United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2015
Coal Healthcare and Pensions Protection Act of 2015 Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to address potential shortages in the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan for payment of health care benefits to retired coal miners by expanding the eligible uses of interest transferable to the plan from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, and supplemental payments from the General Fund of the Treasury. Requires calculation of such amount by taking into account only those beneficiaries who are actually enrolled in the plan as of the enactment of this Act, as well as those retirees whose health benefits, payable directly by an employer in the bituminous coal industry under a coal wage agreement as a result of a bankruptcy proceeding commenced in 2012, would be denied or reduced. Requires the Department of the Treasury to transfer to the trustees of the 1974 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Pension Plan a certain additional amount of funds, to pay pension benefits required under that plan, if the $490 million limitation on certain transfers to the UMWA Combined Benefit Fund and distributions to states and Indian tribes exceeds the aggregate amount required to be transferred to them. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe a special rule that employer contributions to an employees' trust or annuity benefit plan providing supplemental benefits solely to participants in a pension plan are neither deductible nor nondeductible as such from the employer's gross income. Subjects such contributions, on the other hand, to deduction as an allowable trade or business expense. Treats a trust holding the assets of such a pension benefit plan as a tax-exempt organization. Excludes from taxable wages any payments made to, or on behalf of, an employee or his or her beneficiary under such a plan.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2015
Energy Supply and Distribution Act of 2015 This bill declares that the production and distribution of energy in the United States requires access to infrastructure and markets. The Department of Energy (DOE) must collaborate with federal agencies to improve the conceptual development of energy security, considering at a minimum: (1) development of flexible, transparent, and competitive energy markets, including natural gas and oil; and (2) diversification of energy fuels, sources, and routes, and the encouragement of indigenous sources of energy supply. DOE must also coordinate interagency: (1) data collection for energy distribution on shared energy infrastructure, and (2) training to evaluate and implement cross-border energy projects. It is the sense of Congress that growth in crude oil and dry natural gas production varies significantly across oil and natural gas supply regions, thereby: (1) forcing shifts in crude oil and natural gas flows between regions of the United States, and (2) requiring investment or realignment of midstream infrastructure including pipelines. The Energy Information Administration must collaborate with officials in Canada and Mexico to reconcile data on energy trade flows, extend energy mapping capabilities, and develop common energy data terminology. Congress declares that processed condensate is a petroleum product. The DOE Office of Fossil Energy Assessment may assess the suitability of condensate separately from crude oil for use in strategic reserves, while certain agencies within the Department of the Interior must assess condensate separately from crude oil. The bill authorizes: (1) the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to estimate condensate separately from crude oil as part of the resource assessments regarding domestic geological formations, (2) the Office of Natural Resources Revenue to collect condensate data separately from crude oil, and (3) the United States Geological Survey to include estimates of condensate separately from crude oil as part of the resource assessments regarding domestic geological formations. Domestic crude oil or condensate (except crude oil stored in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) may be exported without a federal license to countries not subject to U.S. sanctions.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Cutting Costly Codes Act of 2015 This bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from implementing, administering, or enforcing regulations that would replace ICD-9 (International Classification of Diseases) with ICD-10 as a code set for financial and administrative transactions involving the electronic exchange of health information. ICD is a system of diagnostic codes for classifying diseases. The Government Accountability Office must recommend steps to mitigate the disruption to health care providers that would result from replacement of ICD-9.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Iran should release all detained U.S. citizens and provide any information it possesses regarding any U.S. citizens who have disappeared within its borders.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2015
Ratepayer Protection Act of 2015 This bill extends the deadline for mandatory compliance with final rules that target carbon dioxide emissions from existing sources that are fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating units under the Clean Air Act, including any final rule that succeeds either: the proposed rule entitled "Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units," or the supplemental proposed rule entitled "Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: EGUs in Indian Country and U.S. Territories; Multi-Jurisdictional Partnerships". The extension period begins 60 days after the notice of promulgation of a final rule appears in the Federal Register and ends following any judicial review, on the date a judgment becomes final, and no longer subject to further appeal or review, in all actions (including those under the Clean Air Act) that are filed during that 60-day period. A state is also shielded under the bill from: being required to adopt or submit a state plan, and being subject to a federal plan under any federal final rule if the governor notifies the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency that implementation of either plan would have a significant adverse effect upon: (1) the state's residential, commercial, or industrial ratepayers; or (2) upon the reliability of the state's electricity system.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2015
Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from applying a multiple procedure payment reduction policy to the professional component of imaging services furnished: (1) after a specified date in the year this Act is enacted; or (2) in any subsequent year before the Secretary conducts and publishes, as part of the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for a year, an analysis of the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale Data Manager information used to determine what, if any, efficiencies exist within the professional component of imaging services when two or more studies are performed on the same patient on the same day.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 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 Edwin Cole "Ed" Bearss in recognition of his contributions to the preservation of American Civil War history and his continued efforts to bring our nation's history alive for new generations through his interpretive storytelling.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2015
ATF Wrongful Reclassification Act Amends the federal criminal code to modify the definition of "armor piercing ammunition" for purposes of federal firearms provisions to: (1) include a projectile or projectile core that is designed and intended by the manufacturer solely for use in a handgun (currently, a projectile that may be used in a handgun); and (2) exclude a projectile that is primarily intended by the manufacturer to be used for lawful purposes (currently, a projectile that the Attorney General finds is primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes).
