United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2015
Mayflower Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to issue up to 50,000 $5 gold commemorative coins, and up to 100,000 $1 silver commemorative coins, whose design is emblematic of the arrival of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts. These coins shall be issued only during the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2020. The Department must pay all surcharges received from sales of the coins to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants for educational purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2015
Supports the right of the people of Ukraine to freely elect their government and determine their future. Urges the Administration to expedite assistance to Ukraine to facilitate the political, economic, and social reforms necessary for elections that meet international standards. Condemns outside attempts, including by the government of Russia, its agents or supporters, to interfere in Ukraine's elections.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2015
Housing Assistance Reform Act of 2015 This bill authorizes the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to increase the number of public housing agencies (PHAs) authorized to participate in the Moving to Work demonstration program by adding to it up to 60 high-performing, high-capacity PHAs, for a total of up to 300,000 housing vouchers and public housing units, over five years, to test and evaluate innovative models for improving economic self-sufficiency, mobility, academic performance, and other outcomes for tenants assisted by HUD. Selected PHAs may not receive more funding under low-income housing assistance, the Capital Fund, or the Operating Fund of the United States Housing Act of 1937 than they otherwise would have received without designation as a high performer under the public housing assessment system and the Section 8 (low-income housing assistance) management assessment program. If a PHA participating in the program before enactment of this Act has complied with the terms of its Moving to Work agreement, then HUD: must extend the PHA's agreement under the same terms in effect on the agreement's date of expiration, and may not alter the formula allocation for the agency's funding. There shall no longer be any limitation, under the Rental Assistance Demonstration specified in the Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2012 (as amended), on the number of PHA and certain other multifamily housing units receiving Public Housing Capital and Operating Funds assistance or low-income moderate rehabilitation program assistance that may be converted to tenant-based or project-based rental assistance units.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2015
Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2015 This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require states to direct their local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish policies that prevent and prohibit conduct, including bullying and harassment, that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to: (1) limit students' ability to participate in, or benefit from, school programs; or (2) create a hostile or abusive educational environment that adversely affects their education. LEAs shall also provide: (1) students, parents, and educational professionals with annual notice of the conduct prohibited in their discipline policies; (2) students and parents with grievance procedures that target such conduct; and (3) the public with annual data on the incidence and frequency of that conduct at the school and LEA level. The Department of Education must conduct, and report on, an independent biennial evaluation of programs and policies to combat bullying and harassment in elementary and secondary schools. The National Center for Education Statistics shall collect state data to determine the incidence and frequency of the conduct prohibited by LEA discipline policies.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2015
Restoring Integrity to America's Elections Act This bill amends the Federal Election Campaign Act with respect to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to: (1) reduce the number of members of the FEC from eight to five; (2) remove the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House as ex officio members; and (3) permit no more than two members to be affiliated with the same political party. A majority of the FEC members serving at the time shall constitute a quorum, except that three shall constitute a quorum if there are only four members serving. A Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel shall recommend to the President individuals for nomination to the FEC. The President shall appoint the FEC Chair, subject to Senate confirmation as a member of the FEC. The powers of the FEC are revised and distributed between the Chair and the other FEC members. Persons who oppose requests for advisory opinions are permitted to appear at FEC hearings on such requests.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2015
Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015 This bill amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to allow a representative official of an Indian tribe, with authorization from the governing body of the tribe, to request one or more polling places to be located on tribal lands. The state or political subdivision shall provide each requested polling place at no expense to the Indian tribe if certain criteria are met. A federal court shall retain jurisdiction to enforce constitutional voting guarantees, but also certain violations of the Act as well as of any federal prohibition against discrimination on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group, for an appropriate period to prevent commencement of new devices to deny or abridge the right to vote. Requirements are revised for determining which states and political subdivisions are or are not covered by criteria for declaratory judgments that they have not used devices to deny or abridge the right to vote. Any state (and all of its political subdivisions) shall be subject to such requirements for a 10-year period if: 15 or more voting rights violations occurred there during the previous 25 years; or 10 or more violations occurred during the previous 25 years, at least one of which was committed by the state itself (as opposed to a political subdivision within it). Any specific political subdivision of a state shall also be subject to those requirements for a 10-year period if 3 or more violations