United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2013 - Defines a "covered civil action" as a civil action seeking to compel agency action and alleging that an agency is unlawfully withholding or unreasonably delaying an agency action relating to a regulatory action that would affect: (1) the rights of private persons other than the person bringing the action; or (2) a state, local, or tribal government. Defines a "covered consent decree" or a "covered settlement agreement" as: (1) a consent decree or settlement agreement entered into a covered civil action, and (2) any other consent decree or settlement agreement that requires agency action relating to such a regulatory action that affects the rights of such persons or governments. Requires an agency against which a covered civil action is brought to publish the notice of intent to sue and the complaint in a readily accessible manner, including by making such notice and complaint available online not later than 15 days after receiving service of such notice or complaint Requires an agency seeking to enter a covered consent decree or settlement agreement to publish such decree or agreement in the Federal Register and online not later than 60 days before it is filed with the court. Provides for public comment and public hearings on such decree or agreement. Requires the Attorney General or an agency head, if an agency is litigating a matter independently, to certify to the court that the Attorney General or the agency head approves of: (1) any proposed covered consent decree that includes terms that convert into a nondiscretionary duty a discretionary authority of an agency to propose, promulgate, revise, or amend regulations, commit an agency to expend funds that have not been appropriated and budgeted or to seek a particular appropriation or budget authorization, divest an agency of discretion committed to it by statute or the Constitution, or otherwise afford any relief that the court could not enter under its own authority; or (2) any proposed covered settlement agreement that includes terms that provide a remedy for a failure by the agency to comply with the terms of the agreement other than the revival of the civil action resolved by the agreement, interfere with the authority of an agency to revise, amend, or issue rules, or commit the agency to expend funds that have not been appropriated and budgeted or to exercise in a particular way discretion which was committed to the agency by statute or the Constitution. Requires a court to grant de novo review of a covered consent decree or settlement agreement if an agency files a motion to modify such decree or agreement on the basis that its terms are no longer fully in the public interest due to the agency's obligations to fulfill other duties or due to changed facts and circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 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 · 10 April 2013
RFS Reform Act of 2013 - Amends the Clean Air Act to revise the renewable fuel program. Requires "renewable fuel," beginning on January 1, 2014, to be advanced biofuel. Revises the renewable fuel standards by: (1) decreasing the volume of renewable fuel that is required to be contained in gasoline sold or introduced into commerce in the United States in 2014 through 2022; and (2) eliminating the separate advanced biofuel volume requirements for those years. Requires the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, in estimating the projected volume of cellulosic biofuel production in the next year, to determine for each cellulosic biofuel production facility: (1) the average monthly volume of biofuel produced by such facility based on the actual volume produced through October 31 of the current year, and (2) the estimated annualized volume of biofuel production for such facility for the current year. Requires the estimate of cellulosic biofuel projected to be sold or introduced into commerce in the following year to equal the total of the estimated annual volumes of cellulosic biofuel production for all such facilities. Requires (currently, authorizes) the Administrator, in any year in which the Administrator reduces the applicable volume of cellulosic biofuel required in gasoline, to also reduce the applicable volume of renewable fuel and advanced biofuels required by the same (currently, by the same or a lesser) volume. Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from allowing the introduction into commerce of gasoline containing greater than 10-volume-percent ethanol. Nullifies waivers from requirements for new fuels and fuel additives that were granted before this Act's enactment and that allow the introduction of such gasoline for use in motor vehicles. Nullifies portions of the rule entitled, "Regulation to Mitigate the Misfueling of Vehicles and Engines with Gasoline Containing Greater Than Ten Volume Percent Ethanol and Modifications to the Reformulated and Conventional Gasoline Programs."
