United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Government By the People Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to allow a refundable credit of 50% of qualified congressional House campaign contributions paid or incurred during the taxable year (contributions of cash by an individual to a House candidate or a political committee established and maintained by a national political party if the contribution is not prohibited under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 [FECA], to be known as "My Voice Federal" contributions). Directs the Government by the People Oversight Commission, established by this Act, to launch a pilot program under which it shall select three eligible states to operate a voucher pilot program. Requires a state under a voucher pilot program to provide each qualified individual during the election cycle, upon his or her request, with a "My Voice Voucher" worth $50, which will be assigned a routing number. Authorizes the individual to submit the My Voice Voucher to qualified federal election candidates, allocating a portion of its value in $5 increments. Requires the Commission to pay any candidate who transmits a My Voice Voucher that portion of its value which the individual allocated to the candidate. Considers this transaction a contribution by the individual to the candidate for purposes of FECA. Requires a state operating a voucher pilot program also to permit an individual to revoke a My Voice Voucher within two days after submitting it to a candidate. Requires such a state to establish a commission or designate an existing entity to oversee and implement the program in the state, except that no such commission or entity may be composed of elected officials. Amends FECA with respect to: benefits for participating House of Representatives candidates; Federal Election Commission (FEC) payments to such candidates; candidate use of payments; qualified small dollar contributions, expenditures, and fundraising requirements; certification of participating candidates; campaign administration; prevention of the unnecessary spending of public funds; establishment of the Freedom From Influence Fund in the Treasury and of a Government by the People Oversight Commission in the FEC; remittal of unspent funds to the Freedom From Influence Fund after an election; eligibility of participating candidates for additional payments; civil penalties for violation of contribution and expenditure requirements; a Commission action appeals process; and contributions and expenditures by multicandidate and political party political committees on behalf of participating candidates. Prohibits a certified participating candidate's authorized committee from establishing a joint fundraising committee with any political committee other than another authorized committee of the candidate. Prohibits a certified participating candidate from establishing, financing, maintaining, or controlling a leadership PAC (political action committee). Prohibits use of contributions by a participating candidate for any purposes other than an election campaign. Revises bundler disclosure requirements to repeal a specified exception and so require disclosure of persons who provided bundled contributions to the reporting committee. Amends FECA to empower the FEC to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to appeal a civil action to enforce the Act. Requires all political committee designations, statements, and reports required to be filed under FECA to be filed: (1) directly with the FEC; and (2) in electronic form accessible by computers. Reduces to 24 hours after their receipt the deadline for the FEC to make designations, statements, reports, or notifications available to the public in the FEC office and on the Internet. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to set a station's lowest unit price for preemptible use as the charge for a broadcast by the national committee of a political party for an affiliated candidate. Authorizes the FEC to revoke a broadcast station license or construction permit only for at least three willful failures to allow reasonable access to, or to permit purchase of reasonable amounts of time for the use of, a broadcasting station or cable system by a legally qualified candidate for federal office. Amends the IRC to allow taxpayers to designate overpayments of tax for contribution to the Freedom From Influence Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2015
Pause for Safety Act of 2015 Authorizes the Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services of the Department of Justice to make grants to to assist states in carrying out state legislation that: (1) authorizes family members or close associates of an individual to apply for, and state courts or magistrates to issue, gun violence prevention orders (prohibiting a named individual from owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving firearms because such individual poses a significant threat of personal injury to the individual or others) and gun violence prevention warrants (directing a law enforcement officer to temporarily seize any firearm in the possession of such individual); and (2) requires each law enforcement agency of the state to comply with a procedure that requires a law enforcement officer, in conjunction with performing a wellness check (a visit to an individual's residence to assess whether the individual poses a danger to the individual or others due to a mental, behavioral, or physical condition), to