United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2013
District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit any person from performing or attempting to perform an abortion within the District of Columbia except in conformity with this Act's requirements. Requires the physician to first make a determination of the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child, or reasonably rely upon such a determination made by another physician, by making inquiries of the pregnant woman and performing such medical examinations and tests as a reasonably prudent physician would consider necessary. Prohibits the abortion from being performed if the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child is 20 weeks or greater. Makes an exception where necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or injury, excluding psychological or emotional conditions. Permits a physician to terminate a pregnancy under such exception only in the manner which provides the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive, unless termination of the pregnancy in that manner would pose a greater risk of the death or substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function, not including psychological or emotional conditions, of the pregnant woman than would other available methods. Prescribes penalties for violations. Bars prosecution of a woman upon whom an abortion is performed in violation of this Act, but authorizes such a woman or the father or maternal grandparent of the unborn child to obtain appropriate relief through a civil action. Provides for injunctive relief to prevent violations. Sets forth specified privacy protections in court proceedings for the woman upon whom an abortion has been performed. Requires any physician who performs an abortion within the District to report it to the Department of Health of the District of Columbia, which shall issue annual public reports.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2013
Rural Hospital Access Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend through FY2014: (1) the Medicare-dependent hospital program, and (2) increased payments under the Medicare low-volume hospital program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2013
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal in honor of the 65th Infantry Regiment, known as the Borinqueneers, in recognition of its pioneering military service, devotion to duty, and many acts of valor in the face of adversity. Requires the medal to be given to the Smithsonian Institution (Smithsonian) for display. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Smithsonian shall make the medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at appropriate locations associated with the 65th Infantry Regiment, including locations in Puerto Rico.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2013
Kids First Research Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to terminate: (1) the taxpayer election to designate $3 of income tax liability for financing of presidential election campaigns, (2) the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, and (3) the Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account. Redesignates the Presidential Election Campaign Fund as the 10-Year Pediatric Research Initiative Fund. Makes amounts in the Fund available only for allocation to national research institutes and national centers through the Common Fund for making grants for pediatric research under this Act. Requires deposit into the Treasury general fund of any amounts in the Pediatric Research Initiative Fund that remain unobligated on October 1, 2024. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), through the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, to allocate funds appropriated under this Act to the national research institutes and national centers for making grants for pediatric research representing important areas of emerging scientific opportunities, rising public health challenges, or knowledge gaps that deserve special emphasis and would benefit from conducting or supporting additional research that involves collaboration between two or more national research institutes or national centers, or would otherwise benefit from strategic coordination and planning. Authorizes $13 million out of the 10-Year Pediatric Research Initiative Fund for each of FY2014-FY2023 for pediatric research through the Common Fund. Requires such funds to supplement, not supplant, funds otherwise allocated by NIH for pediatric research. Prohibits the use of such amounts for any purpose other than making grants for pediatric research described in this Act. Requires the Director of NIH, before continuing any health economics research grant, project, or activity, to report to Congress on the justification for such research, including the reason for giving it priority over research on pediatric diseases and disorders. Prohibits the Director from initiating any health economics research grant, project, or activity until the Director has submitted the report outlining the justification and a federal law has been enacted authorizing NIH to use funding specifically for health economics research.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2013
In It All Together Act - Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to limit the health plans that the federal government may make available to the President, the Vice President, and executive cabinet officials to those created under the Act or offered through an Exchange established under the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2013
Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2013 - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to extend: (1) the conservation reserve and related programs, and (2) assistance to disadvantaged or beginning farmers or ranchers for access to the environmental quality incentives and the conservation stewardship programs. Permits conservation reserve contract modification to facilitate transfers from retiring owners to limited resource farmers or ranchers. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to: (1) reduce the number of operating years required for a beginning farmer or rancher to qualify for a direct real estate loan; (2) extend conservation loan and loan guarantee authority, and reserve specified amounts for beginning farmers and ranchers; (3) extend the beginning farmer and rancher individual development accounts pilot program; (4) authorize micro loans for beginning farmers or ranchers; and (5) make the direct operating loan set-aside for beginning farmers and ranchers permanent. Amends the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 to extend the value-added agricultural product market development grant program. Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to extend the beginning farmer and rancher development program. Provides assistance for agricultural rehabilitation and vocational training for veterans. Amends the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act to extend the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. Provides priority assistance for new farming opportunities, including young, beginning, socially disadvantaged, and immigrant issues, as well as farm entry, transition, and transfer issues. Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to provide for risk management programs targeted at beginning, socially disadvantaged, transitioning, or legal immigrant farmers and ranchers. Amends the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to establish in the Department of Agriculture (USDA) the position of Military Veterans Agricultural Liaison.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2013