occurred in it during the previous 25 calendar years. A state or political subdivision that obtains a declaratory judgment that it has not used a device to deny or abridge the right to vote shall be exempt from such requirements unless new violations occur after the declaratory judgment was issued. Each state and each political subdivision shall: (1) identify any newly enacted or adopted law, regulation, or policy that includes a voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or a voting-related standard, practice, or procedure (covered practice); and (2) ensure that no such covered practice is implemented unless or until the state or political subdivision complies with certain preclearance requirements. This bill prescribes transparency requirements, including reasonable public notice, regarding any changes to: (1) voting prerequisites, standards, or procedures; (2) polling place resources; or (3) demographics and electoral districts. Department of Justice authority to assign observers receives new extensions, including authority to assign observers to enforce bilingual election requirements. Courts shall grant preliminary injunctive relief if a complainant raises a serious question whether the challenged covered practice violates the Act or the Constitution and, on balance, the hardship imposed upon the defendant by the relief will be less than the hardship on the plaintiff if the relief were not granted.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2015
Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act or the Healthy MOM Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act and Internal Revenue Code to require health insurers, health insurance exchanges, and group health plans to offer a special enrollment period to pregnant women beginning when the pregnancy is reported to the issuer, exchange, or plan. The Office of Personnel Management must ensure that eligible pregnant women are allowed to enroll in federal employee health benefit plans outside of the open enrollment period.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2015
Humane Cosmetics Act This bill prohibits testing cosmetics on animals, effective on the date that is one year after enactment of this Act. No cosmetic may be sold or transported if the final product or any component was developed or manufactured using animal testing after such date, effective three years after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2015
Stop Overdose Stat Act of 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to enter into cooperative agreements to reduce deaths from drug overdoses by: (1) purchasing and distributing naloxone (a medication that rapidly reverses overdose from heroin or other drugs with effects similar to opium) or a similar drug; and (2) educating or training the public, first responders, or health professionals on drug overdose prevention or response. SAMHSA must establish a coordinating center and develop a plan to reduce drug overdose deaths by educating the public about overdose prevention and recommending improvements to overdose prevention programs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must improve drug overdose surveillance by entering into cooperative agreements to: (1) provide training to improve identification of drug overdose as the cause of death, and (2) establish a national program for reporting drug overdoses. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) must prioritize, conduct, and support research on circumstances that contribute to drug overdose, drugs associated with fatal overdose, and overdose prevention methods. NIDA must support research on drug overdose treatments that can be administered by lay persons or first responders.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2015
Heroin and Prescription Opioid Abuse Prevention, Education, and Enforcement Act of 2015 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in cooperation with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), to convene a Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force to develop and study best practices for pain management and prescription of pain medication. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend through FY2020 the controlled substance monitoring program. Government entities receiving nonidentifiable information from a controlled substance monitoring database for research purposes may make that information available to other entities for research purposes. A state receiving a grant for a controlled substance monitoring program must: (1) facilitate prescriber and dispenser use of the state's controlled substance monitoring system, and (2) educate prescribers and dispensers on the benefits of the system. This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to extend the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program through FY2020. HHS must advance education and awareness of the risk of abuse of prescription opioids (drugs with effects similar to opium). The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), in coordination with HHS and the DEA, must establish a national drug awareness campaign that emphasizes the similarities between heroin and prescription opioids. The DEA, in coordination with HHS and ONDCP, may make grants to state, local, or tribal governments to create demonstration programs to allow first responders to prevent opioid overdose death by administering an opioid overdose reversal drug (e.g., naloxone).
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2015
Cancer Drug Coverage Parity Act of 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require a group or individual health plan that covers anticancer medications administered by a health care provider to provide no less favorable coverage for anticancer medications administered by a patient. A plan may apply to patient-administered anticancer medications only the cost-sharing and limitations that apply to anticancer medications administered by a health care provider. These requirements apply to medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration that is prescribed based on a finding by the treating physician that the medication is medically necessary for cancer treatment and is clinically appropriate in terms of type, frequency, extent site, and duration. To comply with these requirements, health plans may not, for anticancer medications: (1) change or replace benefits to increase out-of-pocket costs; (2) reclassify benefits to increase costs; or (3) apply more restrictive limitations to orally administered medications than to intravenously administered or injected medications.