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2015
This bill directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to: (1) designate a senior DOD official to procure wide band satellite communications necessary to meet DOD requirements, including those for military and commercial satellite communications; and (2) submit to the congressional defense committees a plan to meet such requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2015
Simplified, Manageable, And Responsible Tax Act or the SMART Act Amends the Internal Revenue Code to replace the marginal income tax rates with a single rate of 17% on individual taxable income. Redefines "taxable income" to mean the amount by which wages, retirement distributions, and unemployment compensation exceed the standard deduction. Increases the basic standard deduction and includes an additional standard deduction for dependents. Includes in taxable income the taxable income of each dependent child under the age of 14. Replaces the current tax on corporations with a tax on every person engaged in a business activity equal to 17% of the business taxable income of such person. Makes the person engaged in the business activity liable for the tax, whether or not such person is an individual, a partnership, or a corporation. Imposes a tax of 17% on the value of excludable compensation provided during the year by an employer for the benefit of employees. Makes the employer liable for the tax. Repeals pension plan rules relating to : (1) non-discrimination, (2) contribution limits, and (3) restrictions on distributions. Revises rules relating to transfers of excess pension assets. Repeals: (1) the alternative minimum tax; (2) all income tax credits; (3) estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes; and (4) income tax provisions, except certain provisions relating to retirement distributions and tax-exempt organizations. Declares it not in order in the House of Representatives or the Senate, unless waived or suspended by a three-fifths vote, to consider any legislation that increases or adds an income tax rate, reduces the standard deduction, or provides any exclusion, deduction, credit, or other benefit that reduces federal revenues.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2015
Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2015 This bill amends subtitle D (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act to establish a permit program for coal combustion residuals (coal ash) that states may elect to administer. The program outlines the criteria that a state must use if it chooses to adopt and enforce a permit program regulating the management and disposal of coal ash generated by electric utilities and independent power producers. The program applies to the disposal of coal ash into landfills or surface impoundments, sand or gravel pits, quarries, or lateral expansions of the structures. The structural criteria concern: (1) design, location, and integrity; (2) financial assurance; (3) groundwater and surface water protections; (4) closure procedures; and (5) air quality with respect to fugitive dust. A state that chooses to adopt a coal ash program is given sole enforcement authority. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must implement a program for a state if: (1) a state's program fails to meet those criteria, or (2) a state does not implement a program. A coal ash permit program implemented by the EPA shall not apply to the utilization, placement, and storage of coal ash at surface or underground coal mining and reclamation operations. The bill revises implementation of the EPA rule governing the disposal of coal ash, entitled "Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities." The rule may be implemented only through the permit program established by the bill. The agency implementing the permit program must ensure that certain information concerning the program is publicly available.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2015
Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the developer of a bioengineered organism intended as food to submit a premarket biotechnology notification to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A “bioengineered organism” (commonly called a “genetically modified organism” or “GMO”) is a plant or part of a plant that has been modified through recombinant DNA techniques in a way that could not be obtained using conventional breeding techniques. The premarket notification must include the developer’s determination that food from, containing, or consisting of the GMO (GMO food) is as safe as a comparable non-GMO food. For the GMO to be sold as food, the FDA must not object to the developer’s determination. If the FDA determines that there is a material difference between a GMO food and a comparable non-GMO food, the FDA can specify labeling that informs consumers of the difference. A food label can only claim that a food is non-GMO if the ingredients are subject to certain supply chain process controls. No food label can suggest that non-GMO foods are safer than GMO foods. A food can be labeled as non-GMO even if it is produced with a GMO processing aid or enzyme or derived from animals fed GMO feed or given GMO drugs. The FDA must allow, but not require, GMO food to be labeled as GMO. The FDA must regulate the use of “natural” on food labels. This bill amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to require the Agricultural Marketing Service to establish a program to certify non-GMO food. This bill preempts state and local restrictions on GMOs or GMO food and labeling requirements for GMOs, GMO food, non-GMO food, or “natural” food.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2015
Veterans' Mental Health Care Access Act This bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to make a veteran eligible for mental health care at a non-Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facility regardless of: the date on which the veteran enrolled in the VA health care system, whether the veteran has attempted to schedule an appointment for such care at a VA facility, or the location of the veteran's residence.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2015
Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act Repeals certain provisions which require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military retired pay or who would be entitled to retired pay except for being under 60 years of age. Prohibits requiring repayment of certain amounts previously paid to SBP recipients in the form of a retired pay refund. Repeals the optional authority of (and instead requires) the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay an annuity to a member's dependent children when there is no eligible surviving spouse. Directs the Secretary concerned to restore annuity eligibility to a surviving spouse who earlier agreed to transfer such eligibility to a surviving child or children of a member.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2015
Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to require the Bureau of Prisons to ensure that each chief executive officer of a federal penal or correctional institution: (1) provides a secure storage area located outside of the secure perimeter of the institution for qualified law enforcement officers employed by the Bureau to store firearms, or allows such officers to store firearms in a vehicle lockbox approved by the Bureau; and (2) allows such officers to carry concealed firearms on the premises outside of the secure perimeter of the institution.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2015
Protecting Gun Owners in Bankruptcy Act of 2015 Amends federal bankruptcy law to permit an individual debtor to exempt from the property of the estate in bankruptcy the debtor's aggregate interest, not to exceed $3,000, in a single firearm or firearms.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2015
Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoogle Act Revises requirements for the non-rural area wage index floor in the formula for the national adjusted diagnosis-related group (DRG) prospective payment rate used in calculating payments under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act for each inpatient hospital discharge in a fiscal year involving inpatient hospital services of a subsection (d) hospital. (Generally, a subsection [d] hospital is an acute care hospital, particularly one that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system [IPPS] when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in the case of discharges occurring on or after April 1, 2015, to apply budget neutrality, under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and related regulations, on a state-specific rather than national basis in the calculation of the Medicare hospital wage index floor, including a minimum wage index, for each non-rural area, using a specified methodology as if it had been fully implemented for FY2011 using a 100% state-specific adjustment to the area wage index. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed as preventing the Secretary, for discharges occurring on or after April 1, 2015, from modifying related regulations in carrying out budget neutrality requirements. Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to end the application of budget neutrality on a national basis in the calculation of the Medicare hospital wage index floor as of April 1, 2015.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2015
