United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2016
Working to Integrate Networks Guaranteeing Member Access Now Act or the WINGMAN Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide an accredited, permanent congressional employee with read-only remote access to the electronic Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) claims records system of a represented veteran, regardless of whether the employee is acting under a power of attorney executed by the veteran. The VA shall ensure that access does not allow the employee to modify system data. An employee must complete the VA certification process required of agents or attorneys in order to have system access. Each Member of Congress who elects to have an employee participate in the system shall bear the certification cost, which shall be paid from the Member's representational allowance. Information access by an employee shall be deemed: (1) a covered disclosure requiring prior consent, with specified exceptions; and (2) a permitted disclosure relating to the privacy of individually identifiable health information. The VA may not recognize an employee for purposes of preparation, presentation, and prosecution of VA claims by reason of such system access. "Accredited, permanent congressional employee" means an employee of a Member of Congress who assists constituents with issues regarding federal departments or agencies. "Electronic VBA claims records system" means the VA system that provides claim status information, including information about medical records, compensation and pension exams records, rating decisions, a statement of the case and a supplementary statement of the case, a notice of disagreement, and Form-9.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2016
Supports: (1) the designation of National Small Business Week, (2) efforts to encourage consumers to shop locally, and (3) efforts to increase awareness of the value of locally owned small businesses and the impact of locally owned small business on the U.S. economy. Honors the vital role of small business and entrepreneurs in the United States during such week. Recognizes: (1) the important role of the Small Business Administration as a valuable resource for the U.S. entrepreneur, (2) the importance of creating policies that promote a business friendly environment for small business owners free of unnecessary regulations, and (3) the National Small Business Person of the Year and the National Lender of the Year. Encourages young entrepreneurs to pursue their passions and create more start-up businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2016
Ensuring Useful Research Expenditures is Key for Alzheimer's Act or the EUREKA Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish EUREKA prize competitions to achieve high-priority breakthroughs in Alzheimer's disease and dementia prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care. The NIH must: (1) convene an advisory council of nongovernmental experts in Alzheimer's disease and dementia to develop the EUREKA prize competitions, and (2) appoint a panel of judges to evaluate submissions. The council and panel are not subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Support for EUREKA prize competitions may be provided by private organizations and individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2016
Protecting Veterans' Educational Choice Act of 2016 This bill requires Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) counselors who provide specified educational or vocational counseling services to provide a requesting veteran or member of the Armed Forces with information about the articulation agreements (agreements governing the transferability of credits toward meeting specific degree or program requirements) of each institution of higher learning in which the individual is interested. The VA shall provide a veteran who is certified as eligible for VA educational assistance with information on education counseling services and articulation agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2016
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment prohibiting Congress from making any law respecting the citizens of the United States that does not also apply to the Senators and Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2016
American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016 This bill declares the sense of Congress that it should consider a miscellaneous tariff bill. The U.S. International Trade Commission shall: conduct a process, meeting specified requirements, for the submission and consideration of petitions for duty suspensions and reductions; and report to Congress on the effects of duty suspensions and reductions enacted pursuant to this Act on producers, purchasers, and consumers in the United States. The bill prescribes requirements for publication by specified congressional committees of a list of limited tariff benefits contained in a miscellaneous tariff bill.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2016
Kevin and Avonte's Law of 2016 Missing Americans Alert Program Act of 2016 This bill amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to revise and rename the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program as the Missing Americans Alert Program and to reauthorize it through FY2021. It directs the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Bureau of Justice Assistance to award grants to state and local law enforcement or public safety agencies and nonprofit organizations to prevent wandering and locate missing individuals with dementia or developmental disabilities. DOJ must establish and certain grant recipients must comply with standards and best practices related to the use of tracking technology to locate missing individuals with dementia or developmental disabilities. The bill amends the Missing Children's Assistance Act to specify that, with respect to training and technical assistance provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, cases involving missing and exploited children include cases involving children with developmental disabilities such as autism.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2016
Making Electronic Government Accountable By Yielding Tangible Efficiencies Act of 2016 or the MEGABYTE Act of 2016 This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue a directive to require the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of each executive agency to develop a comprehensive software licensing policy, which shall: (1) require the CIO of each agency to establish a comprehensive inventory of software licenses; (2) track and maintain such licenses; (3) analyze software usage to make cost-effective decisions; (4) provide software license management training; (5) establish goals and objectives of the agency's software license management program; and (6) consider the software license management life cycle phases to implement effective decision making and incorporate existing standards, processes, and metrics. The CIO of each executive agency must report to OMB, beginning in the first fiscal year after this Act's enactment and in each of the following five fiscal years, on the savings from improved software license management.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2016
Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Reauthorization Act or the SOAR Reauthorization Act This bill repeals the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program School Certification Requirements Act, as contained in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016. The Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (SOAR) is amended to limit its focus to students in the lowest-performing Washington, DC, elementary and secondary schools. The Department of Education (ED) shall not limit the number of eligible students receiving Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) scholarships, or prevent otherwise eligible students from participating in the OSP because of: the type of school the student previously attended; whether or not the individual previously received the scholarship or participated in OSP, including one previously awarded a scholarship who did not use it; or was a member of the control group used by the Institute of Education Sciences to carry out previous OSP evaluations. An eligible nonprofit organization's application for an OSP grant must include how it will ensure: the financial viability of a participating school in which 85% or more of enrolled students receive and use an opportunity scholarship, utilization of internal fiscal and quality controls and compliance with financial reporting requirements. Priorities for the award of scholarships are modified to give priority to: students who in the preceding school year attended a low-achieving elementary or secondary school, and certain students regardless of whether they have attended a private school. OSP-participating schools must: ensure that participating students are taught core subject matter by a teacher with a baccalaureate or equivalent degree, conduct criminal background checks on school employees who have direct and unsupervised interactions with students, and comply with all requests for data and information regarding certain reporting requirements. Participating private schools must be provisionally or fully accredited or in the process of seeking accreditation. ED must make OSP funds available to eligible entities receiving a grant for administrative expenses and parental education and assistance. Previously unobligated OSP funds must be used for additional scholarships (95%) and administrative expenses (5%). The bill revises current OSP evaluation procedures. The specified authorized OSP funds that ED may withhold for noncompliance with SOAR requirements shall be differentiated based on whether the noncompliance relates to the DC public schools, to the DC public charter schools, or to both. Funds provided under this Act to support DC public charter schools may be directed to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education for transfer to subgrantee public charter schools or networks of such schools, or DC-based non-profit organizations with successful experience with them. ED and the Mayor shall revise a specified memorandum of understanding to ensure that participating schools meet fire code standards and maintain certificates of occupancy. The bill reauthorizes the OSP through FY2021.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2016 This bill amends the Clean Air Act by revising the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) program. The bill delays the implementation of the ozone NAAQS that were published in 2015. The bill extends until: (1) October 26, 2024, the deadline for states to submit designations to implement the 2015 ozone NAAQS; and (2) October 26, 2025, the deadline for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate state areas as attainment, nonattainment, or unclassifiable areas with respect to the 2015 ozone NAAQS. States must submit a state implementation plan (SIP) by October 26, 2026, to implement, maintain, and enforce the 2015 ozone NAAQS. The bill also changes the review cycle for criteria pollutant NAAQS from a 5-year review cycle to a 10-year review cycle. The EPA may not complete its next review of ozone NAAQS before October 26, 2025. The EPA may consider, as a secondary consideration, likely technological feasibility in establishing and revising NAAQS for a pollutant if a range of air quality levels for such pollutant are requisite to protect public health with an adequate margin of safety. Prior to establishing or revising NAAQS, the EPA must obtain advice from its scientific advisory committee regarding potential adverse public health, welfare, social, economic, or energy effects which may result from attaining and maintaining NAAQS. The EPA must publish regulations and guidance for implementing NAAQS concurrently with the issuance of a new or revised standard. New or revised NAAQS shall not apply to preconstruction permits for constructing or modifying a major emitting facility or major stationary source of air pollutants until those regulations and guidance have been published. The bill provides that in Extreme Ozone Nonattainment Areas, contingency measures are not required to be included in nonattainment plans. Technological achievability and economic feasibility must be taken into consideration in plan revisions for milestones for particulate matter nonattainment areas.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2016
Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act of 2016 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), through the Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation, to carry out a five-year pilot program under which the VA shall provide service dogs and veterinary health insurance to certain veterans who: (1) served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001; and (2) were diagnosed with, and continue to suffer from, post-traumatic stress disorder. The provision of a service dog shall be done in addition to other types of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and shall not replace established treatment modalities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2016