check whether the individual is listed on any of the firearm and ammunition databases of the state or jurisdiction in which the individual resides. Requires: (1) a court issuing such an order and warrant to hold a hearing within 14 days to determine whether the individual who is the subject of the order may own, purchase, possess, or receive firearms and whether any seized firearms should be returned; (2) the state or petitioner to establish probable cause that the individual poses a significant risk of personal injury to the individual or others by owning or possessing the firearm; (3) the individual to be prohibited from possessing a firearm for up to one year if he or she is found to pose a significant threat; and (4) the firearm to be returned if the court finds that the state has not met the required standard of proof. Authorizes a law enforcement agency to seek renewal of an order if it has probable cause to believe the individual continues to pose a threat. Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit: (1) the sale or disposition of a firearm or ammunition to anyone subject to such an order; and (2) any person subject to such an order from owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving any firearms.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2015
Constitutional Amendment - Authorizes Congress and the states to set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections. Grants Congress and the states the power to implement and enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation. Allows them to distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections. Declares that nothing in this amendment shall be construed to grant Congress or the states the power to abridge the freedom of the press.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Putting Our Veterans Back to Work Act of 2015 Amends the: (1) VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 to extend through 2018 the veterans retraining assistance program, and (2) Wounded Warrior Act to extend through 2018 the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) (Secretary) to provide the same rehabilitation and vocational benefits to members of the Armed Forces with severe injuries or illnesses as are provided to veterans. Extends through: (1) March 31, 2018, additional VA rehabilitation programs for certain disabled veterans who have completed a VA rehabilitation program and have exhausted their rights to state unemployment benefits; and (2) FY2019 the collaborative veterans' training, mentoring, and placement program. Directs the Secretary to develop a single, unified federal web-based employment portal for veterans to access information on federal programs and activities concerning veterans employment, unemployment benefits, and training. Directs the: (1) Secretary of Homeland Security to award grants to hire veterans as firefighters, and (2) Attorney General (AG) to award grants to hire veterans as law enforcement officers. Requires the head of each executive and defense agency to consider favorably, as an evaluation factor in federal solicitations for contracts and task or delivery orders valued at or above $25 million, the employment by a prospective contractor of veterans constituting at least 5% of the contractor's workforce. Allows a veteran on whose behalf a complaint of a violation of employment or reemployment rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) is made by the AG to intervene in such action, and to obtain appropriate relief. Requires the AG, within 60 days after receiving a referral of an unsuccessful attempt to resolve a complaint relating to a state or private employer, to notify the person on whose behalf the complaint is submitted of either the decision to commence such an action or of when such decision is expected to be made. Requires, in the latter case, such decision to be made within an additional 30 days. Requires the AG to commence such an action when there is reasonable cause to believe that a state or private employer is engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of such rights and benefits, and that the pattern or practice denies the full exercise of such rights and benefits. Authorizes the suspension, termination, or debarment of federal contractors for repeated failures or refusals to comply with USERRA protections. Provides the Special Counsel with subpoena power to require the attendance and testimony of, and production of documents from, federal employees, to be enforced through the Merit Systems Protection Board. Authorizes the AG, in employment or reemployment rights investigations, to issue and serve a civil investigative demand for the production of documentary material.