United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Process Act Authorizes the State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico to provide for a vote on Puerto Rico's admission into the Union as a state within one year of this Act's enactment. Requires the governor of Puerto Rico to transmit the results of such vote to the President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate within 10 days after the certification of the vote by the Commission. Directs the President, if a majority of the votes cast are for Puerto Rico's admission as a state: (1) within 30 calendar days of receipt of the certified results, to issue a proclamation to begin the transition process that will culminate in Puerto Rico's admission as a state effective January 1, 2021; and (2) within 90 calendar days of such receipt, to appoint a Commission on the Equal Application of Federal Law to Puerto Rico, which shall survey U.S. laws and submit recommendations to Congress by July 1, 2018, as to how laws that do not apply, or that apply differently, to the territory should be amended or repealed to treat Puerto Rico equally. Requires Puerto Rico to carry out necessary actions by January 1, 2020, to enable it to hold elections for federal office in November 2020, including the election to the 117th Congress of two U.S. Senators and the number of Representatives to which it would have been entitled for the 116th Congress if it had been a state during such Congress. Provides for a temporary increase in the membership of the House of Representatives initially and a permanent increase effective with the taking effect of the first reapportionment occurring after the regular decennial census conducted for 2020. Requires the President, following a transition process, to issue a proclamation declaring that Puerto Rico is admitted to the Union on an equal footing with the other states, effective January 1, 2021. Sets forth provisions regarding the continuity of government and the continuity of laws of Puerto Rico.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Medicare Demonstration of Coverage for Low Vision Devices Act of 2015 Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to commence a project to demonstrate and evaluate the fiscal impact of covering low vision devices under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act in the same or similar manner as coverage is provided for durable medical equipment under such part.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2015 Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to exempt traditional large and premium cigars from regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and from user fees assessed on tobacco products by the FDA.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2015
Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act Directs the President to impose U.S. entry and property sanctions against any foreign person (or entity) who: is responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against individuals in any foreign country, especially those persons seeking to expose illegal activity carried out by government officials, or to obtain, exercise, or promote human rights and freedoms; acted as an agent of or on behalf of a foreign person in such activities; is a government official (or senior associate of such official) responsible for, or complicit in, ordering or otherwise directing acts of significant corruption or the facilitation or transfer of the proceeds of corruption to foreign jurisdictions; or has materially assisted or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, such activities. Prescribes related penalties. Authorizes the President, with regard to such sanctions, to: waive their application, with prior congressional notification, if in U.S. national security interests; and terminate them under specified conditions. States that sanctions shall not apply if necessary to comply with the Agreement between the United Nations (U.N.) and the United States regarding the U.N. Headquarters, or other applicable international obligations of the United States. Directs the President to report to Congress annually regarding each foreign person sanctioned, the type of sanctions imposed, and the reason for their imposition. Directs the Comptroller General to assess for Congress: (1) the process to determine whether a foreign person has engaged in a sanctionable activity, whether sanctions should be imposed, and whether the identity of a sanctioned foreign person should be classified; and (2) implementation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
CEO-Employee Paycheck Fairness Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny a publicly held corporation a tax deduction for the payment of performance-based remuneration in excess of $1 million to any of its current or former officers or directors if such corporation does not meet the pay fairness requirement established by this Act. Deems the pay fairness requirement to be satisfied if: (1) the average compensation paid by the employer for all applicable U.S. employees for the taxable year exceeds the inflation and productivity growth adjusted average (i.e., $118,450 in 2015) of such compensation for the preceding taxable year; and (2) the aggregate compensation paid by the employer to or for all applicable employees for the taxable year is not less than the aggregate of such compensation for the preceding taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the inclusion of any social security or tier I railroad retirement benefits in gross income for income tax purposes. Appropriates funds to cover reductions in transfers to the Social Security and Railroad Retirement Trust Funds resulting from the enactment of this Act. Expresses the sense of Congress against using tax increases to provide revenue necessary to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Expresses support for efforts to: (1) provide protections and supports for sexually exploited and trafficked girls in the United States, and (2) create criminal or civil penalties for anyone who buys or sells a child through a system of child trafficking.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
