United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2014
Metropolitan Planning Enhancement Act - Revises metropolitan transportation planning organization (MPO) requirements. Prescribes requirements for the designation of new and consolidation of multiple MPOs within a metropolitan statistical area. Defines "consolidated metropolitan planning organization" to mean a sole MPO that serves a metropolitan statistical area. Allows an MPO for an urbanized area with a population over 200,000 to request a high-performing MPO designation from the Secretary of Transportation (DOT). Specifies criteria the Secretary shall consider in making such designation. Revises certain allocations of surface transportation program funds to states for: (1) any areas with a population of fewer (under current law, non-urban areas with more) than 5,000, and (2) urbanized areas with a population over 200,000 that have a high-performing MPO. Makes similar changes to the transportation alternatives program. Extends permanently a state's obligational authority to distribute a specified amount of surface transportation program funds for federal-aid highways and highway safety construction programs in urbanized areas with a population over 200,000, including those areas that have a high-performing MPO. Makes permanent a special rule authorizing a state to obligate up to 15% of its apportionment of surface transportation program funds for each fiscal on roads functionally classified as minor collectors in areas of less than 5,000 population. Revises requirements for the apportionment of state planning funds to MPOs. Requires a state's apportionment to be distributed in accordance with a formula that prioritizes the needs of high-performing MPOs. Requires metropolitan planning organizations to involve public port authorities in metropolitan freight transportation planning. Revises the statewide and nonmetropolitan transportation planning process for the development of statewide transportation plans and statewide transportation improvement programs for federal-aid highway projects. Makes certain changes from discretionary to mandatory with respect to such process. Requires the Secretary to certify at least once every four years that each state has met certain requirements; and other federal laws, regulations, and orders applicable to the statewide and nonmetropolitan and the metropolitan processes. Authorizes the Secretary to withhold up to 20% of a state's apportionment of funds for federal-aid highway projects and public transportation projects if the state fails to meet such certification. Makes similar changes to requirements for public transportation program projects. Eliminates the requirement that the congestion management process be addressed in the metropolitan transportation planning and statewide and nonmetropolitan transportation planning of such projects in: urbanized transportation management areas with a population over 200,000 individuals, and certain nonattainment areas for ozone or carbon monoxide. Revises requirements authorizing a MPO to voluntarily elect to develop multiple scenarios for consideration as part of the development of the metropolitan transportation plan for a metropolitan planning area. Requires a MPO to offer certain interested parties a reasonable opportunity to participate in the development and consideration of those scenarios as well as provide input during the development and implementation of the transportation plan. Prescribes requirements to require MPOs to create a performance-based target achievement process for adding projects to a transportation improvement program.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2014
Recognizes the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Esteems the integral role of Latinos and their manifold heritage in the economy, culture, and identity of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2014
Amends the federal charter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States to describe the organization as a national association of veterans (currently, an association of men) who, as soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen, served this Nation in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign soil or in hostile waters. Expands its purpose of assisting widows to that of assisting surviving spouses.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require any employment in which children under the age of 18 come into direct contact with tobacco plants or dried tobacco leaves to be considered particularly hazardous oppressive child labor, which is prohibited under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Condemns: (1) all forms of anti-Semitism and rejects attempts to justify anti-Jewish hatred or violent attacks as an acceptable expression of disapproval over political events, and (2) the comparison of Israel to Nazis perpetrating a Holocaust or genocide. Applauds those foreign leaders, especially in France, Italy, and Germany, who have condemned anti-Semitic acts, and calls on those who have yet to take firm action against anti-Semitism in their countries to do so. Reaffirms support for the mandate of the United States Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. Supports Holocaust educational programs at home and abroad. Urges the Secretary of State to: maintain the fight against anti-Semitism as a U.S. foreign policy priority, urge governments to ensure that adequate laws are in place to punish anti-Semitic violence and hate crimes as well as establish mechanisms to investigate and punish perpetrators, continue U.S. reporting on anti-Semitism as a human rights and religious freedom issue, provide training for diplomatic and law enforcement personnel posted abroad to report on anti-Semitic incidents, deepen engagement with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and support its specialized efforts to monitor and address anti-Semitism, and oppose efforts to prevent any individual from exercising his or her religion without fear of prosecution or violence.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the current outbreak of Ebola in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia is an international health crisis and is the largest and most widespread outbreak of the disease ever recorded. Calls on all nations to immediately provide additional resources to help affected nations address current and future public health crises. Requests development of a global health security plan to respond to disease outbreaks. Urges the prioritization of the elimination of Ebola as a public health threat.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014
No Federal Contracts for Corporate Deserters Act of 2014 - Prohibits an executive agency from awarding a contract (including a defense contract) to: (1) any foreign incorporated entity determined to be an inverted domestic corporation or any subsidiary of such entity, or (2) any joint venture more than 10% of which is held by such an entity or subsidiary. Directs each agency to include in each contract awarded with a value in excess of $10 million, other than a contract for exclusively commercial items, a clause that prohibits the prime contractor from: (1) awarding a first-tier subcontract with a value greater than 10% of the total prime contract to such an entity or joint venture, or (2) structuring subcontract tiers enabling such entity or joint venture to perform more than 10% of the total value of the prime contract. Authorizes an agency to waive such requirements for a contract in the interest of national security. Provides for termination of a contract or suspension or debarment of a contractor in violation of this Act. Requires a foreign incorporated entity to be treated as an inverted domestic corporation if: (1) the entity acquires, on or after May 8, 2014, substantially all of the properties held by a domestic corporation or substantially all of the assets of, or substantially all of the properties constituting a trade or business of, a domestic partnership; and (2) after the acquisition, either more than 50% of the stock of the entity is held by former shareholders of the domestic corporation or former partners of the domestic partnership, or the management and control of the expanded affiliated group which includes the entity occurs primarily within the United States and such expanded affiliated group has significant domestic business activities. Sets forth an exception for an entity within an expanded affiliated group with substantial business activities in the foreign country in which the entity is created. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations for determining cases in which the management and control of an expanded affiliated group is to be treated as occurring primarily within the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2014
Crimea Annexation Non-recognition Act - Prohibits the U.S. government from recognizing the de jure or de facto sovereignty of the Russian Federation over Crimea, its airspace, or its territorial waters. Prohibits any federal department or agency from taking any action or extending any assistance that recognizes or implies recognition of the de jure or de facto sovereignty of the Russian Federation over Crimea, its airspace, or its territorial waters. Authorizes the President to waive such prohibitions if vital to U.S. national security interests.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2014
Stop Child Summer Hunger Act of 2014 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a program providing eligible households with summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards that give children access to food during the summer months to: (1) reduce or eliminate children's food insecurity and hunger, and (2) improve their nutritional status. Defines an "eligible household" as a household that includes one or more children who are eligible to receive free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs. Sets the amount on each summer EBT card at $150 per child in 2016, with adjustments thereafter reflecting changes in reimbursement rates for school meals under the school lunch program. Requires children to be enrolled in the program without further application if they are enrolled to receive free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs. Requires summer EBT cards to be used only to purchase food from retail food stores that have been approved for participation in the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to limit the amount of a taxpayer's foreign-related interest expense that is allowed as a deduction for any taxable year. Sets that limit pursuant to a formula that takes into account a domestic corporation's undistributed foreign earnings.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2014
