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United States · Official source
3,272 records where Rep. Vargas, Juan [D-CA-52] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2014
Shasta Dam Expansion Act of 2014 - Amends the Calfed Bay-Delta Authorization Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a project for the enlargement of the Shasta Dam, California, if the Secretary determines that such project is feasible.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2014
Breath of Fresh Air Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to: (1) purchase nebulizers for use in their schools, and/or (2) train school personnel to use nebulizers. Requires LEA grant applicants to demonstrate that for each of their schools that are to use the nebulizers: (1) a full-time certified nurse is on staff, (2) trained personnel and other resources necessary for nebulizer use are in place, (3) emergency services personnel are notified of nebulizer locations, (4) nebulizers are integrated into the school's emergency response procedures, and (5) procedures are in place to notify parents of the availability of nebulizers and to inform them how to provide the school with their child's prescription asthma medication and authorization to use a nebulizer to assist their child. Gives grant priority to LEAs that: (1) serve areas where the prevalence of asthma is at least 10% higher than the national average; (2) do not already have at least one nebulizer in each of their schools; (3) serve schools that typically have a significant number of students, staff, and visitors present during the day; and (4) have not received funds under the Rural Access to Emergency Devices Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2014
Savings on Medical Expenses for Seniors Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the reduction in the threshold level (10% to 7.5% of adjusted gross income) for determining the amount of deductible medical expenses for individuals who have attained age 65.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2014
Streamlining Energy Efficiency for Schools Act of 2014 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to direct the Secretary of Energy (DOE), acting through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, to act as the lead federal agency for coordinating and disseminating information on existing federal programs and assistance that may be used to help initiate, develop, and finance energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy retrofitting projects for schools. Requires the Secretary to: (1) carry out a review of existing programs and financing mechanisms available in or from appropriate federal agencies with jurisdiction over energy financing and facilitation that are currently used or may be used for such purposes; (2) establish a federal cross-departmental collaborative coordination, education, and outreach effort to streamline communication and promote available federal opportunities and assistance for such projects that enables states, local educational agencies, and schools to use existing federal opportunities more effectively and to form partnerships with governors, state energy programs, local educational, financial, and energy officials, state and local officials, nonprofit organizations, and other appropriate entities to support project initiation; (3) provide technical assistance for states, local educational agencies, and schools to help develop and finance projects that meet specified requirements; (4) develop and maintain a single online resource website with contact information for relevant technical assistance and support staff in the Office for states, local educational agencies, and schools to effectively access and use federal opportunities and assistance to develop such projects; and (5) establish a process for recognition of schools that have successfully implemented such projects and are willing to serve as resources for other local educational agencies and schools to assist initiation of similar efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2014
Recognizes the significance of the Smith-Lever Act which established the Cooperative Extension System. Honors the university faculty and local educators who provide educational programs to help people, families, youth, businesses, and communities solve problems, develop skills, and build a better future. Thanks the volunteers who promote excellence for 4-H Clubs, the Master Gardeners program, the Family and Consumer Sciences program, and other Cooperative Extension System programs. Encourages continued collaboration and cooperation among federal, state, and local governments to assure the sustainability of the Cooperative Extension System.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2014
Smartphone Theft Prevention Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require commercial mobile service providers to make available on mobile devices a function that an account holder may use remotely to: (1) delete or render inaccessible all information relating to the account holder that has been placed on the device; (2) render the device inoperable on the global networks of such service providers, even if the device is turned off or has the data storage medium removed; (3) prevent the device from being reactivated or reprogrammed without a passcode or similar authorization after the device has been rendered inoperable or has been subject to an unauthorized factory reset; and (4) reverse any such actions if the device is recovered by the account holder. Prohibits a mobile device from being manufactured in the United States or imported into the United States for sale or resale to the public, unless the device is configured in such a manner that a service provider may make such remote deletion and inoperability functions available on the device. Allows the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to waive such requirements with respect to any low-cost mobile device that: (1) is intended primarily for voice-only mobile service, and (2) may have limited data consumption functions focused on text messaging or short message service. Prohibits service providers from charging a fee for making such remote deletion and inoperability functions available.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2014
First Rhode Island Regiment Congressional Gold Medal Act - Requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to award a congressional gold medal to the First Rhode Island Regiment, collectively, in recognition of their dedicated service during the Revolutionary War. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates of such medal at a price sufficient to cover the costs of such medals.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2014
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal to the Freedom Riders in recognition of their contribution to civil rights, which inspired a movement to equality in interstate travel. Requires such medal to be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it will be available for display and research. Expresses the sense of Congress that the medal should be made available for display elsewhere, particularly at locations associated with the Freedom Riders.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2014
Honoring Our Fallen TSA Officers Act - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include within the definition of "public safety officers," in order for them to receive death benefits under the Act, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees who are performing their official duties related to protecting the nation's transportation systems.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2014
Small Business Investment Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2015 the increased expensing allowance for depreciable business property, including computer software, and qualified real property (i.e., leasehold and retail improvement property and restaurant property).