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2013
Fiscal Instruction for a Vibrant Economy Act or FIVE Act - Requires, for FY2013, within 30 days after enactment of this Act, and for FY2014 and each subsequent fiscal year, within 30 days after the President's budget submission to Congress, each federal department and agency to report to the congressional appropriations committees an operating budget that reflects a 5% reduction from the amount requested for it in the President's most recent budget submission.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Border Security Results Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) report, every 180 days, on the state of operational control of the international borders of the United States; and (2) achieve situational awareness of such borders within two years. Requires the Secretary to submit: (1) a comprehensive strategy for gaining and maintaining operational control of high traffic areas of such borders within a two-year period, (2) an implementation plan for each DHS border security component to carry out such strategy, and (3) an updated strategy and implementation plan after submission of each Quadrennial Homeland Security Review. Requires such strategy to include: (1) an assessment of principal border security threats, (2) efforts to analyze and disseminate border security and threat information between DHS border security components, (3) a comprehensive border security technology plan, (4) Department of Defense (DOD) surveillance capabilities, (5) the use of manned aircraft and unmanned aerial systems, (6) agreements with foreign governments that support U.S. border security efforts, (7) staffing requirements for all border security functions, and (8) specified metrics. Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review and report on such implementation plan. Directs the Secretary to: (1) implement metrics to measure the effectiveness of security between ports of entry, at ports of entry, and in the maritime environment; (2) request the head of a national laboratory within the DHS laboratory network with prior expertise in border security to provide an independent assessment of, and ensure statistical validity of, such metrics; and (3) make such assessment and the metrics data and methodology available to GAO for a report to Congress. Directs: (1) the Secretary to submit a certification to Congress and the Comptroller General upon determining that operational control of such borders has been achieved, and (2) the Comptroller General to verify the accuracy of such certification. Directs the Comptroller General to submit a report addressing areas of overlap in responsibilities within DHS's border security functions. Directs the Secretary to report annually on: (1) a resource allocation model for current and future year staffing requirements for optimal staffing levels at all land, air, and sea ports of entry; (2) detailed information on the level of manpower available at and between such ports of entry; and (3) detailed information describing the difference between such optimal and actual levels.
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 · 9 April 2013
Electronic Life Safety and Security Systems Federal Background Check Act of 2013 - Directs the Attorney General to establish a method to permit employers in the electronic life safety and security systems industry to request a fitness determination based on state and federal fingerprint-based criminal history background checks. Requires the Attorney General to: inform such employers about how to request background checks; complete a check of the national criminal history records system; establish procedures for the secure receipt of criminal history records; make determinations regarding whether the criminal history records received in response to a background check indicate a criminal history that may bear on the employee's or prospective employee's fitness for employment in such industry based on whether that individual has, during the preceding 10 years, been convicted of or imprisoned for a felony or an offense involving dishonesty, false statement, or the use of force against another; convey such fitness determination to the employer requesting the background check; provide an affected employee or prospective employee his or her criminal history records and notification of the right to challenge the accuracy or completeness of such records or to withdraw consent to participate in the determination; collect fees from employers to offset fitness determination costs; and issue regulations to ensure the enforcement of nondisclosure requirements for criminal history records.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt charitable or educational organizations to make collegiate housing and infrastructure improvement grants to certain tax-exempt social clubs (e.g., college fraternities and sororities) which apply such grants to their collegiate housing property.
