campaign.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2015
Family Stability and Kinship Care Act of 2015 This bill amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) (renamed by this Act Federal Payments for Foster Care and Permanency) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to give states the option of providing certain time-limited family services, including parenting and family skills training and counseling, to a child meeting certain criteria or the child's parents or kin caregivers. SSAct title IV part B is also amended to: eliminate the time-limit for family reunification services, increase the mandatory funding authorization for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program, and extend funding for Family Connection Grants for one year.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2015
End Surprise Billing Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a critical access hospital or other hospital to comply, as a condition of participation in Medicare, with certain requirements related to billing for out-of-network services. With respect to an individual who has health benefits coverage and is seeking services, a hospital must provide notice as to: (1) whether the hospital, or any of the providers furnishing services to the individual at the hospital, is not within the health care provider network or otherwise a participating provider with respect to the individual's health care coverage; and (2) if so, the estimated out-of-pocket costs of the services to the individual. At least 24 hours prior to providing those services, the hospital must document that the individual: (1) has been provided with the required notice, and (2) consents to be furnished with the services and charged an amount approximate to the estimate provided. Otherwise, the hospital may not charge the individual more than the individual would have been required to pay if the services had been furnished by an in-network or participating provider. With respect to such an individual who is seeking same-day emergency services, a hospital may not charge more than the individual would be required to pay for such services furnished by an in-network or participating provider.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2015
Offending Oil Polluters Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny any tax credit or deduction to an offending oil polluter. The bill defines "offending oil polluter" as any person who is responsible for a vessel or facility from which oil or a hazardous substance is discharged and any person who is a member of the same expanded affiliated group as the offending oil polluter. Specifically, the bill denies a tax benefit for any amount paid or incurred: (1) in connection with a discharge of oil or a hazardous substance, (2) for any attorney fees and court costs in connection with any legal action involving such discharge, (3) as a payment or restitution related to such discharge, and (4) for any costs or penalties required by federal law or certified in a settlement by a federal court. The bill requires the Department of the Treasury to conduct, and report on, an annual study to determine: (1) the revenue loss as a result of tax deductions allowed for cleaning up oil that is discharged after April 19, 2010, and (2) the amount of revenue savings resulting from this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2015
Encourages the observance of National Wildlife Refuge Week. Acknowledges the importance of national wildlife refuges for their recreational opportunities and contribution to local economies. Reaffirms the support of the House of Representatives for wildlife conservation and the National Wildlife Refuge System.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2015
Integrated Transportation and Economic Development Act This bill: (1) adds as a new goal of the federal-aid highway program to improve road conditions in economically distressed urban communities and increase access to jobs, markets, and economic opportunities for people who live in such communities; (2) requires the Department of Transportation to establish measures for states to use to assess the conditions, accessibility, and reliability of roads in such communities; and (3) requires each state to set performance targets that reflect such measures.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2015
Prioritizing Energy-Efficient Renewables Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the tax credit for producing electricity from wind, geothermal and solar energy, hydropower, and marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy facilities; (2) repeal the tax deduction for intangible drilling and development costs for oil and gas wells; (3) repeal the tax deduction for income attributable to the production, refining, transportation, or distribution of oil, natural gas, or any primary product thereof; and (4) repeal the percentage depletion allowance for oil and gas wells.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015
