United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Expanding the Availability of Medicare Data Act Expands the kinds of uses of Medicare data available to qualified entities for quality and patient care improvement activities. (A "qualified entity" is a public or private entity that: [1] is qualified to use claims data to evaluate the performance of service providers and suppliers on measures of quality, efficiency, effectiveness, and resource use; and [2] agrees to meet specified requirements, such as ensuring data security.) Authorizes a qualified entity to use claims data combined with non-claims data the entity has received, as well as information derived from evaluation of service provider and supplier performance, to conduct additional non-public analyses and provide or sell them to authorized users for non-public use (including to assist service providers and suppliers to develop and participate in quality and patient care improvement activities, including new models of care). Defines "authorized users" as service providers, suppliers, employers, health insurance issuers, medical societies or hospital associations, or any other entities approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Prohibits a qualified entity from charging a fee to provide Medicare claims data. Requires a qualified entity and an authorized user to enter into a data use agreement, and prohibits the use of data or analyses for marketing purposes or, except in certain circumstances, its redisclosure. Directs the Secretary to provide Medicare data to qualified clinical data registries for purposes of linking it with clinical outcomes data and performing risk-adjusted, scientifically valid analyses and research to support quality improvement or patient safety. Requires charging a fee to a registry for such data. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to include among standardized extracts of Medicare claims data that may be made available to qualified entities, if the Secretary determines appropriate, also claims data under SSAct titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP). Requires any fees charged for making standardized extracts available to qualified entities to be deposited into the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Program Management Account (currently, into the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund).
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
Cancel the Sequester Act of 2015 This bill repeals provisions of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 that authorize sequestration to enforce specified deficit reduction goals. Sequestration is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals.
United States · United States Congress · 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
Access to Contraception for Women Servicemembers and Dependents Act of 2015 Expands the TRICARE health care program managed by the Department of Defense (DOD) to entitle additional female beneficiaries and dependents to care related to the prevention of pregnancy. (Currently, such care is limited to certain female members of the uniformed service or a reserve component performing active duty or certain servicewomen performing inactive-duty training.) Prohibits cost-sharing from being imposed or collected for such pregnancy prevention care, including for any method of contraception provided through a facility of the uniformed services, the TRICARE retail pharmacy program, or the national mail-order pharmacy program. Provides for such pregnancy prevention care to include all methods of contraception approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling. Directs the DOD Secretary to: (1) ensure that every military treatment facility has a sufficient stock of a broad range of FDA-approved methods of contraception to dispense to any women members of the Armed Forces and female covered beneficiaries who receive care through such facility, (2) disseminate clinical practice guidelines and decision support tools to DOD-employed health care providers, (3) ensure that women members of the Armed Forces have access to comprehensive counseling on contraception during health care visits, and (4) establish uniform curriculum to be used in family planning education programs for all men and women members of the Armed Forces. Requires questions regarding family planning services and counseling to be incorporated into DOD health surveys. Requires every military treatment facility, upon request, to provide emergency contraception, or information about FDA-approved methods of emergency contraception, to any woman who: (1) states to personnel that she is a victim of sexual assault or is accompanied by another individual who states that the woman is a victim of sexual assault, or (2) is reasonably believed to be a survivor of sexual assault.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Veterans Access to Speedy Review Act Requires the Board of Veterans' Appeals, for purposes of scheduling a veteran's appeal hearing at the earliest possible date, to determine whether to provide such hearing: (1) at its principal location or at another Department of Veterans Affairs facility or other federal facility, and (2) through the use of videoconferencing or by an appellant's personal appearance. Requires the Board to notify the appellant of such decisions. Allows the appellant to request a different location or type of hearing. Requires the Board to grant such request and ensure that the hearing is scheduled at the earliest possible date.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Justice Safety Valve Act of 2015 This bill authorizes a federal court to impose a sentence in a criminal proceeding that is below the minimum sentence required by statute if the court finds that a lower sentence is necessary to avoid violating statutory factors that the court must consider in imposing a sentence. The court must give parties to the proceeding notice of its intent to impose a lower sentence and state in writing the factors requiring such a sentence. This bill does not limit any right to appeal that would otherwise exist.