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
Medicare Patient Empowerment Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow any Medicare beneficiary to enter into a contract with an eligible professional for any item or service covered by Medicare. Allows such beneficiaries to submit a claim for Medicare payment in the amount that would otherwise apply if the claim had been filed by a participating physician or supplier in the payment area where the eligible professional covered by the contract resides. Requires a Medicare beneficiary to agree in writing in such a contract to: (1) pay the physician or practitioner for a Medicare-covered item or service; and (2) submit (in lieu of the physician or practitioner) a claim for Medicare payment. Allows a beneficiary, however, to negotiate, as a term of the contract, for the eligible professional to file such claims on the beneficiary's behalf. Preempts state laws from limiting the amount of charges for physician and practitioner services for which Medicare payment is made.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2013
Electronic Health Records Improvement Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to exempt certain eligible physicians in solo practice and physicians near early retirement age from the application of the Medicare payment adjustment for not demonstrating electronic health record (EHR) meaningful use for certain payment years. Establishes a special rebate for eligible professionals who receive a negative adjustment to their payments for failure to establish an EHR process but subsequently do establish a process meeting the criteria for establishing meaningful use of certified EHR technology. Creates specified additional exceptions to the application of the Medicare negative payment adjustment for certain Medicaid providers participating in the Medicaid EHR incentive program and hospital-based eligible professionals not demonstrating EHR meaningful use. Adds as a criterion for meaningful EHR user that an eligible professional satisfactorily uses a qualified national specialty registry system that measures quality improvement or improves patient safety. Directs the Secretary to specify criteria for determining: (1) if a national specialty registry system is qualified under this Act, and (2) if an eligible professional has demonstrated satisfactory use of such a system for a period. Extends: (1) Medicare EHR incentives (increased payments and adjustments) to eligible professionals practicing in rural health clinics, and (2) Medicare Electronic Prescribing (ERx) and quality reporting incentives to rural health clinics. Disqualifies claims for items or services furnished by an eligible professional at an ambulatory surgical center during performance years for the 2015, 2016, or 2017 payment determinations from inclusion in data used to determine if the eligible professional is a meaningful EHR user. Exempts certain eligible professionals from certain EHR meaningful use requirements for purposes of the Medicare payment adjustment. Creates a process for eligible professionals to appeal a determination that they did not qualify as a meaningful EHR user. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to make certain requirements of this Act inapplicable to eligible professional Medicaid provider incentives to encourage the adoption and use of certified EHR technology.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2013
World War II Merchant Mariner Service Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to accept additional documentation for verifying that an individual performed honorable service as a coastwise merchant seaman during the period beginning on December 7, 1941, and ending on December 31, 1946, for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits under the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977. Requires such documentation to include Social Security Administration (SSA) records and validated testimony in the case of the absence of Coast Guard shipping or discharge forms, ship logbooks, documents, or other official employment records. Requires the Secretary, when determining whether to recognize service allegedly performed during such period, to recognize masters of seagoing vessels or other command officers who were authorized to document an individual for purposes of hiring for or discharging from the merchant marine. Considers any service so recognized as active-duty service for purposes of veterans' burial benefits. Makes such veterans eligible for any appropriate military medals, ribbons, and decorations. Requires the Secretary to verify that an individual performed such service under honorable conditions without regard to their sex, age, or disability during the service period.
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
Physical Therapist Workforce and Patient Access Act of 2013 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to include physical therapy within the definition of "primary health services" for purposes of the National Health Service Corps. Makes physical therapists eligible for repayment of their educational loans in order to ensure an adequate supply of physical therapists.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2013
Smithsonian American Latino Museum Act - Establishes a museum to be known as the Smithsonian American Latino Museum in the Smithsonian Institution. Designates the Arts and Industries Building of the Smithsonian Institution, which is located on the National Mall in Washington, DC, including a new underground annex facility, as the location of the Museum. Authorizes the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to plan and construct the Museum and to prepare a plan of action for the Museum. Directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Board of Regents to enter into an agreement that allows for the construction of the underground annex facility by the Board in a manner that is harmonious with, and protects the open space and visual sight lines of, the National Mall.