Sentencing Reform Act of 2015 This bill permits a court to reduce the mandatory minimum prison term imposed on certain non-violent defendants convicted of a high-level first-time or low-level repeat drug offense (including unlawful import, export, manufacture, or distribution of, or possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance). The legislation expands safety valve eligibility to permit a court to impose a sentence below the mandatory minimum for certain non-violent, cooperative drug defendants with a limited criminal history. It reduces the enhanced mandatory minimum prison term for certain defendants who commit a high-level repeat drug offense, use a firearm in a crime of violence or drug offense after a prior conviction for such offense, or unlawfully possess a firearm after three or more prior convictions. It permits retroactive application of such reductions for defendants without a prior serious violent felony conviction, after a court considers certain factors. It also establishes a consecutive mandatory prison term for a defendant who commits a drug offense involving a detectable amount of heroin or fentanyl. The bill makes the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 retroactive to permit resentencing of a convicted crack cocaine offender sentenced before August 3, 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015
Eyes on the Courts Act of 2015 This bill requires the presiding judge of a U.S. appellate court, including the Supreme Court, to permit court proceedings to be photographed, electronically recorded, broadcasted, televised, or streamed on the Internet to or for the public, unless the judge determines, upon a motion of a party or the judge, that it would constitute a violation of the due process rights of a party or is not in the interests of justice. The Judicial Conference may promulgate mandatory guidelines with respect to the management and administration of such photographing, recording, broadcasting, televising, or streaming. The presiding judge of each appellate court may promulgate rules and disciplinary measures for the courtroom use of any form of media or media equipment and the acquisition or distribution of any of the images or sounds obtained in the courtroom.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015
Health Insurance Rate Review Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to declare that federal requirements that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) review unreasonable premium increases in health care coverage do not prohibit a state from imposing additional rate requirements on health insurance issuers that are more protective of consumers. The review is expanded to include all rate increases, not only premium increases. HHS or the relevant state insurance commissioner or state regulator must ensure that any excessive, unjustified, or unfairly discriminatory rates are corrected before, or as soon as possible after, implementation, including through mechanisms such as denying rates, modifying rates, or requiring rebates to consumers. HHS may apply civil monetary penalties to health insurance issuers that fail to comply with a corrective action taken by HHS and may make the plan involved ineligible for classification as a qualified health plan. HHS must determine whether HHS or the state insurance commissioner or regulator will undertake such corrective actions based on whether the state can adequately undertake the actions. This Act applies to health plans grandfathered under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015
Improving Access to Mental Health Act This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) increase the Medicare reimbursement rate for clinical social worker services, (2) exclude clinical social worker services from the prospective payment system in which predetermined amounts form the basis for payment under Medicare, and (3) alter the definition of “clinical social worker services” as it relates to Medicare. Under current law, “clinical social worker services”: (1) include services performed for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses, and (2) exclude services furnished to an inpatient of a skilled nursing facility as a condition of the facility's participation in the Medicare program. The bill repeals these provisions and instead specifies that such services include certain types of health behavior assessment and intervention.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015
Establishes the House Select Committee on Gun Violence Prevention to investigate and report on: the causes of mass shootings, methods to improve the federal firearms purchaser background check system, connections between access to firearms and dangerously mentally ill individuals, strengthening federal penalties for trafficking and straw purchasing of firearms, closing loopholes that allow some domestic abusers continued access to firearms, linkages between firearms and suicide, gun violence's effect on public health, the correlation between state gun violence prevention laws and the incidence of gun violence, the importance of having reliable and accurate information on gun violence and its toll on our nation, the implementation of effective gun violence prevention laws in accordance with the Second Amendment to the Constitution, and rates of gun violence in large metropolitan areas.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2015
Medicare Premium Fairness Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) prevent 2016 increases to Medicare Part B premiums and deductibles for enrollees, and (2) authorize federal funding to offset the corresponding reduction in aggregate monthly premiums. Under current law, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must annually determine the monthly actuarial rate upon which Part B premiums and deductibles are based. The bill temporarily freezes that rate at the 2015 level for enrollees, effectively preventing increases to premiums and deductibles for those enrollees in 2016. (Current law already protects Part B enrollees whose benefits are deducted from their Social Security benefits from premium increases that would result in a smaller Social Security check.)