Clean Air, Strong Economies Act This bill prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from lowering its national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone until at least 85% of counties that are in nonattainment areas (counties that are exceeding the limit) have attained the standard. In promulgating a primary or secondary NAAQS for ozone, the EPA must: only consider a county to be a nonattainment area on the basis of direct air quality monitoring (rather than modeling); take into consideration feasibility and cost; and include in the regulatory impact analysis for the proposed and final rule at least one analysis that does not include any calculation of benefits resulting from reducing emissions of any pollutant other than ozone.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2015
Ammunition and Firearms Protection Act Amends the federal criminal code to revise the definition of "armor piercing ammunition" for purposes of federal firearms provisions to exclude: (1) M855 (5.56 mm x 45 mm) or SS109 type ammunition; or (2) ammunition designed, intended, and marketed for use in a rifle.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2015
Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) with respect to the hospital readmissions reduction program under the inpatient (hospital) prospective payment system (IPPS). The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in determining a hospital's excess readmission ratio for purposes of making payments for discharges occurring during FY2016-FY2017, is required to make a risk adjustment to the ratio that takes into account both: (1) a hospital's proportion of inpatients who are full-benefit dual eligible individuals (eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid under SSAct title XIX), and (2) the socioeconomic status of patients served by the hospital. The Secretary must base the risk adjustment under the readmission program for subsequent fiscal years on specified reports required by the Improving Medicare Post Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014 as well as a report the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission shall submit on the appropriateness of using a threshold of 30 days for readmissions under the program. The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must then incorporate report recommendations in carrying out risk adjustments for discharges occurring in such fiscal years in order to ensure that the most vulnerable populations are not unfairly penalized by the program. The Secretary shall consider the use of V or other International Classification of Diseases-related codes for potential exclusion of noncompliant patient cases when promulgating related regulations for FY2017. The Secretary must: (1) assess whether to exclude from the calculation of excess readmissions any patients whose clinical conditions or diagnoses may require frequent hospitalizations; then (2) exclude, starting in FY2018, any relevant clinical conditions identified in the assessment recommendations when determining a hospital's publicly reported readmission rate and excess readmissions ratio. The Secretary is directed to make a payment adjustment to subsection (d) hospitals necessary to ensure that the implementation of this Act does not result in any increase in aggregate expenditures under the IPPS. (Generally, a subsection (d) hospital is an acute care hospital, particularly one that receives payment under the IPPS when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.)
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act of 2015 Amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to authorize the Financial Stability Oversight Council to subject a bank holding company to enhanced supervision and prudential standards by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, if the Council makes a final determination that either material financial distress at the bank holding company, or the nature, scope, size, scale, concentration, interconnectedness, or mix of its activities, could threaten the financial stability of the United States. Requires that final determination to be based upon specified factors, using an indicator-based measurement approach established by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to determine systemic importance. Deems any bank holding company designated as a Global Systemically Important Bank by the Financial Stability Board, as of the date of enactment of this Act, to have been the subject of a final determination that it could pose a threat to U.S. financial stability for any of those reasons. Prohibits the Council from making a final determination concerning a bank holding company under this Act before one year after its enactment. Deems a bank holding company to have been the subject of such a final determination during this one-year period, however, if its total consolidated assets are $50 billion or more.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 Directs the Federal Communications Commission to amend regulations concerning the height and dimensions of station antenna structures to prohibit a private land use restriction from applying to amateur service communications if the restriction precludes such communications, fails to accommodate such communications, or does not constitute the minimum practicable restriction to accomplish the legitimate purpose of the private entity seeking to enforce the restriction.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
Improving Veterans Access to Quality Care Act of 2015 Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to revive, for a three-year period, VA's Intermediate Care Technician Pilot Program that was carried out between January 2013 and February 2014. Requires VA to: (1) expand the pilot program to include at least 250 intermediate care technicians, and (2) give priority in assigning those technicians to VA facilities at which veterans have the longest wait times. Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to transfer credentialing data regarding DOD health care providers that are hired by VA to VA. Authorizes VA to allow a covered nurse to practice to the full scope of the nurse's practice, as defined by the applicable national professional association, under a set of VA-approved privileges, regardless of the state in which VA employs the covered nurse. Defines a "covered nurse" as an advanced practice registered nurse who is employed by VA as: (1) a nurse midwife, (2) a clinical nurse specialist, (3) a nurse practitioner, or (4) a certified registered nurse anesthetist.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
National Health Service Corps Improvement Act of 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to include optometry services in primary health services for purposes of the National Health Service Corps. Optometrists 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 · 4 March 2015
