United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Express Appeals Act Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) carry out a five-year pilot program to provide the option of an alternative appeals process to determine appeals of claims for disability compensation more quickly, and (2) inform claimants about such program. Describes appeals filed under the pilot program as "fully developed appeals." Authorizes a claimant to elect to file a fully developed appeal by filing with the Secretary: (1) a notice of disagreement along with the claimant's written election to have the appeal determined under the pilot program, (2) all evidence that the claimant believes is needed for the appeal, and (3) a statement of the argument in support of the claim. Requires the Secretary to transfer jurisdiction over a fully developed appeal directly to the Board of Veterans' Appeals. Requires a claimant to make such election: (1) at any time during the traditional appeal process if the claimant has filed a traditional appeal before the pilot program commences, or (2) when the claimant files the notice of disagreement if the claimant has not filed a traditional appeal. Directs the Secretary to inform a claimant who seeks to change a traditional appeal to a fully developed appeal as to whether any time will be saved. Allows a claimant who elects to file a fully developed appeal to elect to revert to a traditional appeal at any time. Requires the Board of Veterans' Appeals to: (1) maintain fully developed appeals on a separate docket; (2) hear fully developed appeals in the order received; (3) decide not more than one fully developed appeal for each four traditional appeals decided, though this ratio may be adjusted for fairness purposes beginning one year after the pilot program begins; and (4) decide, to the extent practicable, each fully developed appeal within one year of a claimant's filing the notice of disagreement. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the effects of new evidence submitted or additional information needed after a fully developed appeal is filed, and (2) a prohibition against the Board providing hearings for fully developed appeals. Directs the Board to establish an office to develop federal records, independent medical opinions, and new medical exams that the Board deems necessary to decide a fully developed appeal.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit: (1) the transfer or possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device, except for such a device lawfully possessed within the United States on or before the date of this Act's enactment; and (2) the importation or bringing into the United States of such a device. Exempts: (1) the transfer or possession of such a device by a federal, state, or local agency or law enforcement officer; (2) certain transfers to licensees under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954; (3) possession of such a device transferred to an individual upon retirement from a law enforcement agency if such individual is not otherwise prohibited from receiving ammunition; and (4) the manufacture, transfer, or possession of such a device by a licensed manufacturer or importer for authorized testing or experimentation purposes. Sets penalties for violations. Requires a large capacity ammunition feeding device manufactured after this Act's enactment to be identified by a serial number that clearly shows that the device was manufactured after such enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2015 Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct any prescription drug plan that has in its network one or more pharmacies located in a health professional shortage area, in a medically underserved area, or among a medically underserved population, and that provides a reduction in coinsurance or copayments for covered part D drugs, to extend to any pharmacy located in that area, or among that population, the option to be an in-network pharmacy under terms and conditions comparable to those the plan has agreed upon with other in-network pharmacies located in the area or among that population.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Reciprocal Market Access Act of 2015 Prohibits the President from agreeing to the reduction or elimination of the existing rate of duty on any product in order to carry out a trade agreement with a foreign country until the President certifies to Congress that: (1) the United States has obtained that country's reduction or elimination of tariff and nontariff barriers and policies and practices with respect to U.S. exports of any product that has the same physical characteristics and uses as the product for which the President seeks to modify its rate of duty, and (2) any violation of the trade agreement is immediately enforceable by withdrawal of the duty modification until the President certifies to Congress that the United States has obtained the country's reduction or elimination of the tariff or nontariff barrier or policy or practice. Requires the withdrawal of such a modification in specified circumstances determined by the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center until the President makes such a certification to Congress. Requires the U.S. International Trade Commission , with respect to any proposed trade agreement that seeks a modification that would reduce or eliminate an existing duty on any product in order to carry out a trade agreement with a foreign country, to investigate the possible market access opportunities for similar U.S. exports to that country if such barriers and policies are modified or eliminated.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the caps on Medicare outpatient rehabilitation physical therapy services and speech-language pathology services.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Protect Overnight Delivery Act Repeals the service standards for market-dominant products implemented by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) on January 5, 2015, and directs USPS to reinstate the service standards that were in effect on December 31, 2011.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Federal Employee Pension Fairness Act of 2015 Repeals provisions requiring federal employees, including foreign service employees, who began service after 2012 to pay an increased contribution (4.4%) for funding their annuities under the Federal Employees Retirement System. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) treat certain foreign corporations managed and controlled primarily in the United States as domestic corporations for U.S. tax purposes; and (2) revise rules for the taxation of inverted corporations (i.e., U.S. corporations that acquire foreign companies to reincorporate in a foreign jurisdiction with lower income tax rates than the United States).