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Act of 2015 Amends the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004 to: (1) expand the assistance provided under such Act, and (2) reauthorize appropriations for FY2016-FY2020. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to establish or expand: (1) veterans treatment court programs, which involve collaboration among criminal justice, veterans, and mental health and substance abuse agencies to provide qualified veterans (preliminarily qualified offenders who were discharged from the armed forces under conditions other than dishonorable) with intensive judicial supervision and case management, treatment services, alternatives to incarceration, and other appropriate services, including housing, transportation, job training, education, and assistance in obtaining benefits; (2) peer to peer services or programs to assist such veterans in obtaining treatment, recovery, stabilization, or rehabilitation; (3) practices that identify and provide treatment, rehabilitation, legal, transitional, and other appropriate services to such veterans who have been incarcerated; and (4) training programs to teach criminal justice, law enforcement, corrections, mental health, and substance abuse personnel how to identify and respond to incidents involving such veterans. Revises the definition of "preliminarily qualified offender" to include, in the case of a veterans treatment court program, an adult or juvenile accused of an offense who has been diagnosed with, or manifests obvious signs of, mental illness or a substance abuse disorder or co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorder. Removes a requirement that the adult or juvenile be accused of a nonviolent offense. Requires preliminarily qualified offenders to be unanimously approved for participation in a collaboration program by, when appropriate, the relevant prosecuting attorney, defense attorney, probation or corrections official, judge, and representative from the relevant mental health agency. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to enhance the capabilities of a correctional facility to: (1) identify and screen for mentally ill inmates; (2) plan and provide assessments of the clinical, medical, and social needs of inmates and appropriate treatment and services that address mental health and substance abuse needs; (3) develop, implement, and enhance post-release transition plans that coordinate services and public benefits, the availability of mental health care and substance abuse treatment services, alternatives to solitary confinement and segregated housing, and mental health screening and treatment for inmates placed in solitary confinement or segregated housing; and (4) train employees in identifying and responding to incidents involving inmates with mental health disorders or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to provide support for programs that teach law enforcement personnel how to identify and respond to incidents involving persons with such disorders. Directs the Attorney General to give priority in awarding grants for adult or juvenile collaboration programs to applications that: (1) propose interventions that have been shown by empirical evidence to reduce recidivism, and (2) use validated assessment tools to target preliminarily qualified offenders with a moderate or high risk of recidivism and a need for treatment and services.
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 · 4 February 2015
Short Line Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for railroad track maintenance, to: (1) expand the types of maintenance expenditures eligible for such credit, and (2) extend such credit through 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Stabilize Medicaid and CHIP Coverage Act Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to require a state Medicaid plan to provide 12-month continuous enrollment for an eligible individual, regardless of age. Amends SSAct title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) to require a state CHIP plan also to provide 12-month continuous enrollment for an eligible individual.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2015
Special Needs Trust Fairness Act of 2015 Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act with respect to the treatment of revocable trusts for the benefit of an individual for purposes of meeting income requirements for Medicaid coverage. Extends the supplemental needs trust exemption from treatment of a trust as resources available to the individual to supplemental needs trusts for Medicaid beneficiaries established by those beneficiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2015
Non-Disparagement of Native American Persons or Peoples in Trademark Registration Act of 2015 Amends the Trademark Act of 1946 to conclusively presume that a mark that uses the term "redskin" or any derivation of that term consists of matter which may disparage persons if: (1) it has been, is, or is intended to be used in commerce in connection with references to or images of Native Americans; or (2) the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) determines that the term as included in the mark is commonly understood to refer to Native Americans. (The possibility that a mark disparages persons is grounds for refusing its registration.) Requires the USPTO to cancel the registration of a mark containing the term "redskin" or any derivation of that term if: (1) it has been or is used in commerce in connection with references to or images of Native Americans, or (2) the USPTO determines that the term as included in the mark is commonly understood to refer to Native Americans.
