United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2015
Access to Professional Health Insurance Advisors Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to exclude remuneration paid for licensed independent insurance producers from administrative costs for purposes of calculating the medical-loss ratio of a health insurance plan. Defines "independent insurance producer" to mean an insurance agent or broker, insurance consultant, benefit specialist, limited insurance representative, and any other person required to be licensed under state law to sell, solicit, negotiate, service, effect, procure, renew, or bind policies of insurance coverage or offer advice, counsel, opinions, or services related to insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2015 Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct any prescription drug plan that has in its network one or more pharmacies located in a health professional shortage area, in a medically underserved area, or among a medically underserved population, and that provides a reduction in coinsurance or copayments for covered part D drugs, to extend to any pharmacy located in that area, or among that population, the option to be an in-network pharmacy under terms and conditions comparable to those the plan has agreed upon with other in-network pharmacies located in the area or among that population.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the caps on Medicare outpatient rehabilitation physical therapy services and speech-language pathology services.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Email Privacy Act Amends the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 to prohibit a provider of remote computing service or electronic communication service to the public from knowingly divulging to a governmental entity the contents of any communication that is in electronic storage or otherwise maintained by the provider, subject to exceptions. Revises provisions under which the government may require a provider to disclose the contents of such communications. Eliminates the different requirements applicable under current law depending on whether such communications were: (1) stored for fewer than, or more than, 180 days by an electronic communication service; or (2) held by an electronic communication service as opposed to a remote computing service. Requires the government to obtain a warrant from a court before requiring providers to disclose the content of such communications regardless of how long the communication has been held in electronic storage by an electronic communication service or whether the information is sought from an electronic communication service or a remote computing service Requires a law enforcement agency, within 10 days after receiving the contents of a customer's communication, or a governmental entity, within 3 days, to provide a customer whose communications were disclosed by the provider a copy of the warrant and a notice that such information was requested by, and supplied to, the government entity. Allows the government to request delays of such notifications. Prohibits disclosure requirements that apply to providers from being construed to limit the government's authority to use an administrative or civil discovery subpoena to require: (1) an originator or recipient of an electronic communication to disclose the contents of such communication, or (2) an entity that provides electronic communication services to its employees or agents to disclose the contents of an electronic communication to or from such employee or agent if the communication is on an electronic communications system owned or operated by the entity. Allows the government to apply for an order directing a provider, for a specified period, to refrain from notifying any other person that the provider has been required to disclose communications or records. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress regarding disclosures of customer communications and records under provisions: (1) as in effect before the enactment of this Act, and (2) as amended by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2015 Defines a "covered civil action" as a civil action seeking to compel agency action and alleging that an agency is unlawfully withholding or unreasonably delaying an agency action relating to a regulatory action that would affect: (1) the rights of private persons other than the person bringing the action; or (2) a state, local, or tribal government. Defines a "covered consent decree" or a "covered settlement agreement" as: (1) a consent decree or settlement agreement entered into a covered civil action, and (2) any other consent decree or settlement agreement that requires agency action relating to such a regulatory action that affects the rights of such persons or governments. Requires an agency against which a covered civil action is brought to publish the notice of intent to sue and the complaint in a readily accessible manner, including by making such notice and complaint available online not later than 15 days after receiving service of such notice or complaint Requires an agency seeking to enter a covered consent decree or settlement agreement to publish such decree or agreement in the Federal Register and online not later than 60 days before it is filed with the court. Provides for public comment and public hearings on such decree or agreement. Requires the Attorney General or an agency head, if an agency is litigating a matter independently, to certify to the court that the Attorney General or the agency head approves of: (1) any proposed covered consent decree that includes terms that convert into a nondiscretionary duty a discretionary authority of an agency to propose, promulgate, revise, or amend regulations, commit an agency to expend funds that have not been appropriated and budgeted or to seek a particular appropriation or budget authorization, divest an agency of discretion committed to it by statute or the Constitution, or otherwise afford any relief that the court could not enter under its own authority; or (2) any proposed covered settlement agreement that includes terms that provide a remedy for a failure by the agency to comply with the terms of the agreement other than the revival of the civil action resolved by the agreement, interfere with the authority of an agency to revise, amend, or issue rules, or commit the agency to expend funds that have not been appropriated and budgeted or to exercise in a particular way discretion which was committed to the agency by statute or the Constitution. Requires a court to grant de novo review of a covered consent decree or settlement agreement if an agency files a motion to modify such decree or agreement on the basis that its terms are no longer fully in the public interest due to the agency's obligations to fulfill other duties or due to changed facts and circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Renewable Fuel Standard Elimination Act This bill amends the Clean Air Act to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency's renewable fuel program, which requires transportation fuel to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuel.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Short Line Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for railroad track maintenance, to: (1) expand the types of maintenance expenditures eligible for such credit, and (2) extend such credit through 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