Unauthorized Spending Accountability Act This bill establishes a three-year reauthorization, rescission, and termination schedule for unauthorized programs funded through the annual appropriations process. The schedule applies to programs included in the Congressional Budget Office's annual report listing programs that are funded through the appropriations process and have an authorization of appropriations that has either expired or will expire during the year. After a program's authorization has expired, the bill limits the program's funding in the first year to 90% of the funds provided in the expiring year, reduces the limit to 85% for the second and third years, and terminates the program at the end of the third year. The bill enforces the limits by rescinding any funds that exceed the limit. The Office of Management and Budget must reduce discretionary spending limits by the amount of any rescissions. Programs that are reauthorized during the three-year period are exempt from the limits, rescissions, and termination if the reauthorization includes a provision limiting the authorization of appropriations period to no more than three years. The bill establishes the Spending and Accountability Commission to recommend a reauthorization schedule for discretionary spending programs and review all mandatory spending programs. The commission may recommend legislation to replace the funding limits and rescissions required by this bill with reductions in mandatory spending. The commission's reauthorization schedule must limit reauthorizations to three years, include the funding limits and rescissions established by this bill, and establish a mechanism for replacing the limitations and rescissions with reductions to mandatory spending programs. The House of Representatives must consider the proposal using expedited legislative procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2016
Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2016 or the RPM Act of 2016 This bill amends the Clean Air Act to allow the modification of a vehicle's air emission controls if the vehicle is used solely for competition.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2016
Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act This bill amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act to direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: identify and publish a recommended core set of maternal and infant quality measures for women and children, as specified by the bill; publish an initial core set of any such measures applicable to mothers and infants eligible under Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); establish a Maternal and Infant Quality Measurement Program; and establish an online clearinghouse of resources for entities working to improve maternity and infant care quality. HHS may make grants to eligible entities for: the development of new state and regional maternity and infant care quality collaboratives; expanded activities of existing collaboratives; and maternity and infant care initiatives within established state and regional quality collaboratives that are not focused exclusively on maternity care. Under current law, HHS must contract with a consensus-based entity to carry out specified duties regarding performance measurement. The bill requires such an entity to facilitate increased coordination and alignment between the public and private sector with respect to quality and efficiency measures.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2016
Jobs for Veterans Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an increased work opportunity tax credit for employers who hire veterans who have been certified as discharged or released from active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces after September 11, 2001, and who begin work for the employer after December 31, 2015, and before January 1, 2020. This increased credit is in addition to any work opportunity tax credit allowed to a veteran with a service-connected disability.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2016
Thoroughly Investigating Retaliation Against Whistleblowers Act This bill amends the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 to reauthorize through FY2020 the Office of Special Counsel (official appointed by the President to protect federal employees, former employees, and applicants for employment from prohibited personnel practices). The Office of Special Counsel shall have access to any record or other information of any agency under its jurisdiction. The bill: (1) extends from 15 to 45 days the period for the review by the Office of Special Counsel of a disclosed prohibited practice, (2) requires an agency to provide a detailed explanation of any failure to take action to address information about a prohibited practice transmitted to it by the Special Counsel, and (3) requires an agency that reports agency action proposed as a result of its investigation of such information to submit a supplemental report within 180 days on whether such proposed action has been taken and, if not, why not. The Office of Special Counsel may terminate an investigation of a prohibited practice if: (1) it involves an allegation that has been previously made by the same person, (2) the Office does not have jurisdiction to investigate such allegation, or (3) the person should have known of the alleged prohibited personnel practice earlier than three years before the Special Counsel received the allegation. The bill expands the annual reporting requirements of the Office of Special Counsel. The Office of Special Counsel shall design and establish a survey pilot program in FY2017-FY2018 of individuals who have filed a complaint or disclosure with the Office. Penalties for violations of the Hatch Act may include a combination of the disciplinary actions and the civil penalty prescribed under current law.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2016
Midnight Rule Relief Act of 2016 This bill prohibits a federal agency (excluding the Federal Election Commission, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or the U.S. Postal Service) from proposing or finalizing any midnight rule unless the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the Office of Management and Budget finds that it will not result in: (1) an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; (2) a major increase in costs or prices; (3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete internationally; or (4) a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses. The bill defines "midnight rule" as an agency statement of general applicability and future effect that is issued during the moratorium period, that is intended to have the force and effect of law, and that is designed to: (1) implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy; or (2) describe the procedure or practice requirements of an agency. The "moratorium period" begins on the day after the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in every fourth year succeeding a presidential election and extends through January 20 of the following year in which a President is not serving a consecutive term. The bill exempts any midnight rule that the President determines is necessary: (1) because of an imminent threat to health or safety or other emergency, (2) to enforce criminal laws, (3) to protect U.S. national security, or (4) to implement an international trade agreement. The moratorium does not apply to a midnight rule if the OIRA finds that such rule is limited to repealing an existing rule and certifies such finding in writing.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2016
Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy Act or the BRACE Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax credit for railroad track maintenance.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2016
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 615 6th Avenue SE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa as the "Sgt. 1st Class Terryl L. Pasker Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 2016
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 50,000 $5 coins, 400,000 $1 coins, and 750,000 half-dollar coins in recognition and celebration of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The coins shall be in the shape of a dome, and the design on the common reverse of the coins shall depict a basketball. Treasury shall hold a competition to determine the design of the common obverse of the coins, which shall be emblematic of the game of basketball. The bill requires all sales of such coins to include specified surcharges, which shall be paid by Treasury to the Hall to fund an endowment for its operations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2016
Be Responsive to all Veterans Expeditiously Act of 2016 or the BRAVE Act of 2016 This bill requires the primary telephone line for any Department of Veterans Affairs facility to include voice mail. The introductory message of any voice mail shall inform the caller of: (1) the facility's name, (2) the expected response time, and (3) an emergency telephone number.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2016
Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2016 This bill declares that, if there is a federal budget deficit in a fiscal year, then: any pay adjustment for Members of Congress scheduled to take effect under the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 in the succeeding calendar year shall be null and void; and effective as of the first day of the first pay period beginning in that year, the rates of basic pay for Members shall be reduced (from the rate in effect), but not below zero, by an amount prescribed according to the following formula. The reduction required under this Act is as follows: if the reduction is to take effect in a calendar year that does not immediately follow another calendar year in which a reduction was made, the reduced amount shall be equal to 5% of the rate of basic pay last in effect before the reduction is made; or if the reduction is to take effect in a calendar year that immediately follows another calendar year in which a reduction was made, the reduced amount shall be equal to 10% of the rate of basic pay last in effect before the most recent reduction was made. If, following one or more years in which Members' pay is reduced, a fiscal year occurs in which there is no deficit, then, effective as of the first day of the first pay period in the succeeding calendar year: rates of basic pay for Members shall be restored to the highest rate at any time previously payable; and pay adjustments scheduled to take effect on or after that first day shall be effective.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2016
Fairness for Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the placed-in-service restriction on the depreciation of certain farming business machinery and equipment and to make permanent the five-year recovery period for such property.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2016
Secure our Skies Act of 2016 This bill requires each air carrier providing passenger air transportation to provide flight attendants, pilots, and dispatchers who are employees or contractors of the carrier with training to combat human trafficking in the course of carrying out their duties. Such training shall cover: (1) common indicators of human trafficking, and (2) best practices for reporting suspected trafficking to law enforcement officers. To assist in such training, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation shall provide information, including the Blue Campaign training module, for use by air carriers. The Federal Aviation Administration shall report recommendations for improving the identification and reporting of human trafficking by air carrier personnel while protecting the civil liberties of passengers. The bill grants immunity to an air carrier for reporting any suspicious transaction relevant to a possible violation of law or regulation relating to human trafficking.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2016
Servicemember Retirement Improvement Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow members of the Ready Reserve of a reserve component of the Armed Forces to make the maximum allowable contribution ($18,000 in 2016) to their Thrift Savings Plans without limiting the amount such members may contribute to a retirement plan based upon other employment. The bill also doubles the maximum allowable contribution amount to the Thrift Savings Plans of federal employees in the Ready Reserve.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2016
Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2016 This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to direct the Drug Enforcement Administration to register an emergency medical services (EMS) agency as an entity authorized to dispense controlled substances, instead of registering the individual practitioners or medical directors of the agency. A registered EMS agency must be overseen by one or more medical directors. The bill specifies that an EMS practitioner who is employed by a registered EMS agency may administer controlled substances under a standing order issued by a medical director. The standing order does not have to be specific to an individual patient.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2016
