United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Email Privacy Act Amends the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 to prohibit a provider of remote computing service or electronic communication service to the public from knowingly divulging to a governmental entity the contents of any communication that is in electronic storage or otherwise maintained by the provider, subject to exceptions. Revises provisions under which the government may require a provider to disclose the contents of such communications. Eliminates the different requirements applicable under current law depending on whether such communications were: (1) stored for fewer than, or more than, 180 days by an electronic communication service; or (2) held by an electronic communication service as opposed to a remote computing service. Requires the government to obtain a warrant from a court before requiring providers to disclose the content of such communications regardless of how long the communication has been held in electronic storage by an electronic communication service or whether the information is sought from an electronic communication service or a remote computing service Requires a law enforcement agency, within 10 days after receiving the contents of a customer's communication, or a governmental entity, within 3 days, to provide a customer whose communications were disclosed by the provider a copy of the warrant and a notice that such information was requested by, and supplied to, the government entity. Allows the government to request delays of such notifications. Prohibits disclosure requirements that apply to providers from being construed to limit the government's authority to use an administrative or civil discovery subpoena to require: (1) an originator or recipient of an electronic communication to disclose the contents of such communication, or (2) an entity that provides electronic communication services to its employees or agents to disclose the contents of an electronic communication to or from such employee or agent if the communication is on an electronic communications system owned or operated by the entity. Allows the government to apply for an order directing a provider, for a specified period, to refrain from notifying any other person that the provider has been required to disclose communications or records. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress regarding disclosures of customer communications and records under provisions: (1) as in effect before the enactment of this Act, and (2) as amended by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2015 Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to replace the current windfall elimination provision (WEP) (that reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security) for individuals who: (1) become eligible for old-age insurance benefits after 2016 or would attain age 62 after 2016 and become eligible for disability insurance benefits after 2016, (2) subsequently become entitled to such benefits, and (3) have earnings derived from noncovered service performed after 1977. Establishes a new formula for the treatment of noncovered earnings in determining Social Security benefits. Prescribes a second formula to modify the WEP for current beneficiaries. Directs the Commissioner of Social Security to recover overpayments from certain individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Short Line Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for railroad track maintenance, to: (1) expand the types of maintenance expenditures eligible for such credit, and (2) extend such credit through 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
RFS Reform Act of 2015 This bill amends the Clean Air Act to revise the renewable fuel standard program. Beginning on January 1, 2015, the renewable fuel that is required to be blended into gasoline must be advanced biofuel, which cannot be ethanol derived from corn starch. This bill revises the renewable fuel standards by decreasing the total volume of renewable fuel that must be contained in gasoline sold or introduced into commerce for years 2015 through 2022. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must determine the target amount of cellulosic biofuel to be blended into transportation fuel based on the actual volume of cellulosic biofuel produced in the current year. The EPA must reduce the required volume of renewable fuel in transportation fuel by the same volume of cellulosic biofuel in the fuel. The EPA may not allow gasoline containing greater than 10% ethanol by volume to be introduced into commerce. Waivers that allow gasoline containing a greater percentage of ethanol are nullified.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2015
Special Needs Trust Fairness Act of 2015 Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act with respect to the treatment of revocable trusts for the benefit of an individual for purposes of meeting income requirements for Medicaid coverage. Extends the supplemental needs trust exemption from treatment of a trust as resources available to the individual to supplemental needs trusts for Medicaid beneficiaries established by those beneficiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
Rural Hospital Access Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to make permanent the Medicare-dependent, small rural subsection (d) hospital program and increased payments under the Medicare low-volume hospital program. (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.)