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Fair Brewers Excise and Economic Relief Act or the Fair BEER Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the excise tax on beer brewed or produced, and removed for consumption or sale, within the United States or imported into the United States. The revised tax ranges from $0 for an amount not exceeding 7,143 barrels to $18 per barrel on an amount exceeding 2 million barrels.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Recognizes and honors the 50th anniversary of Project Head Start. Applauds President Lyndon Baines Johnson, all persons whose support and efforts led to the creation of Project Head Start in 1965, and the Head Start record of success over the ensuing half century.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Email Privacy Act Amends the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 to prohibit a provider of remote computing service or electronic communication service to the public from knowingly divulging to a governmental entity the contents of any communication that is in electronic storage or otherwise maintained by the provider, subject to exceptions. Revises provisions under which the government may require a provider to disclose the contents of such communications. Eliminates the different requirements applicable under current law depending on whether such communications were: (1) stored for fewer than, or more than, 180 days by an electronic communication service; or (2) held by an electronic communication service as opposed to a remote computing service. Requires the government to obtain a warrant from a court before requiring providers to disclose the content of such communications regardless of how long the communication has been held in electronic storage by an electronic communication service or whether the information is sought from an electronic communication service or a remote computing service Requires a law enforcement agency, within 10 days after receiving the contents of a customer's communication, or a governmental entity, within 3 days, to provide a customer whose communications were disclosed by the provider a copy of the warrant and a notice that such information was requested by, and supplied to, the government entity. Allows the government to request delays of such notifications. Prohibits disclosure requirements that apply to providers from being construed to limit the government's authority to use an administrative or civil discovery subpoena to require: (1) an originator or recipient of an electronic communication to disclose the contents of such communication, or (2) an entity that provides electronic communication services to its employees or agents to disclose the contents of an electronic communication to or from such employee or agent if the communication is on an electronic communications system owned or operated by the entity. Allows the government to apply for an order directing a provider, for a specified period, to refrain from notifying any other person that the provider has been required to disclose communications or records. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress regarding disclosures of customer communications and records under provisions: (1) as in effect before the enactment of this Act, and (2) as amended by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Process Act Authorizes the State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico to provide for a vote on Puerto Rico's admission into the Union as a state within one year of this Act's enactment. Requires the governor of Puerto Rico to transmit the results of such vote to the President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate within 10 days after the certification of the vote by the Commission. Directs the President, if a majority of the votes cast are for Puerto Rico's admission as a state: (1) within 30 calendar days of receipt of the certified results, to issue a proclamation to begin the transition process that will culminate in Puerto Rico's admission as a state effective January 1, 2021; and (2) within 90 calendar days of such receipt, to appoint a Commission on the Equal Application of Federal Law to Puerto Rico, which shall survey U.S. laws and submit recommendations to Congress by July 1, 2018, as to how laws that do not apply, or that apply differently, to the territory should be amended or repealed to treat Puerto Rico equally. Requires Puerto Rico to carry out necessary actions by January 1, 2020, to enable it to hold elections for federal office in November 2020, including the election to the 117th Congress of two U.S. Senators and the number of Representatives to which it would have been entitled for the 116th Congress if it had been a state during such Congress. Provides for a temporary increase in the membership of the House of Representatives initially and a permanent increase effective with the taking effect of the first reapportionment occurring after the regular decennial census conducted for 2020. Requires the President, following a transition process, to issue a proclamation declaring that Puerto Rico is admitted to the Union on an equal footing with the other states, effective January 1, 2021. Sets forth provisions regarding the continuity of government and the continuity of laws of Puerto Rico.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2015 Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to replace the current windfall elimination provision (WEP) (that reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security) for individuals who: (1) become eligible for old-age insurance benefits after 2016 or would attain age 62 after 2016 and become eligible for disability insurance benefits after 2016, (2) subsequently become entitled to such benefits, and (3) have earnings derived from noncovered service performed after 1977. Establishes a new formula for the treatment of noncovered earnings in determining Social Security benefits. Prescribes a second formula to modify the WEP for current beneficiaries. Directs the Commissioner of Social Security to recover overpayments from certain individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2015