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
Breast Cancer Awareness Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the fight against breast cancer. The Treasury shall: select the design for the coins based upon the winning design from a juried, compensated design competition following certain specifications; and issue the coins only during the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2018. All such coin sales must include the following surcharges: $35 per $5 gold coin, $10 per $1 dollar silver coin, and $5 per half-dollar coin. The Treasury shall pay received surcharges promptly to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation according to a specified distribution formula.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Declares that it is an unlawful employment practice for employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, and other specified entities to: (1) fail to make reasonable accommodations to known limitations related to the pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions of job applicants or employees, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on such an entity's business operation; (2) require such job applicants or employees to accept an accommodation that they choose not to accept, if such accommodation is unnecessary to perform the job; (3) deny employment opportunities based on the need of the entity to make such reasonable accommodations; (4) require such employees to take paid or unpaid leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided to their known limitations; or (5) take adverse action in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment against an employee requesting or using such reasonable accommodations. Sets forth enforcement procedures and remedies under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, and the rights and protections extended to presidential offices. Directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to issue regulations to carry out this Act, including the identification of reasonable accommodations addressing known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Prohibits state immunity under the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution from an action for a violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015
Flexibility and Oversight Act Authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to transfer funds from one covered program to another covered program if: (1) such transfer will improve the quality of service provided by the VA to veterans, (2) the VA notifies Congress of the justification for such transfer, and (3) a period of 30 days has elapsed following the date of such notification. Defines "covered program" to mean the VA's Health Professional Scholarship Program, Employee Incentive Scholarship Program, and education debt reduction programs. Requires the VA's annual report on its educational assistance programs to include, during the 10-year period beginning on March 1, 2016, an evaluation of the efficacy of the programs in increasing the quality of health care provided to veterans and opportunities for improvement.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015
Retain Act This bill expands the eligibility of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees to participate in the education debt reduction program. The VA must give participation priority to employees providing direct-patient care services or services incident to direct-patient care services for which recruitment or retention of qualified health-care personnel is difficult.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015
Train Act This bill revises the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employee incentive scholarship program to increase: (1) the scholarship program from one to four years, (2) the required term of a graduate's full-time VA health service to up to four years, and (3) the maximum scholarship for a full-time student to $25,000 per year. An individual who is enrolled in the program as of the day before the enactment of this Act may elect to be covered by this Act with respect to a quarter, semester, or term commencing on or after enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015
Recruit Act This bill specifies that a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health professional scholarship shall consist of up to the full amount of the tuition and other reasonable educational expenses for a school year. The period of obligated service may exceed one calendar year for each such school year or part thereof if the VA determines that such period is appropriate based on the scholarship's amount and duration. An individual who is enrolled in such program as of the day before the date of enactment of this Act may elect to be covered by the amendments made by this Act with respect to a quarter, semester, or term commencing on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015
Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude services rendered by bona-fide volunteers providing firefighting and prevention services, emergency medical services, or ambulance services to a state or local government or a tax-exempt charitable organization from the category of services usually rendered by an employee of an applicable large employer subject to the mandate to provide minimum essential health care coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), thus exempting such employers from PPACA requirements with respect to such volunteers. The bill defines "bona fide volunteer" as an employee of any government entity and any tax-exempt charitable organization whose only compensation is in the form of: (1) reimbursement for (or reasonable allowance for) reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of volunteer services, or (2) reasonable benefits (including length-of-service awards) and nominal fees customarily paid by similar entities for the services of volunteers.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015
Expresses the profound sorrow and deep regret of the House of Representatives on the announcement of the untimely death of Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden, III, son of Vice President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2015
