United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015
This bill prohibits a federal agency or instrumentality from using federal funds, fees, or resources to admit an alien into the United States as a refugee or to provide refugee resettlement assistance until each of the following occur: a joint resolution is enacted into law approving the most recent number of refugee admissions determined by the President; the Congressional Budget Office reports to Congress regarding specified refugee-related costs; the Department of Homeland Security reports to Congress regarding terrorist- and criminal-related activities of aliens admitted as refugees and asylees, and the number of such aliens subsequently removed from the United States for any reason; and the President reports to Congress regarding the preceding year's cost of refugee admissions, and recommendations for federal program spending cuts to offset such cost.
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 · 1 December 2015
This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to direct a VA employee to repay all or part of the transferee relocation expenses paid to the employee if: (1) the VA determines such repayment is appropriate, and (2) the employee is afforded notice and opportunity for a hearing conducted by another federal department or agency before repayment. A decision regarding employee repayment shall be final and may not be reviewed by any department, agency, or court.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2015
Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to revise the objectives of the civilian nuclear energy research, development, demonstration, and commercial application programs of the Department of Energy (DOE) to emphasize: providing research infrastructure to promote scientific progress and enable users from academia, the National Laboratories, and the private sector to make scientific discoveries relevant for nuclear, chemical, and materials science engineering; and enabling the private sector to partner with the National Laboratories to demonstrate novel reactor concepts for the purpose of resolving technical uncertainty associated with the aforementioned objectives. This bill directs DOE to carry out a program for enhancing the U.S. capability to develop new reactor technologies through high-performance computation modeling and simulation techniques. Such program shall coordinate with relevant federal agencies through the National Strategic Computing Initiative while taking into account specified objectives. By December 31, 2016, DOE shall determine the mission need for a versatile reactor-based fast neutron source, which shall operate as a national user facility and, upon determining such a mission need, give Congress a plan to establish such a facility. DOE shall also carry out a program to: enable the testing and demonstration of reactor concepts proposed and funded by the private sector, and leverage the technical expertise of relevant federal agencies and national laboratories to minimize the time required to enable construction and operation of privately funded experimental reactors at national laboratories or other DOE-owned sites. These reactors shall operate to: enable physical validation of novel reactor concepts; resolve technical uncertainty and increase practical knowledge relevant to safety, resilience, security, and functionality of first-of-a-kind reactor concepts; and generate research and development to improve nascent technologies. Within 12 months of this Act's enactment, DOE must submit to Congress 3 specified alternative 10-year budget plans for civilian nuclear energy research and development by the DOE.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2015
Support America's Armed Forces Reserve Component Retirees Act of 2015 This bill authorizes a retiring National Guard member who first enters a uniformed service on or after January 1, 2018, to receive retirement pay after 20 years of service. Computation of the high-three year retired pay base average for such a member shall only include the 36 months for which he or she was entitled to monthly basic pay.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2015
Expresses the sense of Congress that: the President should submit to the Senate for advice and consent the climate change agreement proposed for adoption at the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-21), and Congress should refuse to consider any budget resolutions and appropriations language that include funding for the Green Climate Fund until COP-21 emissions commitments are submitted to the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2015
Office of Strategic Services Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to the members of the Office of Strategic Services in recognition of their service and contributions during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2015
Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2015 Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Muslim Brotherhood has met the criteria for designation as a foreign terrorist organization, and (2) the Department of State should so designate it. Requires the State Department to report to Congress within 60 days whether the Muslim Brotherhood meets the criteria for foreign terrorist designation and, if not, which criteria have not been met.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2015
Stopping EPA Overreach Act of 2015 This bill amends the Clean Air Act to exclude carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride pollution from the scope of that Act. The bill declares that current law does not authorize or require the regulation of climate change or global warming and nullifies certain proposed rules relating to greenhouse gas and carbon pollution emissions. Before proposing or finalizing regulations or policies, the Environmental Protection Agency must analyze the net and gross impact of those regulations and policies on employment. Regulations and policies may not take effect if they have a negative impact on employment, unless they are approved by Congress and signed by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2015
Expresses the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to American families and businesses and is not in the best interest of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2015
Impeaches John Andrew Koskinen, Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, for high crimes and misdemeanors and sets forth the articles of impeachment.