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) specialty crops are a vital part of U.S. agriculture, (2) the Committee on Agriculture should propose funding for programs that support specialty crop priorities, and (3) legislation should be passed that includes funding reflecting specialty crops as a growing and important part of U.S. agriculture.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2013
Medicare DMEPOS Market Pricing Program Act of 2013 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish a market pricing program for durable medical equipment (DME), prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) as a replacement for the competitive acquisition program, which is terminated as of December 31, 2013. Terminates contracts awarded before enactment of this Act on July 1, 2013. Prescribes requirements for transitional payments for items and services, including payments for diabetic supplies and off-the-shelf orthotics, in areas designated for rounds 1 and 2 of the erstwhile phase-in of the competitive acquistion program, as well as during the initial two-year period of the market pricing program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct market-priced auctions in eligible auction areas throughout the United States for the furnishing of market priced items and services, (2) establish an auction design through a specified process and meeting certain requirements, and (3) ensure that the first auction will be conducted for all eligible auction areas not later than 14 months after contracting with an auction expert. Directs the Secretary to: (1) select a combination of two categories of items and services for each auction, (2) establish a lead product for each product category, (3) establish for each market priced item and service a clearing price equal to the highest cost bid that will meet capacity targets in the market area, (4) award a contract to any entity in an auction's eligible market area whose bid is at or below the clearing price, and (5) monitor the performance of suppliers that are awarded a contract to ensure their compliance with certain requirements. Requires the Secretary, through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, to contract with an auction expert and a market monitor to assist in the design, development, implementation, and functioning of the auction. Requires the market monitor, on an ongoing basis, also to monitor suppliers and the effects of the market pricing program. Rescinds unobligated balances of all discretionary appropriations for each fiscal year (except those for accounts, programs, projects and activities operated by the Department of Defense [DOD] or the Department of Veterans Affairs [VA]) in an amount necessary to make this Act budget neutral for such fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Pro Football Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 50,000 $5-gold coins, 400,000 $1-silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar coins emblematic of the game of professional football. Requires all sales of such coins to include specified surcharges, which shall be paid by the Secretary to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to help finance the construction of a new building and the renovation of existing Pro Football Hall of Fame facilities. Directs the Secretary to ensure that: (1) minting and issuing such coins will not result in any net cost to the government, and (2) no proceeds are disbursed until the total cost of designing and issuing such coins is recovered by the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to exempt from the limit on member business loans those that are: (1) used to aid in the recovery from a major disaster declared under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, and (2) made within five years after such a declaration. Directs the National Credit Union Administration Board to issue regulations defining when an extension of credit aids in the recovery from a disaster.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Condemns the government of the Republic of the Sudan's pardon of Mubarak Mustafa for his role in allowing the men convicted of the assassination of John Granville to escape imprisonment. Calls on the Department of State to continue to list Sudan on the state sponsors of terrorism list until the men convicted of the assassination of John Granville are apprehended and the pardon of Mubarak Mustafa is repealed.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2013
Energy Infrastructure Improvement Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate for administrative jurisdiction over the federal lands involved) to issue permits for rights-of-way, temporary easements, or other necessary authorizations to allow a permittee to construct, operate, maintain, expand, or modify a natural gas, oil, or petroleum products pipeline and related facilities on eligible federal lands. Directs the Secretary to: (1) charge fees for such permits, (2) determine the initial fixed term for a permit, and (3) renew any right-of-way issued under this Act if the pipeline and its related facility is in commercial operation and operated and maintained in accordance with this Act. Grants the Secretary enforcement and modification powers, including fines and suspension or termination of rights-of-way.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2013