Community Lender Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act of 2015 This bill amends the Truth in Lending Act with respect to the presumption of a mortgagor's ability to pay a qualified residential mortgage loan and the insured depository institutions or insured credit unions meeting specified criteria that may be its creditors. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act is amended to exempt from its requirement of annual written privacy notices certain financial institutions. The Federal Deposit Insurance Act is amended to: (1) increase from $500 million to $1 billion the size of certain small insured depository institutions eligible for an 18-month on-site examination cycle, and (2) require private deposit insurers of credit unions to give the Federal Housing Finance Agency copies of independent audit reports within 7 days after the audit is completed. The Federal Home Loan Bank Act is amended to require the treatment of a state-chartered credit union as an insured depository institution even though it is not federally insured if it has applied for membership in a federal home loan bank and has met specified conditions, including insurance application eligibility requirements under the Federal Credit Union Act. The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on the adequacy of insurance reserves held by the private deposit insurer of privately insured credit unions, including the level of compliance with federal regulations regarding disclosure of a lack of federal deposit insurance. The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is amended to extend securities registration requirements to savings and loan holding companies. The S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 is amended to: establish a transitional period during which a state, while examining the applicant's submitted background information, may permit a covered registered loan originator applying for a state license as a loan originator to act as one under the supervision of a non-depository firm that engages in loan origination in that state, and grant confidentiality to information shared with state and federal regulatory officials with financial services industry oversight authority. The Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 is amended to cover specified sections of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act as "enumerated consumer laws." The expiration of the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009 is repealed, and the Act is restored and revived as it was in effect on December 31, 2014.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Student Right to Know Before You Go Act of 2015 This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify reporting requirements for institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in title IV federal financial aid programs. Currently, to retain title IV eligibility, IHEs must report data to the Department of Education (ED) through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). This bill requires IHEs to submit additional student enrollment data to ED to enable coding and reporting on students' level of academic preparation. It also requires ED to calculate additional outcome measures by institution and program, including: the percentage of students who receive federal, state, or institutional grants or loans; the average amount of federal loan debt upon graduation; the average amount of total federal loan debt of students who do not complete a program of study; student transfer rates; rates of continuation to higher levels of education; and the percentage of students who receive the degree they initially sought. ED must report additional outcome measures established by this Act, as well as all existing student data in IPEDS, based on these student types: receipt or non-receipt of federal Pell Grants, receipt or non-receipt of Stafford Loans, participation in the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Program, enrollment status, and enrollment intensity. ED must also, in cooperation with the Social Security Administration, make publicly available data on employment metrics and median annual earnings 2 years, 6 years, and 15 years after program completion. ED must report the data by: education program, credential received, institution, and state of employment.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Military Spouses Achieving College Education for Survivors Act of 2015 or ACES Act of 2015 This bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to deem any member of the Armed Forces who died between September 11, 2001, and December 31, 2005, to have died on January 1, 2006, in order to make that member's surviving spouse eligible for the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry scholarship. (Surviving spouses of service members who die in the line of duty after September 11, 2001, are eligible for such assistance until the earlier of the date they remarry or the date that is 15 years after the military spouse's death.) A surviving spouse of a member of the Armed Forces who died between September 11, 2001, and December 31, 2005, who elected before enactment of this Act to receive educational benefits under the Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance program or the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Frye program may revoke such choice. (Such an election is currently irrevocable.)
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Flexibility to Promote Reemployment Act Amends title III (Grants to States for Unemployment Compensation Administration) of the Social Security Act, with respect to grants to states by the Department of Labor for reemployment demonstration projects, to allow grants to up to 10 states per year instead of a maximum of 10 states altogether. Allows a designee of a state governor, instead of only the governor, to apply for such a grant. Extends the allowable project period through December 31, 2019. Allows direct disbursements under a project to employers who hire individuals receiving unemployment compensation to include disbursements promoting retention. Requires the Department to approve completed grant applications in the order of receipt. Revises requirements for termination of a project to require the Department to: notify a state in writing with sufficient detail describing any violation of the substantive terms or conditions of a project justifying its termination, and determine that the state has not taken action to correct the violation within 90 days after notification. Directs the Department to evaluate the impact of each demonstration project, using existing data sources and methodology appropriate to determine project effects, including the effect on individual skill levels, earnings, and employment retention.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Friendly Airports for Mothers Act of 2015 This bill authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to approve a grant application for an airport development project only if the Secretary receives written assurances that the owner or operator of a large or medium hub airport will maintain a lactation area at each passenger terminal building of the airport behind the airport security screening area. The bill defines "lactation area" to mean a room or other location in a commercial service airport for members of the public to express breast milk that: is shielded from view and free from intrusion from the public; has a door that can be locked; includes a place to sit, a table or other flat surface, and an electrical outlet; is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities; and is not located in a restroom. The Secretary may approve a terminal development project for the construction or installation of a lactation area at a commercial service airport.