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the tax deduction for charitable contributions by individuals and corporations of real property interests for conservation purposes, and (2) allow Native Corporations an increased tax deduction for donations of conservation easements related to lands conveyed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2015 Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to exempt traditional large and premium cigars from regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and from user fees assessed on tobacco products by the FDA.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2015
Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act Directs the President to impose U.S. entry and property sanctions against any foreign person (or entity) who: is responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against individuals in any foreign country, especially those persons seeking to expose illegal activity carried out by government officials, or to obtain, exercise, or promote human rights and freedoms; acted as an agent of or on behalf of a foreign person in such activities; is a government official (or senior associate of such official) responsible for, or complicit in, ordering or otherwise directing acts of significant corruption or the facilitation or transfer of the proceeds of corruption to foreign jurisdictions; or has materially assisted or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, such activities. Prescribes related penalties. Authorizes the President, with regard to such sanctions, to: waive their application, with prior congressional notification, if in U.S. national security interests; and terminate them under specified conditions. States that sanctions shall not apply if necessary to comply with the Agreement between the United Nations (U.N.) and the United States regarding the U.N. Headquarters, or other applicable international obligations of the United States. Directs the President to report to Congress annually regarding each foreign person sanctioned, the type of sanctions imposed, and the reason for their imposition. Directs the Comptroller General to assess for Congress: (1) the process to determine whether a foreign person has engaged in a sanctionable activity, whether sanctions should be imposed, and whether the identity of a sanctioned foreign person should be classified; and (2) implementation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2015
Equitable Access to Care and Health Act or the EACH Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the religious conscience exemption under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to exempt individuals who rely solely on a religious method of healing and for whom the acceptance of medical health services would be inconsistent with their religious beliefs from the requirement to purchase and maintain minimum essential health care coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Reform Exports and Expand the American Economy Act This bill amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to establish an Office of Ethics, headed by a Chief Ethics Officer, in the Export-Import Bank of the United States. The review of Bank fraud controls by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) shall now be quadrennial instead of once only, and followed by reports to Congress. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall report to Congress: (1) semiannually on the terms and conditions (including interest rates, maturities, and credit standards) that private financial institutions apply in providing export finance; and (2) annually on the steps the Bank has taken to adjust the pricing of products offered, and the credit standards used, to avoid crowding out private export finance. The Bank's Board of Directors must include in their annual report to Congress any recommendations about countries with whom and in which it should not be doing business. The GAO must conduct annual audits of the Bank's loan, guarantee, insurance, and credit programs. The Chief Ethics Officer shall draft a Code of Ethics prescribing strict and definite standards of official conduct for all Bank directors, officers, and employees, including conflict-of-interest prohibitions. The Bank shall study the extent to which the products it offers are available and used by companies that export services and related goods. The Bank must also implement policies to accept: (1) electronic documents whenever possible, including copies of bills of lading, certifications, and compliance documents; and (2) electronic payments in all of its programs. If the Bank issues any report to Congress or any congressional committee containing accounting information that is not prepared using generally accepted accounting principles (GAAPs), the Bank must issue a second report with the same accounting information prepared using GAAPs. The Bank is made lender of last resort to privately owned foreign applicants (other than financial institutions), which must first try to obtain competitive financing for the transaction in question without support from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation or the Small Business Administration. Bank directors who are neither Chairman nor Vice Chairman of the Board shall constitute the Board's Audit Committee. The President of the United States (U.S. President) must report to specified congressional committees on Bank programs that may be fully or partially privatized. The Bank's Inspector General is directed to audit the Bank's portfolio risk management procedures, including its implementation of the duties assigned to the Chief Risk Officer (whose position is established by this Act). The Bank must retain at least 30% of total net earnings as a provision for possible losses. Two terms is made the term limit for any Bank President. The U.S. President must propose to Congress a strategy to pursue with other major exporting countries, over a 10-year period, elimination of all subsidized export-financing programs, tied aid, export credits, and all other forms of government-supported export subsidies. This shall also involve negotiations specifically with countries that are not members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development to bring them into a multilateral agreement establishing rules and limitations on officially supported export credits. $130 billion is made the absolute limit, regardless of fiscal year, for the aggregate amount of outstanding Bank loans, guarantees, and insurance. The general duties of the Bank's Chief Risk Officer are specified. The Bank is required to develop and implement policies that incentivize transactions in which third parties, especially private sector lenders and exporters, share risks of loss with the Bank. The Bank is reauthorized and extended through FY2019, as well as its authority to finance export sales of nonlethal defense articles or services whose primary end (dual) use will be for civilian purposes. The Bank is directed to: study its programs, products, and policies supporting exports from small business concerns and medium-sized enterprises in the United States, including those involving the implementation of the export credit insurance program, delegated lending authority, and direct Bank loans; and determine the extent to which its policies adequately meet the needs of small business concerns and medium-sized enterprises in obtaining Bank financing to support jobs in the United States through exports. The denial of funding is continued through FY2019 with respect to the Bank's Supplemental Guidelines for High Carbon Intensity Projects. The figure of $10 million is increased to $25 million, subject to annual adjustments for inflation, in cases where: the Bank seeks to ensure that U.S. insurance companies are accorded a fair and open competitive opportunity to provide insurance for transactions involving a long-term loan or guarantee of this minimum amount, Bank procedures for public disclosure of environmental assessments and mandatory supplemental environmental reports apply to any transaction involving a project for which long-term support from the Bank is requested in at least this amount, or it is the sense of Congress that Bank policies and procedures should not prohibit small business specialists from approving applications for working capital loans, guarantees, and insurance in support of exports which have a value less than this amount.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