RFS Reform Act of 2015 This bill amends the Clean Air Act to revise the renewable fuel standard program. Beginning on January 1, 2015, the renewable fuel that is required to be blended into gasoline must be advanced biofuel, which cannot be ethanol derived from corn starch. This bill revises the renewable fuel standards by decreasing the total volume of renewable fuel that must be contained in gasoline sold or introduced into commerce for years 2015 through 2022. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must determine the target amount of cellulosic biofuel to be blended into transportation fuel based on the actual volume of cellulosic biofuel produced in the current year. The EPA must reduce the required volume of renewable fuel in transportation fuel by the same volume of cellulosic biofuel in the fuel. The EPA may not allow gasoline containing greater than 10% ethanol by volume to be introduced into commerce. Waivers that allow gasoline containing a greater percentage of ethanol are nullified.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2015
Mortgage Choice Act of 2015 Amends the Truth in Lending Act with respect to requirements for disclosure to a consumer of points and fees information about a consumer credit transaction, secured by the consumer's principal dwelling, but which is not a residential mortgage transaction, a reverse mortgage transaction, or a transaction under an open end credit plan, when the total points and fees the consumer must pay at or before closing will exceed 8% of the total loan amount or $400, whichever is greater. (Such consumer credit transactions might include an equity credit line to which consumer purchases or leases may be charged.) Excludes from the computation of such points and fees any escrow for future payment of insurance. Modifies the criteria for exclusion from the computation of points and fees of certain reasonable charges elsewhere exempted from the computation of the finance charge in extensions of credit secured by an interest in real property. Excludes from points and fees any such reasonable charges even though a creditor receives compensation, but only in so far as the creditor or its affiliate retains the compensation as a result of their participation in an affiliated business arrangement. (An "affiliated business arrangement" is one in which: (1) a person who is in a position to refer business incident to or a part of a real estate settlement service involving a federally related mortgage loan, or an associate of such person, has either an affiliate relationship with or a direct or beneficial ownership interest of more than 1% in a provider of settlement services; and (2) either of such persons directly or indirectly refers such business to that provider or affirmatively influences the provider's selection.) Revises the additional requirement that such a reasonable charge be paid to a third party unaffiliated with the creditor. Requires the charge to be: (1) a bona fide third party charge not retained by the mortgage originator, creditor, or an affiliate; or (2) a fee or premium for title examination, title insurance, or similar purposes. Modifies the conditions under which federal departments and agencies may exempt refinancings under a streamlined refinancing from an income verification requirement that, at the time a refinancing is consummated, the consumer has a reasonable ability to repay the loan and all applicable taxes, insurance, and assessments. Repeals the exception for bona fide third party charges not retained by the mortgage originator, creditor, or an affiliate from the requirement that total points and fees not exceed 3% of the total new loan amount. (Thus subjects such charges to the same 3% ceiling.)
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2015
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to exclude from the average sales price in calculating Medicare payments for drugs and biologicals any customary prompt pay discounts from manufacturers to wholesalers.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
FOIA Oversight and Implementation Act of 2015 or the FOIA Act This bill makes changes to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to provide the public with greater access to information disclosable under such Act. The bill requires agencies, in administering FOIA, to: (1) make information disclosable under such Act available to the public in an electronic, publicly accessible format; and (2) make available to the public records of general interest that inform the public of the operations and activities of the government or that have been requested three or more times. The Office of Management and Budget is directed to ensure the operation of an online request portal that allows a member of the public to submit a FOIA request for records to any agency from a single website. The bill establishes a presumption of openness by prohibiting an agency from withholding information otherwise disclosable under FOIA unless: (1) the agency reasonably foresees that disclosure would cause specific identifiable harm to an interest protected by an exemption to FOIA, or (2) disclosure is prohibited by law. The duties of the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) are expanded to require: (1) mediation services to resolve disputes between agencies and persons making FOIA requests; (2) annual reports on the activities of OGIS that are available in an electronic, publicly accessible format; and (3) annual public meetings on the review of agencies' FOIA policies, procedures, and compliance. The bill requires annual agency FOIA reports and the annual reports on FOIA of the Attorney General and the Director of the Office of Information Policy (OIP) to be made available in an electronic, publicly accessible format. Agencies are prohibited from assessing search or duplication fees if they have failed to comply with a statutory deadline for a FOIA response and did not submit a written notice to the requestor justifying the fees requested. The role of the Chief FOIA Officer at each agency is expanded to require officers to serve as the primary agency liaison between OGIS and OIP and to complete annual compliance determinations that review agency regulations, fee assessments, use of exemptions, dispute resolution services, and the timely processing of FOIA requests. The bill establishes a Chief FOIA Officers Council for developing recommendations for increasing compliance and efficiency, disseminating information about agency experiences, identifying initiatives to increase transparency and compliance, and promoting performance measures to ensure agency compliance with FOIA requirements. The Inspector General of each agency is required to: (1) periodically review compliance with FOIA requirements, including the timely processing of requests, assessment of fees and fee waivers, and the use of FOIA exemptions, and (2) make recommendations to the agency head, including recommendations for disciplinary action.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2015 Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to exempt traditional large and premium cigars from regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and from user fees assessed on tobacco products by the FDA.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
National Right-to-Work Act Amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to repeal those provisions that permit employers, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement that is a union security agreement, to require employees to join a union as a condition of employment (including provisions permitting railroad carriers to require, pursuant to such an agreement, payroll deduction of union dues or fees as a condition of employment).