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 · 15 March 2013
Northern Route Approval Act - Declares that a presidential permit shall not be required for the pipeline described in the application filed on May 4, 2012, by TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to the Department of State for the Keystone XL pipeline, including the Nebraska reroute evaluated in the Final Evaluation Report issued by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality in January 2013 and approved by the Nebraska governor. Deems the final environmental impact statement issued by the Secretary of State on August 26, 2011, coupled with such Final Evaluation Report, to satisfy all requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and of the National Historic Preservation Act. Grants original and exclusive jurisdiction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to determine specified issues (except for review by the Supreme Court on writ of certiorari). Deems the Secretary of the Interior to have issued a written statement setting forth the Secretary's opinion that the Keystone XL pipeline project will not jeopardize the continued existence of the American burying beetle or destroy or adversely modify American burying beetle critical habitat. States that any taking of the American burying beetle that is incidental to the construction or operation and maintenance of the Keystone XL pipeline shall not be considered a prohibited taking of such species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Deems the Secretary to have issued: (1) a grant of right-of-way and temporary use permit pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, and (2) a special purpose permit under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (described in a certain application filed with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for the Keystone XL pipeline). Directs the Secretary of the Army to issue permits pursuant the Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act of 1899 for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Keystone XL pipeline. Authorizes such Secretary to waive any procedural requirement that the Secretary considers desirable in order to accomplish the purposes of this Act. Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from prohibiting or restricting an activity or use of an area that is authorized under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers Reform Act of 2013 - Amends the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to repeal the contingent conditions under which the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers (NARAB) shall not be established. Establishes the NARAB without contingent conditions as an independent nonprofit corporation to prescribe, on a multi-state basis, licensing and insurance producer qualification requirements and conditions. Requires the NARAB, without affecting state regulatory authority, to provide a mechanism for the adoption and multi-state application of requirements and conditions pertaining to: (1) licensing, continuing education, and other qualifications of non-NARAB insurance producers; (2) resident or nonresident insurance producer appointments; (3) supervision and disciplining of such producers; and (4) the setting of licensing fees for insurance producers. Makes any state-licensed insurance producer eligible to join the NARAB, except during a period of license suspension or revocation. Requires an individual insurance producer to undergo a criminal history record check by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Requires the NARAB to submit to the FBI identification information obtained from the insurance producer, upon producer request, as well as a request of its own for the criminal history record check. Authorizes the NARAB to: (1) establish membership criteria; and (2) deny membership to a state-licensed insurance producer on the basis of the criminal history information obtained, or where the producer has been subject to certain disciplinary action. Prohibits the NARAB from establishing criteria that unfairly limit the ability of a small insurance producer to become a member of NARAB. Authorizes the NARAB to establish separate classes of membership and membership criteria, and requires it to do so for business entities. Authorizes the NARAB to deny membership to any state-licensed insurance producer for failure to meet membership criteria. States that NARAB membership authorizes an insurance producer to engage in the business of insurance in any state for any lines of insurance specified in the producer's home state license, including claims adjustments and settlement, risk management, and specified insurance-related consulting activities. Makes NARAB membership equivalent to a nonresident insurance producer license for specified purposes. Retains state regulatory jurisdiction regarding consumer protection and market conduct. Directs the NARAB to establish, as a condition of membership, continuing education requirements comparable to those under the licensing laws of a majority of the states. Requires the NARAB to receive and refer any consumer complaints to state insurance regulators. Requires the NARAB to maintain a toll-free number and, as practicable, other alternative means of communication with consumers, such as an Internet webpage. Authorizes the NARAB to establish: (1) a central clearinghouse through which NARAB members may disclose their intent to operate in one or more states and pay their licensing fees; and (2) a database for the collection of regulatory information concerning the activities of insurance producers. Establishes the NARAB board of directors, whose membership shall include state insurance commissioners. Sets forth terms and procedures for appointment of members by the President. Authorizes reappointment to successive terms. Prohibits compensation on account of Board membership. Declares that the NARAB shall not be deemed to be an insurer or insurance producer within the meaning of any state law, rule, regulation, or order regulating or taxing insurers, insurance producers, or other entities engaged in the business of insurance. Sets forth procedures for presidential oversight of the NARAB, including removal of the entire existing Board. Requires the NARAB to coordinate with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in order to ease any administrative burdens that fall on NARAB members subject to FINRA regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) develop a strategy to obtain observer status for Taiwan at the next triennial International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly to be held in September 2013 in Montreal, Canada; and (2) instruct the U.S. Mission to the ICAO to officially request observer status for Taiwan at the Assembly and other related meetings, activities, and mechanisms, and urge ICAO member states to support Taiwan observer status and participation in the ICAO.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Stopping Needless Additional Performance Bonuses (SNAP) Act of 2013 - Amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to repeal the authority to make performance-based bonus payments to states under the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program).