Small Business Health Relief Act of 2013 - Repeals provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), as added by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), that: (1) impose fines on large employers (those with more than 50 full-time employees) who fail to offer their full-time employees the opportunity to enroll in minimum essential health insurance coverage, and (2) require such large employers to file a report with the Secretary of the Treasury on health insurance coverage provided to their full-time employees. Repeals provisions of PPACA that: (1) set limits on the annual deductible on health plans offered in the small group market, (2) allow catastrophic plans to be offered in the individual market to individuals under the age of 30, and (3) impose an annual fee on health insurance entities. Deems high deductible health plans to meet essential health benefits coverage requirements if the enrollee has established a health savings account. Amends the Public Health Service Act, as amended by PPACA, to repeal the allowance of a premium rate variance by age in the individual or small group market. Repeals restrictions on payments for medications from health savings accounts, medical savings accounts, and health flexible spending arrangements. Repeals the limitation to $2,500 of annual salary reduction contributions by an employee to a health flexible spending arrangement under a cafeteria plan. Allows a health plan to maintain its status as a grandfathered health plan regardless of any modification to the cost-sharing levels, employer contribution rates, or covered benefits. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to promulgate regulations to clarify the application of such allowance. Makes this allowance effective as if included in PPACA. Voids any regulations promulgated pursuant to current related provisions before enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2013
Concrete Masonry Products Research, Education, and Promotion Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to issue orders applicable to manufacturers of concrete masonry products (concrete). Requires any such order to provide for the establishment of a Concrete Masonry Products Board, which shall carry out a program of promotion, research, and information regarding concrete products. Requires manufacturers and importers to maintain, and make available, specified records. Requires any such order to provide that assessments shall be paid by concrete manufacturers with respect to concrete manufactured and marketed in the United States. Provides assessment rates. Requires at least 50% of the assessments paid by a manufacturer to be used to support research, education, and promotion plans and projects in support of the geographic region of the manufacturer. Directs the Secretary, during the 60-day period preceding the proposed effective date of an order, to conduct a referendum for order approval among the manufacturers required to pay assessments under the order. Outlines referendum procedures. Provides for petition and review of an order, and order enforcement through U.S. district courts. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct appropriate investigations in order to administer this Act (with power of subpoena). Directs the Secretary to suspend or terminate any order or provision that obstructs or does not tend to effectuate the purposes of this Act, or that is not favored by persons voting in a referendum.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2013
Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act of 2013 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to prohibit a veterinarian who is registered to manufacture or distribute controlled substances from being required to have a separate registration in order to transport and dispense controlled substances in the usual course of veterinary practice at a site other than such veterinarian's principal place of business or professional practice, as long as the dispensing site is located in a state where the veterinarian is licensed to practice.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2013 or the PAST Act - Amends the Horse Protection Act (HPA) to replace the Designated Qualified Persons program responsible for inspecting horses for soring with a new inspection system. (The soring of horses is any of various actions taken on a horse's limb to produce a higher gait that may cause pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness.) Directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prescribe regulatory requirements to license, train, assign, and oversee persons who are to be hired by the management of horse shows, exhibitions, sales, or auctions and are qualified to detect and diagnose sore horses or otherwise inspect horses at such events. Prohibits issuing a license to any person unless such person is free from conflicts of interest. Authorizes USDA to revoke a license for unsatisfactory performance. Requires USDA to give a preference to persons who are licensed or accredited veterinarians in issuing the licenses. Requires USDA to assign USDA-licensed inspectors after receiving notice that management intends to hire the inspectors. Directs an inspector to issue a citation for violations and notify USDA of the violations within five days of the citation being issued. Requires USDA to: (1) publish on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's website information on violations of such Act; and (2) disqualify a horse that is sore for specified time periods that increase after the first, second, and third instance. Prohibits a person in any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction from causing or directing a horse to become sore for the purpose of showing, exhibiting, selling, auctioning, or offering for sale the horse. Prohibits showing, exhibiting, selling, or auctioning a Tennessee Walking, a Racking, or a Spotted Saddle horse with: (1) an action device that causes friction by rotating around a horse's leg or sliding up and down the leg or strikes the hoof, coronet band, fetlock joint, or pastern of the horse; or (2) a weighted shoe, pad, wedge, hoof band, or other device or material if it is constructed to artificially alter a horse's gait and is not strictly protective or therapeutic. Increases the maximum criminal penalties and maximum civil liability penalties for certain HPA violations. Authorizes USDA to disqualify a violator from: (1) transporting or arranging for the transportation of a horse to or from a show, exhibition, sale, or auction; (2) personally giving instructions to an exhibitor; or (3) being knowingly present in a warm-up area, inspection area, or other area that spectators are not permitted. Permits USDA to permanently disqualify a person with at least three violations after notice and an opportunity for a hearing.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
Pest Free Food Supply Act - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw the proposed order published in the January 19, 2011, Federal Register that would phase out the authorized fluoride tolerances for the pesticide sulfuryl fluoride (resulting in the substance no longer meeting the safety standard under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act).