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Medicare Home Infusion Site of Care Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize Medicare coverage of home infusion therapy and home infusion drugs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to implement the Medicare home infusion therapy benefit in a manner that ensures that: (1) Medicare beneficiaries have timely and appropriate access to infusion therapy in their homes, and (2) there is rapid and seamless coordination between drug coverage under Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) and home infusion therapy services coverage under Medicare part B (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) to avoid the filing of duplicative or otherwise improper claims.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Nuclear Family Priority Act Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate parents from the definition of "immediate relatives" with respect to those aliens not subject to worldwide immigration levels or numerical limitations. Replaces existing family-sponsored immigrant categories with a single preference allocation for spouses and children of permanent resident aliens. Reduces the number of, and revises the calculation for, fiscal year family-sponsored immigrant entrants. Establishes a nonimmigrant visa category for an alien who is a parent of a U.S. citizen at least 21 years old.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Timely Repatriation Act This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to publish a report every six months listing: (1) countries that have refused or unreasonably delayed repatriation of an alien who is a national of that country (the report must include the total number of such aliens) and countries that have an excessive repatriation failure rate, and (2) each country that was included in both the report preceding the current report and the current report (DHS may exclude a country if the total number of nonrepatriations outstanding is less than 10 for the preceding three-year period). The Department of State, with respect to a listed country: (1) may not issue visas to attendants, servants, and personal employees of such country's officials and employees who receive nonimmigrant status; and (2) shall reduce the number of visas available for such country's diplomats and officials/employees by 10% for each six months that a country is listed.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act of 2015 Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require physical therapists furnishing outpatient physical therapy services to use specified locum tenens arrangements for payment purposes in the same manner as such arrangements are used to apply to physicians furnishing substitute physicians services for other physicians. (Locum tenens [place holder], or substitute, physicians usually assume professional practices in the absence of a regular physician for reasons such as illness, pregnancy, vacation, or continuing medical education.)
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act of 2015 or the FAIR Act This bill modifies general rules governing civil forfeiture proceedings to: (1) ensure that a person contesting a civil forfeiture has legal representation without regard to whether the property subject to forfeiture is being used by such person as a primary residence; (2) increase the federal government's burden of proof in civil forfeiture proceedings to clear and convincing evidence; (3) require the government, in addition to showing a substantial connection between the seized property and an offense, to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the owner of any interest in the seized property used the property with intent to facilitate the offense or knowingly consented or was willfully blind to the use of the property by another in connection with the offense; and (4) expand the proportionality criteria used by a court to determine whether a civil forfeiture was constitutionally excessive. To remove incentives for carrying out civil forfeitures, the bill requires proceeds from the disposition of seized property to be deposited into the General Fund of the Treasury, rather than to Department of Justice accounts for law enforcement activities. The bill adds a scienter requirement (i.e., a knowing violation) to the prohibition against structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements. The bill requires: (1) a court to conduct a probable cause hearing to determine if there is a violation of the prohibition against structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements involving a monetary instrument and to return such instrument if probable cause is not established, and (2) the Attorney General to specify in reports to Congress and the public on forfeitures the amounts received from criminal and civil forfeitures.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Veterans Access to Community Care Act of 2015 Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to use the Secretary's existing authority to furnish health care to veterans at non-VA facilities to provide health care at non-VA facilities to veterans who reside more than 40 miles driving distance from the closest VA medical facility providing the care they seek.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Action for Dental Health Act 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize oral health promotion and disease prevention programs through FY2020. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may award grants or enter into contracts to obtain portable or mobile dental equipment and pay operational costs for the provision of free dental services to underserved populations. The CDC may also award grants or enter into contracts to collaborate with state, county, or local public officials and other stakeholders to develop and implement initiatives to: (1) improve oral health education and dental disease prevention; (2) make the health care delivery system providing dental services more accessible and efficient through the development and expansion of outreach programs that facilitate the establishment of dental homes; (3) reduce geographic, language, cultural, and similar barriers in the provision of dental services; (4) reduce the use of emergency departments by those who seek dental services more appropriately delivered in a dental primary care setting; or (5) facilitate the provision of dental care to nursing home residents who are disproportionately affected by lack of care.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act of 2015 or the ACE Kids Act of 2015 Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act to allow a state, at its option, to elect to provide medical assistance for items and services furnished to eligible children with medically complex conditions enrolled in a Medicaid Children's Care Coordination (MCCC) program. Requires an MCCC program, among other things, to coordinate, integrate, and provide for the furnishing of the full range of MCCC program services to enrolled children, as well as designate pediatric care management services and pediatric focused care coordination and health promotion. Requires a state to enroll eligible children prospectively in an MCCC program through an initial 90-day assignment to a nationally designated children's hospital network, unless the child opts not to participate in any MCCC program.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2015