This bill repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, effective as of its enactment. Provisions of law amended by that Act are restored. This bill repeals the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of the Act's enactment. Provisions of law amended by that Act's health care provisions are restored. Specified committees of the House of Representatives must report legislation within each committee's jurisdiction with provisions that: foster economic growth and private sector job creation; lower health care premiums; preserve a patient's ability to keep their health plan; provide people with preexisting conditions access to affordable health coverage; reform the medical liability system to reduce unnecessary health care spending; increase the number of insured Americans; protect the doctor-patient relationship; provide states greater flexibility to administer Medicaid programs; expand incentives to encourage personal responsibility for health care coverage and costs; prohibit taxpayer funding of abortions and provide conscience protections for health care providers; eliminate duplicative government programs and wasteful spending; or do not accelerate the insolvency of entitlement programs or increase the tax burden on Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
National Heritage Area Act of 2015 Establishes a system of National Heritage Areas through which the Department of the Interior may provide technical and financial assistance to local coordinating entities to support the establishment, development, and continuity of the National Heritage Areas. Specifies the criteria that Interior shall apply to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating proposed National Heritage Areas. States that designation of a National Heritage Area shall be by federal statute and contingent on the prior completion of a management plan and an affirmative determination by Interior that the area meets such criteria. Sets forth requirements for National Heritage Area management plans.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Medicare Home Infusion Site of Care Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize Medicare coverage of home infusion therapy and home infusion drugs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to implement the Medicare home infusion therapy benefit in a manner that ensures that: (1) Medicare beneficiaries have timely and appropriate access to infusion therapy in their homes, and (2) there is rapid and seamless coordination between drug coverage under Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) and home infusion therapy services coverage under Medicare part B (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) to avoid the filing of duplicative or otherwise improper claims.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Nuclear Family Priority Act Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate parents from the definition of "immediate relatives" with respect to those aliens not subject to worldwide immigration levels or numerical limitations. Replaces existing family-sponsored immigrant categories with a single preference allocation for spouses and children of permanent resident aliens. Reduces the number of, and revises the calculation for, fiscal year family-sponsored immigrant entrants. Establishes a nonimmigrant visa category for an alien who is a parent of a U.S. citizen at least 21 years old.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Medicare Beneficiary Preservation of Choice Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to repeal the allowance for disenrollment, between January 1 and March 15 of each year, only from an MedicareAdvantage plan to elect enrollment in the original Medicare fee-for-service program. Restores the option under previous law to elect to change from a MedicareAdvantage to the original Medicare fee-for-service plan, or from the original Medicare fee-for-service to a MedicareAdvantage plan, once a year during the first three months.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Pro Football Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 50,000 $5-gold coins, 400,000 $1-silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar coins emblematic of the game of professional football. Requires all sales of such coins to include specified surcharges, which shall be paid by the Secretary to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to help finance the expansion and renovation of Pro Football Hall of Fame facilities. Directs the Secretary to ensure that: (1) minting and issuing such coins will not result in any net cost to the government, and (2) no proceeds are disbursed until the total cost of designing and issuing such coins is recovered by the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Amy and Vicky Child Pornography Victim Restitution Improvement Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to expand the definition of "full amount of the victim's losses" for purposes of provisions governing mandatory restitution of victims of offenses involving sexual exploitation and other abuse of children to include medical services, physical and occupational therapy or rehabilitation, and lost income for the victim's lifetime, as well as any losses suffered by the victim from any sexual act or conduct in preparation for or during the production of child pornography depicting the victim involved in the offense. Sets forth guidelines for determining restitution where the victim of of a specified child pornography offense was harmed by one defendant (requiring restitution for not less than the full amount of the victim's losses) or by more than one defendant (requiring restitution for not more than the full amount of the victim's losses and not less than specified minimum amounts for certain offenses). Requires joint and several liability where there are multiple defendants and allows each defendant who is ordered to pay restitution and who has made full payment to the victim equal to or exceeding the specified minimum amount to recover contribution from any other defendant ordered to pay. Sets forth contribution claim procedures. Requires the Attorney General to report to Congress within one year after enactment of this Act on any progress of the Department of Justice in obtaining restitution for victims of such offenses.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2015 This bill prohibits the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from: developing, finalizing, adopting, implementing, applying, administering, or enforcing the proposed rule entitled, "Definition of 'Waters of the United States' Under the Clean Water Act," issued on April 21, 2014, or the proposed guidance entitled, "Guidance on Identifying Waters Protected By the Clean Water Act," dated February 17, 2012; or using the proposed rule or proposed guidance, any successor document, or any substantially similar proposed rule or guidance as the basis for any rulemaking or decision regarding the scope or enforcement of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act). The Army Corps and the EPA must withdraw the interpretive rule entitled, "Notice of Availability Regarding the Exemption from Permitting Under Section 404(f)(1)(A) of the Clean Water Act to Certain Agricultural Conservation Practices," issued on April 21, 2014. The Army Corps and the EPA are required to consult with relevant state and local officials to develop recommendations for a regulatory proposal that would identify the scope of waters covered under the Clean Water Act and the scope of waters not covered.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act of 2015 Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require physical therapists furnishing outpatient physical therapy services to use specified locum tenens arrangements for payment purposes in the same manner as such arrangements are used to apply to physicians furnishing substitute physicians services for other physicians. (Locum tenens [place holder], or substitute, physicians usually assume professional practices in the absence of a regular physician for reasons such as illness, pregnancy, vacation, or continuing medical education.)