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
Veterans Equal Access Act Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to authorize VA health care providers to: (1) provide veterans with recommendations and opinions regarding participation in their state's marijuana programs, and (2) complete forms reflecting such recommendations and opinions.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2015
Update, Promote, and Develop America's Transportation Essentials Act of 2015 Expresses the sense of Congress that by 2024 the gas tax should be repealed and replaced with a more sustainable, stable funding source. Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the excise tax on motor fuels, to increase the rate of tax on: (1) gasoline other than aviation gasoline to 26.3 cents per gallon in 2016, 30.3 cents per gallon in 2017, and 33.3 cents per gallon after 2017 and before 2028; (2) diesel fuel or kerosene to 32.3 cents per gallon in 2016, 36.3 cents per gallon in 2017, and 39.3 cents per gallon after 2017 and before 2027; and (3) diesel-water fuel emulsion. Delays the termination of such increased rates from the end of FY2016 to December 31, 2026. Requires an adjustment for inflation to such increased rates beginning after 2017. Increases allocations in the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund in 2016 and 2017 and after 2017. Imposes a floor stocks tax on rate increases for gasoline, diesel fuel, and kerosene (other than aviation-grade kerosene), subject to specified exemptions for exempt uses and low-volume producers.
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
Student Loan Refinancing Act Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow a borrower of a loan under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program to modify the interest rate on such a loan so that its interest rate is equal to the interest rate it would bear if first disbursed at the time of modification. Fixes that interest rate for the life of the loan, unless the borrower elects to modify it again.
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
Export Freedom to Cuba Act of 2015 Prohibits the President from regulating or prohibiting travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of the transactions ordinarily incident to such travel, if such travel would be lawful in the United States, relating to: (1) accompanied personal baggage; (2) payment of living expenses and the acquisition of personal-use goods or services; (3) travel arrangements; (4) nonscheduled air, sea, or land voyage transactions (such provision does not permit the carriage of articles other than accompanied baggage into Cuba or the United States); and (5) normal banking transactions. States that such restrictions on authority shall not apply if: (1) the United States is at war with Cuba, or armed hostilities between the two countries are in progress; or (2) there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
Honors the contributions of school counselors to the success of students in our elementary and secondary schools. Encourages the observation of National School Counseling Week with ceremonies and activities that promote awareness of the crucial role school counselors play in preparing students for fulfilling lives as contributing members of society.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
Supports the designation of Darwin Day (February 12, 2015, the anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin in 1809). Recognizes Charles Darwin as a worthy symbol on which to celebrate the achievements of reason, science, and the advancement of human knowledge.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2015
Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act Directs the President to impose U.S. entry and property sanctions against any foreign person (or entity) who: is responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against individuals in any foreign country, especially those persons seeking to expose illegal activity carried out by government officials, or to obtain, exercise, or promote human rights and freedoms; acted as an agent of or on behalf of a foreign person in such activities; is a government official (or senior associate of such official) responsible for, or complicit in, ordering or otherwise directing acts of significant corruption or the facilitation or transfer of the proceeds of corruption to foreign jurisdictions; or has materially assisted or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, such activities. Prescribes related penalties. Authorizes the President, with regard to such sanctions, to: waive their application, with prior congressional notification, if in U.S. national security interests; and terminate them under specified conditions. States that sanctions shall not apply if necessary to comply with the Agreement between the United Nations (U.N.) and the United States regarding the U.N. Headquarters, or other applicable international obligations of the United States. Directs the President to report to Congress annually regarding each foreign person sanctioned, the type of sanctions imposed, and the reason for their imposition. Directs the Comptroller General to assess for Congress: (1) the process to determine whether a foreign person has engaged in a sanctionable activity, whether sanctions should be imposed, and whether the identity of a sanctioned foreign person should be classified; and (2) implementation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2015
Equitable Access to Care and Health Act or the EACH Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the religious conscience exemption under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to exempt individuals who rely solely on a religious method of healing and for whom the acceptance of medical health services would be inconsistent with their religious beliefs from the requirement to purchase and maintain minimum essential health care coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Collaborative Academic Research Efforts for Tourette Syndrome Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand, intensify, and coordinate NIH research on Tourette syndrome. Requires the NIH to develop a system to collect data on Tourette syndrome, including epidemiological information, primary data, and data on the availability of medical and social services for individuals with Tourette syndrome and their families. Requires the NIH to award grants and contracts to public or nonprofit private entities to support four to six Collaborative Research Centers for Tourette Syndrome in different regions to conduct basic and clinical research on Tourette syndrome. Requires the NIH to award grants for research on the full range of symptoms within the Tourette syndrome clinical spectrum and the efficacy of treatment options for particular patient subpopulations. Requires the NIH to designate a portion of the amounts made available to carry out NIH programs and activities for a fiscal year to carry out programs and activities with respect to Tourette syndrome.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