One Subject at a Time Act This bill requires: (1) each bill or joint resolution to embrace no more than one subject, and (2) the subject to be clearly and descriptively expressed in the measure's title. The bill prohibits an appropriations bill from containing any general legislation or change of existing law requirement, if its subject is not germane to the subject of such bill. The bill also declares void: (1) an entire Act or joint resolution if its title addresses two or more unrelated subjects, (2) provisions in legislation not clearly and descriptively expressed in the measure's title, (3) appropriation provisions in legislation outside the relevant subcommittee's jurisdiction, and (4) provisions of appropriation bills not germane to their subject matter. Aggrieved persons and Members of Congress shall have the right to bring an action against the United States to seek appropriate relief, including an injunction against the enforcement of any law the passage of which did not conform to this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2015
Patient Opportunity Protection Act of 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from imposing additional conditions on excepted benefits, which are health benefits that are not subject to requirements applicable to group health plans or individual health insurance. In the individual health insurance market, HHS may not condition the treatment of fixed indemnity insurance as an excepted benefit on the beneficiary satisfying the requirement for minimum essential coverage. The amendments made by this bill are retroactively effective as if included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2015
Technical Education and Career Help (TEACH) Act This bill amends title II (Teacher Quality Enhancement) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize grants under the Teacher Quality Partnership grant program to be used for secondary school career and technical education teacher preparation programs. The grant program provides funds to partnerships of high-need local educational agencies, high-need schools or early education programs, and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to train current and prospective teachers and school leaders. The bill requires the career and technical education teacher preparation programs to: be available to mid-career professionals or recent graduates of an IHE who have expertise in a program area in which there is a career and technical education teacher shortage; allow individuals to obtain initial licensure and the basic skills required for entry into the education profession, with the option of earning a bachelor's or master's degree; and allow teachers who do not have subject matter expertise in a career and technical education field that is in demand in the local or regional economy to receive the technical skills training they need to teach those skills in a classroom setting. It directs the Department of Education to establish performance measures for the career and technical education teacher preparation programs.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2015
State Refugee Security Act of 2015 This bill directs the Office of Refugee Resettlement to notify the state agency responsible for coordinating the placement or resettlement of an alien refugee not later than 21 days before the alien's arrival in the state. No alien refugee shall be placed or resettled in a state if the governor certifies to the Office of Refugee Resettlement that it has failed, in the sole determination of the governor, to provide adequate assurance that such person does not present a security risk to the state.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2015
Protecting Access through Competitive-pricing Transition Act of 2015 or the PACT Act of 2015 This bill amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to modify provisions relating to payment for durable medical equipment (DME) under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. (DME includes certain medically necessary equipment such as walkers, wheelchairs, and hospital beds.) With respect to DME furnished in areas that are not competitive acquisition areas, current regulations require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) to phase in, over a two-year period, Medicare payment adjustments using information from competitive acquisition programs. (Through such programs, payment amounts for each area are determined based on competitive bids submitted by suppliers, rather than according to an established fee schedule.) The bill codifies this requirement and specifies that CMS shall adjust fee schedule amounts to the lesser of: (1) a specified percentage of the regional amount; and (2) the amount that would otherwise be determined according to the fee schedule, with specified adjustments. In determining Medicare payment adjustments for areas that are not competitive acquisition areas, CMS shall solicit stakeholder input and take into account several specified factors. CMS may not accept a bid under the competitive acquisition program unless the bidder: (1) meets applicable state licensure requirements; and (2) has submitted a cash deposit as a bond, as specified by the bill. CMS must establish a six-year market pricing demonstration project, under which auctions are conducted in eligible areas for the furnishing of market-priced DME items and services. The bill establishes project requirements related to auction design, contract terms, transparency, and monitoring.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2015
Biodiesel Tax Incentive Reform and Extension Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the income and excise tax credits for biodiesel used as fuel to: (1) allow a $1.00 tax credit for each gallon of biodiesel produced, (2) provide for an increased income tax credit for small biodiesel producers, (3) revise the definitions of "biodiesel" and "eligible small biodiesel producer," (4) treat renewable diesel in the same manner as biodiesel for income tax purposes, and (5) extend the biodiesel income and excise tax credits through December 31, 2018.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2015
Nullifies the Environmental Protection Agency's rule published on October 26, 2015, that revises the primary and secondary national ambient air quality standards for ozone.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2015
Expresses support for: (1) the designation of a Small Business Saturday, (2) efforts to encourage consumers to shop locally, and (3) efforts to increase awareness of the value of locally owned small businesses and their impact on the U.S. economy.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2015
Protecting Seniors Access to Proper Care Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow an authorized physician or practitioner who is not enrolled as a Medicare provider to, under certain circumstances, prescribe covered drugs under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Specifically, the physician or practitioner must not be: (1) otherwise disqualified from being enrolled; or (2) a doctor of medicine or osteopathy, unless the doctor's practice prescribes a low-volume of billings for such drugs under Medicare.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2015