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Prevention of Escapement of Genetically Altered Salmon in the United States Act This bill prohibits a person from: shipping, transporting, offering for sale, selling, or purchasing a genetically altered finfish, or a food product containing those fish, in commerce; having custody, control, or possession of those fish or food products with the intent to ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, or purchase them in commerce; engaging in net-pen aquaculture (pens of fish contained by nets) of those fish; releasing those fish into a natural environment; or having custody, control, or possession of those fish with the intent to release them into a natural environment. Fish, fish parts, or products confined for scientific research or collected to enforce this Act are exempted from the prohibition. An additional exemption is established if the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): (1) prepares a finding of no significant impact in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 after reviewing an application requesting a federal agency to permit activity prohibited by this Act, or (2) finds the application to be consistent with an environmental impact statement that includes an environmental risk analysis and specified assessments of costs and potential economic damage. Each federal agency must promptly notify NOAA when an action involving those fish or food products is first identified by the agency. The Department of Commerce may enforce penalties for violations of this Act under specified provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the sale of food that contains genetically-engineered fish unless the food bears a label stating that it contains genetically-engineered fish.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Muhammad Ali Legacy Act Directs the Secretary of State to award grants to one or more eligible organizations that: (1) are established to promote global respect, understanding, and communication and to encourage character and leadership development world-wide; and (2) demonstrate a commitment to preserving the legacy of Muhammad Ali.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coin Act Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. Limits the minting of such coins to the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2017. Prescribes surcharges for coin sales, which shall be paid to the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, Inc., to help finance the construction of a new building and renovation of existing National Purple Heart Hall of Honor facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
Retired Pay Restoration Act Expresses the sense of Congress that military retired pay should not be reduced because a military retiree is also eligible for veterans' disability compensation awarded for a service-connected disability. Allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability (under current law, only a disability rated at 50% or more). Repeals provisions phasing in the full concurrent receipt of such pay through December 31, 2013. Makes eligible for the full concurrent receipt of both veterans' disability compensation and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay those individuals who were retired or separated from military service due to a service-connected disability.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
Advancing Research for Neurological Diseases Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to: (1) enhance and expand infrastructure and activities to track the epidemiology of neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease; and (2) incorporate information obtained through those activities into a National Neurological Diseases Surveillance System. Requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure that the System facilitates further research on neurological diseases. Requires HHS to provide for the collection and storage of information on neurological diseases, including the incidence, prevalence, and other information, to the extent practicable. Requires HHS to: (1) make information and analysis in the System available to federal agencies and to the public, including researchers; and (2) ensure that privacy and security protections applicable to the System are at least as stringent as the protections under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
New Columbia Admission Act Sets forth procedures for admission into the United States of the state of New Columbia. Requires the Mayor of the District of Columbia to: (1) submit to the eligible voters propositions for statehood and adoption of a State Constitution, and (2) issue a proclamation for the first elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative of New Columbia. Requires the President, upon adoption of such propositions and certification of such elections, to issue a proclamation announcing the results and admitting New Columbia into the Union. Provides for conversion of District government offices to state offices. Provides that New Columbia shall consist of all territory of the District as of the enactment of this Act, excluding land within specified metes and bounds that shall remain the District of Columbia and that shall include the principal federal monuments, the White House, the Capitol Building, the Supreme Court Building, the federal executive, legislative, and judicial office buildings located adjacent to the Mall and the Capitol Building, and certain military property. Prohibits New Columbia from imposing taxes on federal property except as provided by Congress. Maintains the applicability to New Columbia of current District laws and continues pending judicial proceedings. Maintains: (1) the District of Columbia as the seat of the federal government, and (2) the federal government's authority over military lands and specified other property. Requires each state that is the last place an individual resided before residing in the District of Columbia to permit such individual to vote in federal elections by absentee ballot. Sets forth a rule for expedited consideration of a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution to repeal the 23rd amendment (which provides for the appointment of electors for President and Vice President for the District).