Emergency Iron Dome Replenishment Act - Authorizes the President, through the Secretary of Defense (DOD) and the Secretary of State, to provide assistance to Israel for the procurement, maintenance, and sustainment of the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2014
Authorizes the Secretary of State to facilitate the U.S. readmission and participation in the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and to pay related annual membership expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service should issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring Maya Angelou.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2014
Social Security and Medicare Parity Act of 2014 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act with respect to the determination of a valid marriage to account for marriages in jurisdictions other than a state. Authorizes the courts of any state to find that an OASDI benefit applicant and an insured individual were validly married in a jurisdiction other than a state at the time the applicant files a benefit application or, if the insured individual is dead, at the time the individual died. Waives the nine-month marriage requirement to make eligible for widow or widower benefits certain widows or widowers whose marriage to a deceased individual would not have been treated as a marriage for federal law purposes before June 26, 2013. Waives the same requirement for anyone who became a stepchild of the deceased individual as a result of such a marriage. Waives the one-year marriage requirement to make eligible for husband's or wife's OASDI benefits certain husbands and wives whose marriage to an individual would not have been treated as a marriage for federal law purposes before June 26, 2013. Waives the same requirement for anyone who became a stepchild of the individual as a result of such a marriage. Directs the Commissioner of Social Security to conduct a comprehensive and effective three-year outreach campaign to encourage benefit applications by individuals newly eligible for OASDI benefits as a result of changes in law relating to same-sex marriage and occurring on or after June 26, 2013.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2014
Protecting Consumers from Unreasonable Credit Rates Act of 2014 - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit a creditor from extending credit to a consumer under an open end consumer credit plan (credit card) for which the fee and interest rate exceeds 36%. Sets forth criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Empowers state Attorneys General to enforce this Act. Revises requirements for a periodic statement for each billing cycle with respect to where the total finance charge exceeds 50 cents for a monthly or longer billing cycle, or the pro rata part of 50 cents for a billing cycle shorter than monthly. Requires inclusion of the fee and interest rate, displayed as "FAIR," instead of the total finance charge expressed as an annual percentage rate (APR).
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2014
Breaking Addiction Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a five-year demonstration project under which payment may be made to each participating state for any medical assistance provided with respect to a qualified individual being treated for a substance use condition in a community-based institution for mental diseases.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2014
International Human Rights Defense Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of State to establish in the Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor a Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Peoples who shall: (1) direct U.S. government efforts regarding human rights abuses against the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender) community internationally and the advancement of human rights for LGBT people in U.S. foreign policy, and (2) represent the United States internationally in bilateral and multilateral engagement on these matters. Directs the Special Envoy to develop or update annually for six years a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to discrimination and violence against LGBT people. Authorizes the Secretary and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide assistance to prevent and respond to discrimination and violence against LGBT people.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2014
Condemns the use of innocent civilians as human shields, including Hamas's use of this illegal tactic. Calls on: (1) the international community to recognize Hamas's grave breaches of international law by using human shields, and (2) Mahmoud Abbas to condemn the use of innocent civilians as human shields. Places responsibility for launching the rocket attacks on Hamas and other terrorist organizations, such as Islamic Jihad, in Gaza. Supports Israel's sovereign right to defend its territory and stop the rocket attacks on its citizens. Expresses condolences to the families of the innocent victims on both sides of the conflict. Supports Palestinian civilians who reject Hamas and all forms of terrorism and who desire to live in peace with their Israeli neighbors.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2014
National Freight Network Trust Fund Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the National Freight Network Trust Fund, from which expenditures shall be made to fund awards under the National Freight Network Grant Program. Appropriates to the Fund amounts equivalent to 5% of the import duties imposed under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. Establishes such Program in the Department of Transportation (DOT), under which the Secretary of Transportation shall make grants to states, regional or local transportation organizations, or port authorities to assist projects that improve the performance of the national freight network. Directs the Secretary to evaluate and select projects on a competitive basis by considering their potential to: generate national economic benefits, improve the performance of key corridors and gateways, reduce congestion, improve transportation safety, and enhance the network. Requires the Secretary to update the national freight network every five years.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2014
Amends the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 to direct the House Committee on Ethics to conduct ongoing ethics training and awareness programs for Members, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner of the House of Representatives (Members). Requires the ethics training program to be completed by: (1) new Members within 60 days after commencing service; and (2) Members serving on or after noon, January 3, 2015, during each session of a Congress, beginning with the 1st session of the 114th Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2014
Constitutional Amendment - Authorizes Congress and the states to set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections. Grants Congress and the states the power to implement and enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation. Allows them to distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections. Declares that nothing in this amendment shall be construed to grant Congress or the states the power to abridge the freedom of the press.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2014
Supports the goals and ideals of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, now in its 40th year of continuous service. Recognizes the benefits the CDBG program has provided to urban, suburban, and rural communities. Acknowledges the importance of this federal grant program to states and local communities throughout the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2014
Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act of 2014 - Amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to condition eligibility to receive a state grant for child abuse or neglect prevention and treatment programs on inclusion in the state plan of a certification by the governor that the state has in effect and is enforcing a state law, or is operating a statewide program, that includes provisions and procedures to: (1) identify and assess reports involving children who are sex trafficking victims (and which may also involve children who are victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons), (2) train representatives of the state child protective services about identifying and assessing such children, and (3) identify services and procedures for appropriate referral to address the needs of such children. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to report to Congress on: (1) the specific type and prevalence of severe forms of trafficking in persons to which children have been subjected who are identified for services or intervention under the placement, care, or supervision of state, Indian tribe, or tribal organization child welfare agencies; (2) the practices and protocols utilized by states to identify and serve children who are, or are at-risk of becoming, victims of trafficking; and (3) any barriers in federal laws or regulations that may prevent identification and assessment of children who are such victims.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2014
Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act or the Clay Hunt SAV Act - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Secretary of Defense (DOD), at least annually, to each arrange for an independent third party evaluation of, respectively, the VA and DOD mental health care and suicide prevention programs. Requires a board reviewing the discharge or dismissal of a former member of the Armed Forces whose application for relief is based at least in part on post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury related to military operations or sexual trauma, to: (1) review the medical evidence from the VA or a civilian health provider that is presented by the former member; and (2) review the case, with a presumption of administrative irregularity, and place the burden on the VA or DOD to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that no error or injustice occurred. Directs the VA Secretary to publish an Internet website that serves as a centralized source to provide veterans with regularly updated information regarding all of the VA's mental health care services. Requires the VA Secretary and the DOD Secretary to enter into certain strategic relationships to facilitate: the mental health referrals of members of the reserve components who have a service-connected disability and are being discharged or released from the Armed Forces, timely behavioral health services for such members, communication when such members are at risk for behavioral health reasons, and the transfer of documentation for line-of-duty and fitness-for-duty determinations. Requires the VA Secretary to carry out a three-year pilot program to repay the education loans relating to psychiatric medicine that are incurred by individuals who: are eligible to practice psychiatric medicine in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) or are enrolled in the final year of a residency program leading to a specialty qualification in psychiatric medicine, demonstrate a commitment to a long-term career as a psychiatrist in the VHA, and agree to a period of obligated service with the VHA in the field of psychiatric medicine. Directs the VA Secretary to carry out a program, as part of the Yellow Ribbon G.I. Education Enhancement Program, under which the VA Secretary and an institution of higher education (IHE) agree to cover the full cost of charges not covered by post-9/11 educational assistance that are incurred by veterans who: (1) are pursuing an advanced degree in mental health at the IHE, and (2) intend to seek employment as a mental health professional in the VA. Allows the VA Secretary to cover up to 64% of those charges, if the school covers the remainder. Requires the DOD Secretary to submit to Congress a zero-based review of the staffing requirements for individual State National Guard Commands with respect to Directors of Psychological Health. Directs the VA Secretary to establish a pilot program at not less than five Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) to assist veterans transitioning from active duty and to improve the access of veterans to mental health services. Requires the pilot program at each VISN to include: (1) a community oriented veteran peer support network, and (2) a community outreach team for each medical center in such VISN.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2014
Protect Women's Health From Corporate Interference Act of 2014 - Affirms requirements, notwithstanding the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, that: (1) an employer that establishes or maintains a group health plan for its employees must provide coverage of a specific item or service for the employees or their dependents where the coverage is required under federal provisions or regulations pursuant to those provisions; and (2) group health plans sponsored by an employer or employee organization, and any health insurance coverage, must provide coverage required under the Public Health Service Act, including preventive health services. Authorizes the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury to modify regulations concerning coverage of contraceptive services by group health plans of religious employers consistent with the purposes and findings (regarding coverage of birth control services and the Supreme Court decisions in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Burwell ) of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2014
Reaffirms the support of the House of Representatives for Israel's right to defend itself and its citizens. Condemns the unprovoked rocket fire at Israel and calls on Hamas to cease all rocket and other attacks against Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2014
Summer Meals Act of 2014 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to redefine "areas in which poor economic conditions exist," where the summer food service program for children may operate, as areas in which at least 40% (currently, 50%) of the children have been determined to be eligible for free or reduced price school meals under the school lunch and breakfast programs. Reimburses service institutions (other than school food authorities) for up to one meal and one snack per child each day during after-school hours, weekends, and school holidays during the regular school calendar. (Currently, such institutions are reimbursed for meals and snacks served to children over the summer months or to children who are on vacation under a continuous school calendar.) Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to award competitive grants to service institutions to increase participation in the summer food service program for children at congregate feeding sites through innovative approaches to limited transportation and mobile meal trucks. Allows service institutions that are participating in the summer food service program for children to serve up to three meals, or two meals and one snack, during each day of operation. (Currently, this option is reserved for camps and service institutions that serve meals primarily to migrant children.)
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2014
Working Families Child Care Act of 2014 - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to create a supplemental state entitlement for child care assistance for families with infants or toddlers under age three. Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to enable eligible states (including Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) to improve the quality of care for infants and toddlers, especially those from low-income families. Authorizes the use of grant funds to: (1) make grants to organizations with expertise in providing child care and related technical assistance, to establish new staffed family child care networks or to operate existing staffed family child care networks or systems that offer, to eligible infant and toddler care providers, technical assistance, training, administrative support, or direct services including monitoring visits to providers; (2) support a statewide network of infant and toddler care specialists; and (3) support initiatives to improve the quality of the provider workforce. Allows the use of such funds also to: (1) develop infant and toddler components for the state's Quality Rating and Improvement System or a similar rating system, child care licensing regulations, or voluntary early learning guidelines; (2) improve the ability of parents to obtain information about high-quality infant and toddler care; or (3) assist eligible infant and toddler care providers seeking to increase their ranking on the state's Quality Rating and Improvement System or similar rating system, meet performance standards applicable to an Early Head Start agency, or become accredited by a national accrediting body.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2014
Energy Markets Emergency Act - Directs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to use its authority (including emergency powers) to: (1) to curb immediately the role of excessive speculation in any contract market within its jurisdiction on or through which energy futures or swaps are traded; and (2) eliminate excessive speculation, price distortion, sudden or unreasonable fluctuations, or unwarranted changes in prices, or other unlawful activity that is causing major market disturbances that prevent the market from accurately reflecting the forces of supply and demand for energy commodities.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2014
Amy and Vicky Child Pornography Victim Restitution Improvement Act of 2014 - Amends the federal criminal code to expand the definition of "full amount of the victim's losses" for purposes of provisions governing mandatory restitution of victims of offenses involving sexual exploitation and other abuse of children to include medical services, physical and occupational therapy or rehabilitation, and lost income for the victim's lifetime, as well as any losses suffered by the victim from any sexual act or conduct in preparation for or during the production of child pornography depicting the victim involved in the offense. Sets forth guidelines for determining restitution where the victim of of a specified child pornography offense was harmed by one defendant (requiring restitution for not less than the full amount of the victim's losses) or by more than one defendant (requiring restitution for not more than the full amount of the victim's losses and not less than specified minimum amounts for certain offenses). Requires joint and several liability where there are multiple defendants and allows each defendant who is ordered to pay restitution and who has made full payment to the victim equal to or exceeding the specified minimum amount to recover contribution from any other defendant ordered to pay. Sets forth contribution claim procedures. Requires the Attorney General to report to Congress within one year after enactment of this Act on any progress of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in obtaining restitution for victims of such offenses.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2014
Military Separation Pay Fairness Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to determine whether former members of the Armed Forces who were separated for a violation of the policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces as in effect before the effective date of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 were paid: (1) the full amount of separation pay to which they should have been entitled under standard military separation pay laws, or (2) a reduced amount because of homosexuality pursuant to administrative instructions in place at the time of the separation. Requires the Secretary to pay such a former member who has not received the full military separation pay: (1) the amount of the difference between the full amount and the amount actually paid, and (2) interest on the amount of the difference. Excludes former members who joined the class-action settlement in Collins v. United States from receiving additional payments for the difference in amounts under such procedures, but provides for former members in such settlement to receive payment for interest on such amount.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2014
Voices for Veterans Act - Expands the membership of the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans to include veterans who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Terminates the Commission on December 31, 2017 (currently, 2014).