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2014
Government By the People Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to allow a refundable credit of 50% of qualified congressional House campaign contributions paid or incurred during the taxable year (contributions of cash by an individual to a House candidate or a political committee established and maintained by a national political party if the contribution is not prohibited under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 [FECA], to be known as "My Voice Federal" contributions). Directs the Government by the People Oversight Commission, established by this Act, to launch a pilot program under which it shall select three eligible states to operate a voucher pilot program. Requires a state under a voucher pilot program to provide each qualified individual during the election cycle, upon his or her request, with a "My Voice Voucher" worth $50 (in either paper or electronic form), which will be assigned a routing number. Authorizes the individual, using the assigned routing number, to submit the My Voice Voucher, in either electronic or paper form, to qualified federal election candidates, allocating a portion of its value in $5 increments. Requires the Commission to pay any candidate who transmits a My Voice Voucher that portion of its value which the individual allocated to the candidate. Considers this transaction a contribution by the individual to the candidate for purposes of FECA. Requires a state operating a voucher pilot program also to permit an individual to revoke a My Voice Voucher within two days after submitting it to a candidate. Requires such a state to establish a commission or designate an existing entity to oversee and implement the program in the state, except that no such commission or entity may be composed of elected officials. Amends FECA with respect to: benefits for participating House of Representatives candidates; Federal Election Commission (FEC) payments to such candidates; candidate use of payments; qualified small dollar contributions, expenditures, and fundraising requirements; certification of participating candidates; campaign administration; prevention of the unnecessary spending of public funds; establishment of the Freedom From Influence Fund in the Treasury and of a Government by the People Oversight Commission in the FEC; remittal of unspent funds to the Freedom From Influence Fund after an election; eligibility of participating candidates for additional payments; civil penalties for violation of contribution and expenditure requirements; a Commission action appeals process; and contributions and expenditures by multicandidate and political party political committees on behalf of participating candidates. Prohibits a certified participating candidate's authorized committee from establishing a joint fundraising committee with any political committee other than another authorized committee of the candidate. Prohibits a certified participating candidate from establishing, financing, maintaining, or controlling a leadership PAC (political action committee). Prohibits use of contributions by a participating candidate for any purposes other than an election campaign. Revises bundler disclosure requirements to repeal a specified exception and so require disclosure of persons who provided bundled contributions to the reporting committee. Amends FECA to empower the FEC to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to appeal a civil action to enforce the Act. Requires all political committee designations, statements, and reports required to be filed under FECA to be filed: (1) directly with the FEC; and (2) in electronic form accessible by computers. Reduces from 48 hours to 24 hours after their receipt the deadline for the FEC to make designations, statements, reports, or notifications available to the public in the FEC office and on the Internet. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to set a station's lowest unit price for preemptible use as the charge for a broadcast by the national committee of a political party for an affiliated candidate. Authorizes the FEC to revoke a broadcast station license or construction permit only for at least three willful failures to allow reasonable access to, or to permit purchase of reasonable amounts of time for the use of, a broadcasting station or cable system by a legally qualified candidate for federal office. Amends the IRC to allow tax payers to designate that a specified portion of any overpayment of tax be contributed to the Freedom From Influence Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2014
National Commission on the Structure of the Army Act of 2014 - Establishes the National Commission on the Structure of the Army to undertake a comprehensive study of the structure of the Army to determine: (1) the proper force mixture of the active component and reserve component, and (2) how the structure should be modified to best fulfill mission requirements in a manner consistent with available resources. Directs the Commission to give particular consideration to evaluating a structure that: (1) meets current and anticipated requirements of the combatant commands; (3) achieves a cost-efficiency balance between the regular and reserve components, with a focus on fully burdened and lifecycle cost of Army personnel; (3) ensures that the regular and reserve components have the capacity needed to support homeland defense and disaster assistance missions in the United States; (4) provides for sufficient numbers of regular members of the Army to provide a base of trained personnel from which the personnel of the reserve components could be recruited; (5) maintains a peacetime rotation force to support operational tempo goals of 1:2 for regular members and 1:5 for members of the reserve components; and (6) maximizes and appropriately balances affordability, efficiency, effectiveness, capability, and readiness. Prohibits the use of any funds made available for FY2015 for the Army to: (1) divest, retire, or transfer, or prepare to divest, retire, or transfer, any aircraft of the Army assigned to units of the Army National Guard as of January 15, 2014; or (2) reduce personnel below the authorized end strength levels of 350,000 for the Army National Guard as of September 30, 2014.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2014
Recognizes the difficult challenges Black veterans faced when returning home after serving in the Armed Forces, their heroic military sacrifices, and their patriotism in fighting for equal rights and for the dignity of a people and a nation. Recognizes the need for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to continue to work to eliminate any health and benefit disparities for minority veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2014
Investing in States to Achieve Tuition Equality for Dreamers Act of 2014 or the IN STATE Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to allot grants to states to offer Dreamer students in-state tuition and expand their access to in-state financial aid. Defines a "Dreamer student" as an individual who: was under age 16 upon entering this country, has provided a list of each secondary school the individual attended in this country, and has earned a high school diploma or certain similar credentials or is scheduled to complete the requirements for such a credential before the next academic year begins, has acquired a degree from an institution of higher education or has successfully completed at least 2 years of a program for a bachelor's or higher degree in this country, or has served honorably in the uniformed services for at least 4 years. Directs the Secretary to provide for a hardship exception to either or both of the first two of such requirements. Requires grant applicants to assure the Secretary that they: (1) have made significant progress in establishing a preschool through postsecondary education (P-16) longitudinal data system; and (2) will not discriminate against Dreamer students in awarding student aid or determining who is eligible for in-state tuition, if the student would otherwise be eligible for in-state financial aid as a state resident. Allots grants to each state based on its proportion of resident Dreamer students who are enrolled at least half-time in postsecondary education. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to collect a specified fee from recipients of F-1 visas, provided to nonimmigrant full-time students. Eliminates the prohibition on states offering unlawful aliens postsecondary benefits on the basis of their residence in the state that are more generous than those offered citizens or naturals of this country, without regard to their state residence. Allows individuals who have served honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces to be naturalized without having been lawfully admitted to this country for permanent residence.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2014
Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014 - Amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 with respect to the requirement that a federal court retain jurisdiction for an appropriate period to prevent commencement of new devices to deny or abridge the right to vote. Expands the types of violations triggering the authority of a court to retain such jurisdiction to include certain violations of the Act as well as violations of any federal voting rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group. Excludes from the list of violations triggering jurisdiction retention authority any voting qualification or prerequisite which results in a denial or abridgement of the right to vote that is based on the imposition of a requirement that an individual provide a photo identification as a condition of receiving a ballot for voting in a federal, state, or local election. Revises requirements for determining which states and political subdivisions are covered or not covered by criteria for declaratory judgments that they have not used devices to deny or abridge the right to vote. Subjects to the requirements for making such a determination any state (and all of its political subdivisions) during a calendar if 5 or more voting rights violations occurred in the state during the previous 15 years, at least one of which was committed by the state itself (as opposed to a political subdivision within it). Specifies application of such new coverage requirements to any specific political subdivision if: (1) 3 or more voting rights violations occurred in it during the previous 15 calendar years; or (2) 1 or more voting rights violations occurred in it during the previous 15 calendar years and the subdivision had persistent, extremely low minority turnout during that period. Provides that, if a state obtains a declaratory judgment that it has not used a device to deny or abridge the right to vote, the requirements for a new declaratory judgment generally will not apply, unless the new coverage requirements of this Act apply to the state solely on the basis of voting rights violations occurring after the declaratory judgment was issued. Prescribes transparency requirements, including reasonable public notice, regarding any changes to: (1) voting prerequisites, standards, or procedures; (2) polling place resources; or (3) demographics and electoral districts. Modifies authority to assign observers, including authorizing the assignment of observers to enforce bilingual election requirements. Revises requirements for injunctive relief, including its scope and the persons authorized to seek relief as well as the grounds for granting it.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2014
National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. Limits the minting of such coins to the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2017. Prescribes surcharges for coin sales, which shall be paid to the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, Inc., to help finance the construction of a new building and renovation of existing National Purple Heart Hall of Honor facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2014
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to extend emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) payments for eligible individuals to weeks of employment ending on or before April 1, 2014. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until March 31, 2014, requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and September 30, 2014, from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (FSEUCA of 1970) against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law provides for payment of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. (Thus allows temporary federal matching for the first week of extended benefits for states with no waiting period.) Amends the FSEUCA of 1970 to postpone similarly from December 31, 2013, to March 31, 2014, termination of the period during which a state may determine its "on" and "off" indicators according to specified temporary substitutions in its formula. Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to appropriate funds out of the employment security administration account through the first quarter of FY2015 to assist states in providing reemployment and eligibility assessment activities. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to extend through March 31, 2014, the temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits. Makes a change in application of a certain requirement (nonreduction rule) to a state that has: (1) entered a federal-state EUC agreement, under which the federal government would reimburse the state's unemployment compensation agency making EUC payments to individuals who have exhausted all rights to regular unemployment compensation under state or federal law and meet specified other criteria; and (2) enacted a law before December 1, 2013, that, upon taking effect, would violate the nonreduction rule. (Under the nonreduction rule such an agreement does not apply with respect to a state whose method for computing regular unemployment compensation under state law has been modified to make the average weekly unemployment compensation benefit paid on or after June 2, 2010, less than what would have been paid before June 2, 2010.) Declares that the nonreduction rule shall not apply to a state which has enacted a law before December 1, 2013, that, upon taking effect, would violate the nonreduction rule. Allows such a state, however, to enter into a subsequent federal-state EUC agreement on or after enactment of this Act if, taking into account this inapplicability of the nonreduction rule, it would otherwise meet the requirements for an EUC agreement. (Thus allows such a subsequent EUC agreement to permit payment of less than the average weekly unemployment compensation benefit paid on or after June 2, 2010.)
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2014
Pat Summitt Congressional Gold Medal Act - Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a congressional gold medal to Pat Summitt in recognition of her career in women's team sports and her courage in speaking out about her battle with Alzheimer's disease. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates of such medal at a price sufficient to cover the cost of both the gold and bronze medals.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2014
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend, and the United States Postal Service (USPS) to issue, a commemorative postage stamp honoring the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2014
Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial Preservation Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to: (1) convey the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial, which is located within the Soledad Natural Park in San Diego, California, to the Mount Soledad Memorial Association, without consideration; and (2) require the Association to cover the conveyance costs.