International Human Rights Defense Act of 2015 Directs the Secretary of State to establish in the Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor a Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Peoples who shall: direct U.S. government efforts regarding the human rights of LGBT people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender); represent the United States in diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights of LGBT people, including discrimination and violence against LGBT people; serve as the principal advisor to the Secretary of State regarding human rights for LGBT people; and implement activities regarding support, education, resettlement, and empowerment of LGBT people. Directs the Special Envoy to develop or update annually for five years a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to discrimination and violence against LGBT people. Authorizes the Secretary and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development to provide assistance to prevent and respond to discrimination and violence against LGBT people.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Assessing Appropriate School Start Times Act Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to study the impact of school start times on student health, well-being, and performance.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Improving Education for Foster Youth Act Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require states that receive ESEA assistance to implement policies ensuring that foster care children who are changing schools can transfer school credits and receive partial credits for coursework satisfactorily completed while attending a prior school or educational program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act of 2015 or the FAIR Act This bill modifies general rules governing civil forfeiture proceedings to: (1) ensure that a person contesting a civil forfeiture has legal representation without regard to whether the property subject to forfeiture is being used by such person as a primary residence; (2) increase the federal government's burden of proof in civil forfeiture proceedings to clear and convincing evidence; (3) require the government, in addition to showing a substantial connection between the seized property and an offense, to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the owner of any interest in the seized property used the property with intent to facilitate the offense or knowingly consented or was willfully blind to the use of the property by another in connection with the offense; and (4) expand the proportionality criteria used by a court to determine whether a civil forfeiture was constitutionally excessive. To remove incentives for carrying out civil forfeitures, the bill requires proceeds from the disposition of seized property to be deposited into the General Fund of the Treasury, rather than to Department of Justice accounts for law enforcement activities. The bill adds a scienter requirement (i.e., a knowing violation) to the prohibition against structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements. The bill requires: (1) a court to conduct a probable cause hearing to determine if there is a violation of the prohibition against structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements involving a monetary instrument and to return such instrument if probable cause is not established, and (2) the Attorney General to specify in reports to Congress and the public on forfeitures the amounts received from criminal and civil forfeitures.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act of 2015 or the ACE Kids Act of 2015 Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act to allow a state, at its option, to elect to provide medical assistance for items and services furnished to eligible children with medically complex conditions enrolled in a Medicaid Children's Care Coordination (MCCC) program. Requires an MCCC program, among other things, to coordinate, integrate, and provide for the furnishing of the full range of MCCC program services to enrolled children, as well as designate pediatric care management services and pediatric focused care coordination and health promotion. Requires a state to enroll eligible children prospectively in an MCCC program through an initial 90-day assignment to a nationally designated children's hospital network, unless the child opts not to participate in any MCCC program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
National Health Service Corps Improvement Act of 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to include chiropractic services in primary health services for purposes of the National Health Service Corps. Doctors of chiropractic are eligible for the fellowship program for the delivery of primary health services in health professional shortage areas, the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program, and the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to restore mail delivery service standards in effect as of July 1, 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2015
Memorializes the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz and honors the victims of Nazi concentration camps, killing centers, crimes, and aggression. Honors the U.S. Armed Forces, the armed forces of Allied nations, underground resistance fighters, and other persons who helped defeat the Nazi regime during World War II. Expresses gratitude to hosts and participants in events commemorating the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, including a U.S. presidential delegation attending an event in Oswiecim, Poland. Reaffirms support for educational efforts to teach about the Holocaust, preserve the memory of those murdered, and prevent future genocide. Urges all countries to: (1) implement educational lessons about the Holocaust to explain how unchecked intolerance and prejudice has led to, and could lead to, atrocities as happened during the Holocaust; and (2) improve efforts to identify and combat anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry and intolerance.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2015
Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act of 2015 Amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to condition eligibility to receive a state grant for child abuse or neglect prevention and treatment programs on inclusion in the state plan of a certification by the governor that the state has in effect and is enforcing a state law, or is operating a statewide program, that includes provisions and procedures to: identify and assess reports involving children who are sex trafficking victims (and which may also involve children who are victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons), train representatives of the state child protective services about identifying and assessing such children, and identify services and procedures for appropriate referral to address the needs of such children. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to Congress on: the specific type and prevalence of severe forms of trafficking in persons to which children have been subjected who are identified for services or intervention under the placement, care, or supervision of state, Indian tribe, or tribal organization child welfare agencies; the practices and protocols utilized by states to identify and serve children who are, or are at-risk of becoming, victims of trafficking; and any barriers in federal laws or regulations that may prevent identification and assessment of children who are such victims.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
This bill directs the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal to the Foot Soldiers who participated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, or the final Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March during March of 1965, which served as a catalyst for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Student Testing Improvement and Accountability Act Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to eliminate the requirement that students be tested against state academic content and achievement standards in mathematics and reading or language arts in each of grades three through eight. Requires, instead, that those tests be administered at least once during: (1) grades 3 through 5, (2) grades 6 through 9, and (3) grades 10 through 12.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Discharge Student Loans in Bankruptcy Act of 2015 Amends the federal bankruptcy code to allow the discharge in bankruptcy of an educational loan or an obligation to repay funds received as an educational benefit, scholarship, or stipend. (Currently, those debts are dischargeable only if excepting them from discharge would impose an undue hardship on the debtor and the debtor's dependents.)
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Constitutional Amendment Declares that: (1) the rights protected by the Constitution are intended to be the rights of natural persons; and (2) the words "people," "person," or "citizen" as used in the Constitution do not include corporations, limited liability companies, or other corporate entities established by the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state, and that such corporate entities are subject to such regulation as the people, through their elected state and federal representatives, deem reasonable and are otherwise consistent with the powers of Congress and the states. Prohibits this Amendment from limiting the rights of freedom of speech, the press, exercise of religion, association, and all such other unalienable rights of the people.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Constitutional Amendment Grants every U.S. citizen of legal voting age the fundamental right to vote in any public election held in the jurisdiction in which the citizen resides.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Women's Health Protection Act of 2015 This bill prohibits any government from imposing on abortion services: a requirement that a medical professional perform specific tests or medical procedures; a requirement that the same clinician who performs a patient's abortion also perform additional tests, services or procedures; a limitation on an abortion provider's ability to prescribe or dispense drugs or provide services via telemedicine; a requirement or limitation concerning the physical plant, equipment, staffing, or hospital transfer arrangements of facilities where abortions are performed, or the credentials, hospital privileges, or status of personnel at those facilities; a requirement that, prior to obtaining an abortion, a patient make medically unnecessary in-person visits to any individual or entity; a limitation on medical training for abortion procedures; a prohibition prior to fetal viability; a prohibition after fetal viability when continuation of the pregnancy would pose a risk to the woman's life or health; a restriction on a woman's ability to obtain an immediate abortion when a delay would pose a risk to the woman's health; or a restriction on obtaining an abortion prior to fetal viability based on a woman's reasons or perceived reasons or that requires her to state her reasons before obtaining an abortion. A measure or action that is similar to a requirement or limitation listed above is prohibited if it singles out abortion services or makes abortion services more difficult to access and does not significantly advance women's health or the safety of abortion services.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Government By the People Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to allow a refundable credit of 50% of qualified congressional House campaign contributions paid or incurred during the taxable year (contributions of cash by an individual to a House candidate or a political committee established and maintained by a national political party if the contribution is not prohibited under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 [FECA], to be known as "My Voice Federal" contributions). Directs the Government by the People Oversight Commission, established by this Act, to launch a pilot program under which it shall select three eligible states to operate a voucher pilot program. Requires a state under a voucher pilot program to provide each qualified individual during the election cycle, upon his or her request, with a "My Voice Voucher" worth $50, which will be assigned a routing number. Authorizes the individual to submit the My Voice Voucher to qualified federal election candidates, allocating a portion of its value in $5 increments. Requires the Commission to pay any candidate who transmits a My Voice Voucher that portion of its value which the