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2013
Recognizes the independence of Israel as a significant event in providing refuge and a national homeland for the Jewish people and in establishing a democracy in the Middle East. Commends the bipartisan commitment of successive U.S. administrations and Congresses since 1948 to stand by Israel. Asserts the commitment of Congress to stand with Israel during times of uncertainty and reaffirms its bipartisan support for the alliance and friendship between the United States and Israel. Supports Israel's right to exist as a democratic, Jewish state and to defend itself and its people. Congratulates the United States and Israel for the strengthening of bilateral relations during the past decade in the fields of defense, diplomacy, and homeland security. Congratulates the people of Israel as they celebrate the 65th anniversary of Israel's independence.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 14 Main Street in Brockport, New York, as the "Staff Sergeant Nicholas J. Reid Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 - 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.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2013
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to exempt certain perishable agricultural commodities (fresh fruits and vegetables, including cherries in brine, whether or not frozen or packed in ice) from the prohibition against the transporting or selling of any goods produced by an employee who was employed in violation of minimum wage or maximum hours requirements, or specified related orders of the Secretary of Labor.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2013
Kilah Davenport Child Protection Act of 2013 - Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from making grants to a state for specified child abuse or neglect prevention and treatment programs until the state's laws provide for a criminal punishment, including a prison term of at least 3,800 days, for any individual who: (1) is a parent or any other individual providing care to or supervision of a child under age 16; and (2) intentionally inflicts on that child any serious bodily injury, or commits an assault upon that child which results in any serious bodily injury or permanent or protracted loss or impairment of any of the child's mental or emotional function. Amends the federal criminal code to subject to penalties for domestic assault by an habital offender any person who commits three or more assaults, acts of sexual abuse, or serious violent felonies against a child of the person or in the person's care.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2013
Jobs Originated through Launching Travel Act of 2013 or JOLT Act of 2013 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Secretary of State (Secretary) to establish a pilot fee-based premium processing service to expedite visa interview appointments. Authorizes the Secretary to collect and set fee amounts. Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to admit into the United States a qualifying Canadian citizen over 50 years old and spouse for a period not to exceed 240 days if the person maintains a Canadian residence and owns a U.S. residence or has rented a U.S. accommodation for the duration of such stay. Directs the Secretary to require overseas visa processing posts to make public the availability of visa appointments during periods of low demand to encourage visa applicants to apply when interview wait times are lowest. Revises the visa waiver program to: (1) authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate any country as a program country; (2) adjust visa refusal rate criteria, including addition of a 3% maximum overstay rate; and (3) revise probationary and termination provisions. Directs the Secretary to require U.S. diplomatic and consular missions to: (1) conduct nonimmigrant visa application interviews expeditiously, consistent with national security requirements and in recognition of resource allocation considerations; and (2) set a goal of interviewing 90% of all nonimmigrant visa applicants, worldwide, within 10 days of application receipt. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and conduct a pilot program for processing visas using secure remote videoconferencing technology, and (2) seek to coordinate enrollment and interview processes for individuals eligible for both a U.S. visa and enrollment in the Global Entry program.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2013
Repeals a provision of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 establishing an inspection and grading program for catfish and other species of farm-raised fish or shellfish effective on the date of enactment of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2013
Condemns the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) for its: (1) continued violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions; (2) December 12, 2012, ballistic missile launch; (3) February 12, 2013, explosion of a nuclear device; and (4) threats and acts of provocation that aim to destabilize international security. Calls for North Korea to renounce further acts of aggression and abide by the Korean War Armistice Agreement. Condemns North Korea for its acts of oppression against its people. Reaffirms the support of the United States for its strategic allies. Supports Security Council Resolution 2094 (2013), and calls on the U.S. government and all responsible nations to apply all sanctions and obligations contained within Security Council Resolutions 1695 (2006), 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), and 2094 (2013).