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Budget Integrity Act This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to prepare long-term cost estimates for reported legislation with a gross budgetary impact of at least 0.25% of gross domestic product in either of the next two 10-year periods. The bill also creates a point of order against considering legislation in the House or the Senate that would cause a net increase in on-budget deficits above $5 billion in either of the two periods. The CBO and the Office of Management and Budget must issue long-term budget projections that cover 40 years. The Government Accountability Office must report on the effects of long-term debt. The bill amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to deem the House to have passed any necessary changes to the statutory debt limit upon adoption of the budget resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Expresses the sense of Congress that an appropriate site in the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery should be provided for a memorial marker (to be paid for with private funds) to honor the memory of those who have been awarded or are eligible for the Korean Defense Service Medal who are missing in action or unaccounted for, or who died in-theater, if the Secretary of the Army has exclusive authority to approve the site and design of the marker.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2015
Fair Access to Investment Research Act of 2015 This bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to revise a specified regulation to create a safe harbor for certain publications or distributions of research reports by brokers or dealers distributing securities. The revised regulation shall declare that, even if a broker or dealer participates in the registered offering of a covered investment fund's securities, the investment fund research report shall not be deemed to constitute an offer for sale nor an offer to sell a security that is the subject of the offering pursuant to a registration statement that the issuer proposes to file, or has filed, or that is effective. The covered investment fund research report shall indeed be deemed to satisfy the regulation's requirements as well as those of any self-regulatory organization. The SEC is prohibited from imposing specified conditions and requirements when implementing the safe harbor.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2015
Protect Student Borrowers Act of 2015 This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education (IHEs) participating in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program to accept specified risk-sharing requirements. For any fiscal year in which at least 25% of the IHE's student body is participating in the Direct Loan program, the IHE must remit a risk-sharing payment (a percentage of the total amount of its defaulted Direct Loans) that declines as the cohort default rate declines. If an IHE develops and implements an approved student loan management plan that includes individualized financial aid counseling for students and strategies to minimize student loan default and delinquency, the Department of Education (ED) must modify the risk-sharing requirements. ED may waive or reduce an IHE's risk-sharing payments in certain other instances. An IHE may not deny admission or financial aid based on a perception that a student may be at risk for defaulting on a Direct Loan. ED may enter into contracts or cooperative agreements for: (1) statewide or institutionally-based programs for the prevention of federal student loan delinquency and default at IHEs that have a high cohort default rate or serve large numbers of students who have a higher risk of defaulting on student loans under title IV, and (2) increasing the number of borrowers who successfully rehabilitate defaulted loans. Risk-sharing payments are to be deposited in a separate account in the Treasury and used as follows: (1) up to 50% for ED to enter into the contracts or cooperative agreements for delinquency and default prevention or rehabilitation, and (2) the remainder to offset any future shortfalls in funding under the Federal Pell Grant program. An IHE's ability to meet its obligation to make risk-sharing payments shall be part of the determination of its eligibility to participate in title IV programs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2015
Global Respect Act Directs the President to submit to Congress a list of each foreign person that the President determines is responsible, or acted as an agent, for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against an individual in a foreign country based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Makes a listed foreign person ineligible to enter or be admitted to the United States. Requires revocation of any visa issued for such person. Authorizes the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive such prohibition if in U.S. national security interests or if necessary for compliance with the Agreement between the United Nations (U.N.) and the United States regarding the U.N. Headquarters. Requires congressional notification prior to any such waiver. Directs the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor to designate a senior officer or officers to track violence, criminalization, and restrictions on fundamental freedoms in foreign countries based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include information on sexual orientation or gender identity violence or restrictions in the annual country reports on human rights practices.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2015