Expanded & Improved Medicare for All Act Establishes the Medicare for All Program to provide all individuals residing in the United States and U.S. territories with free health care that includes all medically necessary care, such as primary care and prevention, dietary and nutritional therapies, prescription drugs, emergency care, long-term care, mental health services, dental services, and vision care. Prohibits an institution from participating unless it is a public or nonprofit institution. Allows nonprofit health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that deliver care in their own facilities to participate. Allows patients to choose from participating physicians and institutions. Prohibits a private health insurer from selling health insurance coverage that duplicates the benefits provided under this Act. Allows insurers to sell benefits that are not medically necessary, such as cosmetic surgery benefits. Sets forth methods to pay institutional providers of care and health professionals for services. Prohibits financial incentives between HMOs and physicians based on utilization. Establishes the Medicare for All Trust Fund to finance the Program with amounts deposited: (1) from existing sources of government revenues for health care, (2) by increasing personal income taxes on the top 5% of income earners, (3) by instituting a progressive excise tax on payroll and self-employment income, (4) by instituting a tax on unearned income, and (5) by instituting a tax on stock and bond transactions. Transfers and appropriates to carry out this Act amounts that would have been appropriated for federal public health care programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Requires the Medicare for All Program to give employment transition benefits and first priority in retraining and job placement to individuals whose jobs are eliminated due to reduced clerical and administrative work. Requires creation of a confidential electronic patient record system. Establishes a National Board of Universal Quality and Access to provide advice on quality, access, and affordability. Requires the eventual integration of the Indian Health Service into the Program, and an evaluation of the continued independence of Department of Veterans Affairs health programs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2015
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to 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 to 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 · 2 February 2015
Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2015 This bill states that: the President may not prohibit or otherwise regulate travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of the transactions incident to such travel, including banking transactions; any regulation in effect on the date of enactment of this Act prohibiting or otherwise regulating such travel or transactions incident to such travel shall cease to have any force or effective; but the prohibitions and requirements of this Act shall not apply if the United States is at war with Cuba, armed hostilities between the two countries are in progress, or there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the tax deduction for charitable contributions by individuals and corporations of real property interests for conservation purposes, and (2) allow Native Corporations an increased tax deduction for donations of conservation easements related to lands conveyed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Pro Football Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 50,000 $5-gold coins, 400,000 $1-silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar coins emblematic of the game of professional football. Requires all sales of such coins to include specified surcharges, which shall be paid by the Secretary to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to help finance the expansion and renovation of Pro Football Hall of Fame facilities. Directs the Secretary to ensure that: (1) minting and issuing such coins will not result in any net cost to the government, and (2) no proceeds are disbursed until the total cost of designing and issuing such coins is recovered by the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Amy and Vicky Child Pornography Victim Restitution Improvement Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to expand the definition of "full amount of the victim's losses" for purposes of provisions governing mandatory restitution of victims of offenses involving sexual exploitation and other abuse of children to include medical services, physical and occupational therapy or rehabilitation, and lost income for the victim's lifetime, as well as any losses suffered by the victim from any sexual act or conduct in preparation for or during the production of child pornography depicting the victim involved in the offense. Sets forth guidelines for determining restitution where the victim of of a specified child pornography offense was harmed by one defendant (requiring restitution for not less than the full amount of the victim's losses) or by more than one defendant (requiring restitution for not more than the full amount of the victim's losses and not less than specified minimum amounts for certain offenses). Requires joint and several liability where there are multiple defendants and allows each defendant who is ordered to pay restitution and who has made full payment to the victim equal to or exceeding the specified minimum amount to recover contribution from any other defendant ordered to pay. Sets forth contribution claim procedures. Requires the Attorney General to report to Congress within one year after enactment of this Act on any progress of the Department of Justice in obtaining restitution for victims of such offenses.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Expresses support for efforts to: (1) provide protections and supports for sexually exploited and trafficked girls in the United States, and (2) create criminal or civil penalties for anyone who buys or sells a child through a system of child trafficking.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 55 South Pioneer Boulevard in Springboro, Ohio, as the "Richard 'Dick' Chenault Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