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2015
Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2015 This bill directs the President to: establish a five-year strategy to achieve, with target countries and donors, the goal of ending preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths globally and ensure healthy and productive lives within a generation; and provide assistance to implement the strategy. The President shall designate a current U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employee serving in the Senior Executive Service or at the level of a Deputy Assistant Administrator or higher to serve concurrently as the Maternal and Child Survival Coordinator, who shall be responsible for: overseeing such strategy, and all U.S. government funds appropriated or used for international maternal and child health and nutrition programs. The U.S. government, through USAID and other relevant executive branch agencies, should identify and remove financial barriers to strengthen access to delivery systems for vulnerable and marginalized populations by leveraging public and private capital to expand delivery of interventions for maternal, newborn, and child health.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2015
Improving Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Act of 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to extend support for residential substance abuse treatment programs for pregnant and postpartum women through FY2020. The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment must carry out a pilot program to make grants to state substance abuse agencies to support services for pregnant and postpartum women who have a primary diagnosis of a substance use disorder.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2015
Scleroderma and Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act of 2015 This bill requires the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) to establish the National Commission on Scleroderma and Fibrosis Research. (Scleroderma and fibrosis are connective tissue conditions that cause hardening or scarring of skin and organs.) The commission must develop a long-term, comprehensive plan for scleroderma and fibrosis research. The plan must: (1) prioritize research that has cross-cutting value and requires coordination across NIH, and (2) include specific steps for implementation of the research. The commission must establish working groups to make research recommendations for the various organs and systems impacted by fibrotic illness. The commission must be terminated not later than two years after establishment. The NIAMS must create the Scleroderma and Fibrosis Working Group to oversee and assist with implementation of the long-term plan.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2015
Commends the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for its work over the past 25 years to improve and save the lives of women worldwide. Expresses that the ORWH must remain intact for this and future generations. Recognizes that there remain striking sex and gender differences among many diseases and conditions on which the ORWH should continue to focus. Encourages the ORWH to continue to focus on ensuring that NIH supports biomedical research that considers sex as a biological variable. Encourages the NIH to continue to consult and involve the ORWH on all matters related to the influence of sex and gender on health.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: members of the U.S. Armed Forces should not be punished for standing up to child rapists, putting the interests of Afghan rapists ahead of American war heroes is a national disgrace, the Americans who should be punished are those who created the policy that encourages members of the Armed Forces to ignore child rape, and the Department of Defense should order Sergeant First Class Charles Martland's reinstatement in the Army.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2015
Exchange Inclusion for a Healthy America Act of 2015 This bill allows undocumented aliens to obtain health care coverage by amending: (1) the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the restriction of the tax credit for health care insurance premium assistance to persons lawfully present in the United States; and (2) the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to eliminate restrictions of benefits under such Act, including cost-sharing reduction, pre-existing condition coverage, and minimum essential health care coverage, to persons lawfully present in the United States. This expanded coverage is effective for taxable or plan years beginning after December 31, 2015. The bill also extends PPACA benefits to individuals who are granted deferral from removal under specified Department of Homeland Security deferred action plans.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2015
21st Century Women's Health Act of 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to allow the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants for family planning service projects, expansion of family planning preventive health services, and training of nurse practitioners specializing in women's health care. This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require state Medicaid programs to offer free preventive care, including contraceptives. A hospital cannot receive federal funds unless it promptly provides information about emergency contraception to any woman arriving at the hospital who is a victim of sexual assault. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration must develop and disseminate information on emergency contraception. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality must study sexual assault survivors' access to emergency contraception. The PHSA is amended to establish an Office of the Ombudsperson on Women's Health in HHS to handle complaints involving HHS regarding women's health services and to study the adequacy of health plan provider networks for women's health services. HHS must coordinate a national public education campaign regarding preventive health services for women and families. HHS must award states grants to establish maternal mortality review committees to investigate pregnancy-related deaths. The National Institutes of Health must organize a national workshop on severe maternal morbidity. To eliminate disparities in maternal health outcomes, HHS must conduct research, expand access to services that improve maternity care, and compare and implement interventions for reducing disparities.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2015
Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act of 2015 This bill declares that it is the policy of the United States that the Arctic Ocean should be managed for the best interests of the people of the United States, including by keeping fossil fuels in the ground to avoid the dangerous impacts of climate change. The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act is amended to prohibit the Department of the Interior from issuing or renewing a lease or any other authorization for the exploration, development, or production of oil, natural gas, or any other mineral in the Arctic Ocean, including the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea Planning Areas.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2015
Higher Education Extension Act of 2015 This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend by one year, through FY2016, the term of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity. The legislation extends the authority of institutions of higher education (IHEs) to make loans to new borrowers under the Federal Perkins Loan program through September 30, 2016. IHEs may continue to disburse Perkins Loans through March 31, 2018, to enable students to continue or complete an academic program if the student received a Perkins loan prior to October 1, 2016, and the student has exhausted Federal Direct Stafford Loans. The bill prohibits any further automatic extensions of the Perkins Loan program. It also prohibits authorization of additional appropriations for the Federal Perkins Loan program beyond FY2015. Beginning October 1, 2016, each participating IHE must pay to the Department of Education a certain portion of: (1) the federal share of the balance of its Perkins Loan funds; and (2) the Perkins student loan payments, including principal and interest, received by the institution. The bill extends by one year, through FY2016, the term of the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2015
Expresses support for the designation of National Federal Nurse Recognition Week. Recognizes the dedication and vital role of federal nurses and the need to maintain an adequate number of well-trained federal nurses. Commends federal nurses as integral in supporting the government's mission to provide quality, accessible, and affordable health care.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2015
Supports the designation of Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month. (Pulmonary fibrosis is scarring of the lungs that causes breathing problems.) Expresses continued support for more robust and accelerated research to develop more effective treatments for pulmonary fibrosis and to ultimately find a cure for the disease. Recognizes the courage and contributions of individuals with pulmonary fibrosis who participate in clinical trials. Commends the dedication of those working to improve the quality of life of individuals with pulmonary fibrosis and the families of those individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2015
Condemns the religious bigotry and attacks against innocent civilians, as well as the destruction of property and ancient sites, by armed extremists in Iraq and Syria. Calls on the relevant parties to protect all citizens in the region. Calls on the President, the Department of State, and the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (U.N.) to provide humanitarian assistance, protect civilians, and help reestablish livelihoods for displaced and persecuted persons in their communities of origin. Calls on the U.S. Permanent Representative to work with relevant U.N. agencies, including the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, to document human rights abuses against Iraqi and Syrian refugees and develop a plan to facilitate safe access to potable water, health care, fuel, electricity, and basic security. Calls on the relevant U.N. agencies to collaborate with international humanitarian organizations working in Iraq and Syria to develop: (1) an effective resettlement strategy for displaced and persecuted populations in beleaguered areas, including the ancestral villages in the Nineveh Plain, that facilitates a transition from emergency relief to longer-term economic development; and (2) mechanisms to ensure that assistance reaches vulnerable ethnic and religious minorities without being diverted. Calls on the Department of State and the Department of Defense to: (1) support the training and equipping of vetted local Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac Christians security forces in Iraq and Syria, and (2) work to ensure that minority communities in Iraq and Syria are integrated into future security forces.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2015
Expresses support for the designation of World MRSA Day and International MRSA Testing Week. (MRSA is an acronym for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, which causes deadly infections in patients in health care facilities and within communities.)
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2015
Jobs! Jobs! Jobs! Act of 2015 This bill: (1) prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act, with specified exceptions, for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in such project are produced in the United States; and (2) requires all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors on federally-assisted projects to be paid wages at locally-prevailing rates. TITLE I--RELIEF FOR WORKERS AND BUSINESSES This title amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) restore the making work pay tax credit in 2015, and (2) allow 100% bonus depreciation for certain property acquired and placed in service before January 1, 2015. The title amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to increase to $7.5 million the limit on the guarantee for contract surety bonds and on the liability for bonds obtained by fraud or misrepresentation. This increase expires on September 30, 2016. TITLE II--PUTTING WORKERS BACK ON THE JOB WHILE REBUILDING AND MODERNIZING AMERICA This title directs the Departments of Education and the Interior (for schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Education) to reserve through FY2016 appropriated amounts to provide educational assistance to outlying areas based on their respective needs. The Department of Justice must carry out a competitive grant program for the hiring, rehiring, or retention of career law enforcement officers The Department of Education must award grants to states to modernize, renovate, or repair early learning or elementary or secondary education facilities and existing facilities at community colleges. This title makes funds available to the Department of Transportation for: (1) grants-in-aid for airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning projects under the airport improvement program; (2) Federal Aviation Administration Next Generation air traffic control system advancements; (3) highway and bridge restoration, repair, and construction projects and for passenger and freight rail transportation and port infrastructure projects; (4) grants for