United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2013
National Park Service Study Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct special resource studies of: (1) the Kau coast, on the island of Hawaii; (2) the prehistoric, historic, and limestone forest sites on the island of Rota in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; (3) sites in Alaska associated with the forced abandonment of the Aleut villages of Makushin, Kashega, and Biorka around Unalaska Island and Attu on Attu Island during World War II; (4) the five relocation sites in Alaska at Funter Bay, Burnett Inlet, Killisnoo, Ward Lake and the Wrangell Institute; (5) specified World War II Japanese American Relocation Center sites; (6) Mahaulepu, on the island of Kauai in Hawaii; (7) the town of Goldfield and outlying mining sites in Nevada; (8) the Hudson River Valley in New York; (9) the Norman Studios in Jacksonville, Florida, where African-American casts and crews were used in the production of silent films; (10) the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta in Alabama; (11) Galveston Bay in Texas; (12) the Pullman site in Illinois; (13) the northern coast of Maui in Hawaii; and (14) historic sites on the Midway Atoll. Requires updates of: (1) the study authorized by the National Park Service Studies Act of 1999 relating to World War II sites, Republic of Palau; and (2) the 1979 study entitled "Vermejo Ranch, New Mexico/Colorado: Study of Management Options." Directs the Secretary to: (1) study alternatives for commemorating and interpreting the role of the Buffalo Soldiers in the early years of the National Parks, (2) conduct a national historic landmark theme study to identify sites and resources in the southern United States that are significant to the Reconstruction era, and (3) study the feasibility of including 45 miles of the Chattahoochee River and land along the river corridor within the boundary of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area located in Georgia.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2013
Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to provide to each member of the Armed Forces who is scheduled to be separated from service a copy of such member's medical records in an electronic format. Requires such records to include any medical records that, in connection with service in the National Guard, are maintained by the governor of the appropriate state, commonwealth, territory, or possession or the Commanding General of the National Guard of the District of Columbia. Directs the Secretary concerned to provide to a member who is scheduled to be separated a comprehensive physical examination immediately before that separation. Repeals provisions authorizing the waiver of such examination if the member has otherwise undergone an examination within 12 months before the scheduled date of separation. Prohibits a member from being entitled to health care benefits solely by reason of being provided such examination.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2013
Condemns: (1) the commission of hate crimes against all Americans, including Sikh-Americans; and (2) acts of violence, bigotry, and discrimination against Sikh-Americans. Urges educators, counselors, and others to support educational efforts to prevent the epidemic bullying of Sikh-American children and families. Expresses support for outreach efforts by federal and local law enforcement leaders to prevent violence and hate crimes against Sikh-Americans. Urges the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to adopt and implement recommendations of the FBI Advisory Policy Board to track hate crimes against Sikh-Americans, Hindu-Americans, Arab-Americans, and other groups.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013
Saving More American Resources Today Grid Study Act of 2013 or SMART Grid Study Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), and the heads of other federal departments and agencies, as necessary, to enter into an agreement with the National Research Council to research the future resilience and reliability of the nation's electric power transmission and distribution system. Names such research the "Saving More American Resources Today Study" or "SMART Study."