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Land Adjustment Act of 2015 Authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to sell or exchange any or all interest of the United States in 30 tracts of National Forest System land in Georgia totaling approximately 3,841 acres. Authorizes USDA to reserve any rights-of-way or other rights or interests in land sold or exchanged under this Act that is considered necessary for management purposes or to protect the public interest. Prohibits USDA from selling or exchanging land under this Act for less than market value, as determined by an appraisal or through a competitive bid. Requires proceeds to be used for the acquisition of land for national forest purposes in Georgia.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2015
Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park Boundary Revision Act of 2015 Redesignates the Ocmulgee National Monument in Georgia as the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park. Adjusts the boundary of the Historical Park to include approximately 2,100 acres. Directs the Department of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the Ocmulgee River corridor between the cities of Macon, Georgia, and Hawkinsville, Georgia, to determine: (1) the national significance of the study area; (2) the suitability and feasibility of adding lands in the study area to the National Park System; and (3) the methods and means for the protection and interpretation of the study area by the National Park Service, other federal, state, local government entities, affiliated federally recognized Indian tribes, or private or nonprofit organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2015
Working Families Flexibility Act of 2015 Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to authorize private employers to provide compensatory time off to private employees at a rate of 1 1/2 hours per hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required. Authorizes an employer to provide compensatory time only if it is in accordance with an applicable collective bargaining agreement or, in the absence of such an agreement, an agreement between the employer and employee. Prohibits an employee from accruing more than 160 hours of compensatory time. Requires an employee's employer to provide monetary compensation, after the end of a calendar year, for any unused compensatory time off accrued during the preceding year. Requires an employer to give employees 30-day notice before discontinuing compensatory time off. Prohibits an employer from intimidating, threatening, or coercing an employee in order to: (1) interfere with the employee's right to request or not to request compensatory time off in lieu of payment of monetary overtime compensation, or (2) require an employee to use such compensatory time. Makes an employer who violates such requirements liable to the affected employee in the amount of the compensation rate for each hour of compensatory time accrued, plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, reduced for each hour of compensatory time used. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress every three years on: (1) the extent to which employers provide compensatory time off and employees opt to receive it; (2) the number of complaints filed by an employee with the Secretary of Labor alleging a violation of the requirements as well as enforcement actions commenced by the Secretary on behalf of an aggrieved employee; (3) the disposition of such complaints and actions; and (4) any unpaid wages, damages, penalties, injunctive relief, or other remedies sought by the Secretary in connection with such actions.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2015 States that the purpose of this Act is to increase accountability for and transparency in the federal regulatory process by requiring Congress to approve all new major regulations. Revises provisions relating to congressional review of agency rulemaking to require a federal agency promulgating a rule to include in its report to Congress and to the Comptroller General a classification of the rule as a major or nonmajor rule. Requires a joint resolution of approval of major rules to be enacted before such rules may take effect. Provides that if a joint resolution of approval is not enacted by the end of 70 session days or legislative days, as applicable, after the agency proposing the rule submits its report on such rule to Congress, the major rule shall be deemed not to be approved and shall not take effect. Permits a major rule to take effect for one 90-calendar day period without such approval if the President determines it is necessary because of an imminent threat to health or safety or other emergency, for the enforcement of criminal laws, for national security, or to implement an international trade agreement. Sets forth the congressional approval procedure for major rules and the congressional disapproval procedure for nonmajor rules. Requires the introduction of a joint resolution addressing a report classifying a rule as a major rule within three legislative days in the House of Representative and three session days in the Senate. Prohibits any amendments to such a joint resolution at any stage of the legislative process. Provides for expedited consideration of a joint resolution of approval and requires a vote on such resolution in the Senate within 15 session days after it is reported by the committee to which it was referred, or after such committee has been discharged from further consideration of the resolution. Allows a court to review whether an agency has completed the necessary requirements under this Act for a rule to take effect. Limits the effect of a joint resolution of approval of a major rule. Prohibits an agency from allowing a major rule to take effect without the congressional review procedures set forth in this Act. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to provide that any congressional approval procedure set forth in this Act affecting budget authority, outlays, or receipts shall be assumed to be effective unless it is not approved in accordance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Sanctity of Human Life Act This bill declares that: (1) the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human and is the person's paramount and most fundamental right; (2) each human life begins with fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent, at which time every human has all legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood; and (3) Congress, each state, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories have the authority to protect all human lives.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Wild Game Donation Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the tax deduction for charitable contributions of qualified wild game meat by the processing fees paid with respect to such contributions, and (2) exclude from the gross income of meat processors processing fees paid by a charitable organization for the processing of donated wild game meat. Defines "qualified wild game meat" as the meat of any animal typically used for human consumption but only if: (1) such animal is killed in the wild by the individual making the charitable contribution and is hunted or taken in accordance with all state and local laws, (2) the meat is processed for human consumption by a licensed processor, and (3) the meat is apparently wholesome as determined by regulations under the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2015
Secure Our Borders First Act of 2015 Directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to submit Border Security Verification Commission (BSVC) and Government Accountability Office reports, at specified intervals, that assess the state of situational awareness and operational control along the northern and southern U.S. borders. Defines "situational awareness" as knowledge and an understanding of current unlawful cross-border activity, the ability to forecast future shifts in such threats and trends, and the operational capability to conduct continuous and integrated surveillance of such borders. Directs DHS to: (1) submit and implement an operational plan to gain and maintain situational awareness and operational control of high traffic areas within two years after enactment of this Act and operational control and situational awareness along the southern land border of the United States within five years; and (2) notify Congress that such objectives have been obtained and maintained, which notification shall be certified by the BSVC. Specifies: (1) additional capabilities to be deployed to the San Diego, El Centro, Yuma, Tucson, El Paso, Big Bend, Del Rio, Laredo, and Rio Grande Valley sectors and the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean and Gulf Maritime regions to achieve situational awareness and operational control of the southern border; (2) fencing to be constructed or replaced in the Border Patrol's San Diego, El Centro, Yuma, Tucson, Rio Grande Valley, El Centro, Yuma, El Paso, and Big Bend sectors; (3) road construction or maintenance projects to be completed in the San Diego, El Centro, Yuma, Tucson, Big Bend, El Paso, Del Rio, Laredo, and Rio Grande Valley sectors; (4) boat ramps to be constructed in the Del Rio, Laredo, and Rio Grande Valley sectors; (5) access gates to be constructed in the Rio Grande Valley sector; and (6) forward operating bases to be constructed in the El Paso, Tucson, Big Bend, Del Rio, Laredo, and Rio Grande sectors. Directs the Border Patrol to coordinate with the heads of each relevant federal and state agency to eradicate the Carrizo cane plant along the Rio Grande River. Requires: (1) the Border Patrol to develop metrics to measure the effectiveness of security between ports of entry, (2) U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to develop metrics to measure the effectiveness of security at ports of entry, (3) the Coast Guard and the CBP to jointly implement metrics to measure the effectiveness of security in the maritime environment, and (4) the CBP to implement metrics to measure the effectiveness of security in the aviation environment. Requires the BSVC to assess and the Comptroller General to report on the statistical validity of the data and methodology used to develop such metrics. Establishes the BSVC and a special congressional commission on border security to determine the criteria for recommending the three presidential appointees to the BSVC. Terminates the BSVC after determining the accuracy of the seventh annual metrics submission required under this Act. Directs the Border Patrol to impose a consequence for each alien apprehended pursuant to the Border Patrol's Consequence Delivery System. Authorizes the Border Patrol to alter the capability deployment requirements of this Act upon determining that the principal border security threats require alteration. Authorizes the Department of Defense (DOD) to allocate additional DOD aviation assets to the southern border to assist DHS in achieving situational awareness and operational control. Sets personnel levels for Border Patrol active duty agents, CBP's Office of Field Operations officers, and CBP's Office of Air and Marine agents. Requires: (1) DHS to ensure not fewer than 130,000 annual flight hours of the Office of Air and Marine, and (2) the Office of Air and Marine to operate unmanned aerial systems not less than 16 hours per day, seven days per week. Requires the Office of Air and Marine to assign the greatest prioritization to support Border Patrol requests to gain and maintain situational awareness and operational control of high traffic areas and operational control and situational awareness along the southern border. Authorizes the Border Patrol to transfer its agents, on a voluntary basis, to high traffic areas and to provide an incentive bonus for any such transfer. Prohibits the Departments of the Interior or Agriculture from impeding, prohibiting, or restricting CBP activities on federal land located within 100 miles of the U.S. border with Mexico to execute search and rescue operations and to prevent all unlawful entries into the United States. Directs DHS: (1) to submit an implementation plan to establish a biometric exit data system to complete the integrated biometric entry and exit data system; (2) within two years after enactment of this Act, to establish a biometric exit data system at the 15 U.S. airports and the 15 U.S. seaports that support the highest volume of international air and sea travel and the 15 U.S. land ports of entry that support the highest volume of pedestrian crossings; and (3) within five years, to expand such system to all land, air, and sea ports of entry. Prohibits travel, training, bonuses, or salary increases for DHS political appointees if the metrics requirements, the objectives relating to the achievement of situational awareness and operational control, or the biometric exit data system requirements are not met. Directs DHS to submit a northern border threat analysis. Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish in DHS a program known as Operation Stonegarden, under which DHS shall make grants to eligible law enforcement agencies to enhance border security. Authorizes the sale or donation of certain excess personal property of DOD for border security activities. Directs DOD to reimburse states for the cost of the deployment of any National Guard units or personnel to perform operations and missions under State Active Duty status in support of a southern border mission, subject to a specified cap.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
Creating Access to Rehabilitation for Every Senior (CARES) Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to coverage of extended care services without regard to the three-day prior hospitalization requirement (non-post-hospital extended care services). Restricts such coverage to non-post-hospital extended care services in a qualified skilled nursing facility. Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) to study the cost of impact of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
MAC Transparency Act Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require each contract entered into with a prescription drug plan (PDP) sponsor with respect to a PDP the sponsor offers to prohibit the PDP from entering into a contract with any pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) to manage the prescription drug coverage provided under such plan, or to control the costs of the prescription drug coverage under it, unless the PBM adheres to specified criteria when handling personally identifiable utilization and claims data or other sensitive patient data. Revises requirements for contracts with PDP sponsors to require that the PDP sponsor disclose to applicable pharmacies the sources used for making any update of the prescription drug pricing standard, and if the source for such a standard is not publicly available, disclose to such pharmacies all individual drug prices to be so updated in advance of their use for the reimbursement of claims. Requires the PDP sponsor, as well, to establish a process to appeal, investigate, and resolve disputes regarding individual drug prices that are less than the pharmacy acquisition price for a drug. Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD), with respect to the TRICARE retail pharmacy program, to ensure that a contract entered into with a TRICARE managed care support contractor includes requirements to ensure the provision of information regarding the pricing standard for prescription drugs. Establishes criteria to which a carrier and a PBM must adhere under a contract or an approved plan under which the carrier has an agreement with the PBM to manage prescription drug coverage or to control the costs of such coverage. Prohibits a PBM under such criteria from: (1) transmitting to a pharmacy owned by the PBM any personally identifiable utilization or claims data relating to an enrolled individual who has not voluntarily elected in writing or via secure electronic means to fill that particular prescription at such a pharmacy; or (2) requiring any enrolled individual to use a retail pharmacy, mail order pharmacy, specialty pharmacy, or other pharmacy entity in which the PBM has an ownership interest, or that has an ownership interest in the PBM, or give an incentive to encourage an enrollee to use the pharmacy if the incentive applies only to those pharmacies. Requires any contract or approved plan providing for a reimbursement standard with respect to a PDP to require the carrier to: (1) update the standard at least once every seven days to reflect the market price of a drug accurately; (2) disclose to pharmacies the sources used for making any such update; (3) make advance disclosure to those pharmacies of all individual drug prices to be updated if the source for a standard is not publicly available; and (4) establish a process to appeal, investigate, and resolve disputes regarding individual drug prices less than the pharmacy acquisition price.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
Immigration Accountability Act This bill prohibits the use of funds appropriated or otherwise made available for any fiscal year to implement or enforce specified immigration-related policies in: the memoranda issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security on November 20, 2014, which includes prosecutorial discretion regarding individuals who came to the United States as children and regarding certain individuals who are the parents of U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and expansion of the provisional waiver program; the memoranda issued by the President on November 21, 2014, which includes modernizing and streamlining the U.S. immigrant visa system for the 21st century; the memorandum issued by the Secretary on June 15, 2012, on exercising prosecutorial discretion with respect to individuals who came to the United States as children; and any substantially similar memorandum issued after November 21, 2014.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) from providing federal family planning assistance to an entity unless the entity certifies that, during the period of assistance, the entity will not perform, and will not provide funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion. Excludes an abortion where: (1) the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest; or (2) a physician certifies that the woman suffered from a physical disorder, injury, or illness that would place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy. Excludes hospitals that do not provide funds to non-hospital entities that perform abortions. Requires HHS to provide Congress annually: (1) information on grantees who performed abortions under the exceptions, and (2) a list of entities to which grant funds are made available.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2015