high-speed rail projects, capital investment grants for intercity passenger rail service, and grants to reduce congestion on intercity rail passenger transportation; (5) capital grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK); (6) transit capital assistance grants; (7) capital projects for existing fixed guideway system modernization, replacement and repair of buses and bus-related equipment, and construction of bus-related facilities; and (8) discretionary capital investment grants for surface transportation infrastructure. Building and Upgrading Infrastructure for Long-Term Development Act This bill establishes the American Infrastructure Financing Authority (AIFA) as a wholly-owned government corporation to make direct loans and loan guarantees to facilitate transportation, water, or energy infrastructure projects. This title: (1) requires infrastructure projects assisted under this Act to have costs that are reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed $100 million ($25 million for rural infrastructure projects), (2) requires the AIFA Chief Lending Officer to establish an Office of Rural Assistance to provide technical assistance in the development and financing of rural infrastructure projects and a Center for Excellence to provide such assistance to public sector borrowers in the development and financing of infrastructure projects, and (3) establishes an Office of Special Inspector General to audit and investigate the business activities of AIFA. This title amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2018 the exemption from the alternative minimum tax for certain tax-exempt private activity bonds. This title appropriates funds for assistance to eligible entities, including state and local governments, qualified nonprofit organizations, businesses, or eligible consortia, for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed-upon properties and for stabilization of affected neighborhoods (Project Rebuild). TITLE III--ASSISTANCE FOR THE UNEMPLOYED AND PATHWAYS BACK TO WORK Supporting Unemployed Workers Act of 2015 This title amends: (1) the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to extend the emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) program until January 1, 2016; (2) the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend through December 31, 2015, requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC; and (3) the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to extend through December 31, 2015, the temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits for employees with 10 or more years of service and for employees with less than 10 years of service. The title establishes the Reemployment NOW program to facilitate the reemployment of individuals receiving emergency unemployment compensation (EUC claimants). A state may use its allotted funds to: (1) establish a Bridge to Work program to provide EUC claimants with short-term work experience placements with eligible employers; (2) provide a wage insurance program to pay, for up to two years, an EUC claimant who obtains reemployment up to 50% of the difference between the wages received at the time of work separation and the wages received for reemployment; and (3) provide a program of enhanced reemployment services to EUC claimants, including unemployed individuals who have exhausted their EUC rights. The Department of Labor must award grants to states for short-time compensation programs and develop model legislative language for use by states in developing, enacting, and implementing such programs. The work opportunity tax credit is expanded to include the hiring of long-term unemployed individuals (individuals who are unemployed and receiving unemployment compensation for six months or more). Pathways Back to Work Act of 2015 This bill establishes programs to subsidize employment for unemployed, low-income adults, to provide summer and year-round employment opportunities to low-income youth, and for work-based training. Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2015 This bill makes it an unlawful practice for certain employers to: (1) publish a job advertisement or announcement that includes provisions indicating that an individual's status as unemployed disqualifies the individual for employment or that the employer will not consider or hire an individual for employment based on such status, (2) fail or refuse to consider or hire an individual because of such status, or (3) direct or request that an employment agency take an individual's status into account to disqualify an applicant for consideration for employment or when screening or referring employees. The bill makes it an unlawful practice for an employment agency to commit similar acts, including to: (1) screen, or fail or refuse to consider or refer, an individual for employment because of the individual's unemployed status; or (2) limit, segregate, or classify any such individual in any manner that would limit access to job information or consideration, screening, or referral for jobs. The bill makes it unlawful for any employer or employment agency to: (1) interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of any right provided under this Act; or (2) fail or refuse to hire, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against an employee because such individual opposed any practice made unlawful by this Act or asserted any right under it. TITLE IV--OFFSETS This title amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for offsets against decreases in revenue by: (1) limiting tax deductions and other tax exclusions for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 ($250,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return), (2) treating income received by a partner from an investment services partnership interest as ordinary income for income tax purposes, (3) treating all general aviation aircraft (including corporate jets) as seven-year property for depreciation purposes; (4) denying the foreign tax credit to dual capacity taxpayers; and (5) increasing the period for amortizing geological and geophysical expenditures. The title repeals, after 2015, certain tax expenditures for the oil and gas industry, including: (1) the tax deduction for intangible drilling and development costs for oil and gas wells; (2) the tax deduction for tertiary injectant expenditures; (3) percentage depletion for oil and gas wells; (4) the tax deduction for income from activities relating to oil, natural gas, or any primary product thereof; (5) the exemption from limitations on passive activity losses; and (6) the tax credits for enhanced oil recovery and for producing oil and gas from marginal wells. The title amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), as amended by the Budget Control Act of 2011, to repeal its budget goal enforcement requirements (sequestration mandate).