individual allocated to the candidate. Considers this transaction a contribution by the individual to the candidate for purposes of FECA. Requires a state operating a voucher pilot program also to permit an individual to revoke a My Voice Voucher within two days after submitting it to a candidate. Requires such a state to establish a commission or designate an existing entity to oversee and implement the program in the state, except that no such commission or entity may be composed of elected officials. Amends FECA with respect to: benefits for participating House of Representatives candidates; Federal Election Commission (FEC) payments to such candidates; candidate use of payments; qualified small dollar contributions, expenditures, and fundraising requirements; certification of participating candidates; campaign administration; prevention of the unnecessary spending of public funds; establishment of the Freedom From Influence Fund in the Treasury and of a Government by the People Oversight Commission in the FEC; remittal of unspent funds to the Freedom From Influence Fund after an election; eligibility of participating candidates for additional payments; civil penalties for violation of contribution and expenditure requirements; a Commission action appeals process; and contributions and expenditures by multicandidate and political party political committees on behalf of participating candidates. Prohibits a certified participating candidate's authorized committee from establishing a joint fundraising committee with any political committee other than another authorized committee of the candidate. Prohibits a certified participating candidate from establishing, financing, maintaining, or controlling a leadership PAC (political action committee). Prohibits use of contributions by a participating candidate for any purposes other than an election campaign. Revises bundler disclosure requirements to repeal a specified exception and so require disclosure of persons who provided bundled contributions to the reporting committee. Amends FECA to empower the FEC to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to appeal a civil action to enforce the Act. Requires all political committee designations, statements, and reports required to be filed under FECA to be filed: (1) directly with the FEC; and (2) in electronic form accessible by computers. Reduces to 24 hours after their receipt the deadline for the FEC to make designations, statements, reports, or notifications available to the public in the FEC office and on the Internet. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to set a station's lowest unit price for preemptible use as the charge for a broadcast by the national committee of a political party for an affiliated candidate. Authorizes the FEC to revoke a broadcast station license or construction permit only for at least three willful failures to allow reasonable access to, or to permit purchase of reasonable amounts of time for the use of, a broadcasting station or cable system by a legally qualified candidate for federal office. Amends the IRC to allow taxpayers to designate overpayments of tax for contribution to the Freedom From Influence Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2015
Constitutional Amendment - Authorizes Congress and the states to set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections. Grants Congress and the states the power to implement and enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation. Allows them to distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections. Declares that nothing in this amendment shall be construed to grant Congress or the states the power to abridge the freedom of the press.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2015
Trafficking Prevention in Foreign Affairs Contracting Act This bill directs the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development to report to Congress regarding: a definition of "placement and recruitment fees" for purposes of complying with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and how such definition will be incorporated into grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and contracting practices; and a description of actions taken to ensure that officials include the prevention of trafficking in persons in monitoring grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements and contracting practices.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make an alien who commits or conspires to commit a single human trafficking offense (under current law, more than one offense), or assists a trafficker, ineligible for U.S. admission. Makes the spouse, son, or daughter of such an inadmissible alien also permanently inadmissible if he or she has obtained a financial or other benefit from that alien's illicit activity, regardless of when the benefit was obtained, and knew that the benefit was the product of such illicit activity.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Return to Prudent Banking Act of 2015 Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) to prohibit an insured depository institution from being an affiliate of any broker or dealer, investment adviser, investment company, or any other person or entity engaged principally in the issue, flotation, underwriting, public sale, or distribution of stocks, bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities. Prohibits officers, directors and employees of securities firms from simultaneous service on the boards of depository institutions, except in specified circumstances. Requires any such individual serving as an officer, director, employee, or other institution-affiliated party of any insured depository institution to terminate such service as soon as practicable after enactment of this Act. Requires an insured depository institution to wind-down in an orderly manner and terminate any affiliation prohibited by this Act. Amends the Banking Act of 1933 (Glass-Steagall Act) to expand its prohibition against the transaction of banking activities by securities firms. Declares that Congress ratifies the interpretation by the Supreme Court of specified statutory language in the case of Investment Company Institute v. Camp ( ICI ) regarding permissible activities of banks and securities firms. Declares that the reasoning of the Court in that case shall continue to apply to the limitations placed upon security affiliations under the FDIA as enacted by this Act. Prohibits a federal banking agency or federal court from issuing an interpretation regarding such security affiliations that is narrower than that of the Court in ICI . Makes technical and conforming changes to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Revised Statutes of the United States, and specified federal law. Requires the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, or another appropriate federal banking agency to report to Congress a detailed description of the basis for its decision each time it makes a determination or grants an extension concerning an affiliation between insured depository institutions and investment banks or securities firms.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