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a congressional gold medal in honor of President Shimon Peres of Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013
United States Coast Guard Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue in commemoration of the United States Coast Guard: (1) $5 gold coins, (2) $1 silver coins, and (3) half-dollar clad coins. Requires the design of such coins to be emblematic of the traditions, history, and heritage of the Coast Guard, and its role in securing our nation since 1790. Prescribes design requirements. Restricts the issuance of such coins to the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2017. Prescribes the sale price of the coins and coin surcharges. Requires such surcharges to be paid by the Secretary to the National Coast Guard Museum Foundation to help finance the design and construction of the National Coast Guard Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that women shall have equal rights in the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction. Prohibits the United States or any state from denying or abridging equal rights under the law on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2013
Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 gold coins, 350,000 $1 silver coins, and 300,000 half dollar clad coins to commemorate the centennial of the founding of Father Flanagan's Boys Town. Requires the design of the coins to be emblematic of the 100 years of Boys Town, one of the largest nonprofit child care agencies in the United States. Permits issuance of such coins only between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2018.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2013
Wounded Warrior Service Dog Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretaries of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) to jointly establish the K-9 Companion Corps program for the awarding of grants to assist nonprofit organizations in establishing, planning, designing, and/or operating programs to provide assistance dogs to certain members of the Armed Forces and veterans who have certain disabilities. Defines "assistance dog" to mean a dog specifically trained to perform physical tasks to mitigate the effects of such a disability, except that such term does not include a dog specifically trained for comfort or personal defense.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2013
Restore Honor to Service Members Act - Requires appropriate military record correction boards or discharge review boards to review the discharge characterization of any former members of the Armed Forces requesting a review who were discharged because of their sexual orientation. Permits such boards to change a characterization to honorable if such characterization is any characterization except honorable. Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to ensure that any such changes are carried out consistently and uniformly across the military departments using specified criteria, including that: (1) the original discharge was based on the policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell (as in effect before it was repealed pursuant to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010) or a similar earlier policy; and (2) the discharge characterization will be changed if, with respect to the original discharge, there were no aggravating circumstances, such as misconduct, that would have independently led to any discharge characterization except honorable. Prohibits "aggravating circumstances" from including: (1) an offense of sodomy committed by the member against a consenting person of the same sex; or (2) statements, consensual sexual conduct, or consensual acts relating to sexual orientation or identity, or the disclosure of such statements, conduct, or acts, that were prohibited at the time of discharge but that became permitted after such discharge. Directs the Secretary of each military department to ensure that oral historians of the department: (1) review discharges between World War II and September 2011 based on sexual orientation, and (2) receive oral testimony of individuals who personally experienced discrimination and discharge because of actual or perceived sexual orientation so that such testimony may serve as an official record of such discriminatory policies and their impact on American lives. Requires the reissuance of specified military personnel records and discharge forms in a manner that shall not reflect the sexual orientation of the member. Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice to remove from the offense of sodomy specified activity referred to as unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2013
Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2015 the exclusion from gross income of income attributable to the discharge of indebtedness on a principal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2013
Rape Survivor Child Custody Act - Directs the Attorney General to make grants to states that have in place a law that allows the mother of any child that was conceived through rape to seek court-ordered termination of the parental rights of her rapist with regard to that child, which the court shall grant upon clear and convincing evidence of rape. Limits such a grant to: (1) an amount that is not greater than 10% of the average of the total funding of the 3 most recent awards a state received under the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program and the Sexual Assault Services Program; and (2) a 1-year term, subject to renewal for not more than 3 additional years. Requires a state that receives such a grant to use: (1) 25% of grant funds for permissible uses under the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program, and (2) 75% of funds for permissible uses under the Sexual Assault Services Program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2013