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2015
Working Families Flexibility Act of 2015 Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to authorize private employers to provide compensatory time off to private employees at a rate of 1 1/2 hours per hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required. Authorizes an employer to provide compensatory time only if it is in accordance with an applicable collective bargaining agreement or, in the absence of such an agreement, an agreement between the employer and employee. Prohibits an employee from accruing more than 160 hours of compensatory time. Requires an employee's employer to provide monetary compensation, after the end of a calendar year, for any unused compensatory time off accrued during the preceding year. Requires an employer to give employees 30-day notice before discontinuing compensatory time off. Prohibits an employer from intimidating, threatening, or coercing an employee in order to: (1) interfere with the employee's right to request or not to request compensatory time off in lieu of payment of monetary overtime compensation, or (2) require an employee to use such compensatory time. Makes an employer who violates such requirements liable to the affected employee in the amount of the compensation rate for each hour of compensatory time accrued, plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, reduced for each hour of compensatory time used. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress every three years on: (1) the extent to which employers provide compensatory time off and employees opt to receive it; (2) the number of complaints filed by an employee with the Secretary of Labor alleging a violation of the requirements as well as enforcement actions commenced by the Secretary on behalf of an aggrieved employee; (3) the disposition of such complaints and actions; and (4) any unpaid wages, damages, penalties, injunctive relief, or other remedies sought by the Secretary in connection with such actions.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2015
Eric Williams Correctional Officer Protection Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to issue oleoresin capsicum spray to: (1) any Bureau officer or employee employed in a prison that is not a minimum or low security prison who may respond to an emergency situation in such prison; and (2) such additional prison officers and employees as the Director deems appropriate, subject to specified requirements. Requires any such officer or employee to complete a training course before being issued such spray and annual training on the use of such spray. Authorizes Bureau officers and employees issued such spray to use it to reduce acts of violence committed by prisoners and prison visitors against themselves, other prisoners and visitors, and Bureau officers and employees. Directs the Comptroller General, not later than three years after the date on which the Director begins to issue oleoresin capsicum spray to Bureau officers and employees, to submit to Congress a report that includes: (1) an evaluation of the effectiveness of issuing such spray on reducing crime in such prisons and acts of violence committed by prisoners against themselves and others, (2) an evaluation of the advisability of issuing such spray, and (3) recommendations to improve the safety of Bureau officers and employees in prisons.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2015
Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act of 2015 Amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to condition eligibility to receive a state grant for child abuse or neglect prevention and treatment programs on inclusion in the state plan of a certification by the governor that the state has in effect and is enforcing a state law, or is operating a statewide program, that includes provisions and procedures to: identify and assess reports involving children who are sex trafficking victims (and which may also involve children who are victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons), train representatives of the state child protective services about identifying and assessing such children, and identify services and procedures for appropriate referral to address the needs of such children. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to Congress on: the specific type and prevalence of severe forms of trafficking in persons to which children have been subjected who are identified for services or intervention under the placement, care, or supervision of state, Indian tribe, or tribal organization child welfare agencies; the practices and protocols utilized by states to identify and serve children who are, or are at-risk of becoming, victims of trafficking; and any barriers in federal laws or regulations that may prevent identification and assessment of children who are such victims.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2015
Enhancing Services for Runaway and Homeless Victims of Youth Trafficking Act of 2015 Amends the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act with respect to grants to states, localities, and private entities to carry out research, evaluation, demonstration, and service projects regarding activities designed to increase knowledge concerning, and to improve services for, runaway youth and homeless youth. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give priority to proposed projects relating to staff training in: the behavioral and emotional effects of severe forms of trafficking in persons and sex trafficking, responding to youth who are showing effects of severe forms of trafficking in persons and sex trafficking, and agency-wide strategies for working with runaway and homeless youth who are victims of trafficking. Extends the Secretary's authority to make grants to nonprofit private agencies for the purpose of providing street-based services to runaway and homeless, and street youth, who have been subjected to, or are at risk of being subjected to, sexual abuse, prostitution, or sexual exploitation. Extends the scope of such grants also to street-based services to runaway and homeless, and street youth, who have been subjected to, or are at risk of being subjected to, severe forms of trafficking in persons and sex trafficking.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2015
Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from state volume caps tax-exempt facility bonds for sewage and water supply facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Safe and Secure Federal Websites Act of 2015 Prohibits a federal agency from deploying or making available to the public a new federal personally identifiable information website (new Federal PII Website) until the chief information officer of the agency submits a certification to Congress that the website is fully functional and secure, as those terms are defined by this Act. Defines "new Federal PII website" as a website that: (1) is operated by (or under contract with) an agency; (2) elicits, collects, stores, or maintains personally identifiable information (i.e., information that can be used to identify an individual, such as a social security number, a date and place of birth, a mother's maiden name, biometric records, or other information linked to an individual); and (3) is first made accessible to the public and collects or stores personally identifiable information on or after October 1, 2012. Exempts beta websites designed for testing and development if users execute an agreement acknowledging the risks involved. Directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to establish and oversee policies and procedures for federal agencies to follow in the event of a breach of information security involving the disclosure of personally identifiable information, including: (1) notice, not later than 72 hours after discovery of a breach or possible breach, to individuals whose personally identifiable information could be compromised as a result of such breach; (2) timely reporting to a federal cyber security center designated by this Act; and (3) any additional actions that the Director finds necessary and appropriate. Requires: (1) agency heads to ensure that agency actions taken in response to a breach comply with OMB policies and procedures established by this Act; and (2) the OMB Director to report to Congress, not later than March 1 of each year, on agency compliance with such policies and procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 523 East Railroad Street in Knox, Pennsylvania, as the "Specialist Ross A. McGinnis Memorial Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2015 States that the purpose of this Act is to increase accountability for and transparency in the federal regulatory process by requiring Congress to approve all new major regulations. Revises provisions relating to congressional review of agency rulemaking to require a federal agency promulgating a rule to include in its report to Congress and to the Comptroller General a classification of the rule as a major or nonmajor rule. Requires a joint resolution of approval of major rules to be enacted before such rules may take effect. Provides that if a joint resolution of approval is not enacted by the end of 70 session days or legislative days, as applicable, after the agency proposing the rule submits its report on such rule to Congress, the major rule shall be deemed not to be approved and shall not take effect. Permits a major rule to take effect for one 90-calendar day period without such approval if the President determines it is necessary because of an imminent threat to health or safety or other emergency, for the enforcement of criminal laws, for national security, or to implement an international trade agreement. Sets forth the congressional approval procedure for major rules and the congressional disapproval procedure for nonmajor rules. Requires the introduction of a joint resolution addressing a report classifying a rule as a major rule within three legislative days in the House of Representative and three session days in the Senate. Prohibits any amendments to such a joint resolution at any stage of the legislative process. Provides for expedited consideration of a joint resolution of approval and requires a vote on such resolution in the Senate within 15 session days after it is reported by the committee to which it was referred, or after such committee has been discharged from further consideration of the resolution. Allows a court to review whether an agency has completed the necessary requirements under this Act for a rule to take effect. Limits the effect of a joint resolution of approval of a major rule. Prohibits an agency from allowing a major rule to take effect without the congressional review procedures set forth in this Act. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to provide that any congressional approval procedure set forth in this Act affecting budget authority, outlays, or receipts shall be assumed to be effective unless it is not approved in accordance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2015
National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is carrying a valid, government-issued identification document containing that person's photograph and a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm in one state, and who is not prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm under federal law, to possess or carry a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in another state in accordance with the restrictions of that state.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Veterans Dog Training Therapy Act Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a five-year pilot program to assess the effectiveness of addressing veterans' post-deployment mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms through the therapeutic medium of educating those veterans in the training and handling of service dogs for veterans with disabilities. Requires: (1) the Secretary to carry out the pilot program through contracts with appropriate nongovernmental entities located in close proximity to at least three but no more than five VA medical centers, and (2) each of those entities to be certified in the training and handling of service dogs and to have a training area that would be appropriate for use in educating veterans with mental health conditions in the art and science of service dog training and handling.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