United States · United States Congress · 23 December 2013
Repeals a provision of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that reduces the cost-of-living adjustment to the retirement pay of members of the Armed Forces under age 62.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 2013
Repeals the provision of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that reduces the cost-of-living adjustment to the retirement pay of members of the Armed Forces under age 62.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2013
American Unemployed Worker Investment Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a small business employer (i.e., an employer that employs more than 10 but fewer than 25 full-time employees throughout the taxable year) a work opportunity tax credit for hiring a qualified unemployment compensation recipient. Allows the first $10,000 of wages paid to such a recipient to be taken in account for purposes of such credit. Defines "qualified unemployment compensation recipient" as any individual who is certified as: (1) not being a student for at least six months during the one-year period ending on the hiring date, (2) being in receipt of unemployment compensation on the hiring date, and (3) having a hiring date during the two-year period which begins on the enactment of this Act. Denies such credit unless: (1) the qualified unemployment compensation recipient is employed for not less than 35 hours per week for not less than 1 year, and (2) the number of full-time employees of the employer receiving such credit is increased by 1 for at least 1 year.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2013
Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2013 - Creates in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) an Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders, who shall supervise and direct the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Directs the Assistant Secretary to establish a National Mental Health Policy Laboratory to: (1) identify and implement policy changes and other trends likely to have the most significant impact on mental health services; (2) collect information from grantees; and (3) evaluate and disseminate to such grantees evidence-based practices and services delivery models, using the best available science shown to reduce program expenditures while enhancing the quality of care furnished to individuals by other such grantees. Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to require the Assistant Secretary to establish: (1) an Interagency Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee; and (2) a four-year pilot program to award up to 50 grants each year to counties, cities, mental health systems, mental health courts, and any other entities with authority under state law to implement, monitor, and oversee assisted outpatient treatment programs. Directs the Assistant Secretary to establish a program of tele-psychiatry and primary care physician training grants to states to promote the use of qualified telehealth technology for the identification, diagnosis, mitigation, or treatment of a mental health disorder. Directs the HHS Secretary (Secretary), in coordination with the Assistant Secretary, to award planning grants to enable up to 10 states to carry out 5-year demonstration programs to improve the provision of behavioral health services by federally qualified community behavioral health clinics. Requires the Assistant Secretary to certify federally qualified community behavioral health clinics that meet specified criteria. Requires the caregiver of an individual with a serious mental illness to be treated as the individual's personal representative with respect to protected health information, even though the individual has not consented to disclosure of such information to the caregiver, when the individual's service provider reasonably believes it is necessary for protected health information to be made available to the caregiver in order to protect the individual's health, safety, or welfare or the safety of one or more other individuals. Amends the General Education Provisions Act to allow an educational agency or institution to disclose to such a caregiver the individual's education record in certain related circumstances. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to make available: (1) Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants for mental health programs and operations by law enforcement or corrections officers, and (2) public safety and community policing grants to provide specialized training to law enforcement officers to recognize and intervene properly with individuals who have mental illness. Reauthorizes and revises requirements for the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to: (1) establish or expand veterans treatment court programs; and (2) enhance the capabilities of a correctional facility to identify, screen, and treat inmates with a mental illness, as well as develop and implement post-release transition plans for them. Requires any data prepared by or submitted to the Attorney General or the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with respect to homicides, law enforcement officers killed and assaulted, or individuals killed by law enforcement officers to include data about the involvement of mental illness in such incidences, if any. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to detail the cost of federal. state, or local imprisonment for persons who have serious mental illness. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to prohibit a state medical assistance plan from prohibiting payment for a same-day qualifying mental health service or primary care service furnished to an individual at a federally qualified community behavioral health center or a federally qualified health center on the same day as the other kind of service. Allows states the option to provide medical assistance for inpatient psychiatric hospital services and psychiatric residential treatment facility services for individuals age 21-65. Amends both SSA titles XIX and XVIII (Medicare) to cover prescription drugs used to treat mental health disorders. Amends the PHSA to increase funding for the brain initiative at the National Institute of Mental Health. Transfers responsibility for the administration of community mental health block grants to the Assistant Secretary from the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS). Revises requirements for the funding agreement under a formula block grant to a state for community mental health services to prescribe the general standard under state law for court ordered inpatient or outpatient mental health treatment as well as assisted outpatient treatment. Requires the Assistant Secretary to evaluate the combined paperwork burden of certain community mental health centers as well as of certified federally qualified community mental health clinics. Directs the Secretary of Education, along with the Assistant Secretary, to organize a national awareness campaign to assist secondary school students and postsecondary students in: (1) reducing the stigma associated with serious mental illness; (2) understanding how to assist an individual demonstrating signs of a serious mental illness; and (3) understanding the importance of seeking treatment from a physician, clinical psychologist, or licensed mental health professional when a student believes the student may be suffering from a serious mental illness or behavioral health disorder. Amends the PHSA to include as health care providers any behavioral and mental health professionals, substance abuse professionals, psychiatric hospitals, certain community mental health centers (including one operated by a county behavioral health agency), and residential or outpatient mental health or substance abuse treatment facilities. Amends SSA title XVIII (Medicare), with respect to incentives for meaningful use of certified electronic health records (EHR) technology under the pay schedule for physician's services, to include as additional eligible professionals clinical psychologists providing qualified psychologist services and clinical social workers. Subjects any additional eligible professionals, including those under a MedicareAdvantage (MA) plan, to reductions in incentive payments after a certain date for failure to be a meaningful EHR user. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to treat as Medicaid providers the following additional Medicaid providers: (1) public and certain private hospitals that are principally psychiatric hospitals, (2) certain community mental health centers, and (3) certain residential or outpatient mental health or substance abuse treatment facilities. Makes eligible Medicaid professionals certain clinical psychologists providing qualified psychologist services and certain clinical social workers. Amends the PHSA to accord health care professional volunteers at community mental health centers and federally qualified community behavioral health clinics the liability protections of Public Health Service employees. Requires the Assistant Secretary to transfer all functions and responsibilities of the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality to the National Mental Health Policy Laboratory. Revises the duties of the CMHS Director. Reauthorizes the Secretary's authority to address priority mental health needs of regional and national significance. Amends the PHSA to reauthorize and revise requirements for a youth interagency research, training, and technical assistance center to prevent suicides (the Suicide Prevention Technical Assistance Center). Expands the program's focus from youth suicides to suicides among all ages, particularly among groups that are at high risk for suicide. Repeals authority for grants to establish research, training, and technical assistance centers related to mental health, substance abuse and the justice system. Reauthorizes a program of grants for the development of state or tribal youth suicide early intervention and prevention strategies. Reauthorizes and revises a grant program to enhance services for students with mental health or substance use disorders at institutions of higher education. Requires the Secretary (who currently is merely authorized), acting through the CMHS Director, to award grants to enhance such services and to develop best practices for the delivery of such services. Permits grant funds to be used for the provision of such services to students and to employ appropriately trained staff. Requires the Secretary to give special consideration to applications for grants that describe programs that demonstrate the greatest need for new or additional mental and substance use disorder services and the greatest potential for replication. Requires the Assistant Secretary, before making a grant to a public entity for comprehensive community mental health services to children with a serious emotional disturbance, to consult with the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to ensure that the grant recipient will use evidence-based practices. Reauthorizes funding for such grants. Repeals current authority of the Secretary to carry out directly or through grants, contracts or cooperative agreements with public entities a program to assist local communities in developing ways to assist children in dealing with violence. Reauthorizes the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Amends the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act to reduce corresponding funding for protection and advocacy systems for mentally ill individuals. Prohibits lobbying by any such systems accepting federal funds to protect and advocate the rights of individuals with mental illness. Prohibits the SAMHSA Administrator from hosting or sponsoring any conference that will not be primarily administered by SAMHSA without giving at least 90 days prior notice to specified congressional committees. Prohibits the SAMHSA Administrator also from establishing (and the Secretary from delegating to the Administrator responsibility for) any program or project not explicitly authorized or required by statute. Terminates by the end of FY2014 any SAMHSA program or project not so explicitly authorized or required.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2013
Philippines Charitable Giving Assistance Act - Treats cash contributions made after January 1, 2014, and before March 1, 2014, for the relief of victims in the Republic of the Philippines affected by Typhoon Haiyan as having been made on December 31, 2013, for purposes of the tax deduction for charitable contributions. Deems such a contribution as meeting the recordkeeping requirements of the Internal Revenue Code if the taxpayer produces a telephone bill showing the name of the donee organization and the date and amount of the contribution.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2013
Provides that for purposes of medical professional liability insurance or civil and criminal malpractice liability determinations, a physician or athletic trainer (covered sports medicine professional) who is authorized to practice medicine in a state (primary state) and who provides medical services to an athlete or athletic team in a state where such professional is not authorized to practice (secondary state) shall be deemed to have provided such medical services in the primary state, provided that prior to providing the covered medical services such professional has disclosed the nature and extent of such services to the entity that provides such professional with medical professional liability insurance in the primary state.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2013
Igniting American Research Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for increasing research expenditures, to: (1) extend such credit through 2014; (2) increase the rate of the alternative simplified research tax credit to 20% and make such credit permanent; (3) allow a 20% research tax credit for payments to a tax-exempt biotechnology research consortium for biotechnology research; and (4) modify the requirements relating to the eligibility of an energy research consortium for the tax credit to require at least 3 unrelated persons (currently, 5 unrelated persons) to make payments to such a consortium for energy research.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2013
Long-Term Unemployed Hiring Incentive Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow through December 31, 2016, a work opportunity tax credit for hiring a qualified long-term unemployed individual. Defines "qualified long-term unemployed individual" as any individual certified by the designated local agency as: (1) having exhausted, as of the hiring date, all rights to regular compensation under federal or state law; (2) having no rights to regular compensation with respect to the most recent week ending before the hiring date; and (3) not receiving compensation under the unemployment compensation law of Canada.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2013
Directs the United States to: (1) take all necessary and appropriate steps to ensure the safety of the residents of Camp Liberty/Hurriya in Iraq; (2) provide all necessary and appropriate assistance to the United Nations (U.N.) High Commissioner for Refugees to process refugee applications by the residents of Camp Liberty/Hurriya and to secure their safe resettlement outside of Iraq; and (3) admit the residents of Camp Liberty/Hurriya as refugees in the United States and not delay or bar such resettlement because any such resident is or has been a member of, or supports or has supported, organizations or groups that were subject to the Secretary of State's decision of September 21, 2012. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to report to Congress on U.S. efforts to guard the safety of Camp Liberty/Hurriya residents and secure their orderly resettlement.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2013
Adult Education and Economic Growth Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1988 to revise requirements for statewide and local workforce investment systems to include adult education activities. Replaces statewide and local workforce investment systems with adult education and workforce investment systems. Revises member composition of: (1) state workforce investment boards to include the lead state agency officials with particular responsibility for implementing adult education and literacy activities; and (2) youth councils established by local workforce investment boards to include representatives of adult education. Revises requirements for five-year state and local worker investment plans. Authorizes the use of funds for: (1) statewide and local youth activities to provide opportunities for multiple career pathways for eligible youth, and (2) training services for local adult and dislocated workers to include integrated education and training and career pathway services. Requires the Secretary of Labor to carry out specified employment and training demonstration and pilot projects. Amends the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) to include among adult education and literacy services programs activities to assist adults with limited English proficiency to improve their English and mathematical skills, acquire an understanding of the American system of government