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 · 22 October 2015
This bill directs the Federal Housing Finance Agency to withdraw its proposed rule entitled "Members of Federal Home Loan Banks" (September 12, 2014). The Government Accountability Office shall report to certain congressional committees on the impact of the rule upon the Federal Home Loan Bank System and financial intermediaries.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2015
Keep Your Chiropractor Act This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to specify that, with respect to the use of private contracts between Medicare beneficiaries and physicians, a "physician" includes a licensed chiropractor.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2015
Positive Train Control Enforcement and Implementation Act of 2015 This bill extends deadlines and modifies requirements for railroad carriers and providers of intercity or commuter rail passenger transportation to implement positive train control (PTC) systems. (A PTC system is a communications and signaling system designed to prevent train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, incursions into established work zone limits, and the movement of a train through a switch left in the wrong position. Railroads which carry passengers or have high-volume freight traffic with certain hazardous materials are required to implement a PTC system.) Within 60 days of enactment of this bill, each Class I railroad carrier (the largest operators by revenue) and provider of intercity or commuter rail passenger transportation must submit to the Department of Transportation (DOT) a plan for implementing PTC by December 31, 2018, instead of the December 31, 2015, deadline required under current law. DOT may extend the deadline if specified requirements are met. The revised plan must include a detailed schedule and sequence for fully implementing PTC in a manner that complies with specified regulations, and railroads must implement PTC in accordance with the plan. DOT may authorize a railroad carrier or other entity to begin the provisional operation of a PTC system without the required certification if it is necessary to enable the safe implementation of PTC in phases.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 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 · 29 September 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 · 16 September 2015
Social Security Beneficiary 2nd Amendment Rights Protection Act This bill amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to prohibit any determination by the Commissioner of Social Security with respect to an individual, including one that OASDI and SSI benefits to which that individual is entitled shall be paid to a representative payee, from being considered to be a determination that the individual has been adjudicated as a mental defective to make it unlawful for the individual to engage in the shipment or transport of firearms or ammunition or receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2015
Declares that: the atrocities committed against Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities targeted specifically for religious reasons are crimes against humanity and genocide; each of the Contracting Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and other international agreements forbidding war crimes and crimes against humanity, particularly the governments of countries and their nationals who are in any way supporting these crimes, are reminded of their legal obligations under the Convention and these international agreements; the United Nations (U.N.) and the Secretary-General are called upon to assert leadership by calling the atrocities war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide; the member states of the U.N., with an appeal to the Arab States that wish to uphold religious freedom and justice, should collaborate on measures to prevent further war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, and collaborate on the establishment of tribunals to punish those responsible for the ongoing crimes; the governments of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Lebanese Republic, and other countries are commended for having undertaken to shelter and protect those fleeing extremist violence; and those who force the migration of religious communities from their ancestral homelands, including specifically the Nineveh Plain and Mount Sinjar, should be prosecuted in accordance with the laws of the place where their crimes were committed and under applicable international criminal statutes and conventions.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Dental and Optometric Care Access Act or the DOC Access Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit group health plans and individual health insurance coverage from setting rates for items and services provided by a doctor of optometry, of dental surgery, or of dental medicine for which the plan or insurer does not pay a substantial amount. An agreement between a plan or insurer and such a doctor: (1) may only be changed with the doctor's acknowledgement and acceptance, and (2) may not last longer than two years if the agreement is for limited scope dental or vision benefits. Such a doctor must be allowed to participate in a: (1) plan or coverage without accepting terms for ancillary services or procedures, and (2) provider network without participating in a specific limited scope dental or vision benefit plan. Plans and insurers may not: (1) directly communicate with an enrolled individual in a manner that interferes with an existing doctor-patient relationship or a state or federal requirement, or (2) restrict such a doctor's choice of laboratories or suppliers. The bill establishes a private right of action for a person adversely affected by a violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Scientific Research in the National Interest Act This bill directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to award federal funding for basic research and education in the sciences through a new research grant or cooperative agreement only if it makes an affirmative determination, justified in writing, that the grant or agreement promotes the progress of science in the United States, is worthy of federal funding, and meets certain other criteria.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2015
Government Refusal of Abortion in Contracting and Enterprise or the GRACE Act This bill prohibits a federal entity from entering into a contract with a person or entity that donates or matches employee donations to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., or any of its affiliates or clinics. This prohibition applies to contracts entered into after the enactment of this Act and to subcontracts (at any tier) awarded under such contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2015