Advancing Research for Neurological Diseases Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to: (1) enhance and expand infrastructure and activities to track the epidemiology of neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease; and (2) incorporate information obtained through those activities into a National Neurological Diseases Surveillance System. Requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure that the System facilitates further research on neurological diseases. Requires HHS to provide for the collection and storage of information on neurological diseases, including the incidence, prevalence, and other information, to the extent practicable. Requires HHS to: (1) make information and analysis in the System available to federal agencies and to the public, including researchers; and (2) ensure that privacy and security protections applicable to the System are at least as stringent as the protections under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
New Columbia Admission Act Sets forth procedures for admission into the United States of the state of New Columbia. Requires the Mayor of the District of Columbia to: (1) submit to the eligible voters propositions for statehood and adoption of a State Constitution, and (2) issue a proclamation for the first elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative of New Columbia. Requires the President, upon adoption of such propositions and certification of such elections, to issue a proclamation announcing the results and admitting New Columbia into the Union. Provides for conversion of District government offices to state offices. Provides that New Columbia shall consist of all territory of the District as of the enactment of this Act, excluding land within specified metes and bounds that shall remain the District of Columbia and that shall include the principal federal monuments, the White House, the Capitol Building, the Supreme Court Building, the federal executive, legislative, and judicial office buildings located adjacent to the Mall and the Capitol Building, and certain military property. Prohibits New Columbia from imposing taxes on federal property except as provided by Congress. Maintains the applicability to New Columbia of current District laws and continues pending judicial proceedings. Maintains: (1) the District of Columbia as the seat of the federal government, and (2) the federal government's authority over military lands and specified other property. Requires each state that is the last place an individual resided before residing in the District of Columbia to permit such individual to vote in federal elections by absentee ballot. Sets forth a rule for expedited consideration of a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution to repeal the 23rd amendment (which provides for the appointment of electors for President and Vice President for the District).
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
Federal Adjustment of Income Rates Act or the FAIR Act Increases the rates of basic pay for federal employees under the statutory pay systems (relating to the General Schedule, the U.S. Foreign Service, and the Veterans Health Administration) for calendar year 2016, and for prevailing rate employees for FY2016, by 3.8%.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of door delivery for all businesses and residential customers.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Affordability for Constant and Continual Education to Enhance Student Success Act or the All-Year ACCESS Act Directs the Secretary of Education to award an additional Pell Grant to an eligible student who: (1) has received a Pell Grant for an award year, and (2) is enrolled in a program of study for one or more additional payment periods during the same award year that are not otherwise covered by the Pell Grant. Requires such a student to be enrolled on at least a half-time basis for a period of more than one academic year, or more than the equivalent of two semesters, during a single award year. Limits the total amount of the Pell Grants awarded to such student for the award year to 150% of the maximum Pell Grant for such award year.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act Designates approximately 1,559,538 acres of land within Alaska in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
Ensuring Access to Clinical Trials Act of 2015 This bill amends the Improving Access to Clinical Trials Act of 2009 to repeal the sunset of, and so extend indefinitely, the exclusion from resources under titles XVI (Supplemental Security Income) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, for eligibility purposes, of compensation in the amount of the first $2,000 per year received by individuals who participate in clinical trials for rare diseases or conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
Requires the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service to report annually to Congress on the effects of gun violence on public health and the status of actions taken to address those effects.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
Tar Sands Tax Loophole Elimination Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the definition of "crude oil" for purposes of the excise tax on petroleum and petroleum products to include any bitumen or bituminous mixture, any oil derived from a bitumen or bituminous mixture (tar sands), and any oil derived from kerogen-bearing sources (oil shale).