and responsibilities of citizenship, and, where necessary, obtain knowledge and skills to transition to postsecondary education, job training, and employment in family-sustaining jobs. Revises requirements for the allocation and reservation of AEFLA funds. Revises state distribution requirements with respect to grants and contracts to eligible providers of activities for adult education and literacy and corrections education of institutionalized individuals. Expands an eligible agency's use of funds for corrections education and education for other institutionalized individuals to include academic programs for: (1) integrated education and training and sequential education and training programs, (2) career pathways, (3) dual enrollment, and (4) preparation for postsecondary education and training. Replaces the National Institute for Literacy with the National Center for Adult Education, Literacy, and Workplace Skills (Center). Requires national leadership activities to include activities to improve workplace skills programs nationwide. Requires the Secretary of Education to allocate grants to states for integrated English literacy and civics education programs. Requires the Secretary of Education to award grants to assist states in developing a 21st century delivery system for adult education, literacy, and workplace skills services as well as adults in developing digital literacy skills. Requires the Center to establish the National Adult Learning and Technology Resource Clearinghouse. Requires the Secretary of Education to direct the Commissioner for Education Research of the National Center for Education Research to establish a national research and development center for adult education, literacy, and workplace skills. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an employer educational assistance program credit for 50% of the qualified educational assistance expenses (up to $5,250) paid per taxable year on behalf of an employee.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2013
Two-Midnight Rule Delay Act of 2013 - Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from enforcing the two-midnight rule to a hospital for which payment is made under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act for admissions occurring before October 1, 2014. (The two-midnight rule allows Medicare coverage of only hospital stays for which a physician admits to a hospital a beneficiary expected to require care that crosses two midnights, but generally denies coverage of care expected to require less than a two-midnight stay.) Applies such prohibition to Medicare review contracts. Prohibits Medicare review contractors from denying a claim for inpartient hospital services furnished by a hospital, or inpatient critical access hospital services furnished by a critical access hospital, for discharges occurring before October 1, 2014: (1) for medical necessity due to the length of an inpatient stay in such hospital or due to a determination that the services could have been provided on an outpatient basis; or (2) for requirements for orders, certifications, or recertifications, and associated documentation relating to such matters. Prohibits the Secretary from increasing the sample of claims selected for prepayment review under the Medicare Probe and Educate program above the number and type established by the Secretary as of November 4, 2013. Directs the Secretary to develop: (1) a Medicare hospital payment methodology for short inpatient hospital stays; (2) general equivalency maps to link the relevant International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD)-10 codes (used to report medical diagnoses and inpatient procedures) to relevant Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes, and the relevant CPT codes to relevant ICD-10 codes, in order to permit comparison of inpatient hospital services and hospital outpatient department servives; and (3) a second crosswalk between Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) codes for inpatient hospital services and Ambulatory Payment Class codes for outpatient hospital services.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2013
Congratulates Pope Francis on his election and recognizes his inspirational statements and actions.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2013
Recognizes that Robert Levinson is one of the longest held U.S. civilians in our nation's history. Notes recent pledges by newly appointed Iranian officials to provide their government's assistance in the Robert Levinson case. Urges the President and U.S. allies to continue to raise the Robert Levinson case with Iranian officials at every opportunity. Expresses sympathy to Robert Levinson's family for their anguish and expresses hope that their ordeal can be brought to an end in the near future.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2013
Recognizes the 65th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the celebration of Human Rights Day. Supports the ideals of human rights and reaffirms the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Encourages all nations to continue working towards freedom, peace, and security which can be achieved only through democracy, respect for human rights, and the rule of law.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2013
States that the House of Representatives has learned with profound sorrow of the death of Nelson Mandela, former President of the Republic of South Africa. Tenders its sympathies to the members of his family and his fellow citizens. Honors the life, accomplishments, and legacy of Nelson Mandela and for his friendship to the United States. Requests the Secretary of State to communicate these expressions of sentiment to Nelson Mandela's family and to the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa. Requests that when the House adjourns today it do so as a mark of respect to the memory of Nelson Mandela.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2013
Hire A Hero Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow employers a work opportunity tax credit for hiring a member of the Ready Reserve or the National Guard, and (2) make such credit with respect to the hiring of qualified veterans and members of the Ready Reserve and National Guard permanent.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2013
Israel Sovereignty and Security Recognition Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States should recognize Israel's sovereignty and legal right to its lands, including the Golan Heights and Jerusalem as Israel's capital; and (2) the Secretary of State should transfer the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Jerusalem, Israel, and either repurpose or sell the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. Amends the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 to eliminate the President's authority to waive certain funding limitations for Department of State acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad until the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has officially opened.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2013
Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act of 2013 - Requires each state, within three years, to have in effect legislation that: (1) treats a minor who has engaged or attempted to engage in a commercial sex act as a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons, (2) discourages the charging or prosecution of such an individual for a prostitution or sex trafficking offense, and (3) encourages the diversion of such individual to child protection services. Authorizes the Attorney General to withhold specified Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds from a state that fails to comply with such requirement. Increases the amount a victim of peonage, slavery, or trafficking in persons may recover in a civil action against the perpetrator to treble damages. Directs the Attorney General to establish a process to collect and analyze data relating to the issuance and enforcement of mandatory restitution orders with respect to such offenses. Amends the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (VTVPA) to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants annually for a national communication system to assist victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons in communicating with service providers. Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to include victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons among those eligible for the Job Corps. Directs the Attorney General to implement and maintain a National Strategy for Combating Human Trafficking that includes: (1) integrated federal, state, local, and tribal efforts to investigate and prosecute human trafficking cases; (2) case coordination within the Department of Justice (DOJ); and (3) interagency coordination regarding the prevention, investigation, and apprehension of individuals targeting and exploiting adults and children for human trafficking. Amends the VTVPA to require the Attorney General's annual report on agency activities under such Act to including information on: (1) data relating to the issuance and enforcement of mandatory restitution orders with respect to peonage, slavery, and trafficking in persons; and (2) the number of sex and labor trafficking investigations that were opened by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Labor, or the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center or that were reported to the United States attorneys, the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit in DOJ's Civil Rights Division, and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section in DOJ's Criminal Division. Amends the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act to modify the definition of "tier III sex offender" to include a sex offender whose offense is: (1) punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, and (2) comparable to or more severe than sex trafficking committed against a minor or an attempt or conspiracy to commit such offense against a minor.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2013
America's Fund for Future Opportunities and Outcomes in the United States Act of 2013 or the America's FOCUS Act of 2013 - Establishes a separate account in the U.S. Treasury to be known as the America's FOCUS Fund, into which shall be deposited: (1) revenue generated by civil and criminal fines and penalties for violations or alleged violations of federal law; (2) revenue generated by legal settlements reached between corporations and the federal government for violations or alleged violations of federal law; and (3) gifts, bequests, or donations to the Fund from private entities or individuals. Requires that, of the total revenue in the Fund: (1) up to 33% be used to award grants for youth mentoring and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education; (2) up to 33% be used to award grants for justice reinvestment; (3) up to 33% be used to award grants and prizes for innovations in medical research and development; and (4) the remaining revenue be used to reduce the federal budget deficit or, if there is no deficit, to reduce the federal debt. Directs the Secretary of Education to award the grants for youth mentoring programs, and the Associate Administrator for Education for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to award the grants for STEM education programs, to: (1) national non-profit, community-based organizations with at least two years of experience in administering such programs; and (2) state or local governments. Requires that, of the funds available for justice reinvestment, the Department of Justice (DOJ): (1) award 50% to state and local governments for justice reinvestment projects, (2) use up to 25% of the funds to support federal justice reinvestment projects, and (3) allocate up to 25% of the funds to grant programs established under the Second Chance Act within DOJ. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to use the revenue designated for medical innovation to fund entities that conduct innovative medical research and development. Authorizes the Director to use up to 15% of those funds to award monetary prizes to entities that have used their own funding and research facilities to produce innovative results. Requires that the grant funds be used to supplement, not supplant, other federal, state, and local funds designated to carry out those activities.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2013
GI Education Benefit Fairness Act - Expands the definition of "children," for purposes of provisions allowing members or former members of the uniformed services who served on active duty for specified periods beginning on or after September 11, 2001, to transfer their entitlement to educational assistance, to mean an unmarried person who: (1) is placed in the legal custody of a member or former member by court order for at least 12 consecutive months, (2) has not attained the age of 21, (3) has not attained the age of 23 and is enrolled in a full-time course of study at an institution of higher learning, (4) is incapable of self support due to a mental or physical incapacity that occurred while such person was a dependent of the member or former member, (5) is dependent on the member or former member for over one-half of his or her support, (6) resides with the member or former member unless separated due to military service or institutionalization for a disability or incapacitation, and (7) is not a dependent of a member or former member under any other provision defining dependent.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2013
Protecting Seniors from Health Care Fraud Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the HHS Office of Inspector General, and the Attorney General to report annually to Congress and the public on health care fraud schemes targeted to seniors and steps being taken to combat such schemes and to educate seniors about them. Directs the Secretary to: (1) disseminate such reports through mechanisms that reach the most Medicare beneficiaries, and (2) mail to each Medicare beneficiary a list of the top 10 most prevalent health care fraud schemes.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2013
Establishes in the legislative branch the Commission on Health Care Savings through Innovative Wireless Technologies, which shall: examine the cost savings to the U.S. health care system that can be achieved by increasing the use of wireless health information technologies by patients, caregivers, and health care providers; examine existing scientific research studying the medical effectiveness of such technologies; examine existing payment models and incentive payment programs that provide federal financial reimbursement or funding for the use of such technologies; examine options for Congress and federal agencies to incentivize and promote innovation and technological advancements in the area of such technologies; examine barriers to marketplace entry that impede efforts to develop new, and improve existing, wireless health information technologies; identify appropriate situations and recommend methods for integrating such technologies into federal health care programs; develop a proposal for a comprehensive program to encourage such integration; develop cost estimate approaches that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) can use to more accurately assess the cost savings the government can achieve by increasing the use of such technologies by patients, caregivers, and health care providers; and submit an interim report within 9 months and a final report within 18 months after its final member is appointed.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2013
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) law enforcement, judges, child welfare agencies, and the public should treat children being trafficked for sex as victims of child abuse; (2) every effort should be made to arrest and hold accountable both traffickers and buyers of children for sex, in accordance with federal laws to protect victims of trafficking and state child protection laws; (3) the child welfare system requires reform to better prevent domestic child sex trafficking and aid the victims; and (4) such system should identify, assess, and provide supportive services to children in its care who are victims of sex trafficking or at risk of becoming such victims. Expresses support for: (1) survivors of domestic child sex trafficking, including for the services they need to heal; and (2) an end to demand for girls by declaring that our nation's daughters are not for sale and that any person who purchases a child for sex should be held accountable with the full force of the law.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2013