Community Lending Enhancement and Regulatory Relief Act of 2015 or the CLEARR Act of 2015 This bill amends the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to exempt from its annual privacy policy notice requirement any financial institution which: (1) provides nonpublic personal information only in accordance with specified requirements, and (2) has not changed its policies and practices regarding disclosures of nonpublic personal information from those disclosed in the most recent disclosure sent to consumers. The federal banking agencies are directed to study jointly the appropriate capital requirements for mortgage servicing assets for nonsystemic banking institutions. Mortgage servicing assets are those resulting from contracts to service loans secured by real estate, where such loans are owned by third parties. A nonsystemic banking institution is any banking institution other than one identified by the Financial Stability Board as a global systemically important bank. Any regulatory implementation of either Basel III or National Credit Union Administration capital requirements about mortgage servicing assets for nonsystemic banking institutions is prohibited until six months after a report to Congress on the study. The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) is amended to direct the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board) to exempt from certain escrow or impound requirements a loan secured by a first lien on a consumer's principal dwelling if the loan is held by a creditor with assets of $10 billion or less. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must provide either exemptions to or adjustments from the mortgage loan servicing and escrow account administration requirements of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 for servicers of 20,000 or fewer mortgage loans. The TILA is also amended to exempt from property appraisal requirements a higher-risk mortgage loan of $250,000 or less if it appears on the loan creditor's balance sheet for at least three years. The Federal Deposit Insurance Act is revised to direct federal banking agencies to issue regulations that allow a reduced reporting requirement for depository institutions meeting certain criteria when making the first and third report of condition for a year. If a depository financial institution receives an order to request a funds transfer (entry) via an automated clearing house, it shall not be required to verify that the entry is not a prohibited monetary transaction if the originating depository financial institution has warranted its compliance with the sanctions programs administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. The Federal Reserve Board must revise the Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement on the Assessment of Financial and Managerial Factors to raise its consolidated asset threshold from $1 billion to $5 billion. The TILA is again amended to create a safe harbor from lawsuit for creditors that are depository institutions for any failure to comply with certain requirements with respect to a residential mortgage loan, and the banking regulators are required to treat such a loan as a qualified mortgage, if the creditor has, since the loan's origination, held it on its balance sheet and all prepayment penalties with respect to the loan comply with specified limitations. A safe harbor from lawsuit is also created for mortgage originators for steering a consumer to a residential mortgage loan if: the creditor is a depository institution and has informed the mortgage originator that it intends to hold the loan on its balance sheet for the life of the loan, and the mortgage originator informs the consumer that the creditor intends to do so.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2015
Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to waive coinsurance for colorectal cancer screening tests (in order to cover 100% of their cost under Medicare part B [Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled]), regardless of the code billed for a diagnosis as a result of a test, or for the removal of tissue or other procedure furnished in connection with, as a result of, and in the same clinical encounter as the screening test.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2015
Helping Ensure Life- and Limb-Saving Access to Podiatric Physicians Act or the HELLPP Act Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to include podiatrists as physicians in order to cover their services under the Medicaid program. Amends SSAct title XVIII (Medicare) to revise requirements for coverage of therapeutic shoes for individuals with diabetes regarding the processes of: (1) documentation by a physician of, and certification of a comprehensive plan of care related to, the diabetic condition; (2) prescription by a podiatrist or other qualified physician upon a finding of the medical necessity for the therapeutic shoes, including findings communicated to a certifying doctor of medicine or osteopathy of certain related foot conditions; and (3) fitting and supplying the shoes. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to subject to the continuing levy upon property and property rights, for collection of unpaid taxes, any payments made to a Medicaid provider or supplier.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2015
American Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2015 Repeals the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 and other specified related laws. Directs the President to terminate U.S. membership in the United Nations (U.N.), including any organ, specialized agency, commission, or other formally affiliated body. Requires closure of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Prohibits: (1) the authorization of funds for the U.S. assessed or voluntary contribution to the U.N., (2) the authorization of funds for any U.S. contribution to any U.N. military or peacekeeping operation, (3) the expenditure of funds to support the participation of U.S. Armed Forces as part of any U.N. military or peacekeeping operation, (4) U.S. Armed Forces from serving under U.N. command, and (5) diplomatic immunity for U.N. officers or employees.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Protecting 2nd Amendment Rights Act of 2015 This bill prohibits any government entity from issuing or enforcing a regulation, or taking any other action, that would restrict or prohibit the manufacture, importation, or sale in the United States of any ammunition that is not subject to the restriction or prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Law Enforcement Access to Data Stored Abroad Act Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a governmental entity to require the disclosure by a provider of electronic communication service or remote computing service of the contents of a wire or electronic communication that is in electronic storage with or otherwise stored, held, or maintained by the provider only pursuant to a warrant issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. Authorizes such a warrant to require such disclosure regardless of where such contents may be in electronic storage or otherwise stored, held, or maintained by the provider if the holder of the account the contents of which are sought by the warrant is a U.S. person. Requires a court, on a service provider's motion, to modify or vacate such a warrant upon finding that it would require the provider to violate the laws of a foreign country. Sets forth requirements for government notification of provider customers or subscribers regarding the receipt of communication contents pursuant to such a warrant. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish a form for use by a foreign government filing a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) request; (2) establish an online docketing system for all MLAT requests; and (3) publish statistics annually on MLAT requests made by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to foreign governments, and by foreign governments to DOJ, to obtain the contents of communications or other information or records from a provider of electronic communications or remote computing services. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) data localization requirements imposed by foreign governments on data providers are incompatible with the borderless nature of the Internet, an impediment to online innovation, and unnecessary to meet the needs of law enforcement; and (2) DOJ, the Department of State, and the U.S. Trade Representative should pursue open data flow policies with foreign nations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
USPSTF Transparency and Accountability Act of 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to expand the scope and responsibilities of the United States Preventive Services Task Force to require it to: (1) publish research plans to guide its review of scientific evidence relating to the effectiveness of preventive services; (2) make evidence reports and recommendations available for public comment; (3) establish a system for grading preventive care (Grades A, B, C, and D and a Grade I for insufficient information); and (4) convene a preventive services stakeholders board to provide feedback on Task Force activities and recommend preventive services and scientific evidence for the Task Force to review. Members of the Task Force and the preventive services stakeholders board are considered federal employees for purposes of disclosure and management of conflicts of interest. The Government Accountability Office must submit a report that: (1) lists current recommendations of the Task Force; (2) compares Task Force recommendations and recommendations of other federal health agencies, national medical professional societies, and patient and disease advocacy organizations; and (3) analyzes the impact of Task Force recommendations on public and private insurance coverage, access, and outcomes, including the impact on morbidity and mortality. This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the authority of HHS to make no payment for a preventive service that has not been graded by the Task Force.