Obamacare Full Disclosure Act This bill requires a form provided by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to group health plans and health insurers as a template for a cancellation notice to include specified information under specified circumstances. The form must include a statement that an enrollee's plan or coverage was cancelled because of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) if the plan or coverage was cancelled because it did not meet PPACA requirements or because of financial losses incurred due to PPACA requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2015
States' Right of Refugee Refusal Act of 2015 This bill prohibits the Office of Refugee Resettlement or the federal agency administering refugee resettlement from resettling or coordinating placement of any refugee in a state whose government has communicated to the Office that the state government does not accede to such resettlement or placement.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2015
Supports the goals and ideals of both National Adoption Day and National Adoption Month. Recognizes that every child should have a permanent and loving family. Encourages the people of the United States to consider adoption during the month of November and throughout the year.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2015
American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015 or the American SAFE Act of 2015 This bill prohibits a covered refugee from being admitted to the United States until the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) certifies to Congress that such individual is not a security threat to the United States. The Inspector General of DHS shall review 20% of all such certifications each fiscal year. The term "covered refugee" is defined as any alien applying for refugee status who is: (1) a national or resident of Iraq or Syria, or (2) present in Iraq or Syria at any time while the application for refugee status is pending. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) shall take actions to ensure that each covered refugee receives a thorough background investigation prior to admission. A covered refugee may not be admitted until the FBI certifies that such covered refugee has received such an investigation.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2015
Statutes at Large Modernization Act This bill requires the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to make the U.S. Statutes at Large available to the public at no cost on a website in a searchable, non-proprietary format. In making such information available to the public, NARA shall work with other federal agencies, including the Library of Congress, the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, the Office of the Legislative Counsel of the House of Representatives, the Office of the Law Revision Counsel, the Congressional Research Service, the Government Publishing Office, and such other entities that NARA considers appropriate. The Library of Congress shall incorporate Statutes at Large data into its legislative information retrieval system.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2015
Small Municipality Flood Relief Act of 2015 This bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to release a local government from certain land restrictions imposed on a parcel under the hazard mitigation program for recipients of acquisition or relocation project assistance if: the local government submits to the state, more than five years after the closeout of the acquisition or relocation project, a request for such release; on the date of the request, the parcel is not in an area designated by FEMA as having special flood hazards; the local government certifies that no coercion took place against the original property owner in acquiring the parcel; the state in which the parcel is located approves the request and submits to FEMA a recommendation for its approval; the local government repays FEMA for the amount of hazard mitigation assistance received for the acquisition or relocation project or substitutes a different parcel that is at least twice as large as, and subject to the same restrictions being released for, the original parcel; and FEMA gives final approval to the request.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2015
Employer Participation in Student Loan Assistance Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance to include payments of qualified education loans paid to either an employee or a lender.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2015
Crop Insurance Restoration Act This bill amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to repeal changes regarding the Standard Reinsurance Agreement that were enacted as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. The bill eliminates provisions that: (1) require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to renegotiate the Standard Reinsurance Agreement no later than December 31, 2016, and at least once every five years thereafter, and (2) establish an 8.9% cap on the overall rate of return for insurance providers under the agreement. (The Standard Reinsurance Agreement is an agreement between USDA and the private companies that administer the federal crop insurance program. It specifies details such as administrative and operating expense reimbursements and risk sharing between USDA and the companies in the operation of the program.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2015
Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for the rehabilitation of buildings and historic structures, to: (1) allow an increased 30% credit, up to $750,000, for projects with rehabilitation expenditures not exceeding $3.75 million, for which no credit was allowed in either of the 2 prior taxable years (smaller projects); (2) allow the transfer of tax credit amounts for smaller projects; (3) treat a building as substantially rehabilitated if rehabilitation expenditures exceed the greater of 50% of the adjusted basis of the building or $5,000 (currently, the greater of the adjusted basis of the building or $5,000); (4) exempt from tax the proceeds of a state historic tax; and (5) set forth special rules for the tax treatment of tax-exempt use property and functionally-related historic structures.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2015
Nullifies the Environmental Protection Agency's rule published on October 23, 2015, that requires states to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired electric generating units (EGUs). (Those EGUs convert fossil fuel energy to electric energy.)