Employee Rights Act Amends the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to make it an unlawful labor practice for a labor organization or its agents to interfere with the rights of employees to organize and select representation to collectively bargain. Adds a requirement that representatives be selected by secret ballot in an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by a majority of the employees in a unit. Defines "majority" for purposes of determining the majority of employees in an election to mean the majority of all employees in the unit, and not the majority of employees voting in the election. Requires the NLRB, in cases where an existing certified or voluntarily recognized bargaining unit experiences turnover, expansion, or alteration by merger of more than 50% of the unit's employees, to conduct a secret paper ballot among the unit employees: (1) between the 120th day and 110th day before the collective bargaining agreement's expiration or before the end of three years, if there is an agreement between the labor organization and the employer; or (2) within 30 days, if there is no agreement between such parties. Requires the NLRB to decide, before the election of a labor organization as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of all employees of an appropriate unit, whether such unit shall be the employer unit, craft unit, plant unit, or subdivision unit. Requires the NLRB to give 14 days advance notice before a hearing when it is investigating an election petition if it has reasonable cause to believe that a question of representation affecting commerce exists. Revises the requirement that the NLRB direct an election by secret ballot, and certify its results, whenever it finds upon the record of such a hearing that a question of representation exists. Adds a requirement that the NLRB also review all post-hearing appeals before finding that such a question exists. Requires an employer to provide the NLRB a list consisting only of employee names and home addresses of all eligible voters within 7 days after an NLRB determination of the appropriate unit or following any agreement between the employer and the labor organization regarding eligible voters. Prohibits an election after the filing of a petition unless and until: (1) a hearing is conducted before a qualified hearing officer on any and all material, factual issues regarding jurisdiction, statutory coverage, appropriate unit, unit inclusion or exclusion, or eligibility of individuals; and (2) the issues are resolved by a regional Director, subject to appeal and review, or by the NLRB. Declares that election results shall not be final nor any labor organization be certified as a bargaining representative unless the NLRB has ruled on: (1) each pre-election issue not resolved before the election; and (2) the NLRB conducts a hearing and resolves each issue pertaining to the conduct or results of the election. Makes any labor organization found to have interfered with, restrained, or coerced employees in the exercise of their rights to form or join a labor organization or to refrain from forming or joining (including the filing of a decertification petition) liable for lost wages and unlawfully collected union dues and fees, if any, and an additional amount as liquated damages. Amends the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (Landrum-Griffin Act) to permit an election by secret ballot to be conducted through votes cast by electronic ballot cast in the privacy of a voting booth. Requires every employee in a bargaining unit represented by a labor organization, regardless of membership status, to have the same right as members to vote by secret ballot to ratify a collective bargaining agreement with, or to engage in, a strike or refusal to work of any kind against their employer. Prohibits the use of an employee's union dues for any purpose not directly related to the labor organization's collective bargaining, unless that employee authorizes such expenditure in writing. Prohibits a strike without the consent of a majority of all unit employees affected, determined by a secret ballot vote conducted by a neutral, private organization chosen by agreement between the employer and the labor organization. Requires each labor organization to make the independently verified annual audit report of its financial condition and operations available to all of its members and represented nonmembers. Makes it unlawful for a person to use force or violence, or threaten the use of force or violence, to restrain, coerce, or intimidate a person, or attempt to, in order to obtain from any person any right to represent employees, compensation, or other term or condition of employment. Subjects persons who willfully violate such prohibitions to both civil and criminal penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2015
Protecting Life and Taxpayers Act of 2015 This bill prohibits federal funding of an entity unless the entity certifies that, during the period of funding, the entity will not perform, and will not provide funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion, except in cases of rape or incest or where a physical condition endangers the woman's life unless an abortion is performed. This applies to a hospital only if the hospital funds a non-hospital entity that performs abortions.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2015
Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015 This bill prohibits, for a one-year period, the availability of federal funds for any purpose to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., or any of its affiliates or clinics, unless they certify that the affiliates and clinics will not perform, and will not provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion during such period. The restriction will not apply in cases of rape or incest or where a physical condition endangers a woman's life unless an abortion is performed. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture must seek repayment of federal assistance received by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., or any affiliate or clinic, if it violates the terms of the certification required by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2015
This bill prohibits the Social Security Administration from providing to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) the name of any individual entitled to benefits, including any individual whose benefits are paid to a representative payee, unless a federal court has determined the individual to be mentally defective. (Current law prohibits the sale or transfer of a firearm to and the purchase or possession of a firearm by a person who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution.)