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act of 2015 Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit the government from bearing any expense of counsel for any person in a removal or related appeal proceedings. Adds an additional requirement in order to establish a credible fear of persecution claim in an asylum interview. Limits humanitarian and public interest parole authority. Prohibits the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) from using parole authority for an alien who is ineligible for refugee status. Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to revise the definition of "unaccompanied alien child" (UAC). Amends the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to extend the period of time for a federal department or agency to: (1) notify the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that it has apprehended or discovered a UAC or an alien who is under 18 years old, and (2) transfer a UAC to HHS custody. Provides for HHS-DHS information sharing concerning UACs. Prohibits aUAC from applying for asylum if such child may be removed to a safe third country. Provides for additional immigration judges and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorneys. Directs the Secretary of State to suspend all foreign assistance to certain countries that refuse to: (1) negotiate a child repatriation agreement, or (2) accept from the United States repatriated UACs who are nationals or residents of the sending country. Directs the Secretary of State to provide certain foreign assistance for repatriation and reintegration purposes. Places the burden of proof on an an alien to establish that: (1) the alien's life or freedom would be threatened in a country to which he or she is scheduled to be removed to from the United States; and (2) that race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion would be at least one central reason for such threat. Makes inadmissible an alien who has committed acts of torture, extrajudicial killings, war crimes, systematic attacks on civilians, persecution, or enforced disappearance of persons. Authorizes the President to make such alien's visa records public. Terminates the refugee or asylee status of an alien who: without a compelling reason returns to the country of such alien's nationality or, in the case of an alien having no nationality, returns to the country in which such alien last habitually resided; and applied for such status because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Makes such provision inapplicable to an alien who is eligible for adjustment to lawful permanent resident status pursuant to the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966. Allows up to 500 grants of asylum per fiscal year to families fleeing home school persecution. Requires that a written warning be included in an asylum application advising the alien of the consequences of filing a frivolous application. States that if an alien's asylum status is subject to termination the immigration judge shall first determine whether the termination conditions have been met, and if so, terminate the alien's asylum status before considering whether the alien is eligible for adjustment of status.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Michael Davis, Jr. in Honor of State and Local Law Enforcement Act Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and related federal law with respect to immigration law enforcement within the United States. Authorizes: (1) states or their political subdivisions to enact and enforce immigration criminal penalties as long as they do not exceed relevant federal criminal penalties; and (2) state or local law enforcement personnel to investigate, apprehend, arrest, or transfer to federal custody aliens for immigration enforcement purposes to the same extent as federal law enforcement personnel. Directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) with all information that DHS has regarding any alien: (1) against whom a final order of removal has been issued, (2) who has entered into a voluntary departure agreement, (3) who has overstayed his or her authorized period of stay, or (4) whose visa has been revoked. Requires NCIC to enter such information into its Immigration Violators File. Requires: (1) states to have access to federal programs or technology directed at identifying inadmissible or deportable aliens, and (2) states and their political subdivisions to provide DHS with specified identifying information about each apprehended alien who is believed to be inadmissible or deportable. Directs DHS to make grants to states and their political subdivisions for procurement of equipment, technology, and facilities related to investigating, apprehending, arresting, or transporting inadmissible or deportable aliens. Directs DHS to construct or acquire additional domestic detention facilities for aliens detained pending removal. Amends the INA regarding illegal aliens apprehended by state or local authorities to provide for: (1) federal custody upon state or local request, and (2) state or local compensation for related incarceration and transportation costs. Directs the DOJ or DHS to ensure that an alien subject to removal is detained in an adequate state or local prison, detention center, or other comparable facility. Directs DHS to establish immigration-related training for state and local personnel. Provides personal liability immunity to the same extent as corresponding federal immunity for state or local personnel enforcing immigration laws within the scope of their duties. Directs DHS to continue to operate a program that: (1) identifies removable criminal aliens in federal and state correctional facilities, (2) ensures that such aliens are not released into the community, and (3) removes them from the United States after the completion of their sentences. Extends such program to all states. Requires states that receive state criminal alien assistance program (SCAAP) funds to comply with program requirements. Authorizes state or local detention of certain aliens, in specified circumstances, after completion of their state or local prison sentence. Authorizes appropriations for SCAAP. Transfers SCAAP jurisdiction from DOJ to DHS. Requires states and localities to: (1) notify the federal government of inadmissible or removable aliens who are encountered by law enforcement personnel, and (2) comply with federal law enforcement information requests and with DHS detainers. Denies specified federal law enforcement assistance to a state or a political subdivision that prohibits law enforcement officers from cooperating with federal immigration law enforcement. Revises certain terrorism-related requirements and prohibitions with respect to naturalization, asylum, good moral character, voluntary departure, and cancellation of removal. Authorizes: (1) the denaturalization of a person who participates in terrorist activities or violent or unlawful activities aimed at the overthrow of the United States; and (2) the use or publication by DHS of certain legalization or special agricultural worker status information for any purpose relating to terrorism, national intelligence, or national security. Requires security and background checks and investigations of suspected immigration irregularities to be completed before specified immigration-related statuses and benefits may be granted or adjudicated. Revises and expands the definition of "aggravated felony" under INA. Makes such changes retroactive. Adds new grounds of inadmissibility for: (1) identity fraud or Social Security number misuse; (2) unlawful procurement of citizenship or naturalization; (3) specified firearm offenses; (4) conviction of an aggravated felony; and (5) crimes of domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse. Makes such additions retroactive. Adds new grounds of deportability for: (1) identity fraud or Social Security number misuse, and (2) unlawful procurement of citizenship or naturalization. Makes such additions retroactive. Makes inadmissible an alien who plans to or has engaged in espionage, prohibited export, or other unlawful activities, including activities aimed at the violent overthrow of the U.S. government. Prohibits the sale of or possession of firearms by any alien who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Amends the federal criminal code to place a 10-year statute of limitations on most criminal violations of INA. Makes: (1) aggravated felons ineligible for refugee, asylee adjustment of status, or any withholding of removal; and (2) a second DUI conviction an aggravated felony under INA. Revises requirements regarding: (1) detention and removal of aliens ordered removed, (2) alien