IDEA Full Funding Act Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to reauthorize and make appropriations for the grant program to assist states and outlying areas in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities. Sets the amount to be authorized and the amount to be appropriated for each fiscal year from FY2016-FY2024 as the greater of: (1) a specified amount, or (2) a specified percentage of an amount determined pursuant to a formula that multiplies the number of children receiving special education services by the average per-pupil expenditure in public elementary and secondary schools. Authorizes and appropriates funds for FY2025 and each subsequent fiscal year equal to the greater of a specified amount or 40% of the amount determined using such formula. Requires amounts appropriated to be expended consistent with pay-as-you-go requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Supports Macedonia's aspirations to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Recognizes the cooperation between Vermont and Macedonia and the joint military partnership between the Vermont National Guard and the Army of Macedonia. Recognizes the significant benefits of closer economic and political ties between NATO members and Macedonia. Appreciates Macedonia's efforts in advancing peace, democracy, and stability. Calls on the Administration, the Department of State, and European allies to work with Greece and NATO allies to ensure that bilateral disputes do not impede Macedonia's NATO accession. Urges NATO members to formally extend an invitation to Macedonia to join NATO at one of the next meetings of the North Atlantic Council or NATO Summit in Poland in 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act of 2015 or the FAIR Act This bill modifies general rules governing civil forfeiture proceedings to: (1) ensure that a person contesting a civil forfeiture has legal representation without regard to whether the property subject to forfeiture is being used by such person as a primary residence; (2) increase the federal government's burden of proof in civil forfeiture proceedings to clear and convincing evidence; (3) require the government, in addition to showing a substantial connection between the seized property and an offense, to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the owner of any interest in the seized property used the property with intent to facilitate the offense or knowingly consented or was willfully blind to the use of the property by another in connection with the offense; and (4) expand the proportionality criteria used by a court to determine whether a civil forfeiture was constitutionally excessive. To remove incentives for carrying out civil forfeitures, the bill requires proceeds from the disposition of seized property to be deposited into the General Fund of the Treasury, rather than to Department of Justice accounts for law enforcement activities. The bill adds a scienter requirement (i.e., a knowing violation) to the prohibition against structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements. The bill requires: (1) a court to conduct a probable cause hearing to determine if there is a violation of the prohibition against structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements involving a monetary instrument and to return such instrument if probable cause is not established, and (2) the Attorney General to specify in reports to Congress and the public on forfeitures the amounts received from criminal and civil forfeitures.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Urges the Administration to continue efforts to combat anti-Semitism globally. Urges the Secretary of State that in 2015, a year of significant anniversaries for the Jewish people, U.S. embassies should observe these anniversaries with public events. Calls on the Broadcasting Board of Governors to observe these anniversaries with significant programming. Expresses sympathy to the families of all those who suffered due to the Nuremberg laws and during the Holocaust. Expresses appreciation to governments, groups, and individuals that will appropriately mark these anniversaries and work to promote inter-ethnic and interreligious reconciliation. Appreciates the role of the Holy See in combating religious intolerance and religious discrimination and acknowledges the role of the Nostra Aetate proclamation of Pope Paul VI in fostering interreligious dialogue Condemns all forms of anti-Semitic abuses that are ongoing throughout the world, whether committed by governments or by other persons or groups, particularly in the forms of denying or minimizing the Holocaust and other crimes of Nazi Germany.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Honoring Our WWII Merchant Mariners Act of 2015 Establishes in the Treasury the Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund from which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is to make one payment of $25,000 to each individual who, between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946, was a documented member of the U.S. merchant marine (including the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service) serving as a crewmember of a vessel that was operated in U.S. waters by the War Shipping Administration or the Office of Defense Transportation and under contract to, or the property of, the United States. Requires such individuals to: (1) apply for such benefit within one year after the enactment of this Act, and (2) not have received benefits under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. Requires the Secretary to include, in annual budget documents submitted to Congress, detailed information on the Fund's operation.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to restore mail delivery service standards in effect as of July 1, 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2015