LNG Permitting Certainty and Transparency Act Directs the Department of Energy (DOE), for proposals that must also obtain authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or the United States Maritime Administration to site, construct, expand, or operate liquified natural gas (LNG) export facilities, to issue a decision on an application for authorization to export natural gas within 30 days after the later of: (1) the conclusion of the review to site, construct, expand, or operate the LNG facilities required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA); or (2) the date of enactment of this Act. Deems any NEPA review to be concluded: (1) 30 days after publication of a required Environmental Impact Statement if the project needs one; (2) 30 days after publication by DOE of a Finding of No Significant Impact if the project needs an Environmental Assessment; and (3) upon a determination by the lead agency that an application is eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to regulations under NEPA. (A "categorical exclusion" under NEPA is a category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and which have been found to have no such effect in procedures adopted by a federal agency in implementing environmental regulations and for which, therefore, neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement is required.) Confers original and exclusive jurisdiction upon the U.S. Court of Appeals for the circuit in which the export facility under an application will be located over any civil action for the review of: (1) a DOE order regarding the application, or (2) DOE failure to issue a final decision on the application. Requires the Court, if it finds in a civil action that DOE has failed to issue a final decision on an application, to order DOE to issue one within 30 days. Requires the Court to set any civil action brought under this Act on the docket, for expedited consideration, as soon as practical after the filing date of the initial pleading. Amends the Natural Gas Act to set as a condition for approval of any authorization to export LNG that the DOE Secretary require the applicant to disclose publicly the specific destination or destinations of any such authorized LNG exports.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Human Trafficking Prevention, Intervention, and Recovery Act of 2015 Requires the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to conduct a review that: (1) surveys federal and state activities to deter individuals from committing trafficking offenses and to prevent children from becoming trafficking victims; (2) surveys academic literature on deterring individuals from committing trafficking offenses, preventing children from becoming trafficking victims, and the commercial sexual exploitation of children; and (3) identifies best practices and strategies to deter such actions. Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to Congress regarding: (1) federal and state law enforcement efforts to combat human trafficking in the United States, and (2) information on each relevant federal grant program. Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to authorize grants for programs that provide housing assistance to victims of trafficking.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
National Nurse Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to designate the Chief Nurse Officer of the Public Health Service as the National Nurse for Public Health within the Office of the Surgeon General. Includes among the duties of this position: (1) providing leadership and coordination of Public Health Service nursing professional affairs for the Office of the Surgeon General and other agencies of the Public Health Service, (2) conducting outreach and education, and (3) providing guidance and leadership for activities that will increase public safety and emergency preparedness. Requires the National Nurse for Public Health to: (1) participate in identification of national health priorities, (2) encourage volunteerism of nurses and strengthen the relationship between government agencies and health-related national organizations, and (3) promote the dissemination of evidence-based practice in educating the public on health promotion and disease prevention activities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Expresses support for: (1) the goals of Catholic Schools Week, an event cosponsored by the National Catholic Educational Association and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and established to recognize the contributions of Catholic elementary and secondary schools in the United States; and (2) the continued dedication of Catholic schools, students, parents, and teachers toward academic excellence and the key role they play in promoting and ensuring a brighter, stronger future for the nation.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
American Job Creation and Strategic Alliances LNG Act Amends the Natural Gas Act to deem consistent with the public interest an expedited application and approval process for the importation or exportation of natural gas to a World Trade Organization member nation.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2015
Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation Act of 2015 or the SAVE Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit knowingly: (1) advertising commercial sex acts involving a minor or an individual engaged in such an act through force, fraud, or coercion; or (2) benefitting financially or otherwise from such advertising knowing that the individual involved was a minor or victim of force, fraud, or coercion.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2015
Flexibility in Health IT Reporting (Flex-IT) Act of 2015 Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in specifying the electronic health record (EHR) reporting period under EHR electronic health record technology incentive payment programs under titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, to continue through 2015 (in the case of eligible professionals) and FY2015 (in the case of eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals) to permit the use of a three-month quarter EHR reporting period to demonstrate meaningful use without regard to the payment year or the stage of meaningful use criteria involved.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2015
Medicar e DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Improvement Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the Medicare durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) competitive acquisition program. Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from accepting a bid from an entity for an area unless it: (1) meets state licensure requirements for the area for all items in the submitted bid for a product category, and (2) has obtained a bid surety bond of between $50,000 and $100,000 for each such area. Prescribes requirements for the treatment of losing bidders and successful bidders that do not accept a contract.