Embassy Security and Enhancement Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) submit to Congress a list of diplomatic and consular posts designated as high risk, high threat posts; and (2) determine if a post should be so designated before its opening or reopening. Directs the Secretary, before opening or reopening a high risk, high threat post, to establish a working group responsible for the geographic area in which such post is to be opened or reopened. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary should complete a strategic review of the Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security to ensure that the Bureau is fulfilling Department needs. Authorizes FY2014 appropriations for the capital security cost sharing program. Expresses the sense of Congress that the program should prioritize the construction of new facilities and the maintenance of existing facilities at high risk, high threat posts. Authorizes the Secretary to transfer to, and merge with, any appropriation for embassy security, construction, and maintenance such amounts appropriated for any other purpose related to the administration of foreign affairs on or after October 1, 2013. Authorizes the Secretary to provide physical security enhancements at overseas educational facilities established for the children of U.S. government employees. Revises requirements for: (1) local guard contracts abroad, and (2) computation of the death gratuity payable to surviving dependents of Foreign Service employees who die from injuries sustained in the performance of duty abroad. Makes permanent the Secretary's authority to waive the annuity termination of a temporarily reemployed annuitant in a position for which there is exceptional difficulty in recruiting or retaining a qualified employee. Expresses the sense of Congress regarding: (1) application of the Overseas Security Policy Board's security standards to all facilities; and (2) assignment of key personnel at high risk, high threat posts. Requires security training for permanent or long-term personnel assigned to high risk, high threat posts. Urges that language training be provided for diplomatic security personnel assigned to permanent or long-term duty at high threat, high risk posts. Authorizes the Secretary to provide a group life insurance supplement for a Foreign Service employee who dies while on duty abroad as a result of a terrorist attack. Directs the Secretary to provide educational assistance to a widow, widower, familial designee, or child of any U.S. national Foreign Service employee who dies while on duty abroad as a result of a terrorist attack.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2013
Energy Savings Through Public-Private Partnerships Act of 2013 - Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to direct each federal facility energy manager to consider, not later than two years after completion of a comprehensive energy and water evaluation of a federal agency's facilities: (1) implementing any energy- or water-saving or conservation measure that the agency identified in the evaluation that is life cycle cost-effective, and (2) bundling individual measures of varying paybacks together into combined projects. (Under current law, the energy manager is not required to consider such actions.) Requires the energy manager, as part of the Web-based compliance certification system, to provide reasons for not implementing life cycle cost-effective measures. Requires each agency to: (1) use the benchmarking systems selected or developed for the agency under the Act to track energy savings realized by the agency through the implementation of energy- or water-saving or conservation measures and submit information regarding such savings for publication on a website of the Department of Energy (DOE), and (2) consider using energy savings performance or utility energy service contracts to implement such measures. Establishes a goal of entering into energy savings performance contracts or utility energy service contracts equal to $1 billion in each year during the 5-year period beginning on January 1, 2014. Requires each agency to report annually to DOE, and DOE to report to Congress, on progress towards achieving such goal.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2013
Buy Smarter and Save Act of 2013 - Directs the President to establish: (1) an annual government-wide goal to procure goods and services using strategic sourcing, and (2) an annual government-wide goal for savings from the use of strategic sourcing. Defines "strategic sourcing" as a structured and collaborative process of critically analyzing an organization's spending patterns to better leverage its purchasing power, reduce costs, and improve overall value and performance. Directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to: (1) issue guidance to executive agencies for implementing the strategic sourcing goals established by this Act, and (2) report on spending for goods and services that was strategically sourced and the extent of the savings realized. Directs the Departments of Defense (DOD), Homeland Security (DHS), Energy (DOE), Veterans Affairs (VA), and Health and Human Services (HHS), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to take certain actions to support strategic sourcing, including establishing department wide-goals and savings targets for strategic sourcing efforts and a strategic sourcing accountability official. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to: (1) conduct studies on contract utilization fees and on establishing strategic sourcing initiative contract vehicles, and (2) assess and report on the performance of executive agencies in implementing the strategic sourcing goals required by this Act and the amounts saved through the use of strategic sourcing.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2013
Requires the President's budget submission to Congress to: (1) list each program, and its proposed funding level, that will be a one-time expense for the fiscal year for which the budget is submitted; and, in addition to the performance standards required, (2) a proposal, by budget function and agency, for reductions in spending for each of the four ensuing fiscal years. Requires the President, for each budget item being conducted in the current fiscal year, to provide: (1) the amount appropriated or otherwise made available for the item in that year, and (2) the amount of any proposed adjustment in the funding level for the item and its justification. Requires the President, if he proposes an adjustment resulting in a funding increase for a budget item, to include with the proposal the amount of the adjustment that is a result of inflation and the amount that is a result of an increase in employees' salaries or benefits. Requires the President to provide for each major program in a budget function specified in the required estimated budget outlays and proposed budget authority: (1) the amount appropriated or otherwise made available for it in the current fiscal year; and (2) a separate amount (if any) of its expected increase in the following fiscal year owing to inflation, pay increases, or benefit increases.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2013