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2015
Nullifies the Environmental Protection Agency's rule published on October 23, 2015, that establishes new source performance standards under the Clean Air Act for carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating units (EGUs) if the EGUs are newly constructed, modified, or reconstructed. (Those EGUs convert fossil fuel energy to electric energy.)
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2015
Access to Marketplace Insurance Act This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to require health insurers to accept, on behalf of individuals enrolled in qualified health plans, payments made by certain third parties, including state and federal government programs, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, and certain tax exempt organizations. (Qualified health plans are eligible for subsidies and fulfill an individual's requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage.)
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015
Sentencing Reform Act of 2015 This bill permits a court to reduce the mandatory minimum prison term imposed on certain non-violent defendants convicted of a high-level first-time or low-level repeat drug offense (including unlawful import, export, manufacture, or distribution of, or possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance). The legislation expands safety valve eligibility to permit a court to impose a sentence below the mandatory minimum for certain non-violent, cooperative drug defendants with a limited criminal history. It reduces the enhanced mandatory minimum prison term for certain defendants who commit a high-level repeat drug offense, use a firearm in a crime of violence or drug offense after a prior conviction for such offense, or unlawfully possess a firearm after three or more prior convictions. It permits retroactive application of such reductions for defendants without a prior serious violent felony conviction, after a court considers certain factors. It also establishes a consecutive mandatory prison term for a defendant who commits a drug offense involving a detectable amount of heroin or fentanyl. The bill makes the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 retroactive to permit resentencing of a convicted crack cocaine offender sentenced before August 3, 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2015
Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Reauthorization Act or the SOAR Reauthorization Act This bill amends the District of Columbia Code to prohibit the Department of Education from limiting the number of eligible students receiving District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) scholarships, and from preventing otherwise eligible students from participating in the OSP because of: the type of school the student previously attended; or whether or not the individual previously received the scholarship or participated in OSP, or was a member of the control group used by the Institute of Education Sciences to carry out previous OSP evaluations. An eligible nonprofit organization's application for an OSP grant must include how it will ensure that it utilizes internal fiscal and quality controls. Priorities for the award of scholarships to eligible students are modified to give priority to students who: in the preceding school year attended a school identified as low-achieving according to the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) (currently certain elementary or secondary schools identified for improvements, corrective action, or restructuring), and certain students regardless of whether they have attended a private school. OSP-participating schools must: conduct criminal background checks on school employees who have direct and unsupervised interactions with students, and comply with all requests for data and information regarding certain reporting requirements. Participating private schools must be provisionally or fully accredited or in the process of seeking accreditation. The Department must make OSP funds available to eligible entities receiving a grant for administrative expenses and parental education and assistance, including streamlining of the application process. Previously unobligated OSP funds must be used to award new scholarships to students. The current OSP evaluation procedures under the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (SOAR) are terminated and replaced with those specified in this Act. The Department may withhold specified OSP funds provided to the DC Mayor for DC public and charter schools for noncompliance with SOAR requirements. Funds provided under this Act to support DC public charter schools may be directed to the OSSE, which may transfer them to subgrantees that are: specific DC public charter schools in good standing or networks of such schools, or DC-based non-profit organizations with experience in successfully providing support or assistance to such schools or networks. The Department and the Mayor shall revise the memorandum of understanding in effect to address the need to ensure that participating schools meet fire code standards and maintain certificates of occupancy. The OSP is reauthorized through FY2021.
![Official portrait of Rep. Blum, Rod [R-IA-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/115_rp_ia_1_blum_rod_200.jpg)