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2013
Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2013 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend and revise a grant program for screening, counseling, and other services related to heritable disorders. Expands eligible grantees to include a health professional organization and an early childhood health system. Extends a grant program to evaluate the effectiveness of screening, counseling, or health care services in reducing the morbidity and mortality caused by heritable disorders in newborns and children. Expands the program to include evaluation of treatment and follow-up care for newborns and their families after screening and diagnosis. Extends for five years the operation of the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to continue the Advisory Committee after such time. Requires the Advisory Committee to meet in person at least twice each year. Extends the clearinghouse for newborn screening information. Expands the duties of the clearinghouse to include: (1) maintaining current data on the number of conditions for which screening is conducted in each state; and (2) establishing or disseminating guidelines for services and personnel necessary for follow-up, diagnosis, counseling, and treatment of to conditions detected by newborn screening. Extends requirements for the Secretary to provide for quality assurance of laboratories involved in screening newborns and children for heritable disorders. Extends the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Newborn and Child Screening. Authorizes the Secretary to have the Hunter Kelly Newborn Screening Research Program to: (1) provide research and data for newborn conditions under review by the Advisory Committee to be added to the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel; and (2) conduct pilot studies on conditions recommended by the Advisory Committee to ensure that screenings are ready for nationwide implementation. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements with, eligible entities to develop longitudinal followup and tracking programs for newborn screening.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2013
Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to include as a "countervailable subsidy" requiring action under a countervailing duty or antidumping duty proceeding the benefit conferred on merchandise imported into the United States from foreign countries with fundamentally undervalued currency. Defines "benefit conferred," in cases where the currency of a foreign country is exchanged for foreign currency (i.e., U.S. dollars) obtained from export transactions, as the difference between: (1) the amount of currency provided by a foreign country in which the subject merchandise is produced, and (2) the amount of currency such country would have provided if the real effective exchange rate of its currency were not fundamentally undervalued. Declares that the fact that such a subsidy is also provided in circumstances not involving export shall not, for that reason alone, mean it cannot be considered export contingent and actionable under a countervailing duty and antidumping duty proceeding. Requires the administering authority to determine that the currency of a foreign country is fundamentally undervalued if for an 18-month period: (1) the government of the country engages in protracted, large-scale intervention in one or more foreign exchange markets; (2) the country's real effective exchange rate is undervalued by at least 5%; (3) the country has experienced significant and persistent global current account surpluses; and (4) the country's government has foreign asset reserves exceeding the amount necessary to repay all its debt obligations falling due within the coming 12 months, 20% percent of the country's money supply, and the value of the country's imports during the previous 4 months. Requires the use, for calculating a country's "real effective exchange rate undervaluation," of certain guidelines of the Consultative Group on Exchange Rate Issues of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or, if those guidelines are not available, generally accepted economic and econometric techniques and methodologies. Requires the use, also, of inflation-adjusted, trade-weighted exchange rates. Applies the amendments made by this Act to goods from Canada and Mexico.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2013
Amends the Export Apple Act to permit apples to be exported to Canada in bulk bins (a quantity of apples weighing more than 100 pounds) without complying with certain inspection and certification requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2013
Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a process which subjects to a single, combined maximum annual limit, applied incrementally, the number of additional documentation requests made to a hospital by Medicare administrative contractors, recovery audit contractors, or Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) program contractors pursuant to prepayment and postpayment audits requiring a hospital to submit a medical record for audit purposes. Directs the Secretary also to establish a distinct additional documentation request limit, computed according to a specified formula, for each hospital claim type for each hospital for a 45-day period in a year. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the Medicare Integrity Program and use of recovery audit contractors. Requires the Secretary to ensure that recovery audit contracts include certain mandatory terms and conditions pertaining to: (1) penalties for certain compliance failures, (2) penalties for overturned appeals, (3) postpayment and prepayment audits, and (4) guidelines for prepayment review. Directs the Secretary to publish on the Internet website of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services information on recovery audit contractor performance regarding: (1) audit rates, denials, and appeals outcomes; and (2) independent performance evaluations. Deems to be an original claim for Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) payment a resubmitted hospital claim for Medicare part A payment for inpatient hospital services which a recovery audit contractor determines: (1) were not medically necessary and reasonable based on the site of service, but (2) would be medically necessary and reasonable in an outpatient setting of the hospital. Requires payment to be made for such a resubmitted claim for all furnished items and services for which payment may be made under Medicare part B. Deems to be a reopened claim, for purposes of a hospital's ability to resubmit a claim for Medicare payment in timely fashion, any claim that is the subject of an audit by a recovery audit contractor or a Medicare administrative contractor. Requires contracts for a recovery audit contractor to require that a physician review each denial of a claim for medical necessity made by an employee of the contractor who is not a physician. Subjects to administrative and judicial review the Secretary's compliance with guidelines for reopening and revising benefit determinations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2013
Family Health Care Flexibility Act - Repeals provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 that: (1) restrict payments from health savings accounts, medical savings accounts, and health flexible spending arrangements for medications to prescription drugs and insulin only (thus allowing payments for over-the-counter medications); and (2) impose a $2,500 limitation on salary reduction contributions to a health flexible spending arrangement under a cafeteria plan.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2013
Creating Reliability for Our Producers Act or CROP Act - Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to revise crop insurance provisions regarding approval of advance payments for a portion of specialty crop research and development costs.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2013
Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise the nutritional information that restaurants and retail food establishments must disclose. Requires the nutrient content disclosure statement on the menu or menu board to include: (1) the number of calories contained in the whole product; (2) the number of servings and number of calories per serving; or (3) the number of calories per the common unit division of the product, such as for a multi-serving item that is typically divided before presentation to the consumer. Permits such information to be provided by a remote-access menu, such as through the internet, for food establishments where the majority of orders are placed by customers who are off-premises at the time the order is placed. Defines “reasonable basis” for a restaurant or similar food establishment’s nutrient content disclosures to mean that the nutrient disclosure is within acceptable allowances for variation in nutrient content, which include variations in serving size or ingredients, and inadvertent human error in formulation of menu items. Sets forth the methods a restaurant or similar food establishment may use to determine nutritional content for disclosure, including ranges, averages, individual labeling of flavors or components, or labeling of one preset standard build (i.e., the finished version of a menu item most commonly ordered by consumers). Applies the nutritional disclosure requirements to retail food establishments that derive more than 50% of their total revenue from the sale of food.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2013
Directs the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to arrange for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal in honor of the members of the 17 Bombardment Group (Medium), who became known as the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders, in recognition of their military service during World War II. Requires the medal to be given to the National Museum of the United States Air Force for display. Expresses the sense of Congress that such Museum should make the medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at locations and events associated with the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Express the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to American families and businesses and is not in the best interest of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Iron Dome Support Act - Authorizes the President to provide assistance to the government of Israel for the procurement, maintenance, enhancement, and sustainment of the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system for purposes of intercepting short- and medium-range rockets, missiles, and projectiles launched against Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Small Business Investment Company Modernization Act of 2013 - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to increase from $225 million to $350 million the maximum amount of outstanding leverage to be made available by the Small Business Administration (SBA) to two or more commonly controlled small business investment companies not under capital impairment.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the President should not sign the Arms Trade Treaty, and that, if he transmits the Treaty with his signature to the Senate, the Senate should not ratify it; and (2) until the Treaty has been signed by the President, received the advice and consent of the Senate, and has been the subject of implementing legislation by Congress, no federal funds should be appropriated or authorized to implement the Treaty, or any similar agreement, or to conduct activities relevant to the Treaty, or any similar agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2013
Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to waive coinsurance for colorectal cancer screening tests (thus covering 100% of their cost under Medicare part B [Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled]).