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2013 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to extend emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) payments for eligible individuals to weeks of employment ending on or before January 1, 2015. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until December 31, 2014, requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and June 30, 2015, from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (FSEUCA of 1970) against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law provides for payment of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. (Thus allows temporary federal matching for the first week of extended benefits for states with no waiting period.) Amends the FSEUCA of 1970 to postpone similarly from December 31, 2013, to December 31, 2014, termination of the period during which a state may determine its "on" and "off" indicators according to specified temporary substitutions in its formula. Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to appropriate funds out of the employment security administration account through FY2015 to assist states in providing reemployment and eligibility assessment activities. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to extend through December 31, 2014, the temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2013
Makes it out of order in the House of Representatives to consider a concurrent resolution providing for adjournment unless the House has adopted a conference report on S.Con.Res. 8, establishing a budget for the federal government, by December 13, 2013.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2013
Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2013 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose an additional penalty of $5,000 on any person or entity convicted of crimes relating to: (1) peonage, slavery, and trafficking in persons; (2) sexual abuse; (3) sexual exploitation and other abuse of children; (4) transportation for illegal sexual activity; or (5) human smuggling in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Establishes in the Treasury the Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund into which such penalties shall be deposited and which shall be used in FY2015-FY2019 to award grants or enhance victims' programming under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, and the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990. Allots funds to provide services for child pornography victims. Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make a determination, based on credible evidence, that a covered individual (i.e., a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident) has been a victim of a severe form of trafficking. Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 to authorize the Attorney General to award block grants to develop, improve, or expand comprehensive domestic child trafficking deterrence programs to rescue and restore the lives of trafficking victims, while investigating and prosecuting offenses involving child trafficking. Amends the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 to include human trafficking and the production of child pornography within the definition of child abuse for purposes of such Act. Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) increase restitution for victims of human trafficking; (2) set forth provisions for combating aggravated human trafficking racketeering; (3) allow state and local prosecutors to obtain wiretap warrants in state courts for investigations into human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, and child pornography production; (4) increase penalties for offenses involving enticement into slavery, sex trafficking of children, child exploitation, and repeat sex offenders; and (5) revise the definition of the crime of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct to facilitate prosecutions of such crime. Directs the Attorney General to ensure that all task forces and working groups within the Innocence Lost National Initiative engage in activities, programs, or operations to increase the investigative capabilities of law enforcement personnel in the detection, investigation, and prosecution of persons who patronize or solicit children for sex. Requires the Attorney General to audit grants awarded under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005. Imposes limits on the use of Department of Justice (DOJ) funds for DOJ conferences involving more than $20,000.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2013
Affordable College Textbook Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make competitive grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) to support pilot programs that expand the use of open textbooks in order to achieve savings for students. Requires the grants to be used for: professional development for IHE faculty and staff, including the search for and review of open textbooks; the creation or adaptation of open educational resources, especially open textbooks; the development or improvement of tools and informational resources that support the use of open textbooks; research evaluating the efficacy of using open textbooks to achieve savings for students; and partnerships with other entities to carry out the preceding activities. Requires the full and complete digital content of the educational resources created or adopted using such grant funds to be made available free of charge to the public: (1) on an easily accessible and interoperable website; and (2) in a machine readable, digital format that anyone can directly download, edit, and redistribute. Directs the Secretary to give special consideration to grant applicants that demonstrate the greatest potential to: achieve the highest level of savings for students; expand the use of open textbooks at other IHEs; and produce open textbooks that are of the highest quality, that can be most easily utilized and adapted by faculty members, that correspond to the highest enrollment courses, and that are created or adopted in partnership with entities that will assist in their marketing and distribution. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include any educational material developed to accompany a college textbook as supplemental material that is subject to college textbook information disclosure requirements. Expresses the sense of Congress that IHEs should encourage the consideration of open textbooks by faculty within the generally accepted principles of academic freedom that establish the right and responsibility of faculty members to select the most appropriate course materials for their classes.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2013
Restarting Local Economies Act of 2013 - Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to: (1) authorize the use of grants for economic adjustment for activities identified by communities, the economies of which are injured by the closure of a local government entity that had an economic development mission and left obligations related to economic development projects unfulfilled when closed; and (2) authorize the Secretary of Commerce to increase the federal share for a grant to up to 100% of the cost of a project that assists such a community.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2013
Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish preclearance facilities, conduct preclearance operations, or provide customs services outside of the United States to prevent terrorists, terrorist instruments, and other national security threats from gaining access to the United States. Declares such requirements shall not apply to any preclearance facility that was in operation outside of the United States before enactment of this Act. Declares that any preclearance facility located, preclearance operations conducted, or customs services provided at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Al Maktoum International Airport, Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, or Doha International Airport in Qatar shall not be considered to have been in operation, conducted, or provided before enactment of this Act. Prohibits such facility, operations, or services from being established, conducted, or provided at any of such airports on or after such enactment. Requires the Secretary, not later than 180 days before entering into any agreement to establish a preclearance facility, conduct preclearance operations, or provide customs services outside of the United States, to: (1) notify Congress and the General Accountability Office (GAO) of the intent to establish such facility, conduct such operations, or provide such services; as well as (2) assess any impacts on passengers traveling to the United States, or economic or security impacts on the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2013
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to extend through December 31, 2018, the authority of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to impose civil money penalties on the basis of a schedule of penalties it has established and published. Applies such penalties to violations of qualified campaign contribution and expenditure disclosure requirements.