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2015
Commemorative Coins Reform Act of 2015 This bill prohibits surcharges generated by the sale of any numismatic item or commemorative coin program from being paid to a non-federal organization, except with respect to sales and production costs. Surcharges must be used to recover all numismatic operation and program costs allocable to the program under which a numismatic item is produced and sold. Any excess surcharges must be transferred to the general fund of the Treasury for deficit reduction purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2015
Expresses disapproval of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreed to by the P5+1 and Iran on July 14, 2015. Reaffirms the commitment of the House of Representatives to: (1) prevent Iran from ever acquiring a nuclear weapons capability, and (2) encourage global stability and security by strongly supporting strategic regional allies.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2015
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4500 SE 28th Street, Del City, Oklahoma, as the James Robert Kalsu Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2015
Community Financial Institution Exemption Act Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to exempt community financial institutions from all rules and regulations issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Defines a "community financial institution" as an insured depository institution or credit union with less than $10 billion in consolidated assets. Authorizes the Bureau to: (1) revoke such an exemption with respect to a specific rule or regulation issued or modified after enactment of this Act and with respect to a specific class of community financial institutions if the Bureau finds that such class of institutions has engaged in a pattern or practice of activities that have been detrimental to the interests of consumers and that are of a type that the specific rule or regulation is intended to address, and (2) modify a rule or regulation issued before enactment of this Act with respect to such institutions if the effect of such modification is to expand a current exemption or to reduce the costs and the regulatory burden associated with complying with such rule or regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2015
Establishing Mandatory Minimums for Illegal Reentry Act of 2015 or Kate's Law This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase penalties applicable to aliens who unlawfully reenter the United States after being removed.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2015
Mobilizing Against Sanctuary Cities Act Prohibits a state or local government from receiving federal financial assistance for a minimum of one year if it restricts or prohibits a government entity or official from: (1) sending to or receiving from the responsible federal immigration agency information regarding an individual's citizenship or immigration status, or (2) maintaining or exchanging information about an individual's status. Restores assistance eligibility upon a Department of Justice (DOJ) determination that the jurisdiction no longer restricts or prohibits such actions. Directs DOJ to report each year to Congress regarding state or local jurisdictions that restrict or prohibit such actions.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2015
Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act of 2015 or the CLEAR Act of 2015 States that: (1) state and local law enforcement personnel, in the course of their routine duties, have the inherent authority to investigate, apprehend, or transfer to federal custody aliens in the United States (including interstate transportation of such aliens to detention centers) in order to assist in the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws; and (2) effective two years after enactment of this Act, a state that has in effect a statute, policy, or practice prohibiting such law enforcement assistance shall not receive certain federal incarceration assistance. Provides for the listing of immigration violators in the National Crime Information Center database. Directs states and localities to provide the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with specified information about apprehended aliens who are believed to be in violation of U.S. immigration laws. Provides federal reimbursement for related state and local costs. (States that such provision shall not require state or local enforcement officials to provide DHS with information related to a victim of a crime or witness to a criminal offense.) Directs DHS to make grants to states and political subdivisions that enforce immigration laws in the course of their routine law enforcement duties for special equipment and facilities related to arresting, detaining, or transporting illegal aliens. Directs DHS to: (1) construct or acquire 20 additional detention facilities for aliens detained pending removal (or a decision on removal), and (2) consider the transfer of military installations under base closure laws for such purposes. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act regarding illegal aliens apprehended by state or local authorities to provide for: (1) federal custody upon state or local request, and (2) state or local compensation for related incarceration and transportation costs. Directs the Department of Justice or DHS to ensure that the detention of an alien subject to removal is in an adequate state or local prison, detention center, or other comparable facility prior to his or her removal examination. Directs DHS to establish immigration-related training for state and local personnel. Provides: (1) personal liability immunity to the same extent as corresponding federal immunity for state or local personnel enforcing immigration laws within the scope of their duties under this Act, and (2) civil rights money damage immunity for state or local agencies enforcing immigration laws unless their personnel violated criminal law in such enforcement. Continues the institutional removal program, which shall be expanded to all states. Authorizes state or local detention of an illegal alien after completion of such alien's prison sentence for: (1) up to 14 days to facilitate federal transfer, or (2) until transfer to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Authorizes appropriations for FY2016 and subsequent fiscal years for the state criminal alien assistance program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2015