Repeal Executive Amnesty Act of 2015 This bill shifts from the Attorney General to the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to parole an alien temporarily into the United States, on a case-by-case basis, and in the Secretary's sole discretion, for an urgent humanitarian reasons or for another reason strictly in the public interest. A humanitarian parole is limited to: a medical emergency or organ or tissue donation in certain circumstances; or a situation in which a close family member in the United States is dying and the alien could not arrive in the United States, through the normal visa process, in time to see that family member alive. A public interest parole is limited to instances where the alien has assisted the U.S. government in a matter, such as a criminal investigation, espionage, or other similar law enforcement activity, and either the government requires the alien's U.S. presence or the alien's life would be threatened if not permitted to come to the United States. Aliens found ineligible for refugee status may not be paroled. No funds may be used to implement specified memoranda from the President, the Secretary, the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other related memoranda. Law enforcement officers of the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations are made eligible for the law enforcement availability pay (LEAP) authorized for federal criminal investigators. The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 is amended to eliminate the special repatriation requirements for unaccompanied alien children (UACs) who are nationals or residents of a country contiguous to the United States, and so apply to them the same removal requirements applied to all UACs who are not victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons and who do not have a fear of returning to their country of nationality or last habitual residence. Any inadmissible UAC at a land border or port of entry, who fails to meet these victim criteria, must be returned to his or her country of nationality or of last habitual residence. The Secretary of State's authority to negotiate agreements between the United States and countries contiguous to the United States for the repatriation of children is extended to agreements with any country, contiguous or not. Procedural rights are specified for UACs who are not victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons, and who do not fear returning to his or her country of nationality or last habitual residence. HHS must inform DHS about children apprehended during a specified period before enactment of this Act who are placed with an individual, and DHS must investigate the immigration status of that individual, and, if the individual is unlawfully present in the United States, initiate removal proceedings. Paroled aliens cannot receive benefits under either the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 or the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. State and local law enforcement personnel are authorized to investigate, identify, apprehend, arrest, detain, or transfer aliens to federal custody in order to enforce federal, state, or local immigration laws. State and local law enforcement personnel will enjoy immunity from personal liability in the performance of such duties. The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended to prescribe procedural requirements for the transfer from state or local to federal custody of inadmissible or deportable aliens. Appropriations are authorized for FY2015 and subsequent fiscal years for the incarceration of undocumented criminal aliens. Bureau Of Justice Assistance, public safety, and community policing grants under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as well as compensation for the incarceration of undocumented criminal aliens, is denied to any state or local government that has in place a law or policy contravening the information collection and sharing requirements of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. ICE may issue detainers to detain aliens arrested by a federal, state, or local law enforcement official for violations of any law, not just one relating to controlled substances. The interoperable electronic data system ("Chimera system") under the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002, which gives current, immediate access to information in federal law enforcement databases and the intelligence community relevant to an alien's admissibility or deportability, must also include the operation of the Secure Communities program. DHS must issue a detainer, take a deportable alien into custody, and initiate removal proceedings upon receiving notice under the interoperable law enforcement and intelligence electronic data system that a deportable alien is in federal, state, or local custody. The Immigration and Nationality Act is further amended to specify that: in no instance shall the government bear any expense for counsel for any person in removal proceedings or appealing from any such proceedings, an alien's statements must be true more probably than not in order to establish a credible fear of persecution in an asylum interview, and the prerequisite of a bilateral or multilateral agreement is eliminated as a condition for the possible removal to a safe third country in response to an alien's application for asylum in the United States. DHS must establish quality assurance procedures and take steps to ensure that: questions by DHS employees exercising expedited removal authority are asked in a uniform manner, and both these questions and the answers are recorded in a uniform fashion. Department of Justice authority is suspended until January 20, 2017, for waiver of the inadmissibility of any alien unlawfully present in the United States who is the spouse or son or daughter of a U.S. citizen or of a lawful permanent resident alien. Requirements are modified for the temporary protected status of aliens whose return to a foreign country would expose them to a serious threat to their personal safety.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2015