Government Transformation Act - Establishes the Commission on Government Transformation. Directs the Commission to: (1) review work done by governmental and non-governmental entities and conduct research on the organizational practices, operations, and reform efforts of federal agencies; (2) analyze organizational practices and management challenges of federal agencies; (3) assess federal programs for economy, efficiency, and effectiveness and identify best practices; (4) upon request, provide information on Commission activities to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), other federal agency heads, and the Office of Inspector General of each federal agency; and (5) serve as a repository for best practices for federal agencies. Requires the Commission to make interim and annual reports on its activities to the President and Congress and make such reports available to the public. Provides for expedited congressional consideration of legislation to implement recommendations of the Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2013
21st Century Health Care for Heroes Act - Amends the Wounded Warrior Act to direct the Secretaries of Defenseand Veterans Affairs, in implementing electronic health record systems that provide for the full interoperability of personal health care information between the Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), to ensure that: (1) a health data authoritative source is created within 180 days, (2) the ability of patients of both Departments to download their medical records is achieved within 365 days, (3) seamless integration of personal health care information between the Departments is achieved within 365 days, (4) standardization of health care data of the Departments is achieved within 365 days, (5) acceleration of the exchange of real-time data between the Departments is achieved within 365 days, (6) the upgrade of the graphical user interface to display the new standardized health care data of the Departments is achieved within 365 days, (7) incoming members of the Armed Forces and their dependents may elect to receive an electronic copy of their health care records beginning not later than October 1, 2014, and (8) current members of the Armed Forces and their dependents may elect to receive an electronic copy of their health care records beginning not later than October 1, 2015. Requires such Secretaries to study the feasibility of establishing a secure, remote, and network-accessible computer storage system (commonly referred to as cloud storage) to: (1) provide members of the Armed Forces and veterans the ability to upload their health care records, and (2) allow DOD and VA medical providers to access such records.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2013
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should ban and prevent the importation of shark fins from sharks caught through the practice of finning. Recognizes the threat shark finning poses to sharks and condemns the practice worldwide.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2013
Electrify Africa Act of 2013 - Directs the President to establish a multiyear strategy to assist countries in sub-Saharan Africa develop an appropriate mix of power solutions to provide sufficient electricity access to people living in rural and urban areas in order to alleviate poverty and drive economic growth. Expresses the sense of Congress that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) should: (1) prioritize where loan guarantees to African financial institutions would facilitate involvement in African power projects, and where partnerships and grants would increase access to electricity; and (2) consider providing grants to develop national, regional, and local energy and electricity policy plans, and expand electricity access to the poorest. Urges: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury to use U.S. influence at each institution in the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank to encourage power sector and electrification investments in sub-Saharan Africa, (2) the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to prioritize investment in the electricity sector of sub-Saharan Africa, and (3) the Trade and Development Agency to promote U.S. private sector participation in energy sector development projects in sub-Saharan Africa.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2013
Calls on China (PRC) to end the practice of organ harvesting from prisoners, and particularly from Falun Gong prisoners of conscience and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups. Calls for a Department of State investigation into organ transplant practices in China, and for the prosecution of those found to have engaged in such practices. Demands an end to the persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice by the Communist Party of China and the release of all Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience. Recommends that: (1) the Department issue a travel warning for U.S. citizens traveling to China for organ transplants informing them that the organ source for their operation may be a prisoner of conscience; and (2) the U.S. government condemn organ transplantation abuses in China, ban the entry of those who have participated in such activities, and prosecute such individuals should they be found on U.S. soil.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2013
Extends a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) program of counseling and care and services for veterans for sexual trauma that occurred during active duty or active duty for training to veterans who experienced such trauma during inactive duty training.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2013
Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise conditions of and limitations on payment for home health care services. Allows payment for home health services to Medicare beneficiaries by: (1) a nurse practitioner, (2) a clinical nurse specialist working in collaboration with a physician in accordance with state law, (3) a certified nurse-midwife, or (4) a physician assistant under a physician's supervision.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2013
Respect for Marriage Act - Amends the Defense of Marriage Act to repeal a provision that prohibited a state, territory, possession, or Indian tribe from being required to recognize any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other state, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a same sex marriage. Amends the federal rules of construction added by such Act concerning the definitions of "marriage" and "spouse" to provide that, for purposes of any federal law in which marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered married if that individual's marriage is valid in the state where the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any state, if the marriage is valid in the place where entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a state. Removes the definition of "spouse" (currently, a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife).