smuggling and related offenses, and (3) reentry of removed aliens. Authorizes DHS to designate groups as criminal gangs. Requires detention for anyone found inadmissible or deportable for criminal street gang membership. Bars individuals found inadmissible or deportable for criminal gang membership from asylum, withholding of removal, and temporary protected status. Amends the federal criminal code to state that the government, in the prosecution of aggravated identity theft, need not prove the defendant knew that the means of identification was of another person. Subjects to specified criminal penalties for illegal entry an alien who knowingly: (1) enters or crosses the border at a place other than a designated port of entry; (2) evades inspection by an immigration, customs, or agricultural officer; (3) makes a false or misleading statement or conceals a material fact during examination or inspection while crossing the border; or (4) violates the conditions of U.S. admission or parole for 90 days or more. Increases penalties under the federal criminal code for certain immigration document and passport fraud activities, and authorizes forfeiture of property used in connection with them. Reduces the period during which an alien may seek judicial review of an expedited removal order based on criminal or security grounds. Subjects to such expedited removal procedures an individual inadmissible because of a criminal offense if the individual has not been admitted or paroled, does not have a credible fear of persecution, and is not eligible for relief from removal. Expands the grounds of inadmissibility and deportability to include violation of federal requirements regarding sex offender registration. Prohibits U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents convicted of certain sex offenses from sponsoring an alien for admission unless DHS determines that such person poses no risk to the alien. Authorizes the DOJ to consider evidence extrinsic to an alien's conviction record to determine whether the conviction was based on conduct constituting a crime of moral turpitude or a domestic violence offense (which would make the alien deportable). States that a conviction for which a pardon has been issued shall not be grounds for deportability by reason of such conviction. Revises visa information sharing requirements. Prohibits waiver of a visa interview for an alien DHS determines to be a person of concern or in a class of aliens that are security threats. States that DHS: (1) shall have exclusive authority to issue regulations, establish policy, and administer all immigration or nationality laws relating to consular functions in connection with visa issuance or denial; and (2) may refuse or revoke any visa to an alien or class of aliens for U.S. security interests. Prohibits judicial review of a decision by DHS to refuse or revoke a visa. Authorizes a consular surcharge (in addition to immigrant visa fees) to fund the visa security program. Provides for expedited clearance and placement of DHS personnel at overseas embassies and consular posts. Revises accreditation requirements. Limits those individuals who may serve as a designated school official (DSO) or be granted access to the student and exchange visitor information system (SEVIS). Requires a background check of any person serving in such capacity. Authorizes DHS to suspend an institution's student and exchange visitor program (SEVP) certification for reasonable suspicion of fraud. Makes a person convicted of such fraud permanently ineligible to hold a position of authority or ownership at any such institution. Authorizes school officials to nominate as many DSO's in addition to their Principal DSO's as necessary and adequate to make recommendations to enrolled students on how to maintain nonimmigrant status. Requires an SEVP-participating institution or exchange visitor program sponsor to report to the DHS on students or exchange visitors with nonimmigrant status. Makes flight schools that are not certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ineligible to access SEVIS. Requires SEVIS suspension for a school that loses or is denied accreditation. Directs DHS to authorize all DHS immigration enforcement agents and deportation officers who have successfully completed basic immigration law enforcement training to: (1) make arrests for offenses against the United States, for certain felonies, and for bringing in, transporting, or harboring certain aliens; (2) execute warrants of arrest for administrative immigration violations; and (3) carry firearms. Authorizes DHS to hire additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention enforcement officers. Establishes: (1) an ICE Advisory Council; and (2) a pilot program in at least five of the busiest ICE offices to process electronically and serve charging documents, and process and place detainers while in the field. Directs DHS to increase the number of ICE deportation officers, support staff, and prosecutors. Requires semiannual DHS reports on countries that refuse or unreasonably delay repatriation of an alien who is a national of the country. Subjects countries that repeat on those lists to certain visa sanctions. Revises requirements and restrictions regarding: (1) voluntary departure, (2) reentry bars for aliens who remain in the United States after ordered removed, and (3) reinstatement of removal orders. Denies the use of certain funds to implement specified executive branch memoranda regarding the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in the apprehension, detention, and removal of aliens unlawfully present in the United States. Directs the Government Accountability Office to report on the deaths in custody of DHS detainees. Requires that, whenever possible, removal proceedings take place in the order in which aliens are placed in proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Protection of Children Act of 2015 This bill amends the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to eliminate the special repatriation requirements for unaccompanied alien children (UAC) who are nationals or residents of a country contiguous to the United States. (The same removal requirements are applied to all UACs who are not victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons and who do not have a fear of returning to their country of nationality or last habitual residence.) An immigration officer who finds an inadmissible UAC at a land border or port of entry shall return the child to his or her country of nationality or of last habitual residence. (Such authority is now only discretionary.) The Department of State is authorized to negotiate agreements between the United States and other countries for the repatriation of children. (Under current law the State Department is required to negotiate agreements between the United States and countries contiguous to the United States for the repatriation of children.) An unaccompanied child who is not a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons, and does not have a fear of returning to his or her country of nationality or last habitual residence, but who is: in removal proceedings shall have a hearing before an immigration judge within 14 days, in federal custody shall be transferred to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) custody within 30 days, and in HHS or Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody shall have access to legal counsel at no cost to the government. HHS, before placing a child with an individual, shall provide DHS with the individual's name, Social Security number, date of birth, residence location, and immigration status, if known. DHS shall investigate the immigration status of the individual with whom the child is placed, and initiate removal proceedings if that individual is unlawfully present in the United States. Such requirements are applied to any unauthorized child apprehended on or after June 15, 2012. The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended with respect to: (1) special immigrant juvenile status, and (2) jurisdiction of asylum applications.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2015
Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) repeal the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes, and (2) make permanent the maximum 35% gift tax rate and the lifetime gift tax exemption. Provides for an inflation adjustment to such exemption amount.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2015
Modifies the definition of "antique firearm" under the federal criminal code and the Internal Revenue Code to cover any firearm manufactured in or before the calendar year that is 100 years before the year in which a determination is made as to whether the firearm is an antique firearm (currently, any firearm manufactured in or before 1898).