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of door delivery for all businesses and residential customers.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to make permanent the ban on state and local taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Amends Rule XIV (Order and Priority of Business) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require (on the first legislative day of each month) a reading of the names of members of the Armed Forces who died in the previous month as a result of combat. Prohibits the Speaker of the House from reading the name of any such member if any family member informs the Speaker that he or she does not wish to have the name of that individual read.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2015 Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) eliminate the per country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, and (2) increase the per country numerical limitation for family based immigrants from 7% to 15% of the total number of family-sponsored visas. Amends the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 to eliminate the provision requiring the reduction of annual Chinese immigrant visas to offset status adjustments under such Act. Sets forth the following transition period for employment-based second and third preference (EB-2 and EB-3) immigrant visas: for FY2015, 15% of such visas allotted to natives of countries other than the two countries with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2011; for FY2016, 10% of such visas allotted in each category to natives of countries other than the two with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2012; and for FY2017, 10% of such visas allotted in each category to natives of countries other than the two with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2015. Sets forth the following per country distribution rules: (1) for transition period visas, not more than 25% of the total number of EB-2 and EB-3 visas for natives of a single country; and (2) for non-transition period visas, not more than 85% of EB-2 and EB-3 visas for natives of a single country. Provides that the amendments made by this Act will take place as if enacted on September 30, 2014, and shall apply beginning in FY2015.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
Requires the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service to report annually to Congress on the effects of gun violence on public health and the status of actions taken to address those effects.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2015
Respect for Marriage Act Amends the Defense of Marriage Act to repeal a provision that prohibited a state, territory, possession, or Indian tribe from being required to recognize any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other state, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a same sex marriage. Amends the federal rules of construction added by such Act concerning the definitions of "marriage" and "spouse" to provide that, for purposes of any federal law in which marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered married if that individual's marriage is valid in the state where the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any state, if the marriage is valid in the place where entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a state. Removes the definition of "spouse" (currently, a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife).
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1103 USPS Building 1103 in Camp Pendleton, California, as the "Camp Pendleton Medal of Honor Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Wildfire Disaster Funding Act This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to require specified adjustments to discretionary spending limits in FY2015-FY2022 to accommodate appropriations for wildfire suppression operations in the Wildland Fire Management accounts at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the Department of the Interior. If USDA or Interior determines that supplemental appropriations are necessary for wildfire suppression operations, the bill requires the relevant department to submit to Congress a request for the funding and a plan for obligating the funds. The bill also requires the President's budget to include the average costs for wildfire suppression over the previous 10 years.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2014
Small Business Healthcare Relief Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat employer payments for employee health care premiums and for amounts paid on behalf of an employee to a health reimbursement arrangement as medical expenses under an accident or health plan and thus excludible from gross income for income tax purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2014
No Social Security for Nazis Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to consider the following individuals to be removed under the Immigration and Nationality Act and so to have their OASDI benefits terminated: an individual with respect to whom an order admitting the individual to citizenship has been revoked and set aside where such action is based on conduct relating to participation in Nazi persecution, concealment of a material fact about such conduct, or willful misrepresentation about such conduct; and an individual who, pursuant to a settlement agreement with the Attorney General (AG), has admitted to such conduct and has lost status as a U.S. national by renouncing that status. Requires such individuals to have been considered removed under such Act as of the date of the revocation, setting aside, or renunciation. Prohibits such individuals from receiving other Social Security benefits based on the wages and self-employment income of any other individual. Prohibits the payment to such individuals also of any benefits under SSA tile XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI). Requires the AG or the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to notify the Commissioner of Social Security of such revocations, setting asides, and renunciations of nationality.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2014
Child's Insurance Benefits Improvement Act of 2014 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA), with respect to child insurance benefits based on disability, to raise from 22 to 26 the cut-off age for entitlement and re-entitlement to such benefits. Raises from 22 to 26 the cut-off age before which the suspension of disability benefits, based on evidence that the disability has ceased, shall not apply to a full-time student. Amends SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) to raise from 22 to 26 the cut-off age at which individuals receiving SSI benefits based on blindness or disability cease to be entitled to SSI benefits and become entitled to child's OASDI benefits based on disability. Amends SSA title II to adjust related age limits for calculation of recent work for disability determinations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2014
Designates the community based outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) located at 310 Home Boulevard in Galesburg, Illinois, as the "Lane A. Evans VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic."