Field EMS Modernization and Innovation Act This bill amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to require the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to evaluate the implementation and reimbursement under Medicare of field EMS (emergency medical response and medical care provided outside of a medical facility) other than transportation to the nearest appropriate medical facility. The Social Security Administration (SSA) must: (1) promote innovative payment models for field EMS, (2) develop and evaluate innovative models of field EMS delivery and reimbursement, and (3) pay providers and suppliers of ground ambulance services for reporting certain quality measures. The SSA may establish for field EMS an innovative payment model that has been sufficiently demonstrated. The Public Health Service Act (PHSA) is amended to require the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response to: (1) award grants to improve field EMS agency readiness and for field EMS education programs, (2) promote medical oversight of field EMS, (3) make recommendations for improving collection and use of field EMS data that the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) must implement, and (4) develop and implement a national emergency medical services strategy to improve patient outcomes in the field and support value-based emergency medical care. Patient safety improvement activities are expanded to include field EMS agencies, medical directors, and emergency medical technicians. Responsibility for the National EMS Information System is transferred from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to the ONC. Emergency medical service providers are health care providers for purposes of title XXX (Health Information Technology and Quality) of the PHSA. HHS is responsible for improving the emergency medical care system and field EMS. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality must conduct or support field EMS research. Federal field EMS research may be used to determine Medicare coverage. This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the Emergency Medical Services Trust Fund and allow individuals to contribute to the fund when filing a tax return.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2015
Federal Adjustment in Reporting Student Credit Act of 2015 or the FAIR Student Credit Act of 2015 Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to allow a consumer to request the removal of a previously reported default regarding a qualified education loan from a consumer report if the consumer meets the requirements of a private loan rehabilitation program in which the number of consecutive on-time monthly payments is equal to the number of payments specified in a default reduction program under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Permits a consumer to obtain such rehabilitation benefits only once per loan. Requires the Government Accountability Office to report on any challenges borrowers experience with the private loan rehabilitation program.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2015
Medical Debt Act of 2015 This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit a consumer reporting agency from making any consumer report containing information related to: (1) a medical debt (arising from the receipt of medical services, products, or devises) if the date on which the debt was placed for collection, charged to profit or loss, or any similar action antedates the report by less than 180 days, or (2) a fully paid or settled medical debt that had been characterized as delinquent, charged off, or in collection which, from the date of payment or settlement, antedates the report by more than 45 days. The bill also amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to require a debt collector, before informing a consumer reporting agency regarding a medical debt, to notify the consumer in writing that: (1) the debt collector could report the debt to a consumer reporting agency 180 days after the notification is sent, specifying the precise end date of the period; (2) the debt will not be reported if it is settled or paid during the 180-day period; and (3) the consumer may, during the 180-day period, either communicate with an insurance company to determine coverage for the debt or apply for financial assistance. The debt collector may not communicate with or report any information to a consumer reporting agency concerning such a debt during the 180-day period.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2015
Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2015 Prohibits the wages or other remuneration earned by an employee who performs employment duties in more than one state from being subject to income tax in any state other than: (1) the state of the employee's residence, and (2) the state within which the employee is present and performing employment duties for more than 30 days during the calendar year. Exempts employers from withholding of tax and information reporting requirements for employees not subject to income tax under this Act. Allows an employer, for purposes of determining penalties related to employer withholding or reporting requirements, to rely on an employee's annual determination of the time such employee will spend working in a state in the absence of fraud or collusion by such employee. Exempts from the definition of "employee" for purposes of this Act professional athletes, professional entertainers, and public figures who are persons of prominence who perform services for wages or other remuneration on a per-event basis.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2015
Constitutional Amendment Declares that women shall have equal rights in the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction. Prohibits the United States or any state from denying or abridging equal rights under the law on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
Eliminates the time limit for ratification of the equal rights amendment (prohibits discrimination on account of sex) proposed to the states in House Joint Resolution 208 of the 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972. Declares that such amendment shall be part of the Constitution whenever ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2015
Parental Bereavement Act of 2015 or the Sarah Grace-Farley-Kluger Act Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to entitle an eligible employee to up to 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period because of the death of a son or daughter. Allows such an employee to substitute any available paid leave for any leave without pay. Applies the same leave entitlement to federal employees.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2015
Directs the Department of Defense to provide transportation on scheduled and unscheduled military flights within the United States and on scheduled overseas flights on a space-available basis for veterans with a service-connected, permanent disability rated as total on the same basis as such transportation is provided to members of the Armed Forces entitled to retired or retainer pay.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2015