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2015
Real Choice for Veterans Act Amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to change a criterion for eligibility of certain veterans to receive medical care and services from non-Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities to a requirement that the veteran resides more than 40 miles from the closest VA medical facility that is able to provide the care and services the veteran seeks (currently, more than 40 miles from the closest VA medical facility).
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2015
Pilot's Bill of Rights 2 This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue or revise medical certification regulations to ensure that an individual may operate as a pilot of a covered aircraft without regard to any medical certification or proof of health requirement otherwise applicable under federal law if the flight meets certain criteria and the individual: possesses a valid state driver's license, complies with applicable medical requirements associated with that license, is transporting five or fewer passengers, and is operating under visual or instrument flight rules. "Covered aircraft" is one that: is not authorized under federal law to carry more than six occupants, and has a maximum certificated takeoff weight of no more than 6,000 pounds. The FAA may not take enforcement action against a pilot of a covered aircraft for not holding a valid third-class medical certificate if the pilot and the flight meet such requirements, unless the FAA has published final regulations under this Act in the Federal Register. The Pilot's Bill of Rights is amended to authorize any persons adversely affected by an FAA decision to deny, suspend, or revoke a covered certificate or impose a civil penalty to file an appeal with the National Transportation Safety Board or, without further administrative review, in the U.S. district court or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. This subjects all FAA-issued certificates involving an adverse action to review. "Covered certificate" means, in addition to an airman certificate (as under current law), a design organization certificate, holder of type certificate, production certificate, airworthiness certificate, air carrier operating certificate, airport operating certificate, air agency certificate, air navigation facility certificate, or medical certificate. Requirements are prescribed or revised for FAA: failure to notify an individual who is the subject of an investigation regarding the approval, denial, suspension, modification, or revocation of a covered certificate; provision to persons holding a covered certificate of the releasable portion of an investigative report before issuing an emergency order relating to the investigation; response to a written request by a certificate-holding repair station subject to an investigation to withdraw from or settle a proceeding relating to the investigation within 30 days after receiving the request; and reexamination of airmen certificates where there are reasonable grounds to question an airman's lack of competence or believe a certificate was obtained through fraud. The FAA may not take enforcement action against an individual for violation of a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) regarding airspace system information until the FAA certifies its compliance with certain NOTAM Improvement program requirements, as amended by this Act. The FAA, upon receiving a request for a covered flight record not in its possession, shall request the record from a FAA contract tower or other FAA contractor possessing it. Any individual designated by the FAA to act as an FAA representative shall be shielded from liability in a civil action for actions performed with reasonable care in connection with related duties. The Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 is amended to shield from liability a volunteer pilot that flies for a volunteer pilot nonprofit organization for public benefit an aircraft for which the volunteer was properly licensed and insured. The staff, mission coordinators, officers, and directors of the nonprofit organization shall also be shielded from liability, provided certain conditions are met.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2015
Declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over-the-air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 2015
Partner with Korea Act Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to create an E-4 treaty trader visa category for up to 15,000 nationals of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) each fiscal year who are coming to the United States solely to perform specialty occupation services and with respect to whom the Secretary of Labor has certified to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State that the intending employer has filed an attestation concerning U.S. worker protections with the Secretary of Labor.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Concrete Masonry Products Research, Education, and Promotion Act of 2015 This bill directs the Secretary of Commerce to issue orders applicable to manufacturers of concrete masonry products. Any such order must provide for the establishment of a Concrete Masonry Products Board to carry out a program of promotion, research, and information regarding concrete masonry products. Manufacturers and importers shall maintain, and make available, specified records. An order must also provide that assessments be paid by concrete masonry product manufacturers with respect to concrete masonry products manufactured and marketed in the United States. Assessment rates are specified. At least 50% of the assessments paid by a manufacturer must be used to support research, education, and promotion plans and projects in support of the geographic region of the manufacturer. During the 60-day period preceding the proposed effective date of an order, the Secretary shall conduct a referendum for order approval among the manufacturers required to pay assessments under it. Referendum procedures are outlined. The bill allows petition and review of an order, and order enforcement through U.S. district courts. The Secretary: (1) may conduct appropriate investigations in order to administer this Act (with power of subpoena); and (2) must suspend or terminate any order or provision that obstructs or does not tend to effectuate the purposes of this Act, or that is not favored by persons voting in a referendum.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Preclearance Authorization Act of 2015 Authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) preclearance operations in a foreign country to: prevent terrorists, instruments of terrorism, and other security threats from entering the United States; prevent inadmissible persons from entering the United States; ensure merchandise destined for the United States complies with applicable U.S. customs laws; and ensure the prompt processing of persons eligible to travel to the United States. Conditions the establishment of preclearance operations at an airport in a foreign country under an agreement on the requirements that: at least one U.S. passenger carrier operates at the airport; and the access of all U.S. passenger carriers to those preclearance operations is the same as the access of any non-U.S. passenger carrier. Directs the CBP to: measure monthly the average customs processing time to enter the 25 U.S. airports with the highest volume of international travel; quarterly assess whether the average customs processing time for those airports significantly exceeds the average customs processing time to enter the United States through a preclearance operation; and