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
MAC Transparency Act Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require each contract entered into with a prescription drug plan (PDP) sponsor with respect to a PDP the sponsor offers to prohibit the PDP from entering into a contract with any pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) to manage the prescription drug coverage provided under such plan, or to control the costs of the prescription drug coverage under it, unless the PBM adheres to specified criteria when handling personally identifiable utilization and claims data or other sensitive patient data. Revises requirements for contracts with PDP sponsors to require that the PDP sponsor disclose to applicable pharmacies the sources used for making any update of the prescription drug pricing standard, and if the source for such a standard is not publicly available, disclose to such pharmacies all individual drug prices to be so updated in advance of their use for the reimbursement of claims. Requires the PDP sponsor, as well, to establish a process to appeal, investigate, and resolve disputes regarding individual drug prices that are less than the pharmacy acquisition price for a drug. Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD), with respect to the TRICARE retail pharmacy program, to ensure that a contract entered into with a TRICARE managed care support contractor includes requirements to ensure the provision of information regarding the pricing standard for prescription drugs. Establishes criteria to which a carrier and a PBM must adhere under a contract or an approved plan under which the carrier has an agreement with the PBM to manage prescription drug coverage or to control the costs of such coverage. Prohibits a PBM under such criteria from: (1) transmitting to a pharmacy owned by the PBM any personally identifiable utilization or claims data relating to an enrolled individual who has not voluntarily elected in writing or via secure electronic means to fill that particular prescription at such a pharmacy; or (2) requiring any enrolled individual to use a retail pharmacy, mail order pharmacy, specialty pharmacy, or other pharmacy entity in which the PBM has an ownership interest, or that has an ownership interest in the PBM, or give an incentive to encourage an enrollee to use the pharmacy if the incentive applies only to those pharmacies. Requires any contract or approved plan providing for a reimbursement standard with respect to a PDP to require the carrier to: (1) update the standard at least once every seven days to reflect the market price of a drug accurately; (2) disclose to pharmacies the sources used for making any such update; (3) make advance disclosure to those pharmacies of all individual drug prices to be updated if the source for a standard is not publicly available; and (4) establish a process to appeal, investigate, and resolve disputes regarding individual drug prices less than the pharmacy acquisition price.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Amends the Missing Children's Assistance Act to include among the required uses of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's annual grant to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children operation of a cyber tipline to provide online users and electronic service providers an effective means of reporting Internet-related child sexual exploitation in the area of child sex trafficking, including child prostitution (currently, in the area of child prostitution).
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
Ensuring Access to Clinical Trials Act of 2015 This bill amends the Improving Access to Clinical Trials Act of 2009 to repeal the sunset of, and so extend indefinitely, the exclusion from resources under titles XVI (Supplemental Security Income) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, for eligibility purposes, of compensation in the amount of the first $2,000 per year received by individuals who participate in clinical trials for rare diseases or conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
This bill prohibits the use of funds for certain immigration-related policies, including executive orders or any other executive policy issued after March 11, 2011, that provides for parole, employment authorization, deferred action, or any other immigration benefit or relief for individuals who are unlawfully present in the United States (with exceptions for asylum, temporary protected status, or cancellation of removal by an immigration judge). The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended to: (1) exclude from the definition of "unauthorized alien," with respect to the unlawful employment of aliens, any alien otherwise admitted to and lawfully present in the United States; and (2) consider an alien without lawful status to be an unauthorized alien whose employment is unlawful.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2015 Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to extend through FY2018 the grant program for armor vests for law enforcement officers.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) from providing federal family planning assistance to an entity unless the entity certifies that, during the period of assistance, the entity will not perform, and will not provide funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion. Excludes an abortion where: (1) the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest; or (2) a physician certifies that the woman suffered from a physical disorder, injury, or illness that would place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy. Excludes hospitals that do not provide funds to non-hospital entities that perform abortions. Requires HHS to provide Congress annually: (1) information on grantees who performed abortions under the exceptions, and (2) a list of entities to which grant funds are made available.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2015