CEO-Employee Paycheck Fairness Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny a publicly held corporation a tax deduction for the payment of performance-based remuneration in excess of $1 million to any of its current or former officers or directors if such corporation does not meet the pay fairness requirement established by this Act. Deems the pay fairness requirement to be satisfied if: (1) the average compensation paid by the employer for all applicable U.S. employees for the taxable year exceeds the inflation and productivity growth adjusted average (i.e., $118,450 in 2015) of such compensation for the preceding taxable year; and (2) the aggregate compensation paid by the employer to or for all applicable employees for the taxable year is not less than the aggregate of such compensation for the preceding taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Providing Resources Early for Kids Act of 2015 or the PRE-K Act Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to enhance or improve state-funded preschool programs to states that: (1) have curricula aligned with state early learning standards; (2) use nationally-established, or better, best practices for class size and teacher-to-student ratios; (3) require each teacher to have at least an associate degree in early childhood education or a related field; (4) require such programs to operate for at least a full academic year; and (5) have a plan for meeting the requirement, within five years of receiving such grant, that teachers have at least a baccalaureate degree in early childhood education or have such degree in a related field, but have also completed specialized training in early childhood education. Directs the Secretary to establish a competitive process for awarding grants to other states that demonstrate that they will meet such requirements within two fiscal years. Prohibits state grantees from reducing their preschool or child care expenditures. Requires states to give priority, in using grant funds, to preschool programs in communities with high concentrations of impoverished children. Includes among grant uses: (1) increasing the qualifications of, and benefits provided to, teachers, teacher aides, and program directors; (2) decreasing class size and improving teacher-to-student ratios; (3) providing certain comprehensive services that support healthy child development; (4) extending program duration; (5) improving program monitoring and learning environments; and (6) providing classroom supplies or equipment. Reserves funds for competitive grants to Indians for their preschool programs.
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 · 28 January 2015
International Human Rights Defense Act of 2015 Directs the Secretary of State to establish in the Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor a Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Peoples who shall: direct U.S. government efforts regarding the human rights of LGBT people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender); represent the United States in diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights of LGBT people, including discrimination and violence against LGBT people; serve as the principal advisor to the Secretary of State regarding human rights for LGBT people; and implement activities regarding support, education, resettlement, and empowerment of LGBT people. Directs the Special Envoy to develop or update annually for five years a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to discrimination and violence against LGBT people. Authorizes the Secretary and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development to provide assistance to prevent and respond to discrimination and violence against LGBT people.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Recognizes: (1) National Mentoring Month, and (2) the staff and volunteers at quality mentoring programs who help young people reach their full potential. Acknowledges that mentoring is beneficial in that it encourages educational achievement, reduces juvenile delinquency, improves life outcomes, and strengthens communities. Expresses support for: (1) the creation and expansion of quality mentoring programs across the United States, and (2) initiatives to increase the percentage of young people who have a mentor.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Stepping Up to STEM Education Act Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Education within the Department of Education to pursue breakthrough research and development in educational technology and to facilitate the effective use of that technology to improve student achievement. Directs the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to state-based science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computer science (STEM) networks or similar organizations of STEM stakeholders to increase students' achievement in the STEM disciplines in elementary and secondary schools and in out of school and afterschool programs. Includes among grant uses: testing, sharing, and scaling up STEM education research, promising practices, and exemplary programs; identifying state STEM education weaknesses and prioritizing strategies to address them; implementing rigorous career and college ready standards in STEM education; developing and implementing innovative STEM assessments that measure student progress toward those career and college ready standards; promoting and developing pre- and in-service STEM teacher training; developing STEM career pathways and workforce education and training programs that reflect 21st century workforce needs; facilitating the implementation of expanded STEM learning opportunities on school sites; and promoting, supporting, and designing programs that develop STEM content coaches and master educators in order to strengthen core competencies of the classroom practitioner. Requires grantees to conduct periodic independent evaluations of their effectiveness in accomplishing those activities. Prohibits the Secretary from: (1) endorsing or approving any STEM curriculum designed for use in an elementary school, secondary school, or institution of higher education; or (2) requiring a state, local educational agency, or school to adopt a specific STEM program or instructional materials.