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2014
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 101 East Market Street in Long Beach, California, as the "Juanita Millender-McDonald Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 801 West Ocean Avenue in Lompoc, California, as the "Federal Correctional Officer Scott J. Williams Memorial Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Bridge to a Clean Energy Future Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2015 the following energy-related tax provisions: the tax credits for residential energy efficiency improvements, alternative fuel vehicle refueling property expenditures, two-wheeled plug-in electric vehicles, second generation biofuel production, biodiesel and renewable diesel fuel mixtures, producing electricity using Indian coal facilities, the construction of energy-efficient new homes, and new qualified fuel cell motor vehicles; the enhanced depreciation allowance for second generation biofuel plant property; the tax deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings; the excise tax credit for alternative fuels and fuels involving liquefied hydrogen; and tax deferral rules for sales or dispositions of qualified electric utilities. Extends through 2016, the tax credit for producing electricity using wind, biomass, geothermal, landfill gas, trash, hydropower, and marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy facilities. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program to consider and award certifications for qualified investments eligible for the advanced energy project tax credit. Limits the amount of credits that may be allocated under such program to not more than $5 billion (the 2013 allocation amount). Authorizes the Secretary to make direct payments to a taxpayer in lieu of a tax credit. Extends the energy tax credit to solar energy, fuel cell, microturbine, combined heath and power system, small wind energy, and thermal energy properties the construction of which begins before January 1, 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
United States Optimal Use of Trade to Develop Outerwear and Outdoor Recreation Act or the U.S. OUTDOOR Act - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to provide for the duty-free treatment of certain recreational performance outerwear.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014
Access to Contraception for Women Servicemembers and Dependents Act of 2014 - 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 contraception counseling during health care visits; and (4) establish an education program for all members of the Armed Forces, including both men and women members, consisting of a uniform standard curriculum on family planning. 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 · 16 September 2014
Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2014 - Directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to promulgate a rule requiring liquid nicotine containers to be designed with special packaging that is difficult for children under five years of age to open or to obtain harmful contents from.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2014
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1103 USPS Building 1103 in Camp Pendleton, California, as the "Camp Pendleton Medal of Honor Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 2014
Expresses the belief that: (1) a united, secure, and prosperous United Kingdom is important for U.S. national security priorities; and (2) diplomatic, economic, and military cooperation between the United States and the United Kingdom is essential to U.S. national security Expresses deep friendship toward the Scottish people, and respects the right of the Scottish people to make their decision regarding their status in the September 18, 2014, referendum. Expresses a firm commitment to cooperation between the United States and the United Kingdom toward a more peaceful and prosperous world.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2014
Hospice Opportunities for Supporting Patients with Integrity and Care Evaluations (HOSPICE) Act of 2014 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to subject any entity certified as a hospice program to a standard survey by an appropriate state or local survey agency, or an approved accreditation agency, at least once every 36 months. Specifies funding from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund for FY2014-FY2016 for such survey requirements. Applies certain rules for the limitation of a beneficiary's liability with respect to denial of a Medicare payment for hospice care provided to an individual for more than 180 days in the same manner as such limitation applies with respect to denial of a payment for items and services as not reasonable or necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of an illness or injury.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2014
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of door delivery for all businesses and residential customers.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 73839 Gorgonio Drive in Twentynine Palms, California, as the "Colonel M.J. 'Mac' Dube, USMC Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2014 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with regard to payment for telehealth services to include in the term "originating site" additional sites, including any federally qualified health center and any rural health clinic, at which the eligible telehealth individual is located at the time the service is furnished via a telecommunications system. Prohibits application of the originating site facility fee to the additional sites. Authorizes additional telehealth providers, including a certified diabetes educator or licensed respiratory therapist, audiologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, or speech language pathologist. Extends Medicare coverage to remote patient management services for certain chronic health conditions. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to study the effectiveness of remote patient monitoring on decreasing hospital readmissions for specified chronic conditions, and the savings to the Medicare program associated with use of such monitoring. Authorizes home telehealth sites as additional originating sites. Directs GAO to study the effectiveness of using described telehealth services between therapy providers and patients, any associated savings, and the potential for greater use of telehealth services for other forms of therapy Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and implement payment methods to apply in the case of anyone who would be an eligible telehealth individual except that the telehealth services are furnished at a site other than an originating site.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the current outbreak of Ebola in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia is an international health crisis and is the largest and most widespread outbreak of the disease ever recorded. Calls on all nations to immediately provide additional resources to help affected nations address current and future public health crises. Requests development of a global health security plan to respond to disease outbreaks. Urges the prioritization of the elimination of Ebola as a public health threat.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014
Healthy Climate and Family Security Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require the Department of the Treasury to establish for 2015 and thereafter a carbon trading program that caps the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from crude oil, coal, and natural gas by requiring crude oil refineries, petroleum importers, coal mines, and natural gas suppliers or processors to purchase carbon permits. Establishes a declining cap on the quantity of permits issued to reduce CO2 emissions until they are reduced to 80% below 2005 levels by 2050. Sets forth provisions concerning compliance with permit obligations, issuance of permits for carbon capture and sequestration, and permit auctioning, trading, banking, and borrowing. Establishes the Healthy Climate Trust Fund and appropriates auction proceeds and penalty payments to it. Returns Trust Fund amounts not used for administrative expenses (as a fraction of auction proceeds) to individuals with a valid Social Security number in the form of Healthy Climate Dividend Payments. Requires the Department of the Treasury to: (1) impose carbon equivalency fees to be collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on imports of carbon-intensive goods, and (2) give payments to exporters of comparable domestically produced carbon-intensive goods. Requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish a rule listing greenhouse gases (GHGs) that includes anthropogenically emitted (caused by human activity) gases that contribute to global warming but excludes CO2 emitted by the combustion of crude oil, coal, and natural gas and gases attributable to the production of animals for food. Directs the EPA to promulgate regulations to reduce such non-auction GHGs and ensure the regulation of all sources of them within 10 years.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2014
Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act of 2014 - Amends the Small Business Act to require the interagency task force that is responsible for coordinating federal efforts to improve the business development and federal contracting opportunities available to small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans to coordinate administrative and regulatory activities and develop proposals to provide access to, and manage the distribution of, excess or surplus U.S. property to small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans, pursuant to a memorandum of understanding with the appropriate state agency.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014
EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2014 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize through FY2019 the Young Women's Breast Health Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act of 2009, which supports: (1) campaigns to educate the public and health care professionals about young women's breast health, (2) research into prevention of breast cancer in young women, and (3) support for young women with breast cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014
Reaffirms the commitments of the House of Representatives to promoting and protecting religious freedom around the world and providing relief to minority groups facing persecution. Calls on the Department of State to work with the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Iraqi central government, neighboring countries, the diaspora community in the United States, the United Nations (U.N.) High Commissioner for Refugees, and other key stakeholders to help secure safe havens for those claiming amnesty in Iraq. Requests the addition of a Special Representative for Religious Minorities to be included in Prime Minister al-Maliki's newly reconstructed government.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014
Condemns the religious bigotry, property destruction, and violent attacks on, and intimidation of, Iraqi civilians by armed extremists. Calls upon the government of Iraq to protect the safety and constitutional rights of all Iraqi citizens. Calls on the President, Secretary of State, and the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (U.N.) to implement a humanitarian intervention to protect civilians, stabilize the security situation in the Nineveh Plain region of Iraq, and facilitate humanitarian assistance in the Kurdistan region to help absorb the influx of refugees. Calls on the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations to work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to document human rights abuses against Iraqi civilians and develop a plan to facilitate access to potable water, health care, fuel, electricity, and basic security for the most vulnerable civilian populations. Calls on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to coordinate with international humanitarian organizations working in Iraq to develop an effective strategy for resettlement assistance and mechanisms to ensure that assistance reaches the intended recipients.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2014