Medgar Wiley Evers Congressional Gold Medal Act Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of Medgar Wiley Evers, in recognition of his contributions and sacrifice in the fight for racial equality in the United States. Requires the medal, following its award, to be given to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, where it is to be available for display or temporary loan to be displayed elsewhere.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015 This bill directs the Government Accountability Office to: (1) complete, within 12 months of enactment, the required audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board) and of the Federal Reserve Banks; and (2) submit to Congress, within 90 days of audit completion, a detailed report of audit findings and conclusions. The bill repeals certain limitations placed upon audits of the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve banks.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Visa Waiver Program Improvement Act of 2015 Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include terrorism risk as a factor the Secretary of Homeland Security shall consider under the electronic system for travel authorization (ESTA) in determining the eligibility of an alien to travel to the United States. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress regarding: (1) the number of individuals, identified by their countries of citizenship or nationality, who were denied eligibility to travel, or whose eligibility was revoked, under the ESTA because the individual was determined to be a U.S. security threat; (2) steps to strengthen the ESTA; and (3) foreign government compliance with information sharing agreements concerning passport theft or loss and whether a country's citizens or nationals traveling to the United States pose a U.S. security threat. Authorizes the Secretary to suspend a country from the visa waiver program without prior notice if the country fails to comply with an agreement to share information regarding whether its citizens and nationals traveling to the United States pose a U.S. security threat.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the excise tax on medical device manufacturers and importers.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the 96-hour physician certification requirement for inpatient critical access hospital services under which a physician must certify that a patient may reasonably be expected to be discharged or transferred to a hospital within 96 hours after admission to the critical access hospital.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Birthright Citizenship Act of 2015 Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to consider a person born in the United States "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States for citizenship at birth purposes if the person is born in the United States of parents, one of whom is: (1) a U.S. citizen or national, (2) a lawful permanent resident alien whose residence is in the United States, or (3) an alien performing active service in the U.S. Armed Forces. States that this Act shall not be construed to affect the citizenship or nationality status of any person born before the date of its enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
No Budget, No Pay Act This bill withholds the salaries of Members of a house of Congress that has not agreed to a budget resolution for FY2016 by April 15, 2015, as required by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Salaries are withheld from April 16, 2015, until the house of Congress agrees to a budget resolution or the last day of the 114th Congress, whichever is earlier.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
FairTax Act of 2015 This bill is a tax reform proposal that imposes a national sales tax on the use or consumption in the United States of taxable property or services in lieu of the current income and corporate income tax, employment and self-employment taxes, and estate and gift taxes. The rate of the sales tax will be 23% in 2017, with adjustments to the rate in subsequent years. There are exemptions from the tax for used and intangible property, for property or services purchased for business, export, or investment purposes, and for state government functions. Under the bill, family members who are lawful U.S. residents receive a monthly sales tax rebate (Family Consumption Allowance) based upon criteria related to family size and poverty guidelines. The states have the responsibility for administering, collecting, and remitting the sales tax to the Treasury. Tax revenues are to be allocated among: (1) the general revenue, (2) the old-age and survivors insurance trust fund, (3) the disability insurance trust fund, (4) the hospital insurance trust fund, and (5) the federal supplementary medical insurance trust fund. No funding is allowed for the operations of the Internal Revenue Service after FY2019. Finally, the bill terminates the national sales tax if the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution (authorizing an income tax) is not repealed within seven years after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Tax Code Termination Act Terminates the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 after December 31, 2019, except for self-employment taxes, Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes, and railroad retirement taxes. Requires a two-thirds majority vote in Congress to change such termination date. Declares that any new federal tax system should be a simple and fair system that: (1) applies a low rate to all Americans, (2) provides tax relief for working Americans, (3) protects the rights of taxpayers and reduces tax collection abuses, (4) eliminates the bias against savings and investment, (5) promotes economic growth and job creation, and (6) does not penalize marriage or families. Requires that the new federal tax system be approved by Congress in its final form by July 4, 2019.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Authorizes the Speaker of the House of Representatives to initiate or intervene in civil actions on behalf of the House of Representatives in a federal court of competent jurisdiction to seek any appropriate relief regarding the failure of the President, the head of any department or agency, or any other executive branch officer or employee to act in a manner consistent with that official's duties under the Constitution and laws of the United States regarding immigration laws or laws pertaining to illegal aliens, undocumented immigrants, or non-American citizens. Directs the Speaker to notify the House of a decision to initiate or intervene in any such civil action. States that the Office of the General Counsel of the House shall represent the House in any such civil action, and may employ outside counsel and other experts.
![Official portrait of Rep. Carter, Earl L. "Buddy" [R-GA-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c001103_200.jpg)