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2015
Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act This bill amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to require a state to identify, evaluate, and provide special education and related services to children who have visual or hearing disabilities (or both) and also are, or may be, classified in another disability category. A state must ensure that it has enough qualified personnel to serve children who have such disabilities and that a full continuum of alternative placements is available to meet the needs of disabled children for special education and related services. The individualized education program for each child that is either (or both) visually or hearing impaired must include specified components and must provide the child with instruction that meets the child's unique learning needs. Similarly, the individualized family service plan for an infant or toddler with a hearing disability must include specified components. A states' closure of a special school serving deaf or blind children shall count as a reduction of its financial support for special education and related services for purposes of the prohibition against reducing state financial support for such services from one fiscal year to the next. The bill also: (1) authorizes grants for training special education personnel, to be used in preparing individuals to become qualified teachers and early intervention specialists for children with hearing disabilities; and (2) establishes within the Department of Education the Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and Educational Excellence to better support students with visual disabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2015
Big Cat Public Safety Act This bill amends the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to prohibit any person from breeding or possessing any live animal of any prohibited wildlife species (i.e., any live species of lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, or cougar or any hybrid of such species). Breeding means facilitating propagation or reproduction (whether intentionally or negligently), or failing to prevent propagation or reproduction. The bill extends forfeiture provisions to fish, wildlife, or plants that are bred or possessed. The bill revises the list of entities that are exempt from Lacey Act prohibitions to include: institutions accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums; certain facilities that have an active written contract with an Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan or Taxon Advisory Group for breeding prohibited wildlife species; persons who do not allow the transportation and display of prohibited wildlife species off-site; current owners of animals that were born before this bill's enactment if the animals are registered with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service within 180 days; and certain traveling circuses that hold Class C licenses under the Animal Welfare Act. Entities exempt from Lacey Act prohibitions must require that current owners and circuses not allow direct contact between the public and the prohibited wildlife species.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2015
Justice is Not For Sale Act of 2015 This bill requires federal, state, and local governments and their employees to directly operate and perform core services at adult prisons and detention centers. The bill reestablishes parole for eligible federal prisoners sentenced on or after January 1, 2017. (The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 eliminated parole for offenders convicted of federal crimes committed after November 1, 1987.) It authorizes the United States Parole Commission to: (1) grant or deny a parole application or recommendation; (2) impose conditions on, modify, or revoke parole; and (3) maintain supervision of paroled offenders. Financial service providers at prisons and detention centers must impose reasonable and proportional fees and charges for money transfer services. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must establish standards to assess such fees or charges. The bill directs the Federal Communications Commission to cap prison phone call rates and connection charges, require telecommunications providers to offer collect and debit account call services, restrict commission payments and ancillary service charges, and require correctional facility administrators to allow more than one telecommunications provider. It eliminates the provision that requires U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to maintain at least 34,000 detention beds. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must establish nationwide alternatives to detention programs and determine detention bed capacity based solely on detention needs. DHS must conduct annual inspections and routine oversight of detention facilities. The bill prohibits family detention and requires DHS to establish alternatives to detention programs for detained family units. Also, it prohibits separation of a family to detain a family member, except DHS may detain an alien parent who is dangerous to the community and inadmissible on terrorism-related grounds.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2015