Repeal Executive Amnesty Act of 2015 This bill shifts from the Attorney General to the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to parole an alien temporarily into the United States, on a case-by-case basis, and in the Secretary's sole discretion, for an urgent humanitarian reasons or for another reason strictly in the public interest. A humanitarian parole is limited to: a medical emergency or organ or tissue donation in certain circumstances; or a situation in which a close family member in the United States is dying and the alien could not arrive in the United States, through the normal visa process, in time to see that family member alive. A public interest parole is limited to instances where the alien has assisted the U.S. government in a matter, such as a criminal investigation, espionage, or other similar law enforcement activity, and either the government requires the alien's U.S. presence or the alien's life would be threatened if not permitted to come to the United States. Aliens found ineligible for refugee status may not be paroled. No funds may be used to implement specified memoranda from the President, the Secretary, the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other related memoranda. Law enforcement officers of the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations are made eligible for the law enforcement availability pay (LEAP) authorized for federal criminal investigators. The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 is amended to eliminate the special repatriation requirements for unaccompanied alien children (UACs) who are nationals or residents of a country contiguous to the United States, and so apply to them the same removal requirements 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. Any inadmissible UAC at a land border or port of entry, who fails to meet these victim criteria, must be returned to his or her country of nationality or of last habitual residence. The Secretary of State's authority to negotiate agreements between the United States and countries contiguous to the United States for the repatriation of children is extended to agreements with any country, contiguous or not. Procedural rights are specified for UACs who are not victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons, and who do not fear returning to his or her country of nationality or last habitual residence. HHS must inform DHS about children apprehended during a specified period before enactment of this Act who are placed with an individual, and DHS must investigate the immigration status of that individual, and, if the individual is unlawfully present in the United States, initiate removal proceedings. Paroled aliens cannot receive benefits under either the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 or the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. State and local law enforcement personnel are authorized to investigate, identify, apprehend, arrest, detain, or transfer aliens to federal custody in order to enforce federal, state, or local immigration laws. State and local law enforcement personnel will enjoy immunity from personal liability in the performance of such duties. The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended to prescribe procedural requirements for the transfer from state or local to federal custody of inadmissible or deportable aliens. Appropriations are authorized for FY2015 and subsequent fiscal years for the incarceration of undocumented criminal aliens. Bureau Of Justice Assistance, public safety, and community policing grants under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as well as compensation for the incarceration of undocumented criminal aliens, is denied to any state or local government that has in place a law or policy contravening the information collection and sharing requirements of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. ICE may issue detainers to detain aliens arrested by a federal, state, or local law enforcement official for violations of any law, not just one relating to controlled substances. The interoperable electronic data system ("Chimera system") under the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002, which gives current, immediate access to information in federal law enforcement databases and the intelligence community relevant to an alien's admissibility or deportability, must also include the operation of the Secure Communities program. DHS must issue a detainer, take a deportable alien into custody, and initiate removal proceedings upon receiving notice under the interoperable law enforcement and intelligence electronic data system that a deportable alien is in federal, state, or local custody. The Immigration and Nationality Act is further amended to specify that: in no instance shall the government bear any expense for counsel for any person in removal proceedings or appealing from any such proceedings, an alien's statements must be true more probably than not in order to establish a credible fear of persecution in an asylum interview, and the prerequisite of a bilateral or multilateral agreement is eliminated as a condition for the possible removal to a safe third country in response to an alien's application for asylum in the United States. DHS must establish quality assurance procedures and take steps to ensure that: questions by DHS employees exercising expedited removal authority are asked in a uniform manner, and both these questions and the answers are recorded in a uniform fashion. Department of Justice authority is suspended until January 20, 2017, for waiver of the inadmissibility of any alien unlawfully present in the United States who is the spouse or son or daughter of a U.S. citizen or of a lawful permanent resident alien. Requirements are modified for the temporary protected status of aliens whose return to a foreign country would expose them to a serious threat to their personal safety.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015 This bill directs the Government Accountability Office to: (1) complete, within 12 months of enactment, the required audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board) and of the Federal Reserve Banks; and (2) submit to Congress, within 90 days of audit completion, a detailed report of audit findings and conclusions. The bill repeals certain limitations placed upon audits of the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve banks.
![Official portrait of Rep. Barletta, Lou [R-PA-11]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b001269_200.jpg)