Authorizes the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia and its environs to commemorate the commitment and service represented by emergency medical services. Prohibits the use of federal funds to pay any expense of the establishment of such work. Makes the Foundation solely responsible for acceptance of contributions for, and payment of the expenses of, the establishment of such work. Provides for the deposit of excess funds received for such work into a National Park Foundation account.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2015
Data Security Act of 2015 Requires individuals, corporations, or other non-government entities that access, maintain, communicate, or handle sensitive financial account information or nonpublic personal information to implement an information security program and to notify consumers, federal law enforcement, appropriate administrative agencies, payment card networks, and consumer reporting agencies of certain data breaches of unencrypted sensitive information likely to cause identity theft or fraudulent transactions on consumer financial accounts. Directs entities to require their third-party service providers by contract to implement appropriate safeguards for sensitive information. Allows an entity to delay notifications upon the request of a law enforcement agency. Provides special notification procedures for: (1) third-party service providers that maintain data in electronic form on behalf of another entity, and (2) certain electronic data carriers. Allows financial institutions to communicate with account holders regarding breaches at third-party entities with access to their account information. Sets forth alternative compliance procedures for: (1) financial institutions and affiliates under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and (2) entities complying with certain health record privacy laws. Requires this Act to be enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, or a state insurance authority depending on the type of entity handling the sensitive information. Prohibits certain state laws from being imposed for information security and breach notification purposes. Sets forth requirements concerning the application of this Act to entities regulated by the Federal Communications Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2015
Warren Weinstein Hostage Rescue Act This bill amends the National Security Act of 1947 to establish: (1) the Committee on Hostage Recovery within the National Security Council (NSC), and (2) the Interagency Fusion Cell on Hostage Recovery which shall execute the Committee's hostage retrieval strategies. The Committee's functions shall include: coordinating retrieval of U.S. hostages among federal departments and agencies and among the United States and its allies; coordinating with the Interagency Fusion Cell on Hostage Recovery; developing hostage retrieval strategies and guidelines; developing information sharing policies and procedures; and developing a strategy to keep family members of U.S. hostages informed, and policies that do not compromise U.S. national security. It is the sense of Congress that the President should appoint a Special Advisor on Hostage Affairs who: (1) serves as the chair of the NSC Committee on Hostage Recovery; (2) has extensive foreign policy, counterterrorism, and hostage recovery experience; and; (3) serves (or the designee of the Special Advisor serves) as a primary liaison between the federal government and the family of a U.S. hostage. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing the federal government to negotiate with a state sponsor of terrorism or a foreign terrorist organization.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Ghost Army Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, known collectively as the "Ghost Army," in recognition of its service during World War II. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should make the medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at appropriate locations associated with the Ghost Army, and that preference should be given to locations affiliated with the Smithsonian.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Mourns the death of Dr. Warren Weinstein and expresses condolences to his family. Salutes Dr. Weinstein for his lifelong commitment to humanitarian development work in challenging and dangerous circumstances. Calls on the United States to make the return of all U.S. citizens held captive abroad a top priority, and to provide a coordinated and consistent approach to supporting hostages and their families. Requests that the Clerk of the House transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the Weinstein family.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2015
SAFE Transitional Licensing Act of 2015 This bill amends the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 to provide a temporary license of 120 days for registered loan originators: (1) moving from a financial institution to a state-licensed non-bank originator, or (2) moving interstate to a state-licensed loan originator in another state. Any person registering a registered loan originator with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry shall be subject to this Act and to applicable state law to the same extent as if that registered loan originator was licensed and registered as a state-licensed loan originator.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Iran should release all detained U.S. citizens and provide any information it possesses regarding any U.S. citizens who have disappeared within its borders.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2015
Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to require the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to develop a model form for a disclosure notice to be used by depository institutions and credit unions to inform consumers before they open a checking account. Exempts from the requirement to use such a form any depository institutions or credit unions with total assets of less than $2 billion.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2015
Equitable Access to Care and Health Act or the EACH Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the religious conscience exemption under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to exempt individuals who rely solely on a religious method of healing and for whom the acceptance of medical health services would be inconsistent with their religious beliefs from the requirement to purchase and maintain minimum essential health care coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2015
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to Edwin Cole "Ed" Bearss in recognition of his contributions to the preservation of American Civil War history and his continued efforts to bring our nation's history alive for new generations through his interpretive storytelling.
![Official portrait of Rep. Carney, John C., Jr. [D-DE-At Large]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c001083_200.jpg)