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2013
Duplication Elimination Act of 2013 - Requires the President, within 90 days after publication of the annual Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on duplication, consolidation, and elimination of duplicative government programs, to send Congress a proposed joint resolution accompanied by a special message specifying: any recommendations outlined in the GAO report that are excluded from the proposed joint resolution; in detail why they were excluded; and the outlined GAO recommendations included in the proposed joint resolution. Limits the proposed joint resolution to one that: (1) makes legislative changes needed to carry out the recommendations contained in the GAO report for a year that the President did not exclude, and (2) requires that any savings attributable to the legislative changes be transferred to the General Fund of the Treasury and be used to reduce the deficit. Sets forth procedures for expedited congressional consideration of the proposed joint resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2013
Renewable Energy Parity Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the energy tax credit to solar energy, fuel cell, microturbine, combined heat and power system, small wind energy, and thermal energy properties the construction of which begins before January 1, 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2013
Recognizes the historical importance of the Korean War, which began on June 25, 1950. Honors the service and sacrifice of the U.S. Armed Forces and the armed forces of allied countries that served, and continue to serve, in Korea. Reaffirms the commitment of the United States to its alliance with South Korea. Calls on North Korea to abide by international law and cease its nuclear proliferation in order to resume talks that could lead to peace and reunification.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2013
Authorizes the President to extend the term of the Agreement for Cooperation between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Korea Concerning Civil Uses of Nuclear Energy for a period not to exceed March 19, 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2013
Medicare Beneficiary Preservation of Choice Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to repeal the allowance for disenrollment, between January 1 and March 15 of each year, only from an MedicareAdvantage plan to elect enrollment in the original Medicare fee-for-service program. Restores the option under previous law to elect to change from a MedicareAdvantage to the original Medicare fee-for-service plan, or from the original Medicare fee-for-service to a MedicareAdvantage plan, once a year during the first three months.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2013
Limiting Internet and Blanket Electronic Review of Telecommunications and Email Act or the LIBERT-E Act - Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) (as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act) to require the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in applications for court orders requiring the production of tangible things (commonly referred to as business records, including books, records, papers, documents, and other items) for an investigation to obtain foreign intelligence information not concerning a U.S. person or to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, to include a statement of specific and articulable facts showing reasonable grounds to believe that such things are relevant and material to an authorized investigation. (Currently, a general statement of facts must only show that the tangible things are relevant to an authorized investigation.) Requires that the items sought pertain only to an individual that is the subject of such investigation. Removes a list of production items currently designated as presumptively relevant. Requires a judge approving the release of such tangible things to enter orders directing the applicant to notify each person required to produce items of the right to challenge the legality of a production or nondisclosure order as well as the procedures for filing a petition for such a challenge. Removes a requirement that a judge considering a petition to modify or set aside a nondisclosure order treat as conclusive a certification by the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, an Assistant Attorney General, or the FBI Director that disclosure may endanger national security or interfere with diplomatic relations. Directs the Attorney General to make available to all Members of Congress information currently provided to House and Senate intelligence and judiciary committees, including the number of persons targeted for FISA orders, the number of times the Attorney General has authorized such information to be used in a criminal proceeding, and copies of applications, pleadings, orders, and decisions in matters before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review. Requires unclassified summaries of significant decisions, orders, or opinions of such Courts to be made available to the public. Directs the Inspector General of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and inspectors general of each element of the intelligence community authorized to acquire information pursuant to specified FISA orders to jointly report to Congress on the impact of such acquisitions on the privacy interests of U.S. persons. Requires the DOJ Inspector General to make such report available to the public, with any redactions limited to those necessary to protect properly classified information. Requires assessments and reviews regarding guidelines for targeting certain persons located outside the United States and minimization procedures to be submitted in unclassified form, with a classified annex permitted.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2013
Honors the entrepreneurial spirit of small businesses during National Small Business Week. Applauds the efforts and achievements of small business owners and their employees. Recognizes the work of the Small Business Administration (SBA) and its resource partners in providing assistance to entrepreneurs and small businesses. Recognizes the importance of ensuring that: (1) guaranteed loans, including microloans and venture capital, are made available to all qualified small businesses; (2) management assistance programs delivered by SBA resource partners are provided with the federal resources necessary to provide invaluable counseling services to entrepreneurs; (3) SBA small business disaster assistance is provided in a timely and efficient manner; (4) affordable Internet access is available to all people in the United States so that small businesses can utilize such access; (5) regulatory relief is provided to small businesses through the reduction of duplicative or unnecessary regulatory requirements; and (6) leveling the playing field for small business contracting opportunities remains a primary focus.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2013