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2013
National Diabetes Clinical Care Commission Act - Establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) the National Diabetes Clinical Care Commission to evaluate and make recommendations regarding better coordination and leveraging of federal programs that relate in any way to supporting appropriate clinical care for people with pre-diabetes and diabetes. Sets forth the duties of the Commission, which shall include: (1) evaluating HHS programs, (2) identifying current activities and critical gaps in federal efforts to support clinicians in providing care to people with pre-diabetes and diabetes, (3) recommending how an outcomes-based registry may be developed and then used to evaluate various care models and methods, (4) evaluating and expanding education and awareness to health care professionals regarding clinical practices for the prevention of diabetes and the precursor conditions of diabetes, and (5) reviewing and recommending appropriate methods for outreach and dissemination of educational resources related to diabetes prevention and treatments. Requires the Commission to submit an operating plan to the Secretary and Congress within 90 days of its first meeting.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2013
Medication Therapy Management Empowerment Act of 2013 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide access to services under medication therapy management programs for Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Program) eligible individuals with a single chronic disease. Allows the application of this Act only if the Chief Actuary for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services determines that such application with regard to a particular single chronic disease is not projected to increase overall costs to the Medicare program over the following five year period.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2013
Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD), in order to continue and expand the DOD report submitted in 2011, to establish the Task Force on Urotrauma to: (1) conduct a study on urotrauma (injury to the urinary tract from a penetrating, blunt, blast, thermal, chemical, or biological cause) among members of the Armed Forces and veterans; and (2) provide an interim and final report to the congressional defense and veterans committees on such study.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2013
Volunteer Emergency Services Recruitment and Retention Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow sponsors of certain deferred compensation plans to elect to include length of service award plans for bona fide volunteers providing firefighting and fire prevention services, emergency medical services, ambulance services, and emergency rescue services. Directs the Secretary of Labor to issue guidance clarifying that a length of service award program is not an employee pension benefit plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2013
Low Value Shipment Regulatory Modernization Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) should encourage other countries, through bilateral, regional, and multilateral fora, to establish commercially meaningful de minimis values for express and postal shipments of articles that are exempt from customs duties and certain entry documentation requirements, as appropriate. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase from $200 to $800 for 2014, and to $800 adjusted annually for inflation after 2014, the aggregate retail value in the country of shipment of articles that may be imported duty-free into the United States by one person on one day.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2013
Main Street Revival Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a specified small business to pay its first-year employment taxes in four annual installments. Defines "specified small business" as any HUBZone business (a business operating in a historically underutilized business zone as defined by the Small Business Act) that is not reasonably expected to employ more than 25 full-time employees in its first year of operation.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2013
United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2013 - Declares that Israel is a major strategic partner of the United States. Amends the Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 to extend authority to: (1) make additions to foreign-based defense stockpiles, and (2) transfer certain obsolete or surplus Department of Defense (DOD) items to Israel. Authorizes the President to carry out U.S.-Israel cooperative activities and to provide assistance for cooperation in the fields of energy, water, homeland security, agriculture, and alternative fuel technologies. Amends the the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to extend the grant program for U.S.-Israeli cooperation on research, development, and commercialization of renewable energy or energy efficiency. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States and Israel should increase cyber-security cooperation. Urges the President to provide assistance for enhancement of the David's Sling Weapon System, the joint United States-Israel Arrow Weapon System, and the Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system. States that it shall be U.S. policy to include Israel in the visa waiver program when Israel satisfies such program's inclusion requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2013
Health Care Conscience Rights Act - Amends title I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to declare that nothing in such title shall require an individual to purchase individual health insurance coverage that includes coverage of an abortion or other item or service to which the individual has a moral or religious objection, or prevent an issuer from offering or issuing, to that individual, individual coverage excluding such item or service. Makes similar denials about requiring a sponsor to sponsor, purchase, or provide such coverage, or a health insurance issuer or group health plan sponsor to cover an abortion or other item or service to which the sponsor or issuer has a moral or religious objection. Denies also that such title authorizes imposition of a tax, penalty, fee, fine, or other sanction, or imposition of coverage of such an item or service, in relation to health insurance coverage or a group health plan that excludes such an item or service. Amends the Public Health Service Act to codify the prohibition against any action by the federal government and any state or local government receiving federal financial assistance to subject a health professional, a hospital, a provider-sponsored organization, a health maintenance organization, an accountable care organization, a health insurance plan, or any other kind of health care facility, organization, or plan to discrimination on the basis that the entity refuses to participate in abortion-related activities. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to designate the Director of the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to receive and investigate complaints alleging a violation of abortion discrimination prohibition. Creates a cause of action for the Attorney General or any person or entity adversely affected to obtain equitable or legal relief for any violation of this abortion discrimination prohibition. Allows commencement of an action to be commenced and the granting of relief without a prerequisite pursuit of administrative remedies. Allows such an action against a federal or state governmental entity.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2013
Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of State to determine if Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) meets the criteria for designation as a foreign terrorist organization and: (1) if so, designate the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization; and (2) if not, report to Congress concerning those criteria which have not been met. Expresses the sense of Congress regarding the imposition of sanctions on certain Iranian government persons responsible for, or complicit in, human rights abuses, diversion of food and medicine, and censorship. Amends the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 to subject to mandatory sanctions a financial institution that facilitates a significant transaction or provides significant financial services for a person that: (1) is subject to human rights-related sanctions, or (2) exports sensitive technology to Iran and is subject to the prohibition on procurement contracts. Amends the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 to authorize the President to impose sanctions on a foreign person that knowingly conducted or facilitated a significant financial transaction with the Central Bank of Iran or other Iranian financial institution subject to sanctions for the purchase of goods (other than petroleum or petroleum products) or services by or from a person in Iran, or on behalf of a person in Iran. Excludes from such sanctions a transaction for the sale of agricultural commodities, food, medicine or medical devices to Iran. Directs the President to impose specified sanctions on a foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitated a significant financial transaction on behalf of any person directly or indirectly owned or controlled by an Iranian person included on the list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Revises the exception to the imposition of sanctions for purchases of Iranian petroleum or petroleum products. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should coordinate with the European Union (EU) and its member states to restrict Iran's access to the euro currency. Directs the President to develop a National Strategy on Iran that provides strategic guidance for addressing threats posed by Iran. Directs the President to report to Congress every 60 days regarding the Iranian nuclear timetable and the projected economic effects of international sanctions on Iran. Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to Congress regarding presidential implementation of specified sanctions on Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2013
Elder Abuse Victims Act of 2013 - Establishes within the Department of Justice (DOJ) an Office of Elder Justice, which shall address issues relating to elder abuse. Requires the Director of such Office to: (1) provide information, training, and technical assistance to assist states and local governments in preventing, investigating, prosecuting, and mitigating the impact of elder abuse, exploitation, and neglect and in addressing the physical and psychological trauma to victims of such abuse; (2) evaluate the efficacy of measures intended to prevent, detect, respond to, or redress elder abuse and the extent to which the needs of the victims in each state are met by crime victim services, programs, and sources of funding; (3) evaluate training models to determine best practices for investigating elder abuse, addressing evidentiary and legal issues, and interacting with victims; and (4) conduct, and regularly update, a study of state laws and practices relating to elder abuse. Directs the Attorney General to annually: (1) collect from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutor offices statistical data relating to the incidence of elder abuse; (2) identify common data points among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutor offices that would allow for the collection of uniform national data related to elder abuse; (3) publish a summary of the data collected; (4) identify the types of elder abuse data that should be collected and what entity is most capable of collecting it; and (5) develop recommendations for collecting additional data. Authorizes the Director to provide grants and technical assistance to assist not more than 15 states in establishing and operating programs designed to improve: (1) the response to elder abuse in a manner that limits additional trauma to victims, and (2) the investigation and prosecution of cases of elder abuse. Requires eligible states to: (1) have a qualified crime victims compensation program; and (2) establish or designate a multidisciplinary task force on elder justice. Amends the Social Security Act to include the Director as the alternate for the Attorney General as a member of the Elder Justice Coordinating Council.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2013
Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to payments for physician services, to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from applying a multiple procedure payment reduction policy to the professional component of imaging services until the Secretary publishes in the Federal Register: (1) an analysis of the information used in the final rule to implement the physician fee schedule in 2013 to determine what, if any, efficiences exist within the professional component of imaging services when two or more studies are performed on the same patient on the same day; and (2) detailed information on which activities in the vignettes in such rule were assigned specified reduction percentages, how such percentage reductions for the pre-, intra-, and post-service work were determined and calculated, and the clinical aspects that went into those decisions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2013
Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2013 - Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to revise the requirements for consideration as rural areas with respect to assistance for farm housing. States that any area classified as "rural" or a "rural area" before October 1, 1990, and determined not to be "rural" or a "rural area" as a result of data received from or after the 1990, 2000, or 2010 (currently, only the 1990 or 2000) decennial census shall continue to be so classified until the receipt of data from the decennial census in the year 2020 (currently, 2010), if, as under current law, such area has a population of between 10,000 and 25,000, is rural in character, and has a serious lack of mortgage credit for lower and moderate-income families.
![Official portrait of Rep. Collins, Chris [R-NY-27]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c001092_200.jpg)