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2014
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2014 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (SAA, 2008) to extend emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) payments for eligible individuals to weeks of employment ending on or before five months after enactment of this Act. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until five months after enactment of this Act requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of such Act and 11 months after enactment of this Act from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (FSEUCA of 1970) against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law provides for payment of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. (Thus allows temporary federal matching for the first week of extended benefits for states with no waiting period.) Amends the FSEUCA of 1970 to postpone similarly from December 31, 2013, to five months after enactment of this Act, termination of the period during which a state may determine its "on" and "off" indicators according to specified temporary substitutions in its formula. Amends the SAA, 2008 to appropriate funds out of the employment security administration account through FY2015 to assist states in providing reemployment and eligibility assessment activities. Requires the provision of such activities to an individual, at a minimum, within a time period after he or she begins to receive Tier-1 EUC benefits, and if applicable, again within a time period after he or she begins to receive Tier-3 EUC benefits. Requires the Secretary of Labor to determine appropriate time periods. Specifies the purposes of the activities, namely to: better link the unemployed with the overall workforce system by bringing individuals receiving unemployment insurance benefits in for personalized assessments and referrals to reemployment services; and provide them with early access to specific strategies that can help get them back into the workforce faster, including through: (1) the development of a reemployment plan, (2) provision of access to relevant labor market information, (3) provision of access to information about industry-recognized credentials that are regionally relevant or nationally portable, (4) provision of referrals to reemployment services and training, and (5) an assessment of the individual's on-going eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to extend through December 31, 2014, the temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits. Makes a change in application of a certain requirement (nonreduction rule) to a state that has entered a federal-state EUC agreement, under which the federal government would reimburse the state's unemployment compensation agency making EUC payments to individuals who have exhausted all rights to regular unemployment compensation under state or federal law and meet specified other criteria. (Under the nonreduction rule such an agreement does not apply with respect to a state whose method for computing regular unemployment compensation under state law has been modified to make the average weekly unemployment compensation benefit paid on or after June 2, 2010, less than what would have been paid before June 2, 2010.) Declares that the nonreduction rule shall not apply to a state which has enacted a law before June 30, 2014, that, upon taking effect, would violate the nonreduction rule. Allows a state whose agreement was terminated, however, to enter into a subsequent federal-state EUC agreement on or after enactment of this Act if, taking into account this inapplicability of the nonreduction rule, it would otherwise meet the requirements for an EUC agreement. (Thus allows such a subsequent EUC agreement to permit payment of less than the average weekly unemployment compensation benefit paid on or after June 2, 2010.) Prohibits the use of federal funds to: (1) make payments of unemployment compensation to any individual whose adjusted gross income in the preceding year was at least $1 million; or (2) determine whether or not this prohibition applies to them. Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to: study the use of work suitability requirements to strengthen them to ensure that unemployment insurance benefits are being provided to individuals who are actively looking for work and truly want to return to the labor force; and brief Congress on the ongoing study, including preliminary recommendations for appropriate legislation and administrative action. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code to revise the applicable percentages for determining minimum funding standards for single-employer defined benefit pension plans (funding stabilization). Exempts plans providing accelerated benefit distributions from the application of such standards. Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to extend through FY2024 the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to collect customs user fees for the processing of certain merchandise.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2014
Pathogen Reduction and Testing Reform Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, and the Egg Products Inspection Act to revise the definition of "adulterated" to make explicit the Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) authority to issue a recall of meat, poultry, and egg products that contain microbial pathogens associated with serious illness or death or are resistant to two or more antibiotics critically important for human medicine. Requires the USDA to establish sampling protocols and testing procedures necessary to determine if meat, poultry, and egg products are adulterated under this Act and to prevent the entry, flow, or movement of those products into commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2014
Protecting American Jobs and Exports Act - Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States through FY2021. Extends through FY2021 and gradually increases (with a specified exception) the Bank's aggregate outstanding loan, guarantee, and insurance authority. Extends through FY2021 Bank authority to provide financing for the export of nonlethal defense articles or services whose primary end use will be for civilian purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2014
Expresses support for the designation of National ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Day to encourage parents to begin asking the question, "Is there an unlocked gun in your house?" before their child visits other homes and for the goals and ideals of such day.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2014
Creating Higher Education Affordability Necessary to Compete Economically Act or the Middle Class CHANCE Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase the maximum Federal Pell Grant for award year 2014-2015 and adjust it each subsequent award year to account for changes in the Consumer Price Index. Directs the Secretary of Education to award an additional Pell Grant to an eligible student who: (1) has received a Pell Grant for an award year, and (2) is enrolled in a program of study for one or more additional payment periods during the same award year that are not otherwise covered by the Pell Grant. Limits the total amount of the Pell Grants awarded to such student for the award year to 150% of the maximum Pell Grant for such award year. Raises, from 12 semesters to 15 semesters, the period during which a student may receive Federal Pell Grants.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2014
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 (DHS) 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 · 19 June 2014
Global Development Lab Act of 2014 - Establishes in the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) the United States Global Development Lab whose responsibilities should include: increasing the application of science, technology, innovation and partnerships to develop and scale solutions to end extreme poverty; discovering, testing, and scaling development innovations to increase cost effectiveness and support U.S. foreign policy and development goals; leveraging the expertise and resources of businesses, nongovernmental organizations, science and research organizations, and universities to increase program impact; utilizing innovation-driven competitions to expand solutions to development challenges; and supporting USAID Missions and Bureaus in applying science, technology, innovation, and partnership approaches to decision making, procurement, and program design.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2014
Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Improvement Act of 2014 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require state licensure and a bid and surety bond of at least $50,000 for each area for bidding entities under the Medicare durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) competitive acquisition program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2014