Condemns the Russian Federation for its illegal imprisonment of Nadiya Savchenko, and calls on the Russian Federation to release her immediately. Calls on the United States, its European allies, and the international community to support efforts to release Nadiya Savchenko and other illegally detained persons. Expresses solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2015
Student Loan Interest Deduction Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the maximum tax deduction for interest paid on any qualified education loan to $5,000 ($10,000 for married couples filing a joint tax return), and (2) repeal the limitation on such deduction based upon modified adjusted gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
This bill directs the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal to the Foot Soldiers who participated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, or the final Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March during March of 1965, which served as a catalyst for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Shareholder Protection Act of 2015 Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require that any solicitation of a proxy, consent, or authorization with respect to any security of an issuer: (1) describe the specific nature (to the extent known) and total amount of expenditures proposed for political activities for the forthcoming fiscal year but not yet authorized by a vote of the issuer's shareholders, and (2) provide for a separate shareholder vote to authorize such proposed expenditures. Prohibits an issuer from making an expenditure for political activities in any fiscal year unless: (1) such expenditure is of the nature of those proposed by the issuer according to the requirements of this Act, and (2) authorization for such expenditure has been granted by votes representing a majority of outstanding shares. Deems a violation of this requirement to be a breach of the fiduciary duty of the officers and directors who authorized such expenditure. Subjects officers and directors who authorize the expenditure without prior shareholder authorization to joint and several liability to any shareholder or class of shareholders for the amount of such expenditure. Requires certain institutional investment managers to disclose annually in mandatory reports how they voted (proxies) in certain shareholder votes. Prohibits any person from bringing any civil, criminal, or administrative action against an institutional investment manager, or any of its employees, officers, or directors, based solely upon the investment manager's decision to divest from, or not to invest in, securities of an issuer because of expenditures for political activities made by that issuer. Requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to direct the national securities exchanges and national securities associations to prohibit the listing of any equity security of an issuer whose corporate bylaws do not expressly provide for a vote of the issuer's directors on any individual expenditure for political activities in excess of $50,000. Requires an issuer to make public, within 48 hours, the individual votes of the directors regarding any such expenditure. Directs the SEC to: (1) require issuers to disclose expenditures for political activities made during the preceding quarter and the individual votes by board members authorizing such expenditures, and (2) make such reports publicly available through the SEC website. Requires the SEC to make annual assessments of the compliance by public corporations and their management with the reporting and disclosure requirements of this Act, and the Comptroller General to evaluate periodically the effectiveness of SEC oversight of these requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Reducing Barriers for Veterans Education Act of 2015 Makes an individual who is eligible for educational assistance under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance program eligible for assistance with the fees for applying to institutions of higher education (IHEs). Sets the amount of such assistance payable to an individual at the lesser of: (1) the total application fees charged to the individual by the IHEs, or (2) $750.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Disclosure of Information on Spending on Campaigns Leads to Open and Secure Elections Act of 2015 or the DISCLOSE 2015 Act Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to redefine the term "independent expenditure" as an expenditure by a person that, when taken as a whole, expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, or is the functional equivalent of express advocacy because it can be interpreted by a reasonable person only as advocating the election or defeat of a candidate, taking into account whether the communication involved mentions a candidacy, a political party, or a challenger to a candidate, or takes a position on a candidates, qualifications, or fitness for office. Expands the period during which certain communications are treated as electioneering communications. Prescribes: (1) disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, and certain other entities; and (2) disclaimer requirements for campaign-related disbursements and for certain communications. Requires any communication transmitted through radio or television to include an individual or organizational disclosure statement, together with: (1) the Top Two Funders List of the persons providing the largest and second largest aggregate payments of $10,000 or more for a radio communication, and (2) the Top Five Funders List of the five persons providing the largest aggregate payments of $10,000 or more for a television communication. Repeals the prohibition against political contributions by individuals age 17 or younger. Requires a covered organization which submits regular, periodic reports to its shareholders, members, or donors on its finances or activities to include in each report, in a clear and conspicuous manner, the information included in the statements it has filed about campaign-related disbursements the organization has made during the period covered by the report. Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require semiannual reports on certain election campaign contributions filed with the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives by registered lobbyists (or persons or organizations required to register as lobbyists) to contain: (1) the amount of any independent expenditure of $1,000 or more made by each such person or organization, along with the name of each candidate being supported or opposed and the amount spent supporting or opposing that candidate; and (2) the amount of any electioneering communication of $1,000 or more made by such person or organization, along with the name of the candidate referred to in the communication and whether the communication involved was in support of or in opposition to the candidate.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Constitutional Amendment Grants every U.S. citizen of legal voting age the fundamental right to vote in any public election held in the jurisdiction in which the citizen resides.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Government By the People Act of 2015 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, which will be assigned a routing number. Authorizes the individual to submit the My Voice Voucher 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 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 taxpayers to designate overpayments of tax for contribution to the Freedom From Influence Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2015
Constitutional Amendment - Authorizes Congress and the states to set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections. Grants Congress and the states the power to implement and enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation. Allows them to distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections. Declares that nothing in this amendment shall be construed to grant Congress or the states the power to abridge the freedom of the press.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2015
Streamlined and Improved Methods at Polling Locations and Early (SIMPLE) Voting Act of 2015 Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) to require each state to allow individuals to vote in a federal election on each day during the 15-day period ending on the second day immediately preceding the election date in the same manner as voting is allowed on election day. Requires a state to ensure that each polling place that allows early voting in a federal election is located within reasonable walking distance of a stop on a public transportation route. Requires the Election Assistance Commission to issue standards for the administration of early voting in a federal election. Requires each state to provide a sufficient number of voting systems, poll workers, and other election resources (including physical resources) at a polling place used in a federal election to ensure: (1) a fair and equitable waiting time for all voters in the state, and (2) that no individual will be required to wait longer than one hour to cast a ballot at the polling place. Requires each state to develop, and implement to the greatest extent practicable, a contingency plan under which it shall provide any polling place on a federal election day whose waiting times exceed one hour with additional poll workers, machines, ballots, and other equipment and supplies, including a polling place at which individuals may cast ballots before the election date. Requires the Commission to report to Congress biennially on the impact of this Act's early voting and waiting time provisions on the administration of elections for federal office. Prescribes requirements for the counting of provisional ballots that will be treated as votes. Allows civil money penalties, intervention by aggrieved parties, and private actions to address HAVA violations by a state or jurisdiction.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Manufacturing Jobs for Veterans Act Directs the Secretary of Labor, as part of the Veteran's Workforce Investment Program, to carry out a five-year pilot program (to be known as the Veterans Manufacturing Employment Program) to award competitive grants to three states for the establishment and administration of a State Manufacturing Employment Program to make grants to manufacturing employers and labor-management organizations that provide training, on-job training, apprenticeships, and certification classes to eligible veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Financial Literacy for Students Act Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education of 1965 (ESEA) to authorize the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to states to: (1) integrate financial literacy education into each of their public elementary and secondary schools that are eligible for school improvement funds under title I of the ESEA, and (2) train their secondary school financial literacy or entrepreneurship teachers to teach financial literacy in core academic subjects. Prohibits states from using over 20% of their grant funds to train those teachers, develop curricula, and evaluate the impact of financial literacy or personal finance education.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