Encourage New Legalized Immigrants to Start Training Act or the ENLIST Act - Authorizes the enlistment in the armed forces of aliens unlawfully present in the United States on December 31, 2011, who: (1) have been continuously present in the United States since such date; (2) were younger than 15 years of age when they initially entered the United States; and (3) are otherwise eligible for original enlistment in a regular component of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to adjust the status of an alien enlisted under such authority to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence under provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act applicable to aliens who entered the United States prior to January 1, 1972. Rescinds such lawful permanent resident status if the alien is separated from the armed forces under other than honorable conditions before serving the term of enlistment.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2013
World War I American Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) mint and issue $1 silver coins in commemoration of the centennial of America's involvement in World War I, and (2) hold a competition and provide compensation for its winner to design the obverse and reverse of the coins. Requires the design of such coins to be emblematic of the centennial of America's involvement in World War I. Permits the Secretary to issue such coins only during calendar year 2018. Subjects the coin sales to a surcharge of $10 per coin, payable by the Secretary to the World War I Centennial Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2013
Rural Energy Investment Act of 2013 - Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 regarding the biobased markets program to: (1) extend program funding through FY2018, (2) increase the number of categories of biobased products designated and individual biobased products eligible for preferred purchasing, and (3) provide for a program of biobased product education and promotion activities. Amends the Rural Energy for America Program to: (1) extend Program funding through FY2018; (2) make nonprofit organizations eligible for assistance; (3) provide loan guarantees and grants to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy system purchases, with a tiered loan and grant application process that reflects project cost; and (4) permit the combined amount of a grant and a loan guarantee to cover all eligible activity costs. Extends funding through FY2018 for: (1) biorefinery assistance, (2) the biodiesel fuel education program, (3) biomass research and development, (4) the Rural Energy Self-Sufficiency Initiative, (5) the biomass crop assistance program, (6) the forest biomass for energy program, (7) the community wood energy program, and (8) the feedstock flexibility program for bioenergy producers.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2013
Native Hawaiian Education Act - Amends the Native Hawaiian Education Act to revise the duties and composition of the Native Hawaiian Education Council. (The Native Hawaiian Education Council coordinates the educational and related services and programs available to Native Hawaiians.) Requires the Council to be composed of 15 members who: (1) are from certain educational, governmental, Trust, and grant-making entities; and (2) demonstrate at least five years of experience as consumers or providers of Native Hawaiian education or cultural activities. Directs the Council, in addition to its existing duties, to: (1) serve as a clearinghouse for the educational and related services and programs available to Native Hawaiians, and (2) provide technical assistance to Native Hawaiian organizations that apply for or receive Native Hawaiian Education program grants. Requires the Council to hold at least one community consultation each year on each of the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Oahu, and Kauai regarding Native Hawaiian education program grants and other education issues. Eliminates the requirement that the council meet at least four times each year with an island council composed of parents, students, and other Native Hawaiian education stakeholders. Includes charter schools as eligible recipients of Native Hawaiian Education program grants, in addition to Native Hawaiian education organizations, Native Hawaiian community-based organizations, and public and private nonprofit entities. Gives grant priority to programs that: (1) meet the educational priorities established by the Council; (2) repair and renovate public schools that serve high concentrations of Native Hawaiian students; (3) meet the unique cultural and language needs of Native Hawaiian students in order to help them meet challenging state academic achievement standards; and (4) involve states, local educational agencies, or institutions of higher education in partnerships or consortia. Requires the Secretary of Education to use funds made available for Native Hawaiian Education program grants before this Act's enactment to support: (1) the development of a body of Native Hawaiian law; (2) the repair and renovation of public schools that serve high concentrations of Native Hawaiian students; (3) access to Hawaiian culture and history through digital archives; (4) informal education programs that connect traditional Hawaiian knowledge, science, astronomy, and the environment through state museums or learning centers; and (5) public charter schools serving high concentrations of Native Hawaiian students. Authorizes appropriations for such grants through FY2019.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2013
Calls on the government of Sri Lanka to build on its establishment of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). Recognizes that the LLRC report did not adequately address issues of accountability for both the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Calls for the establishment of an independent international mechanism to look into allegations of war crimes and other human rights violations committed by all sides during and after the war in Sri Lanka. Encourages Sri Lanka to allow for greater media freedoms. Urges Sri Lanka to allow humanitarian organizations and international human rights groups greater access to the war-affected. Acknowledges the end of the war and the importance of reaching a power-sharing political settlement.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2013
Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2013 - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to list permissible sources of dogs and cats used by research facilities to include dogs and cats obtained: (1) from a licensed dealer, (2) from a publicly owned and operated pound or shelter that meets specified requirements, (3) by donation from a person who bred and raised the dog or cat or owned it for not less than one year, or (4) from a research facility licensed by the Secretary of Agriculture. Sets forth additional monetary penalties for related violations. Prohibits federal facilities from purchasing or otherwise acquiring dogs or cats for exhibition purposes (currently, for research, experimentation, or exhibition purposes) except from: (1) the operator of an auction that comports with legal requirements, or (2) a person holding a valid dealer or exhibitor license. Prohibits dealers from selling or otherwise providing any research facility (currently, any individual or entity) with random source dogs or cats unless specified certification requirements are met.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2013
Partnership to Build America Act of 2013 - Establishes the American Infrastructure Fund (AIF) as a wholly-owned government corporation to provide bond guarantees and make loans to state and local governments and non-profit infrastructure providers for transportation, energy, water, communications, or educational facility infrastructure projects (Qualified Infrastructure Projects [QIPs]). Requires AIF also to make equity investments in QIPs such entities sponsor. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, acting through the AIF, to issue American Infrastructure Bonds with an aggregate face value of $50 billion. Requires proceeds from the sale of the bonds to be deposited into the AIF. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow U.S. corporations to exclude from gross income qualified cash dividend amounts received during a taxable year from a foreign-controlled corporation equal to the face value of qualified infrastructure bonds the corporation has purchased. Prohibits allowance of a foreign tax credit to the excluded portion of any dividend received by a U.S. corporation. Prohibits also the allowance of a deduction for expenses related to that excludable portion.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2013
Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), with respect to charges that allege an offense triable by court-martial (with certain exclusions) for which the maximum punishment includes confinement for more than one year, to direct the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to require the Secretaries of the military departments to provide for the determination of whether to try such charges by general or special court-martial to be made by a commissioned officer of grade O-6 or higher with significant experience in such trials and who is outside the chain of command of the accused. Provides that a determination not to proceed to trial shall not preclude a commanding officer from either referring such charges for trial by summary court-martial or imposing non-judicial punishment. Requires Rule 306 (relating to policy on initial disposition of offenses) of the Manual for Courts-Martial to be amended to strike the character and military service of the accused from factors to be considered by the disposition authority. Revises the list of officers authorized to convene general and special courts-martial to include those in grade O-6 or higher assigned such responsibility by their department chief of staff (with the same prohibition against an officer in the same chain of command as the accused). Requires each chief of staff to establish an office which shall convene general and special courts-martial and detail judges and members. Requires a military judge to call a general or special court-martial trial into session within 90 days of the determination of its necessity. Requires a convening authority (the official acting on the sentence of a court-martial), when taking any action other than approving a sentence, to prepare a written justification of such action which shall be made part of the record of the court-martial. Prohibits a convening authority from: (1) dismissing or setting aside a finding of guilty, or (2) reducing a finding of guilty to a finding of guilty to a lesser included offense. Requires a commanding officer who receives a report of a sexual-related offense involving a member in such officer's chain of command to act immediately upon such report by way of referral to the appropriate criminal investigative office or service. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 to require an independent panel established by the DOD Secretary to monitor and assess the implementation and efficacy of this Act and its amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2013
Israel QME Enhancement Act - Directs the President to: (1) report to Congress every two years (current law requires such report every four years) regarding the assessment of Israel's qualitative military edge over military threats to Israel and related weapons sales in the Middle East, and (2) report on criteria used to include cyber and asymmetric threats in such assessment.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2013
Veterans' Dignity and Honor Act - Increases the amounts payable through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for: (1) burial and funeral expenses of certain veterans, and (2) such expenses in connection with a veteran's death due to a service-connected disability.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2013
Puerto Rico Status Resolution Act - Authorizes the State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico to provide for a ratification vote on the admission of Puerto Rico as a state of the United States on an equal footing with the several states in all respects. Requires (if a majority of votes cast in the ratification vote are for the admission of Puerto Rico as a state): (1) the President to submit to Congress legislation to admit Puerto Rico as a state, and (2) Congress to act, through legislation, to admit Puerto Rico as a state.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2013