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Centennial Monetary Commission Act of 2013 - Establishes the Centennial Monetary Commission to: (1) examine how U.S. monetary policy since the creation of the Federal Reserve Board in 1913 has affected the performance of the U.S. economy in terms of output, employment, prices, and financial stability over time; (2) evaluate various operational regimes under which the Board and the Federal Open Market Committee may conduct monetary policy in terms achieving the maximum sustainable level of output and employment and price stability over the long term; and (3) recommend a course for U.S. monetary policy going forward.
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
Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2013 - Prohibits the wages or other remuneration earned by an employee who performs employment duties in more than one state from being subject to income tax in any state other than: (1) the state of the employee's residence, and (2) the state within which the employee is present and performing employment duties for more than 30 days during the calendar year. Exempts employers from withholding of tax and information reporting requirements for employees not subject to income tax under this Act. Allows an employer, for purposes of determining penalties related to employer withholding or reporting requirements, to rely on an employee's annual determination of the time such employee will spend working in a state in the absence of fraud or collusion by such employee. Exempts from the definition of "employee" for purposes of this Act professional athletes, professional entertainers, and public figures who are persons of prominence who perform services for wages or other remuneration on a per-event basis.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Cross-Border Trade Enhancement Act of 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to enter into agreements with persons for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to provide customs and immigration services at a land border port of entry, subject to payment of a fee to reimburse the CBP for providing such services. Declares that nothing in this grant of authority shall be construed to reduce the responsibilities or duties of the CBP to provide services at land border ports of entry that have been authorized by law and federally-funded. Directs the Administrator of General Services to establish procedures for evaluating proposals submitted by persons to: (1) enter into cost-sharing or reimbursement agreements with the General Services Administration (GSA) for the construction or maintenance of infrastructure at a land border port of entry, and (2) provide GSA an unconditional gift of property for use in the construction or maintenance of such infrastructure. Prescribes minimum requirements for such procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Permits a member of the Armed Forces (member) who is involuntarily separated from active duty or the Selected Reserve and who has a service-connected disability (and the member's dependents) to use commissary and exchange stores on the same basis as a member entitled to retired or retainer pay. Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to ensure that such authority is fully implemented within 90 days after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Recognizes the Sabin Vaccine Institute on 20 years of success. Expresses support for the efforts of the Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, and Baylor College of Medicine to reduce the prevalence of neglected tropical diseases by developing new vaccines, advocating for increased use of existing vaccines, and expanding access to affordable medicine for the world's poorest people.
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
Directs the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration [TSA] ) to transfer annually, without further appropriation, unclaimed money recovered at airport security checkpoints to nonprofit organizations that operate multiple airport centers throughout the United States to provide a place of rest and recuperation for Armed Forces members and their families. (Currently, such moneys are retained by the TSA for civil aviation security.)
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
Life at Conception Act - Declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being beginning at the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual comes into being. Prohibits construing this Act to authorize the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2013
No Knives Act of 2013 - Requires the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration [TSA]) to prohibit passengers from carrying aboard a domestic or foreign air carrier passenger aircraft any item that was prohibited from being carried aboard such aircraft on March 1, 2013.