National Nurse Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to designate the Chief Nurse Officer of the Public Health Service as the National Nurse for Public Health within the Office of the Surgeon General. Includes among the duties of this position: (1) providing leadership and coordination of Public Health Service nursing professional affairs for the Office of the Surgeon General and other agencies of the Public Health Service, (2) conducting outreach and education, and (3) providing guidance and leadership for activities that will increase public safety and emergency preparedness. Requires the National Nurse for Public Health to: (1) participate in identification of national health priorities, (2) encourage volunteerism of nurses and strengthen the relationship between government agencies and health-related national organizations, and (3) promote the dissemination of evidence-based practice in educating the public on health promotion and disease prevention activities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Muhammad Ali Legacy Act Directs the Secretary of State to award grants to one or more eligible organizations that: (1) are established to promote global respect, understanding, and communication and to encourage character and leadership development world-wide; and (2) demonstrate a commitment to preserving the legacy of Muhammad Ali.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Return to Prudent Banking Act of 2015 Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) to prohibit an insured depository institution from being an affiliate of any broker or dealer, investment adviser, investment company, or any other person or entity engaged principally in the issue, flotation, underwriting, public sale, or distribution of stocks, bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities. Prohibits officers, directors and employees of securities firms from simultaneous service on the boards of depository institutions, except in specified circumstances. Requires any such individual serving as an officer, director, employee, or other institution-affiliated party of any insured depository institution to terminate such service as soon as practicable after enactment of this Act. Requires an insured depository institution to wind-down in an orderly manner and terminate any affiliation prohibited by this Act. Amends the Banking Act of 1933 (Glass-Steagall Act) to expand its prohibition against the transaction of banking activities by securities firms. Declares that Congress ratifies the interpretation by the Supreme Court of specified statutory language in the case of Investment Company Institute v. Camp ( ICI ) regarding permissible activities of banks and securities firms. Declares that the reasoning of the Court in that case shall continue to apply to the limitations placed upon security affiliations under the FDIA as enacted by this Act. Prohibits a federal banking agency or federal court from issuing an interpretation regarding such security affiliations that is narrower than that of the Court in ICI . Makes technical and conforming changes to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Revised Statutes of the United States, and specified federal law. Requires the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, or another appropriate federal banking agency to report to Congress a detailed description of the basis for its decision each time it makes a determination or grants an extension concerning an affiliation between insured depository institutions and investment banks or securities firms.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
Retired Pay Restoration Act Expresses the sense of Congress that military retired pay should not be reduced because a military retiree is also eligible for veterans' disability compensation awarded for a service-connected disability. Allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability (under current law, only a disability rated at 50% or more). Repeals provisions phasing in the full concurrent receipt of such pay through December 31, 2013. Makes eligible for the full concurrent receipt of both veterans' disability compensation and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay those individuals who were retired or separated from military service due to a service-connected disability.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
New Columbia Admission Act Sets forth procedures for admission into the United States of the state of New Columbia. Requires the Mayor of the District of Columbia to: (1) submit to the eligible voters propositions for statehood and adoption of a State Constitution, and (2) issue a proclamation for the first elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative of New Columbia. Requires the President, upon adoption of such propositions and certification of such elections, to issue a proclamation announcing the results and admitting New Columbia into the Union. Provides for conversion of District government offices to state offices. Provides that New Columbia shall consist of all territory of the District as of the enactment of this Act, excluding land within specified metes and bounds that shall remain the District of Columbia and that shall include the principal federal monuments, the White House, the Capitol Building, the Supreme Court Building, the federal executive, legislative, and judicial office buildings located adjacent to the Mall and the Capitol Building, and certain military property. Prohibits New Columbia from imposing taxes on federal property except as provided by Congress. Maintains the applicability to New Columbia of current District laws and continues pending judicial proceedings. Maintains: (1) the District of Columbia as the seat of the federal government, and (2) the federal government's authority over military lands and specified other property. Requires each state that is the last place an individual resided before residing in the District of Columbia to permit such individual to vote in federal elections by absentee ballot. Sets forth a rule for expedited consideration of a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution to repeal the 23rd amendment (which provides for the appointment of electors for President and Vice President for the District).