Workplace Action for a Growing Economy Act or the WAGE Act This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to award back pay and additional liquidated damages equal to double the back pay, without any reduction, to any employee against whom an employer has discriminated with regard to hiring or because the employee has filed charges or given testimony or if the employer has committed an unfair labor practice resulting in the employee's discharge or other serious economic loss. Civil penalties are established for violations of posting requirements and any violations causing serious economic loss to employees. Whenever it is charged that an employer has engaged in an unfair labor practice that significantly interferes with, restrains, or coerces employees in the exercise of guaranteed rights and involves discharge or other serious harm to an employee, the preliminary investigation of the charge shall be made forthwith and given priority generally over all other cases. The U.S. district court shall: (1) have jurisdiction to grant injunctive relief or a temporary restraining order to protect the rights guaranteed, and (2) shall grant the relief requested unless the court concludes that there is no reasonable likelihood that the NLRB will succeed on the merits of the NLRB's claim. A person injured by an unfair labor practice may bring a civil action in the appropriate district court. Unauthorized aliens may be paid back pay under a court order directing reinstatement of an employee. In any case where the NLRB finds that an election to determine a collective bargaining representative should be set aside because the employer committed a violation or otherwise interfered with a fair election, it shall issue an order requiring the employer to collectively bargain with the labor organization. The NLRB shall dismiss any petition to represent a unit if in an election a majority of the valid votes cast in an appropriate unit have not been cast in favor of representation by the labor organization. The NLRB shall promulgate regulations requiring each employer to post and maintain, in conspicuous places, a notice setting forth the rights and protections afforded employees under such Act. Each order of the NLRB shall take effect 30 days after notice of an NLRB order is given, unless the NLRB directs otherwise. The NLRB shall apply to the district court in which an unfair labor practice or other subject of the order occurred for the enforcement of an order if any person or entity fails or neglects to obey it.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2015
Pulmonary Hypertension Research and Diagnosis Act of 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the Interagency Pulmonary Hypertension Coordinating Committee. The committee must monitor research and annually summarize research and medical advances regarding pulmonary hypertension. The committee must develop a comprehensive strategic plan to improve health outcomes for individuals with pulmonary hypertension. The plan must include recommendations regarding pulmonary hypertension diagnosis, research, transplantation criteria, public awareness, and health care delivery. HHS must report on activities related to improving health outcomes for individuals with pulmonary hypertension. The report must include information regarding pulmonary hypertension epidemiology, treatment, support available to individuals, and research.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2015
Prescription Drug Affordability Act of 2015 This bill amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to modify provisions related to the affordability of prescription drugs under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Specifically, the bill: requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid to negotiate lower prices on behalf of beneficiaries for drugs covered under Medicare Part D; accelerates closure of the Medicare Part D coverage gap known as the "donut hole," under which beneficiaries who have reached a certain level of yearly drug costs become fully responsible for any additional drug costs up to a certain limit; requires drug manufacturers to issue rebates for prescription drugs dispensed to eligible low-income individuals under Medicare or Medicaid; and expands the application of certain prescription drug rebate requirements under Medicaid to include rebates for generic drugs. The bill also amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to: (1) allow the importation by individuals of prescription drugs from Canada and, potentially, other countries; and (2) establish certain conditions on the award of market exclusivity with respect to drugs. Specifically, a drug manufacturer's market exclusivity shall be terminated if the manufacturer commits, or fails to report, a drug-related violation such as misbranding, illegal marketing, or fraud. In addition, the bill amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to: (1) establish restrictions on certain anticompetitive patent settlements known as "pay-for-delay" agreements, which effectively block generic drug competition; and (2) allow the Federal Trade Commission to initiate proceedings to enforce these restrictions against any parties to such a settlement. The bill also requires drug manufacturers to produce and share annual reports containing specified information related to domestic and foreign sales.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2015
Equal Employment for All Act of 2015 This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit a consumer reporting agency from furnishing an employer with a consumer credit report containing information on the consumer's creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity if the employer intends to use that information for any decision made for employment purposes. An employer may use such a report in either an employment decision or before taking an adverse employment action with the consumer's authorization under certain circumstances. Specifically, a report may be used if the consumer applies for or holds employment that requires eligibility for access to classified information or such use is otherwise required by law. An employer who has sought such a report may neither deny employment to nor make any other employment decision about a consumer because the consumer has not authorized the employer's procurement of the report.
![Official portrait of Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_il_9_schakowsky_janice_200.jpg)