Full-Service Community Schools Act of 2014 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to: (1) consortia composed of one or more local educational agencies (LEAs) and one or more community-based, nonprofit, or other public or private entities to assist public elementary or secondary schools to function as full-service community schools; and (2) state collaboratives to support the development of full-service community school programs. Requires such schools to: (1) participate in community-based efforts to coordinate and integrate educational, developmental, family, health, and other comprehensive services through community-based organizations and public and private partnerships; and (2) provide access to such services to students, families, and the community. Gives local grant priority to: (1) entities that will serve at least two full-service community schools eligible for a schoolwide program under the Act or that include an LEA serving only small or rural schools; and (2) entities that will be connected to a consortium that is comprised of a broad representation of stakeholders or that demonstrates a history of effectiveness. Establishes a Full-Service Community Schools Advisory Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2014
Social Security and Medicare Parity Act of 2014 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act with respect to the determination of a valid marriage to account for marriages in jurisdictions other than a state. Authorizes the courts of any state to find that an OASDI benefit applicant and an insured individual were validly married in a jurisdiction other than a state at the time the applicant files a benefit application or, if the insured individual is dead, at the time the individual died. Waives the nine-month marriage requirement to make eligible for widow or widower benefits certain widows or widowers whose marriage to a deceased individual would not have been treated as a marriage for federal law purposes before June 26, 2013. Waives the same requirement for anyone who became a stepchild of the deceased individual as a result of such a marriage. Waives the one-year marriage requirement to make eligible for husband's or wife's OASDI benefits certain husbands and wives whose marriage to an individual would not have been treated as a marriage for federal law purposes before June 26, 2013. Waives the same requirement for anyone who became a stepchild of the individual as a result of such a marriage. Directs the Commissioner of Social Security to conduct a comprehensive and effective three-year outreach campaign to encourage benefit applications by individuals newly eligible for OASDI benefits as a result of changes in law relating to same-sex marriage and occurring on or after June 26, 2013.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2014
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1048 West Robinhood Drive in Stockton, California, as the "W. Ronald Coale Memorial Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2014
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 100 Admiral Callaghan Lane in Vallejo, California, as the "Philmore Graham Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2014
Constitutional Amendment - Authorizes Congress and the states to set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections. Grants Congress and the states the power to implement and enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation. Allows them to distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections. Declares that nothing in this amendment shall be construed to grant Congress or the states the power to abridge the freedom of the press.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2014
Supports the goals and ideals of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, now in its 40th year of continuous service. Recognizes the benefits the CDBG program has provided to urban, suburban, and rural communities. Acknowledges the importance of this federal grant program to states and local communities throughout the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2014
National Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide tax relief for disasters declared in 2012, 2013, and 2014 by: extending through 2014 the election to expense qualified disaster expenses (i.e., for removal of debris, demolition, and repair of business-related property); increasing the tax deduction for charitable contributions for disaster relief for individual and corporate taxpayers; allowing through 2014 the deduction of losses attributable to disasters; allowing waivers of requirements relating to mortgage revenue bonds; extending through 2014 the additional allowance for depreciation of business property (bonus depreciation); allowing an increase through 2015 of the new markets tax credit limitation amount within a federally-declared disaster area; permitting the use of tax-exempt retirement plan funds in federally-declared disasters without penalty; allowing an additional tax exemption for individuals who are displaced as a result of a federally-declared disaster; allowing an exclusion from gross income of imputed income from the cancellation of indebtedness resulting from federally-declared disasters; providing a special rule to allow individuals affected by a disaster in 2012, 2013, or 2014 to claim a full earned income tax credit; increasing the rehabilitation tax credit for buildings affected by a federally-declared disaster; permitting one additional advance refunding of a tax-exempt bond that is outstanding on the date on which a federally-declared disaster occurs; allowing the issuance of qualified disaster area recovery bonds; allowing an additional allocation of the low-income housing tax credit in 2014 to states affected by a federally-declared disaster occurring in 2012 or 2013; allowing payments of disaster assistance to tax-exempt mutual ditch or irrigation companies without affecting their tax-exempt status; allowing an exclusion from gross income for disaster mitigation payments received from state and local governments; and allowing a tax deduction for payments to a tax-exempt natural disaster fund.
![Official portrait of Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_ca_5_thompson_mike_200.jpg)