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
Federal Adjustment of Income Rates Act or the FAIR Act Increases the rates of basic pay for federal employees under the statutory pay systems (relating to the General Schedule, the U.S. Foreign Service, and the Veterans Health Administration) for calendar year 2016, and for prevailing rate employees for FY2016, by 3.8%.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to impose restrictions on foreign jurisdictions or financial institutions operating in the United States that are of primary money laundering concern or that significantly impede U.S. tax enforcement. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: expand reporting requirements for U.S. persons who hold an interest in a passive foreign investment company; establish a rebuttable presumption against the validity of transactions by institutions that do not comply with reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act; treat certain foreign corporations managed and controlled primarily in the United States as domestic corporations for tax purposes; require tax withholding agents and financial institutions to report certain information about beneficial owners of foreign-owned financial accounts; treat swap payments sent offshore as taxable U.S. source income; and impose additional requirements for third party summonses used to obtain information in tax investigations that do not identify the person with respect to whose liability the summons is issued (i.e., John Doe summons). Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to: (1) require corporations registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission to report annually, on a country-by country basis, on employees, gross revenues, payments made to governments, and other financial information; and (2) impose a fine for failure to disclose any holdings or transactions involving equity or debt instruments known to involve a foreign entity that would otherwise be subject to disclosure requirements. Makes investment advisers and persons engaged in forming new business entities subject to anti-money laundering requirements. Imposes new restrictions on U.S. corporations and other entities with foreign income with respect to: (1) tax deductions allocable to deferred foreign income, (2) the recalculation of foreign income taxes, (3) intangible property transferred overseas, (4) tax evasion activities by U.S. corporations reincorporating in a foreign country, and (5) the interest expense tax deduction of certain subsidiaries of foreign corporations with excess domestic indebtedness. Modifies rules for the taxation of inverted corporations (i.e., U.S. corporations that acquire foreign companies to reincorporate in a foreign jurisdiction with income tax rates lower than the United States) to provide that a foreign corporation that acquires the properties of a U.S. corporation or partnership after May 8, 2014, shall be treated as an inverted corporation and thus subject to U.S. taxation if, after such acquisition: (1) it holds more than 50% of the stock of the new entity (expanded affiliated group), or (2) the management or control of the new entity occurs primarily within the United States and the new entity has significant domestic business activities.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of door delivery for all businesses and residential customers.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Homes for Heroes Act of 2015 Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to establish in the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs to: (1) ensure veterans fair access to HUD housing and homeless assistance programs, (2) coordinate all HUD programs and activities relating to veterans, and (3) serve as a HUD liaison with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Terminates, at the same time as such establishment, the position of Special Assistant for Veterans Programs in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs. Directs the Secretaries of HUD and VA to report annually to Congress with respect to veterans homelessness and housing assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act Designates approximately 1,559,538 acres of land within Alaska in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Public Option Deficit Reduction Act Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to offer a public health insurance option, which is a health benefits plan available through Exchanges that ensures choice, competition, and stability of affordable, high-quality coverage throughout the United States. Declares that HHS's primary responsibility is to create a low-cost plan without compromising quality or access to care. Sets forth provisions related to the establishment and governance of the public health insurance option, including that such plan: (1) may be made available only through Exchanges; (2) must comply with requirements applicable to other health benefits plans offered through Exchanges, including requirements related to benefits, benefit levels, provider networks, notices, consumer protections, and cost sharing; and (3) must offer bronze, silver, and gold plan levels. Requires HHS to: (1) establish an office of the ombudsman for the public health insurance option, (2) collect data as may be required to establish premiums and payment rates, (3) establish geographically adjusted premiums at a level sufficient to fully finance the costs of the health benefits provided and administrative costs related to the operation of the plan, and (4) establish payment rates and provide for greater payment rates for the first three years. Requires repayment of start-up costs for the public health insurance option. Authorizes HHS to use innovative payment mechanisms and policies to determine payments for items and services under the public health insurance option.
![Official portrait of Rep. Kaptur, Marcy [D-OH-9]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/k000009_200.jpg)