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2015
Servicemember Foreclosure Protections Extension Act of 2015 Amends the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 to extend through calendar year 2016 the one-year period after a service member's military service during which: (1) a court may stay proceedings to enforce an obligation on real or personal property owned by the service member before such military service; and (2) any sale, foreclosure, or seizure of such property shall be invalid without a court order or waiver agreement signed by the service member. (Currently, the extended one-year period is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2015, and return to a nine-month period under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.) Revives, effective January 1, 2017 (currently, January 1, 2016), the old nine-month period in place of the one-year period granted by such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2015
Transitioning to Integrated and Meaningful Employment Act or the TIME Act Directs the Secretary of Labor to discontinue issuing to any new profit or non-profit or governmental entity special wage certificates (which permit individuals with disabilities, including individuals employed in agriculture, to be paid at lower than minimum wages). Prescribes requirements for a three-year phase-out of all certificates. Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to repeal authority and requirements for the issuance of such certificates three years after enactment of this Act. Requires revocation of any certificates remaining at that time.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2015
Making Servicemember Foreclosure Protections Permanent Act Amends the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 to make permanent the extended one-year period after a servicemember's military service during which: (1) a court may stay proceedings to enforce an obligation on real or personal property owned by the servicemember prior to such military service; and (2) the sale, foreclosure, or seizure of such property is invalid without a court order or agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2015
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 · 6 January 2015
Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015 This bill directs the Government Accountability Office to: (1) complete, within 12 months of enactment, the required audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board) and of the Federal Reserve Banks; and (2) submit to Congress, within 90 days of audit completion, a detailed report of audit findings and conclusions. The bill repeals certain limitations placed upon audits of the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve banks.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the President should declassify a 28-page section of the Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 2001, and (2) the families of the victims and the people of the United States deserve answers about the events and circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2014
Prohibits the use of funds appropriated for FY2015 or any ensuing fiscal year for negotiating a trade agreement that includes a waiver of Buy American Act requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2014
Lynnette's Law - Amends the federal criminal code to make an interstate act to conceal (or attempt to conceal) a homicide a federal offense punishable by imprisonment for any term of years or for life.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2014
National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act of 2014 - Requires the Attorney General to issue regulations for the collection and compilation of data pertaining to the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers, which shall require: the collection of data on all instances wherein deadly force was used; the data to include information on the characteristics of the officer and the person who was the target of deadly force (excluding personally identifiable information), the alleged criminal activity of such person, when and where the deadly force occurred, the nature of the deadly force used, the law enforcement agency's explanation of why deadly force was used, any deadly force guidelines of the law enforcement agency in effect at the time, and any non-lethal efforts employed to apprehend or subdue the person before deadly force was used; a standardized form be made available to law enforcement agencies for the submission of data collected to the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics; and law enforcement agencies to maintain all data collected for not less than four years. Requires the Bureau to provide the data to Congress and make it available to the public. Restricts the disclosure of the name or identifying information of a law enforcement officer, person who was the target of deadly force, or any other individual involved in any activity for which such data is collected. Directs the Attorney General to reduce by 10% the amount that would otherwise be awarded under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program to a state or local government that fails to comply with the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2014
No Armed Drones for DHS Act - Prohibits the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from purchasing, operating, or maintaining armed unmanned aerial vehicles.
![Official portrait of Rep. Grayson, Alan [D-FL-9]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000556_200.jpg)