Social Impact Bond Act - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services and Elder Justice) of the Social Security Act to add a new part C (Social Impact Bonds). Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to seek proposals from states or local governments for social impact bond projects which produce measurable, clearly defined outcomes that result in social benefit, such as employment for the unemployed, high school graduation, and reduction of teen and unplanned pregnancies as well as incidences of child abuse and neglect. Requires applications to include a feasibility study, funded under this Act, which contains specified information. Requires the Secretary to decide whether to enter into such a contract within six months after receiving an application. Makes appropriations for 10 years to carry out this Act. Requires independent evaluation of a state or local government social impact bond project. Establishes the Federal Interagency Council on Social Impact Bonds. Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to require the appropriate federal financial supervisory agency to consider, in assessing and taking into account the record of a financial institution in meeting the credit needs of its entire community, its investments in social impact bond projects.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2014
Millennium Compacts for Regional Economic Integration Act or M-CORE Act - States that the purpose of this Act is to expand the Millennium Challenge Corporation's ability to develop compacts with nations, particularly in Africa, that promote regional economic integration and cross-border collaborations. Amends the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 to provide that an eligible country and the United States may enter into and have in effect more than one Compact at any given time, including a concurrent Compact for purposes of regional economic integration or cross-border collaborations, only if the country is making demonstrable progress in implementing the terms of existing Compacts.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2014
Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014 - Title I: Improvement of Scheduling System for Health Care Appointments - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to contract for an independent assessment of: the process at each VA medical facility for scheduling appointments for veterans; the staffing level and productivity of each VA medical facility; the organization, processes, and tools used by the VA to support clinical documentation and the subsequent coding of inpatient services; the VA's purchasing, distribution, and use of pharmaceuticals, medical and surgical supplies, and medical devices; and the VA's performance in paying amounts owed to third parties and collecting amounts it is owed. Directs the Secretary: (1) through a technology task force, to review the VA's needs regarding its system and software for scheduling veterans' medical appointments; and (2) to implement task force recommendations the Secretary considers feasible, advisable, and cost-effective. Title II: Training and Hiring of Health Care Staff - Requires the Inspector General of the VA to annually determine the five health care occupations for which there is the largest staffing shortage throughout the VA. Authorizes the Secretary, upon a determination by the Inspector General that there is such a staffing shortage regarding a particular health care occupation, to recruit and directly appoint highly qualified health care providers to serve in that particular occupation for the VA. Directs the Secretary, under the VA's Health Professionals Educational Assistance program, to give scholarship priority to applicants pursuing education or training towards a career in a health care occupation that represents one of the five largest staffing shortages in the VA. Requires the Secretary to submit a biennial report to Congress, until 2024, assessing the staffing of each VA medical facility. Directs the Secretary to establish a clinic management training program to provide in-person, standardized education on health care management to all managers of, and health care providers at, VA medical facilities. Terminates the program after two years. Requires the Secretary, thereafter, to provide health care management training materials to specified VA employees upon the commencement of their employment. Makes specified appropriations to the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) that remain unobligated at the end of FY2014 and FY2015 available to the Secretary to hire additional health care providers for the VHA, particularly in VA medical facilities and areas experiencing the greatest shortages. Title III: Improvement of Access to Care from Non-Department of Veterans Affairs Providers - Requires hospital care and medical services to be furnished to veterans through contracts with specified non-VA facilities if the veterans: have been unable to schedule an appointment at a VA medical facility within the VHA's wait-time goals for hospital care or medical services and such veterans opt for non-VA care or services; reside more than 40 miles from a VA medical facility; or reside in a state without a VA medical facility that provides hospital care, emergency medical services, and surgical care and such veterans reside more than 20 miles from such a facility. Provides for such care through contracts with any health care provider participating in the Medicare program, any federally-qualified health center, the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Indian Health Service (IHS). Directs the Secretary to provide veterans with information about the availability of care and services at non-VA facilities: (1) when they enroll in the VA patient enrollment system, and (2) when they attempt to schedule an appointment for VA hospital care or medical services but are unable to do so within the VHA's wait time goals. Terminates this Act's requirement that the Secretary furnish care and services through contracts with non-VA facilities two years after the Secretary publishes interim final regulations implementing the program. Requires the Secretary to transfer the authority to pay for health care through non-VA facilities from the VA's Veterans Integrated Service Networks and medical centers to the VHA's Chief Business Office. Directs the Secretary to conduct outreach to each Indian medical facility operated by an Indian tribe or tribal organization through a contract or compact with the IHS to raise awareness of the ability of such facilities, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations to enter into agreements with the VA for reimbursement for providing veterans with health care at such facilities. Requires the Secretary to establish performance metrics for assessing the performance of the VA and IHS under a memorandum of understanding to increase access to, and the quality and coordination of, health care services. Directs the Secretary to enter into agreements for the reimbursement of direct care services provided to veterans with Native Hawaiian health care systems that are in receipt of funds from grants awarded, or contracts entered into, under the Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary must comply with the prompt payment rule or any similar regulation or ruling in paying for health care under contracts with non-VA providers. Title IV: Health Care Administrative Matters - Directs the Secretary to improve veterans' access to telemedicine and other health care through the use of VA mobile vet centers by establishing standardized requirements for the operation of such centers. Includes among those requirements: (1) the number of days each center is expected to travel each year, (2) the number of locations each center is expected to visit each year, (3) the number of appointments each center is expected to conduct each year, and (4) the method and timing of notification given by each center to individuals in the area to which such center is traveling. Requires each mobile vet center to have the capability to provide telemedicine services. Establishes an Independent Commission on Department of Veterans Affairs Construction Projects to review the VA's current construction and maintenance projects and medical facility leasing program to identify any problems the VA experienced in carrying out such projects and program. Establishes the Commission on Access to Care to examine veterans' access to VA health care and strategically examine how best to organize the VHA, locate health care resources, and deliver health care to veterans over the next 10 to 20 years. Directs the President to require the Secretary and the heads of other relevant federal agencies to implement each recommendation that the President considers feasible and advisable and determines can be implemented without further legislative action. Requires the Secretary to ensure that scheduling and wait-time metrics or goals are not used as factors in determining the performance of: (1) directors, associate directors, assistant directors, deputy directors, chiefs of staff, and clinical leads of VA medical centers; and (2) directors, assistant directors, and quality management officers of the Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs). Directs the Secretary to modify the performance plans of the directors of the VA medical centers and VISNs to ensure that such plans are based on the quality of care received by veterans at the health care facilities under their jurisdictions. Prohibits the Secretary from including in the performance goals of any VISN or VA medical center employee any goal that might disincentivize the payment of VA amounts to provide health care through a non-VA provider. Requires the Secretary to publish: (1) within 90 days after this Act's enactment, the VA's wait time goals for the scheduling of a veterans' appointment for health care; and (2) within one year after this Act's enactment, the current wait times for an appointment for primary care and specialty care at each VA medical center. Directs the Secretary to develop, update, and make publicly available a comprehensive database containing all applicable patient safety, quality of care, and outcome measures for VA health care that are tracked by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to enter into an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide the HHS Secretary with the information needed to make VA medical center patient quality and outcome information publicly available through the HHS's Hospital Compare website. Requires: (1) the VA website to include a link to the VA's health care providers database that provides veterans with the location of each VA physician's residency training, and (2) each veteran who is to undergo a surgical procedure by or through the VA to be provided information on the credentials of the surgeon who is to perform the procedure. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to submit an assessment to Congress of: (1) the manner in which contractors under the VA's Patient-Centered Community Care initiative oversee the credentials of physicians within their networks, (2) the VA's oversight of the contracts under the Patient-Centered Community Care initiative, and (3) the VA's verification of the credentials and licenses of health care providers furnishing hospital care and medical services to veterans in non-VA facilities. Requires the Secretary to implement a plan to address the Comptroller General's findings and recommendations. Requires the annual budget that the President submits to Congress to include specified information regarding: (1) the cost of providing, and the number of veterans receiving, medical care through contracts with non-VA facilities; and (2) the number of VA employees on paid administrative leave during the preceding fiscal year. Directs the Secretary to establish policies penalizing VA employees who knowingly submit, or knowingly require another VA employee to submit, false data concerning health care wait times or quality measures to another VA employee. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) remove any individual from the VA Senior Executive Service if the Secretary determines that the individual's performance warrants such removal, and (2) remove such individual from the civil service or transfer the individual to a General Schedule position at any appropriate grade for which the individual is qualified. Gives an individual seven days to appeal such a removal or transfer to the Merit Systems Protection Board (Board). Requires the Board to conduct an expedited review process that results in a final decision on such an appeal within 21 days after it was submitted. Title V: Health Care Related to Sexual Trauma - Expands eligibility for counseling and treatment for sexual trauma to veterans who were on inactive duty training when they experienced sexual assault or harassment. Authorizes the Secretary to provide such counseling and treatment to active-duty members of the Armed Forces who experienced sexual assault or harassment while serving on active duty or active or inactive duty training. (Under current law, such services are provided only to veterans.) Prohibits such a member from being required to obtain a referral before receiving such services. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the treatment and services available from the VA for male veterans who experience military sexual trauma compared to such treatment and services available to female veterans who experience such trauma. Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs-Department of Defense Joint Executive Committee to submit reports to Congress on the transition of military sexual abuse treatment from the DOD to the VA. Title VI: Major Medical Facility Leases - Authorizes the Secretary to carry out certain major medical facility leases at specified locations for up to specified amounts. Directs the Secretary, in exercising the authority to enter into such leases, to record as the full cost of the contractual obligation at the time a contract is executed either: (1) the amount of total payments under the full lease term, or (2) the first-year payments plus the specified cancellation costs if the lease is terminated before its full term. Requires the funding prospectus of a proposed lease to include a detailed analysis of how the lease is expected to comply with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11 and the Anti-Deficiency Act, including an analysis of: (1) the classification of the lease as a lease-purchase, capital lease, or operating lease; (2) the obligation of budgetary resources associated with the lease; and (3) the methodology used in determining the asset cost, fair market value, and cancellation costs of the lease. Directs the Secretary, at least 30 days before entering into a lease, to submit to Congress: (1) notice of the intention to enter into, and a detailed summary of, such lease; (2) a description and analysis of any differences between the lease prospectus submitted and the proposed lease; and (3) a scoring analysis demonstrating that the proposed lease fully complies with OMB Circular A-11. Requires the Secretary, no more than 30 days after entering into a lease, to report any material differences between the proposed lease and the lease entered. Title VII: Veterans Benefits Matters - Expands the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship to include surviving spouses (currently, children) of service members who die in the line of duty on or after September 11, 2001. Requires a surviving spouse entitled to such assistance and also to veterans' educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill to elect a single coverage. Directs the Secretary to disapprove, for purposes of the All-Volunteer Force and the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance programs, courses of education provided by a public educational institution of higher education (IHE) that charges veterans living in the state higher tuition and fees than it charges in-state residents, regardless of the veteran's state of residence. Makes this provision applicable to: (1) veterans who were discharged or released from at least 90 days of active service less than three years before their date of enrollment in the applicable course, (2) family members eligible for such assistance due to their relationship to such veterans, and (3) courses that commence on or after July 1, 2015. Prohibits the Secretary from disapproving a public IHE's course on the grounds that the IHE conditions a veteran's receipt of in-state tuition rates on such veteran: (1) demonstrating an intent, by means other than physical presence, to establish residency in the state; or (2) satisfying other requirements not related to the establishment of residency. Title VIII: Appropriation and Emergency Designations - Authorizes and appropriates such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act for FY2014-FY2016. Treats such funding as emergency funding that is not subject to pay-as-you-go spending constraints.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2014
Toxic Exposure Research and Military Family Support Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: select a medical center in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to serve as the national center (Center) for the diagnosis, treatment, and research of health conditions of descendants (i.e., a biological child, grandchild, or great-grandchild) of individuals exposed to toxic substances while serving as members of the Armed Forces that are related to that exposure; establish an advisory board to advise the center, to determine which health conditions result from exposure to toxic substances, and to study and evaluate cases of exposure of current and former members of the Armed Forces to toxic substances; and establish an Office of Extramural Research to conduct research on wounds, illnesses, injuries, and other conditions suffered by active members of the Armed Forces resulting from exposure to toxic substances and to assist the Advisory Board in considering claims of exposure to toxic substances. Requires the Center, in coordination with the National Birth Defect Registry, to track and research the genetic link between individuals who are exposed to Agent Orange and the medical conditions of their children. Extends eligibility for medical care and caregiver assistance to descendants of a veteran who was exposed to toxic substances while serving as a member of the Armed Forces if: (1) the descendant has a health condition resulting from exposure to toxic substances and is homebound due to such condition, and (2) the veteran has or had the same health condition. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to declassify documents (other than documents that would materially and immediately threaten national security) related to any known incident in which not less than 100 members of the Armed Forces were exposed to a toxic substance that resulted in at least one case of disability. Directs the VA Secretary, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the DOD Secretary to jointly conduct a national outreach and education campaign directed at members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their family members to communicate information on incidents of exposure to toxic substances, health conditions resulting form such exposure, and the potential long-term effects of such exposure.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2014
Recognizes Jeanne Sobelson Manford as a national hero who advanced the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the United States. Commends her for helping to create a more perfect union based on the ideal that all men and women are created equal.
