Bill· HRH.R. 6645 (112th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2012
Save and Strengthen Medicare Act of 2012 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new Medicare part E (Unified Medicare with Choice and Competition) which prohibits benefit coverage for an individual under either Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) or Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) unless the individual (with certain exceptions) is both entitled (or enrolled) for benefits under Medicare part A and enrolled under Medicare part B. Entitles an individual who is enrolled under Medicare part B, but is not entitled to hospital insurance benefits under Medicare part A, to benefits under Medicare part B only if the individual enrolls under Medicare part A. Directs the Medicare Choices Commission (MC Commission), established by this Act, to devise a process for enrollment in a prescription drug plan (PDP), meeting certain beneficiary premium criteria, under SSA title XVIII part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) by Medicare part A and/or part B enrollees who have not enrolled under part D. Requires states to elect one of several specified maintenance of effort options, including: (1) contribution towards an individual's health investment retirement account (HIRA), established under this Act; (2) enrollment of dual eligibles under Medicare and SSA title XIX (Medicaid) in a comprehensive Medicaid managed care plan; and (3) payment to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) for payment to an HIRA. Amends SSA title II to define "preferred Medicare age" as: (1) 65 for anyone who attains age 65 before January 1, 2016; (2) 65 plus a number of months specified for the preferred age phase-in factor for anyone who attains age 65 between December 31, 2016, and January 1, 2026; and (3) 67 increased by a specified life expectancy increase factor for anyone who attains age 65 during a 10-year period beginning January 1, 2026. Amends SSA title II to define "Medicare eligibility age" as 65, the preferred Medicare age, or any age between 65 and the preferred Medicare age. States that, unless an individual elects otherwise, the Medicare eligibility age shall be the preferred Medicare age. Creates under the Unified Medicare with Choice and Competition program a new benefit structure consisting of a unified Medicare part A and part B deductible (for 2016, $550), uniform coinsurance, and an out-of-pocket limit on the cost-sharing of each enrollee for a calendar year (including three specified tiers of cost-sharing coverage). Includes under the Unified Medicare with Choice and Competition program revised subsidies, which include a reduced government contribution for high-income seniors. Establishes the MC Commission as an independent U.S. agency to: (1) coordinate determination of Medicare beneficiary eligibility and enrollment with the Administrator of Social Security; (2) oversee and administer competitive bidding; (3) oversee and administer Medicare part C (Medicare+Choice or MedicareAdvantage [MA]) and part D; (4) disseminate to Medicare enrollees information with respect to benefits and limitations on payment under Medicare fee-for-service and MA plans; and (5) establish a Medicare enrollee education program to provide timely, readable, accurate, and understandable information to Medicare enrollees regarding Medicare fee-for-service and MA plan options. States that the MC Commission shall not be responsible for the operation of Medicare fee-for-service, but shall have oversight authority over Medicare fee-for-service in a similar manner to that provided with respect to MA plans. Requires MA plans to offer prescription drug coverage. Requires the Secretary to deposit a per capita Medicare preventive benefit amount in the HIRA of a Medicare fee-for-service enrollee. Establishes within the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund a Part A Medicare FFS account and a Part B Medicare FFS account for the receipts and disbursements attributable to the operation of Medicare fee-for-service, as modified by part E. Establishes in the Treasury the Health Individual Retirement Account Fund (HIRA Fund), to consist of HIRA contributions deducted and withheld from the income of every individual ($2,500 per taxable year, or $5,000 for a married couple filing a joint income tax return), which the Commissioner of Social Security (Commissioner) shall credit to each account holder's HIRA for disbursement for qualified medical expenses. Excludes such deducted contributions from an individual's taxable income. Directs the Commissioner to establish a HIRA for each individual who: (1) receives wages or derives self-employment income in any calendar year after December 31, 2015, or (2) is a Medicare enrollee. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt the HIRA Fund from taxation and exclude from an individual's gross income any amount paid or distributed out of a HIRA which is used exclusively to pay qualified medical expenses (except abortion or euthanasia) of the account beneficiary. Makes HIRA contributions eligible for a saver's tax credit, a portion of which shall be refundable. Excludes from an individual's gross income any subsidy payment to the individual's HIRA by the Secretary under Medicare part E. Makes health savings accounts available to individuals eligible for Medicare. Reduces the hospital insurance payroll tax by 50% for an individual age 65, and eliminates it for an individual age 67 (or the preferred Medicare age). Imposes a 15% excise tax on the provider of employer-sponsored Medicare supplemental coverage in the case of any employee who becomes a Medicare enrollee after December 31, 2015. Sets forth requirements with respect to: (1) public outreach and education initiatives, (2) annual Medicare beneficiary contributions and benefits statements, (3) repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board and Medicare payment productivity adjustments after 2020, (4) the graduate medical education (GME) grant program and trust fund, (5) a zero single conversion factor for the 2013 physician payment update (in effect, a one-year freeze); (6) MSA (high-deductible MA) plans and (regular) MA plans, and (7) conscience protections relating to abortion and assisted suicide.