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 · 12 March 2013
Preserving Jobs in the Oilfield Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to ensure that, with respect to maximum hours of service for drivers, on-duty time does not include waiting time at a natural gas or oil well site for operators of commercial motor vehicles transporting supplies, equipment, or materials, including sand or water, to or from a natural gas or oil well site. Applies this exclusion without regard to whether operators have received special training or operate vehicles specially constructed to service wells.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2013
Consumer Mortgage Choice Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act with respect to requirements for disclosure to a consumer of points and fees information about a consumer credit transaction, secured by the consumer's principal dwelling, but which is not a residential mortgage transaction, a reverse mortgage transaction, or a transaction under an open end credit plan, when the total points and fees the consumer must pay at or before closing will exceed 8% percent of the total loan amount or $400, whichever is greater. (Such consumer credit transactions might include an equity credit line to which consumer purchases or leases may be charged.) Excludes from the computation of such points and fees: (1) the amount of any loan level price adjustment payment set by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), or similar government entity or government-sponsored enterprise; (2) any compensation paid by a mortgage originator or a creditor to an individual person employed by the mortgage originator or creditor; and (3) any escrow for future payment of insurance. Modifies the inclusion in the computation of points and fees of all compensation paid to mortgage brokers. Specifies instead all compensation paid directly by a consumer to a mortgage originator, including a mortgage originator that is also the creditor in a table-funded transaction, but not including compensation paid by a mortgage originator or a creditor to an individual employed by the mortgage originator or creditor. Modifies the criteria for exclusion from the computation of points and fees of certain reasonable charges elsewhere exempted from the computation of the finance charge in extensions of credit secured by an interest in real property. Excludes from points and fees any such reasonable charges even though a creditor receives compensation, but only in so far as the creditor or its affiliate retains the compensation as a result of their participation in an affiliated business arrangement. (An "affiliated business arrangement" is one in which: (1) a person who is in a position to refer business incident to or a part of a real estate settlement service involving a federally related mortgage loan, or an associate of such person, has either an affiliate relationship with or a direct or beneficial ownership interest of more than 1% in a provider of settlement services; and (2) either of such persons directly or indirectly refers such business to that provider or affirmatively influences the provider's selection.) Revises the additional requirement that such a reasonable charge be paid to a third party unaffiliated with the creditor. Requires the charge to be: (1) a bona fide third party charge not retained by the mortgage originator, creditor, or an affiliate; or (2) a fee or premium for title examination, title insurance, or similar purposes. Modifies the conditions under which federal departments and agencies may exempt refinancings under a streamlined refinancing from an income verification requirement that, at the time a refinancing is consummated, the consumer has a reasonable ability to repay the loan and all applicable taxes, insurance, and assessments. Repeals the exception for bona fide third party charges not retained by the mortgage originator, creditor, or an affiliate from the requirement that total points and fees not exceed 3% of the total new loan amount. (Thus subjects such charges to the same 3% ceiling.)
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2013
Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to exempt from the requirement to obtain a hazardous material (hazmat) endorsement all class A commercial driver's license (CDL) holders who are custom harvesters, agricultural retailers, agricultural business employees, agricultural cooperative employees, or agricultural producers who operate a service vehicle with a fuel tank containing 3,785 liters (1,000) gallons or less of diesel fuel if the tank is clearly marked with a placard reading "Diesel Fuel."
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
Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act of 2013 - Amends federal bankruptcy law concerning a trust formed under a reorganization plan following the discharge in bankruptcy of a debtor corporation in order to assume the debtor's liability with respect to claims seeking recovery for personal injury, wrongful death, or property damage allegedly caused by the presence of, or exposure to, asbestos or asbestos-containing products. Requires such a trust to file with the bankruptcy court quarterly reports, available on the public docket, which describe each demand the trust has received from a claimant and the basis for any payment made to that claimant (excluding any confidential medical record or the claimant's full Social Security number). Requires such reports, upon written request, and subject to payment (demanded at the option of the trust) for any reasonable cost incurred by it, to provide any information related to payment from, and demands for payment from, the trust to any party to any action in law or equity concerning liability for asbestos exposure.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2013
Defund Obamacare Act - Deauthorizes appropriations to carry out the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, or any amendments made by them. Rescinds the unobligated balance of funds made available under such Acts.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2013