United States · United States Congress · 30 May 2014
End Purchase of Firearms by Dangerous Individuals Act of 2014 - Requires each state to establish a reporting system through which mental health professionals may report to appropriate state entities information that is sufficient for inclusion in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) regarding individuals: (1) who are committed to a mental institution on a voluntary basis, or who are temporarily committed or held on an involuntary basis, and who are determined to be a danger to themselves or others; or (2) who communicate to a mental health professional a serious threat of violence against another individual who is reasonably identifiable. Sets forth time periods after which the basis under which such information was made available no longer applies, and requires the Attorney General to modify or remove records from the NICS accordingly. Requires each state to: (1) make electronically available to the Attorney General records from such information that are relevant to a determination of whether such an individual is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm, (2) modify or remove information from any database that the federal or state government makes available to the NICS when the basis for inclusion of such information no longer applies, and (3) ensure that its reporting system includes an appeals process comparable to the NICS process. Requires each state to: (1) establish a process relating to temporarily committing or holding individuals on an involuntary basis at mental health facilities; and (2) ensure that any individual who is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm pursuant to information included in such a reporting system when the individual was under age 18 is evaluated by the date such individual is age 21 to determine whether he or she should remain disqualified. Authorizes the Attorney General to withhold an increasing percentage of funds that would otherwise be allocated under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program from states that fail to comply with such requirements beginning three years after enactment of this Act. Amends the federal criminal code to make it unlawful for an individual to sell or otherwise dispose of a firearm or ammunition to a person knowing that such person: (1) has been voluntarily, or temporarily and involuntarily, committed to a mental institution, has been determined to present a danger to others, and is serving a period of commitment at such institution (or, in the case of temporary involuntary commitment, has been released for less than five years); (2) has been formally committed and is serving a period of commitment or has been released; or (3) during the prior six-month period, has communicated to a mental health professional a serious threat to commit an act of physical violence against another identifiable person. Prohibits such a person from shipping, transporting, or possessing any firearm or ammunition in interstate or foreign commerce or from receiving any firearm or ammunition that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) guidelines for state reporting systems and for states to establish a process for temporarily committing or holding individuals at a mental health institution on an involuntary basis, (2) limiting liability for mental health professionals who fail to report under a reporting system, and (3) determinations of dangerousness. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to enter into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine to conduct a comprehensive study on state statutes, enacted before enactment of this Act, that require mental health professionals to directly report certain individuals into state firearm prohibition databases. Changes various statutory references to persons adjudicated as a "mental defective" to persons adjudicated as "ineligible due to disqualifying mental status."
United States · United States Congress · 30 May 2014
Promoting Healthy Minds for Safer Communities Act of 2014 - Title I: Strengthening and Improving Intervention Efforts - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a program to award grants to states, political subdivisions, or nonprofit private entities for the expansion of mental health crisis assistance programs. Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise a community children and violence program to assist local communities and schools in applying a public health approach to mental health services, including by: (1) revising eligibility requirements for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement; and (2) providing for comprehensive school mental health programs that are culturally and linguistically appropriate, trauma-informed, and age appropriate. Requires a comprehensive school mental health program funded under this Act to assist children in dealing with trauma and violence. Makes only a partnership between a local educational agency and at least one community program or agency that is involved in mental health eligible for such funding. Sets forth assurances required for eligibility, including that: (1) the local education agency will enter into a memorandum of understanding with at least one relevant community-based entity that clearly states how school-employed mental health professionals will be utilized and the responsibilities of each partner; (2) the program will include training of all school personnel, family members of children with mental health disorders, and concerned members of the community; and (3) the program will demonstrate the measures to be taken to sustain the program after funding terminates. Requires grantees to comply with the health information privacy requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Requires the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop a fiscally appropriate process for evaluating grant program activities, including: (1) the development of guidelines for the submission of program data by recipients; and (2) the development of measures of outcomes to be applied by recipients in evaluating programs, to include student and family measures and local educational measures. Amends the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004 to: (1) expand the assistance provided under such Act, and (2) reauthorize appropriations for FY2015-FY2019. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to establish or expand: (1) veterans treatment court programs, which involve collaboration among criminal justice, veterans, and mental health and substance abuse agencies to provide qualified veterans (preliminarily qualified offenders who were discharged from the armed forces under conditions other than dishonorable) with intensive judicial supervision and case management, treatment services, alternatives to incarceration, and other appropriate services, including housing, transportation, job training, education, and assistance in obtaining benefits; (2) peer to peer services or programs to assist such veterans in obtaining treatment, recovery, stabilization, or rehabilitation; (3) practices that identify and provide treatment, rehabilitation, legal, transitional, and other appropriate services to such veterans who have been incarcerated; and (4) training programs to teach criminal justice, law enforcement, corrections, mental health, and substance abuse personnel how to identify and respond to incidents involving such veterans. Revises the definition of "preliminarily qualified offender" to include, in the case of a veterans treatment court program, an adult or juvenile accused of an offense who has been diagnosed with, or manifests obvious signs of, mental illness or a substance abuse disorder or co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorder. Removes a requirement that the adult or juvenile be accused of a nonviolent offense. Requires preliminarily qualified offenders to be unanimously approved for participation in a collaboration program by, when appropriate, the relevant prosecuting attorney, defense attorney, probation or corrections official, judge, and representative from the relevant mental health agency. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to enhance the capabilities of a correctional facility to: (1) identify and screen for mentally ill inmates; (2) plan and provide assessments of the clinical, medical, and social needs of inmates and appropriate treatment and services that address mental health and substance abuse needs; (3) develop, implement, and enhance post-release transition plans that coordinate services and public benefits, the availability of mental health care and substance abuse treatment services, alternatives to solitary confinement and segregated housing, and mental health screening and treatment for inmates placed in solitary confinement or segregated housing; and (4) train employees in identifying and responding to incidents involving inmates with mental health disorders or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders. Authorizes the Attorney General to: (1) award not more than six grants per year to applicants for the purpose of reducing the use of public services by mentally ill individuals who consume a significantly disproportionate quantity of public resources, and (2) make grants to provide support for programs that teach law enforcement personnel how to identify and respond to incidents involving persons with such disorders. Directs the Attorney General to give priority in awarding grants for adult or juvenile collaboration programs to applications that: (1) propose interventions that have been shown by empirical evidence to reduce recidivism, and (2) use validated assessment tools to target preliminarily qualified offenders with a moderate or high risk of recidivism and a need for treatment and services. Title II: Improving Mental Health Research - Directs the Secretary to expand research on self-directed and other-directed violence associated with mental illness. Title III: Understanding the Epidemic of Gun Violence - Requires the Secretary to expand: (1) the National Violent Death Reporting System to all 50 states, and (2) research and grants of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to address gun violence. Authorizes FY2015-FY2019 appropriations for CDC research and grants. Title IV: Mental Health and Access to Firearms - Amends federal criminal code prohibitions on the sale, purchase, transport, or possession of firearms or ammunition to: (1) specify that prohibitions with respect to persons committed to a mental institution apply to persons committed on an involuntary inpatient or involuntary outpatient basis, and (2) expand the prohibitions to persons convicted of a misdemeanor crime of stalking. Expands the definition of: (1) "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" to include offenses by children, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, or dating partners; and (2) "intimate partner" to include such individuals as well as parents and guardians. (Thus, adds such individuals to the categories of persons that may be prohibited from possessing or receiving guns under domestic violence laws.) Authorizes the Attorney General to reserve not more than 5% of Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds for grants to states that: (1) give state and local law enforcement the authority to seize firearms or ammunition from an individual pursuant to a warrant, where there is probable cause to believe the individual possessing such firearms or ammunition poses an elevated risk of harm to himself or herself or to another individual; or (2) temporarily prohibit an individual involuntarily hospitalized for mental illness on an emergency basis from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Directs the Attorney General to establish a system for the prompt notification of state and local enforcement agencies when the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) notifies a licensed dealer that an individual attempting to obtain a firearm is prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal or state law. Title V: Restoration - Amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to set forth requirements for persons adjudicated to have a mental disorder or committed to a mental institution to apply for relief (restoration of firearm ownership rights) after one year by submitting an opinion of a psychiatrist or licensed clinical psychologist in order to seek a determination by the adjudicating agency that the person no longer manifests the symptoms that elevate the risk of harm. Title VI: Submission of Mental Health Records to National Instant Criminal Background Check System - Requires the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics to report annually to Congress regarding the number of persons reported by each state to NICS who are prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm based on a conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. Reauthorizes the national criminal history improvement program for FY2015-FY2018. Requires the Attorney General to establish a four-year implementation plan for each state or Indian tribal government desiring a grant to improve the automation and transmittal to federal and state repositories of: (1) mental health records and criminal history dispositions, (2) records relevant to determining whether a person has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, (3) court orders, and (4) mental health adjudications or commitments. Requires each federal agency in possession of records relevant to a determination of whether a person is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm under specified circumstances to make such records, updated at least quarterly, available to the Attorney General for use in NICS background checks. Directs HHS, under HIPAA, to allow states to make information concerning persons adjudicated as a mental defective or those committed to mental institutions available for NICS.
United States · United States Congress · 30 May 2014
Reducing Barriers for Veterans Education Act of 2014 - Makes an individual who is eligible for educational assistance under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance program eligible for assistance with the fees for applying to institutions of higher education (IHEs). Sets the amount of such assistance payable to an individual at the lesser of: (1) the total application fees charged to the individual by the IHEs, or (2) $750.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2014
Surviving Spouses' Benefit Improvement Act of 2014 - Increases the monthly rates of veterans' dependency and indemnity compensation payable to surviving spouses through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Prohibits benefits under any other law (other than duplication of benefits) from being reduced or offset because the surviving spouse is eligible for dependency and indemnity compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2014
21st Century Buy American Act - Deems articles, materials, or supplies as made substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States if the cost of the domestic components of such articles, materials, or supplies exceeds 60% of the total cost of all components of such articles, materials, or supplies. Prohibits the use of the overseas exception to Buy American requirements unless one of the following criteria is met: (1) the articles, materials, or supplies are needed on an urgent basis; (2) the articles, materials, or supplies are to be purchased using a local supplier; or (3) a cost analysis demonstrates that the articles, materials, or supplies to be acquired would be more than 50% more expensive if made in the United States. Requires the head of a federal agency, in determining whether to apply the public interest exception to Buy American requirements, to: (1) consider the short-term and long-term effects of applying such exception on employment in the United States, and (2) determine that preserving or increasing employment in the United States is consistent with the public interest. Requires each federal agency that applies an exception or grants a waiver to Buy American requirements to submit to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a notification of such exception or waiver. Requires the Director to post such notification on the OMB website. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to establish and carry out a program to make or guarantee loans to certain business entities, up to $500,000 per entity, under the Defense Production Act. Specifies eligibility requirements for such entities, including requirements that such an entity is a manufacturer in the United States, is certified as eligible to apply for trade adjustment assistance, and meets criteria relating to the availability of an item.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2014
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the low-income housing tax credit, to make permanent the minimum 9% credit rate for new buildings that are not federally-subsidized and to establish a minimum 4% credit rate for existing buildings that are not federally-subsidized.
![Official portrait of Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/115_rp_ri_1_cicilline_david_200.jpg)