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act - Declares it an unlawful employment practice for employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, and other specified entities to: (1) fail to make reasonable accommodations to known limitations related to the pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions of job applicants or employees, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on such an entity's business operation; (2) deny employment opportunities based on the need of the entity to make such reasonable accommodations; (3) require such job applicants or employees to accept an accommodation that they choose not to accept; or (4) require such employees to take leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided to their known limitations. Sets forth enforcement procedures and remedies under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, and the rights and protections extended to presidential offices. Directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to issue regulations to carry out this Act, including the identification of reasonable accommodations addressing known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2013
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China (PRC) eligible for designation as a visa waiver program country.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2013
Fostering Resilience to Terrorism Act of 2013 - Amends the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 to revise the definition of an "act of terrorism" to mean any act that is certified as meeting the specified criteria for such an act by the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), in concurrence with the Secretary of the Treasury (currently, by the Secretary of the Treasury in concurrence with the Secretary of State). Extends the Terrorism Insurance Program until December 31, 2024 (under current law the Program expires on December 31, 2014). Requires reports in 2017, 2020, and 2030 on the findings of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets pursuant to an ongoing analysis regarding the long-term availability and affordability of insurance for terrorism risk. Directs the DHS Secretary to: (1) provide to insureds under the Program, through the Secretary of the Treasury, timely homeland security information, including terrorism risk information, at the appropriate classification level and information on best practices to foster resilience to a terrorist act; and (2) conduct research to determine the extent to which such insureds, particularly insureds in critical infrastructure sectors, incorporate such best practices information into their business operations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2013
Biennial Budgeting and Enhanced Oversight Act of 2013 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to require: (1) biennial (instead of annual) budget resolutions, (2) biennial appropriations Acts, and (3) biennial government strategic and performance plans. Defines the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. Makes conforming amendments to the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), and the CBA.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2013
Better Enforcement for Sexual Assault Free Environments Act of 2013 or BE SAFE Act - Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to repeal the authority of a convening authority (the person taking action on the findings of a court-martial) to use discretion to either set aside a finding of guilty or change such finding to a finding of guilty to a lesser included offense (except with respect to a minor offense). Requires a convening authority, when changing a charge with respect to a minor offense, to prepare a written explanation of such action, which shall be made part of the record. Prohibits a convening authority from reducing a sentence to less than the mandatory minimum sentence, unless to reflect the substantial assistance by the accused in the investigation or prosecution of another person who has committed an offense. Requires a convening authority who disapproves, commutes, or suspends a sentence, in whole or in part, to prepare a detailed written explanation therefor, which shall be made part of the record. Requires mandatory dismissal or dishonorable discharge of a person found guilty under the UCMJ of rape, sexual assault, forcible sodomy, or an attempt thereof. Eliminates any statute of limitations with respect to UCMJ actions for sexual assault of a child. Authorizes the Secretary of the military department concerned to provide guidance for commanders regarding their authority to make determinations, and to take action, regarding whether a member of the Armed Forces (member) serving on active duty who is alleged to have committed a sexual assault or other sex-related offense should be temporarily reassigned or removed from a position of authority or assignment in order to maintain order and discipline within the member's unit. Directs the Secretary concerned to designate legal counsel (knows as a Victims' Counsel) to provide legal assistance to a member or dependent who is the victim of a sex-related offense, whether the allegation is restricted (confidential) or unrestricted. Requires enhanced training for all military and civilian attorneys providing such assistance. Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to report to the congressional defense committees on: (1) sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimum sentencing provisions under the UCMJ, and (2) the roles of commanders in the administration of military justice and the investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of UCMJ offenses.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2013
Expresses: (1) disapproval of the use of gas chambers to euthanize shelter animals, and (2) support for the enactment of state laws requiring the use of euthanasia by injection with sodium pentobarbital as the standard method of euthanasia for all animal shelters. Encourages states to allow licensed shelters to purchase necessary euthanasia drugs, subject to appropriate training and certification.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2013
Requires the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with respect to the Coast Guard, or any of the military departments to investigate allegations of retaliatory personnel actions taken in response to making protected communications to such Inspector General regarding alleged instances of rape, sexual assault, or other forms of sexual misconduct in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
![Official portrait of Rep. Gabbard, Tulsi [D-HI-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/26e34a48096cb8836b78032e3b9a8555_200.jpg)