Taking Account of Institutions with Low Operation Risk Act of 2015 or the TAILOR Act of 2015 This bill directs the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (federal financial institutions regulatory agencies) to: take into consideration the risk profile and business models of institutions subject to regulatory action; determine the necessity, appropriateness, and impact of applying that action to such institutions; and tailor regulatory action so as to limit the burden of regulatory compliance as befits the risk profile and business model involved. The federal financial institutions regulatory agencies shall also consider: the impact that such regulatory action has upon the ability of the institution to flexibly serve evolving and diverse customer needs, the potential unintended impact of examination manuals or other regulatory directives that work in conflict with the tailoring of such regulatory action, and the underlying policy objectives of the regulatory action and statutory scheme involved. In addition, a federal financial institutions regulatory agency must disclose in every notice of a proposed and final rulemaking for a regulatory action how it has applied this Act. The Financial Institutions Examination Council shall report to Congress on the extent to which regulatory actions tailored pursuant to this Act result in differential regulation of similarly-situated institutions of diverse charter types with respect to comparable regulations. The agencies must also apply the requirements of this Act to all regulations adopted five years before the introduction of this Act and ending on the date of its enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2015
Condemns the practice of state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting in China. Calls on China and the Communist Party of China to end the practice of organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience. Encourages the U.S. medical community to help raise awareness of unethical organ transplant practices in China. Demands an end to the persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice and the release of all Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience. Calls on the Department of State to: (1) conduct a more detailed analysis on state-sanctioned organ harvesting from non-consenting prisoners of conscience in the annual Human Rights Report, and (2) report annually to Congress on implementation of the immigration provision prohibiting visas to Chinese and other nationals engaged in coerced organ or bodily tissue transplantation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2015
Centennial Monetary Commission Act of 2015 This bill establishes the Centennial Monetary Commission to: (1) examine how U.S. monetary policy since the creation of the Federal Reserve Board in 1913 has affected the performance of the U.S. economy in terms of output, employment, prices, and financial stability over time; (2) evaluate various operational regimes under which the Board and the Federal Open Market Committee may conduct monetary policy in terms achieving the maximum sustainable level of output and employment and price stability over the long term; and (3) recommend a course for U.S. monetary policy going forward. The Commission shall evaluate as a tool of monetary policy: (1) macro-prudential supervision and regulation, and (2) the lender-of-last-resort function of the Board.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2015
Stop Catch and Release Act of 2015 This legislation amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require mandatory detention of any alien who is unlawfully present in the United States and arrested for inadmissible or deportable crimes. The bill transfers release authority from the Department of Justice to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS may release the alien to an appropriate authority for proceedings related to the arrest, but DHS must resume custody for any period that the alien is not in custody of the appropriate authority. If the alien is not convicted of crimes for which the alien was arrested, then DHS must continue to detain the alien until removal proceedings are completed. DHS must complete the removal proceedings within 90 days.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2015
SCOTUScare Act of 2015 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to limit the health plans the federal government may make available to Supreme Court Justices and Supreme Court employees to those that are created under PPACA or offered through a health insurance exchange.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2015
Sound Dollar Act of 2015 Amends the Federal Reserve Act (FRA) to direct the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to: (1) pursue the goal of long-term price stability, and (2) establish metrics to evaluate whether long-term price stability is being achieved. Prescribes procedures for the establishment and evaluation of such metrics. Directs the Board and the FOMC to: (1) make such information available to the public on a website, and (2) report to Congress each time such metrics are set or revised. Directs the Board to include in its semiannual report to Congress: (1) the results of the evaluation process, (2) whether the goal of long-term price stability is being met, (3) the main monetary policy instruments and strategy used by the Board and the FOMC to achieve long-term price stability, and (4) an analysis of how the policies of the Board and the FOMC are affecting the foreign exchange rate value of the U.S. dollar. Directs the Board to clearly articulate its lender-of-last-resort policy. Revamps FOMC membership to consist of one representative from each of the Federal Reserve banks (in addition to members of the Board). Directs the FOMC to release meeting transcripts to the public within three years after each meeting. Redesignates the Department of the Treasury stabilization fund as the Special Drawing Rights Fund. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to liquidate all property in the Fund (other than Special Drawing Rights) and to use all such amounts to reduce the public debt. Limits the availability of the Fund solely to stabilize exchange rates and arrangements. Repeals Treasury authority to deal in U.S. instruments of credit and securities. Permits only Special Drawing Rights to be deposited into the Fund. Requires funds that would otherwise have been deposited into the Fund to be paid, instead, to the Treasury to reduce the public debt. Amends the FRA to authorize the FOMC, in unusual and exigent circumstances, by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of its members, to grant any Federal Reserve bank emergency authority to buy and sell U.S. debt obligations and revenue bonds in anticipation of the collection of taxes or the receipt of assured revenues by any state or local governmental entity, as well as obligations of, or guaranteed by, a foreign government or agency. Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to repeal: (1) Board funding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) as determined by the CFPB, and (2) the CFPB Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2015
Citizen Empowerment Act of 2015 Requires any executive agency employee who is conducting an in-person or a telephonic interview, audit, investigation, inspection, or other official interaction with an individual relating to a possible violation of federal law that could result in the imposition of civil or criminal fines or penalties or the collection of unpaid tax to allow such individual to make an audio recording of the interaction. Permits the employee conducting the interaction to record it if the employee: (1) informs the individual of the recording prior to or at the initiation of the interaction, and (2) provides the individual with a transcript of the recording at such individual's expense. Requires the employee conducting an initial in-person or telephonic interview or other interaction to provide to the individual a verbal or written notice of such individual's rights. Exempts from the application of this Act any in-person or telephonic interview or other interaction that: (1) is likely to include the discussion of classified material or information that would endanger public safety if released publicly; or (2) if released, would endanger an ongoing criminal investigation being conducted by a federal law enforcement officer.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2015
First Amendment Defense Act Prohibits the federal government from taking discriminatory action against a person on the basis that such person believes or acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction that: (1) marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, or (2) sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage. Defines "discriminatory action" as any federal government action to discriminate against a person with such beliefs or convictions, including a federal government action to: alter the federal tax treatment of, cause any tax, penalty, or payment to be assessed against, or deny, delay, or revoke certain tax exemptions of any such person; disallow a deduction of any charitable contribution made to or by such person; withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or otherwise deny any federal grant, contract, subcontract, cooperative agreement, loan, license, certification, accreditation, employment, or similar position or status from or to such person; or withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or otherwise deny any benefit under a federal benefit program. Requires the federal government to consider to be accredited, licensed, or certified for purposes of federal law any person who would be accredited, licensed, or certified for such purposes but for a determination that the person believes or acts in accordance with such a religious belief or moral conviction. Permits a person to assert an actual or threatened violation of this Act as a claim or defense in a judicial or administrative proceeding and to obtain compensatory damages or other appropriate relief against the federal government. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring an action to enforce this Act against the Government Accountability Office or an establishment in the executive branch, other than the U.S. Postal Service or the Postal Regulatory Commission, that is not an executive department, military department, or government corporation. Defines "person" as any person regardless of religious affiliation, including corporations and other entities regardless of for-profit or nonprofit status.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2015
Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2015 Directs the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to make appropriate arrangements for the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to the Filipino Veterans of World War II in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II. Requires that the medal, following its award, be given to the Smithsonian Institution where it will be available for research and for display at other appropriate locations associated with such veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2015
Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue gold, silver, half-dollar clad, and proof silver coins in recognition and celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first manned landing on the moon. Treasury may issue coins minted under this Act for only a one-year period, beginning January 1, 2019. All sales of coins minted under this Act shall include a surcharge of $35 per gold coin, $10 per silver coin, $5 per half-dollar clad coin, and $50 per proof silver coin. All of the surcharges received from the sale of such coins shall be paid as follows: one-half to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum's "Destination Moon" exhibit; one-quarter to the Astronauts Memorial Foundation; and one-quarter to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, to aid its missions by providing college scholarships for the very best and brightest students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM).