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
Homeless Children and Youth Act of 2015 Amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to redefine "homeless," "homeless individual," or "homeless person." Modifies requirements relating to an individual or family who will imminently lose their housing, including housing they own, rent, or live in without paying rent. Revises criteria for unaccompanied youth and homeless families with children and youth defined as homeless under other federal statutes to require that they: are certified as homeless by the director or designee of a program funded under any other federal statute; or have been certified by a director of a program funded under this Act or a director of a public housing agency (PHA) as lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, which shall include: (1) temporarily sharing the housing of another person due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or other similar reason; or (2) living in a room in a motel or hotel. Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to: (1) aggregate and publicly report information from a collaborative applicant about project sponsors in a community-wide homeless management information system (HMIS), and (2) ensure that any public report does not contain personally identifiable information. Prohibits the Secretary, in awarding grants for continuum of care programs, from considering or prioritizing the specific homeless populations intended to be served by the applicant if the applicant demonstrates that the project: (1) would meet the priorities identified in the applicant's plan, and (2) is cost-effective in meeting the overall goals and objectives identified in that plan. Repeals certain requirements regarding collaborative applicants. Modifies requirements for selection criteria for the award of grants through a national competition between geographic areas. Requires annual reports to Congress on housing assistance for the homeless to include data: (1) required to be made publicly available in the HMIS report, and (2) on programs funded under other specified federal statutes.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act of 2015 Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require physical therapists furnishing outpatient physical therapy services to use specified locum tenens arrangements for payment purposes in the same manner as such arrangements are used to apply to physicians furnishing substitute physicians services for other physicians. (Locum tenens [place holder], or substitute, physicians usually assume professional practices in the absence of a regular physician for reasons such as illness, pregnancy, vacation, or continuing medical education.)
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
Action for Dental Health Act 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize oral health promotion and disease prevention programs through FY2020. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may award grants or enter into contracts to obtain portable or mobile dental equipment and pay operational costs for the provision of free dental services to underserved populations. The CDC may also award grants or enter into contracts to collaborate with state, county, or local public officials and other stakeholders to develop and implement initiatives to: (1) improve oral health education and dental disease prevention; (2) make the health care delivery system providing dental services more accessible and efficient through the development and expansion of outreach programs that facilitate the establishment of dental homes; (3) reduce geographic, language, cultural, and similar barriers in the provision of dental services; (4) reduce the use of emergency departments by those who seek dental services more appropriately delivered in a dental primary care setting; or (5) facilitate the provision of dental care to nursing home residents who are disproportionately affected by lack of care.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act of 2015 or the ACE Kids Act of 2015 Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act to allow a state, at its option, to elect to provide medical assistance for items and services furnished to eligible children with medically complex conditions enrolled in a Medicaid Children's Care Coordination (MCCC) program. Requires an MCCC program, among other things, to coordinate, integrate, and provide for the furnishing of the full range of MCCC program services to enrolled children, as well as designate pediatric care management services and pediatric focused care coordination and health promotion. Requires a state to enroll eligible children prospectively in an MCCC program through an initial 90-day assignment to a nationally designated children's hospital network, unless the child opts not to participate in any MCCC program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
National Health Service Corps Improvement Act of 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to include chiropractic services in primary health services for purposes of the National Health Service Corps. Doctors of chiropractic are eligible for the fellowship program for the delivery of primary health services in health professional shortage areas, the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program, and the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program.