Online Communications and Geolocation Protection Act - Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a governmental entity to require the disclosure of the contents of any wire or electronic communication that is stored, held, or maintained by an electronic communication service or a remote computing service only pursuant to a warrant. Requires such entity, within three days after it receives such contents from a provider of such service, to serve upon or deliver to the service subscriber, customer, or user a copy of the warrant and required notice. Includes the contents of such a communication among the information that any such service provider shall not knowingly divulge to any governmental entity except as provided under current law. Prohibits a governmental entity from intentionally intercepting geolocation information pertaining to an individual, or from intentionally disclosing or using such information knowing that it was obtained in violation of existing prohibitions, except: (1) for purposes of electronic surveillance authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA); (2) with the consent of the individual to whom the information pertains or the parent or guardian of a child to whom the information pertains; (3) through any system that is configured so that such information is readily accessible to the general public; (4) by an emergency responder to respond to a request by such individual for assistance or in circumstances in which it is reasonable to believe that individual's life or safety is in jeopardy; (5) pursuant to a warrant issued by a court in accordance with the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure or as otherwise provided in FISA; or (6) by an investigative or law enforcement officer specially designated to intercept or use geolocation information if such officer reasonably determines that an emergency situation (involving immediate danger of death or serious physical injury to any individual or conspiratorial activities that threaten the national security interest or that are characteristic of organized crime) exists and requires interception or use before an authorizing order can be obtained, there are grounds upon which such an order could be entered, and an application for such order is made within 48 hours after the interception or use occurs. Prohibits a service provider from intentionally disclosing geolocation information pertaining to an individual to any governmental entity, except: (1) pursuant to the above exceptions, or (2) to disclose to a law enforcement agency information which was inadvertently obtained and which appears to pertain to the commission of a crime. Prohibits the use of any geolocation information intercepted, used, or disclosed in violation of this Act as evidence in any trial, hearing, or other government proceeding, except in a civil action to obtain relief for a violation of this Act. Authorizes civil actions to recover damages from persons, other than the United States, where an individual's geolocation information is intentionally disclosed or used in violation of this Act. Requires a federal agency to initiate proceedings to determine whether disciplinary action is warranted against any federal employee when a court or agency has determined that the United States has violated this Act. Amends the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to require a search warrant to obtain geolocation information. Prohibits obtaining the geolocation information of a person for protective activities or law enforcement or intelligence purposes except pursuant to a warrant issued pursuant to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, this Act, or FISA.
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 · 6 March 2013
Huntington's Disease Parity Act of 2013 - Directs the Commissioner of Social Security, for purposes of determining cognitive, behavioral, and physical disability under titles II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act (SSA), to amend specified Listings of Impairments by providing medical and evaluation criteria for Huntington's Disease. Amends SSA title II to waive the 24-month waiting period for coverage under the Medicare program for individuals diagnosed with Huntington's Disease.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2013
Protecting America's Civilian Employees Act or PACE Act - Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to report to Congress, within 30 days after enactment of this Act, on how amounts could be transferred within federal agencies and departments for FY2013 to avoid all furloughs or reductions in force without increasing the federal deficit for that fiscal year.
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 · 28 February 2013
General Duty Clarification Act of 2013 - Amends the Clean Air Act, with respect to provisions relating to the prevention of accidental releases of hazardous air pollutants, to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) promulgate final regulations establishing criteria defining the terms "extremely hazardous substance," "appropriate hazard assessment techniques," and "design and maintain a safe facility"; and (2) issue guidelines to ensure that enforcement of such provisions is handled by the regional offices of EPA in a uniform and appropriate manner across all regions of the United States. Modifies the definition of "accidental release" to exclude an emission resulting from an act intended to cause harm.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2013
Tax Return Due Date Simplification and Modernization Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to change tax return due dates for partnerships (from April 15 to March 15, with a six-month extension), S corporations (from March 15 to March 31), and C corporations (from March 15 to April 15). Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2013, to modify by regulation the due dates for extensions of tax returns for partnerships, trusts and estates, employee benefit plans, tax-exempt organizations, and certain trust funds. Sets a due date of April 15 for the annual information return of a foreign trust with a U.S. owner and for the report of foreign bank and financial accounts (with extensions until October 15). Extends the automatic extension for corporation income tax returns from three to six months.
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
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Dr. Shakil Afridi is an American hero and that he should be immediately released from custody by Pakistan.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2013
Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to eliminate the annual fee on health insurance providers set to be imposed beginning on January 1, 2013.
![Official portrait of Rep. Farenthold, Blake [R-TX-27]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/9bb76877cdde784fed7b730ffc5fb9a0_200.jpg)