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2015
Transportation Empowerment Act This bill prescribes a limitation on funding of transportation programs and projects for FY2016-FY2020. Appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) (other than the Mass Transit Account) are authorized for FY2016-FY2020, subject to a certain limitation, for specified core programs under the federal-aid highway program, including: emergency relief for highways and roads, the federal lands transportation program, and Federal Highway Administration administrative expenses. A state may transfer and use excess federal-aid highway funds for any surface transportation project (including mass transit and rail). Certain limits are placed on federal assistance to states for highway bridge replacement and rehabilitation to bridges on the federal-aid highway system. Beginning with FY2015, a highway construction or improvement project shall not be considered a federal project: unless and until a state expends federal funds for the construction portion of the project, solely by reason of the state expenditure of federal funds before the construction phase of the project (including for any environmental document or design work), or upon state reimbursement to the federal government of the federal costs of such projects. The Internal Revenue Code is amended to make amounts in the HTF available for expenditure for core highway programs through FY2022. The Department of the Treasury shall pay from the HTF into the Treasury general fund amounts equivalent to the floor stocks refunds made before July 1, 2022, as well as into the Airport and Airway Trust Fund amounts equivalent to certain aviation fuel taxes received before October 1, 2022. A motor fuel tax rate schedule is prescribed for the financing of core highway programs. Treasury authority to make certain transfers to the Mass Transit Account shall be terminated at the end of FY2016, at which time Treasury shall transfer all amounts from the Mass Transit Account to the Highway Account. The national highway performance program is revised to repeal program requirements for specified National Highway System transportation improvement projects, including environmental mitigation projects. The surface transportation program is revised to eliminate from eligibility for program assistance: carpool projects, fringe and corridor parking facilities and programs, including electric vehicle and natural gas vehicle infrastructure, and bicycle transportation and pedestrian walkways projects; transportation alternatives; and environmental mitigation projects, including environmental restoration and pollution abatement projects. Also repealed are: the obligation of a state to use a portion of program funds for replacement or rehabilitation of off-system bridges, metropolitan transportation planning requirements for federal-aid highways, and the authorization of federal assistance to states for historic bridges. Certain requirements of the highway safety improvement program are revised or repealed, eliminating eligibility for projects for pedestrian or bicyclist safety or safety of persons with disabilities. The congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program and the transportation alternatives program are repealed. Appropriations out of the HTF (other than the Mass Transit Account) are authorized for FY2016-FY2020 for the highway research and development program. Treasury shall allocate to the states for surface transportation projects (including mass transit and rail) any excess highway tax receipts appropriated to the HTF in FY2016-FY2019. Excise taxes on gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene, and diesel-water fuel emulsion are reduced. Credits or refunds are required for certain floor stocks taxes on liquids imposed before October 1, 2020. This Act shall become effective only if the Office of Management and Budget certifies that it is deficit neutral.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2015
Expresses the sense of Congress that all trade agreements the United States enters into with a foreign country should provide reasonable collaboration with that country for the purpose of search and recovery activities for Armed Forces members missing in action from prior wars or military conflicts.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015
Protecting Patients and Physicians Against Coding Act of 2015 The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in carrying out regulations providing for the replacement of ICD-9 (International Classification of Diseases-9) with ICD-10 as a standard code set, shall provide for a two-year grace period during which physicians and other health care providers submitting claims and other documents using ICD-10 are not penalized for errors, mistakes, and malfunctions relating to the transition to such code set. HHS shall also give these practitioners assistance during the grace period. The Government Accountability Office shall study this transition for Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2015
Regulatory Predictability for Business Growth Act of 2015 This bill adds the definitions of "longstanding interpretive rule" and "revise" to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). A longstanding interpretive rule is distinguished from an "interpretive rule" if it has been in effect for at least one year. If a rule is a longstanding interpretive rule, it remains subject to the general notice of proposed rulemaking and comment and publication provisions of the APA.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Promoting Access, Competition, and Equity Act of 2015 or the PACE Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to ease application criteria and procedures for physician-owned hospitals to expand their facilities. Under current law, expansion of physician-owned hospitals is subject to certain limitations, such as those regarding the extent and frequency of expansion and requiring community output. The bill suspends these limitations with respect to applications for expansion filed before October 1, 2019. Following the end of this suspension period, hospitals with consistently high quality ratings are included among those hospitals that may apply to expand their facilities. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may not alter the methodology for computing a hospital's quality rating before October 1, 2019. With respect to hospitals under development as of March 23, 2010, the bill extends to May 1, 2015, the date by which a hospital may qualify for an exception to the ownership or investment prohibition on physician self-referrals. The bill also: (1) exempts physician-owned hospitals from specified documentation and coding adjustments, and (2) extends reductions in certain inflationary increases associated with Medicare payments for inpatient hospital services.
![Official portrait of Rep. Bridenstine, Jim [R-OK-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b001283_200.jpg)