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
Prescribe A Book Act Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to nonprofit organizations for the implementation of Pediatric Early Literacy Programs, through which: health care providers encourage parents to read aloud to their children and offer parents developmentally appropriate recommendations and strategies for doing so; health care providers give each visiting child between the ages of six months and five years a new, developmentally appropriate children's book to take home and keep; and health care facilities create literacy-rich environments that include gently used books for waiting room use or volunteer readers to show parents the techniques of reading aloud to young children. Requires that the books provided to children under the programs be obtained at a discount.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2015
Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2015 Allows federal employees to substitute any available paid leave for any leave without pay available for either the: (1) birth of a child, or (2) placement of a child with the employee for either adoption or foster care. Makes available (subject to specified requirements) for any of the 12 weeks of leave an employee is entitled to for such purposes: (1) six administrative weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth or placement involved, and (2) any accumulated annual or sick leave. Authorizes the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to promulgate regulations to increase the amount of paid parental leave available to such an employee to a total of 12 administrative workweeks, based on the consideration of: (1) the benefits to the federal government, including enhanced recruitment and employee retention; (2) the cost to the government; (3) trends in the private sector and in state and local governments; (4) the federal government's role as a model employer; and (5) the impact of increased paid parental leave on lower-income and economically disadvantaged employees and their children. Amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to allow the same substitution for covered congressional employees, Government Accountability Office (GAO) employees, and Library of Congress employees. Counts certain service by an employee of the executive branch, Congress, GAO, or the Library of Congress while on active duty as a member of the National Guard or Reserves as service for that branch or agency for purposes of determining such employee's eligibility to take or substitute leave as provided under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2015
Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015 Amends the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of "marihuana." Defines "industrial hemp" to mean the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of such plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-nine tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. Deems Cannabis sativa L. to meet that concentration limit if a person grows or processes it for purposes of making industrial hemp in accordance with state law.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2015
Accelerating Biomedical Research Act This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to require certain adjustments to discretionary spending limits in FY2016-FY2021 to accommodate increases in appropriations to the National Institutes of Health at the Department of Health and Human Services.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2015
Veterans and Servicemembers Employment Rights and Housing Act of 2015 Prohibits employment practices that discriminate based on an individual's military service and amends the Fair Housing Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to prohibit housing discrimination against members of the uniformed services. Declares that it shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail to hire, to discharge, or to otherwise discriminate against individuals because of their military service. Prohibits employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, and job training programs from engaging in specified practices that adversely affect an applicant or employee because of such service. Exempts certain hiring and employment practices from being considered unlawful if the occupancy of the position is subject to national security requirements that an individual does not fulfill. Permits an employer to apply different standards of compensation or terms of employement pursuant to a bona fide seniority or merit system, a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production or to employees who work in different locations, or a professionally developed ability test. Declares that an unlawful employment practice based on disparate impact is established only if: (1) the complaining party demonstrates that a respondent uses a particular employment practice that causes a disparate impact on the basis of military service and the respondent fails to demonstrate that the challenged practice is job-related and consistent with business necessity, or (2) the complaining party makes a demonstration with respect to an alternative employment practice and the respondent refuses to adopt such practice. Prohibits business necessity from being used as a defense against a claim of intentional discrimination. Declares that an unlawful employment practice is established when the complaining party demonstrates that military service was a motivating factor for any employment practice, even though other factors also motivated such practice. Grants enforcement powers, remedies, and procedures under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Attorney General, and persons alleging such discrimination. Amends the Fair Housing Act to prohibit housing discrimination against a member of the uniformed services with respect to: (1) the sale or rental of housing, (2) residential real estate-related transactions, and (3) the provision of brokerage services. Prohibits religious organizations engaging in housing transactions from giving preferences to persons of the same religion in cases where membership in such religion is restricted to persons who are not members of the uniformed services. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to impose a fine, imprisonment, or both on persons who violate prohibitions on housing discrimination under such Act against members of the uniformed services.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2015
Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act of 2015 Amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to condition eligibility to receive a state grant for child abuse or neglect prevention and treatment programs on inclusion in the state plan of a certification by the governor that the state has in effect and is enforcing a state law, or is operating a statewide program, that includes provisions and procedures to: identify and assess reports involving children who are sex trafficking victims (and which may also involve children who are victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons), train representatives of the state child protective services about identifying and assessing such children, and identify services and procedures for appropriate referral to address the needs of such children. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to Congress on: the specific type and prevalence of severe forms of trafficking in persons to which children have been subjected who are identified for services or intervention under the placement, care, or supervision of state, Indian tribe, or tribal organization child welfare agencies; the practices and protocols utilized by states to identify and serve children who are, or are at-risk of becoming, victims of trafficking; and any barriers in federal laws or regulations that may prevent identification and assessment of children who are such victims.
![Official portrait of Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000607_200.jpg)