provide Congress with a remediation plan for reducing that time in the event of an affirmative assessment. Directs the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), before commencement of CBP preclearance operations at an airport in a foreign country, to enter into an agreement requiring the country to adopt aviation security screening standards comparable to those of the United States. Requires TSA rescreening in the United States of passengers and their property before they may deplane into sterile areas of U.S. airports if they have come from an airport in a foreign country that has failed to maintain security standards and protocols according to such an agreement. Requires TSA rescreening also, before being permitted to board a domestic flight in the United States, of any passenger on a flight originating from a foreign airport with preclearance operations who is a selectee based on a check against a terrorist watch list. Prohibits DHS from entering into or renewing an agreement with a foreign country to establish or maintain CBP preclearance operations at an airport in that country unless it certifies that it: routinely submits information about lost and stolen passports of its citizens and nationals to INTERPOL's Stolen and Lost Travel Document database, or makes such information available to the United States through another comparable means of reporting.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Low Value Shipment Regulatory Modernization Act of 2015 Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States Trade Representative should encourage other countries, through bilateral, regional, and multilateral fora, to establish commercially meaningful de minimis values for express and postal shipments of articles that are exempt from customs duties and certain entry documentation requirements, as appropriate. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase from $200 to $800 for 2016, and to $800 adjusted annually for inflation after 2016, the aggregate retail value in the country of shipment of articles that may be imported duty-free into the United States by one person on one day.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
English Language Unity Act of 2015 Establishes English as the official language of the United States. Requires naturalization ceremonies and official functions of the U.S. government, subject to exceptions, to be conducted in English. Declares that all citizens should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of U.S. laws. Allows a person injured by a violation of this Act to obtain relief, including a declaratory judgment, in a civil action. Declares that English language requirements and workplace policies, whether in the public or private sector, shall be presumptively consistent with U.S. laws. Requires any ambiguity in U.S. laws to be resolved in accordance with the rights retained by the people and the powers reserved to states under the Bill of Rights. Directs the Department of Homeland Security to issue a proposed rule for uniform testing of the English language ability of candidates for naturalization based upon the principles that: (1) all citizens should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United States; and (2) any exceptions to this standard should be limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asylum.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Red Snapper Regulatory Reform Act This bill amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to revise requirements on fishing and fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. The bill repeals a requirement that red snapper fishery management plans, plan amendments, or regulation submitted by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council contain catch limits. State jurisdiction over fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico is expanded to nine nautical miles. The Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission must conduct all fishery stock assessments for fisheries managed under the Council's Reef Fish Management Plan. Stock assessments must: (1) incorporate fisheries survey information collected by universities; (2) use state, university, and private assets to conduct surveys; (3) incorporate surveys conducted on natural and artificial reefs; and (4) emphasize constituent and stakeholder participation in the development of the assessment. The program created to improve the quality and accuracy of information generated by the Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey must take into consideration all fishery effort data collection activities undertaken by the marine resources division of each relevant state of the Council. Members of the Council are no longer appointed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is not prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm under federal law, and who is carrying a valid, government-issued identification document containing that person's photograph and a valid permit issued by any state to carry a concealed firearm, to possess or carry a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in any other state that permits residents to carry a concealed firearm, in accordance with the restrictions of that state. Makes presentation of facially valid documents prima facie evidence that the individual has a license or permit as required.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2015 Includes as part of the Republic of Vietnam its territorial seas for purposes of the presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure by veterans to certain herbicide agents while in Vietnam.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2016 the exclusion from gross income of income attributable to the discharge of indebtedness on a principal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Health Care Conscience Rights Act Amends title I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to declare that nothing in that title requires an individual to purchase individual health insurance coverage that includes coverage of an abortion or other item or service to which the individual has a moral or religious objection, or prevent an issuer from offering coverage excluding such item or service to that individual. Denies that title I requires a health plan sponsor or a health insurance issuer to cover an item or service to which the sponsor or issuer has a moral or religious objection. Denies also that title I authorizes imposition of a tax, penalty, fee, fine, or other sanction, or imposition of coverage of such an item or service, on health insurance coverage that excludes such an item or service. Amends the Public Health Service Act to codify the prohibition against any action by the federal government and any state or local government receiving federal financial assistance to subject a health professional, or health care facility, organization, or plan to discrimination on the basis that the entity refuses to participate in abortion-related activities. Requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to designate the Director of the Office for Civil Rights of HHS to receive and investigate complaints alleging a violation of this abortion discrimination prohibition. Creates a cause of action for the Attorney General or any person or entity adversely affected to obtain equitable or legal relief for any violation of this abortion discrimination prohibition. Allows commencement of an action and the granting of relief without a prerequisite pursuit of administrative remedies. Allows such an action against a federal or state governmental entity.
![Official portrait of Rep. Rogers, Mike D. [R-AL-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_al_3_rogers_mike_200.jpg)