Resolution· HCONRESH.Con.Res. 144 (112th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2012
Express the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to American families and businesses and is not in the interest of the United States.
Law· HRH.R. 6587 (112th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2012
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 225 Simi Village Drive in Simi Valley, California, as the "Postal Inspector Terry Asbury Post Office Building."
Bill· HRH.R. 6439 (112th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2012
Keep the Forest in the Family Estate Tax Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) provide an exemption from the additional estate tax for the disposition or severance of standing timber on a qualified woodland for timber that is harvested consistent with a written forest management plan or under professional guidance, and (2) increase from $750,000 to $5 million the limitation on the reduction in the fair market value of real property used for farming or in another trade or business for estate tax purposes.
Bill· HRH.R. 6429 (112th)open
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2012
STEM Jobs Act of 2012 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make up to 55,000 visas available to qualified immigrants who: (1) have a doctorate degree in a field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM degree) from a U.S. university; (2) agree to work for at least five years for the petitioning employer or in the United States in a STEM field upon being lawfully admitted for permanent residence; and (3) have taken all doctoral courses in a STEM field, including all correspondence courses, while physically present in the United States. Makes any such unused visas available to aliens who: (1) hold a master's degree in a STEM field from a U.S. university; (2) agree to work for a total of at least five years for the petitioning employer or in the United States in a STEM field upon being lawfully admitted for permanent residence; (3) have taken all master's degree courses in a STEM field, including all correspondence courses, while physically present in the United States; and (4) hold a baccalaureate degree in a STEM field or in the biological and biomedical sciences. Prohibits the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) (Secretary) from approving an employer petition on behalf of either of the above class of aliens unless the Secretary receives a determination by the Secretary of Labor that there are not sufficient American workers available for the job. Requires: (1) employers of foreign STEM graduates to submit a job order for the position with the appropriate state workforce agency, and (2) such agency to post the position on its website for at least 30 days. Requires DHS to make available on its website specified information regarding foreign STEM employers, the number of aliens granted STEM status, and their occupations. Eliminates the diversity immigrant program. States that: (1) the permanent priority date for any employment-based petition shall be the date on which the petition is filed, unless such filing was preceded by the filing of a labor certification with the Secretary of Labor, in which case that date shall constitute the priority date; and (2) an alien who is the beneficiary of an employment-based petition that was approvable when filed shall retain such petition's priority date in the consideration of any subsequently filed employment-based petition. Revises student visa provisions.
Bill· HJRESH.J.Res. 118 (112th)open
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2012
Disapproves of the rule submitted by the Office of Family Assistance of the Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) relating to waiver and expenditure authority under the Social Security Act with respect to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Declares that the rule shall have no force or effect.
Law· HRH.R. 6260 (112th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 211 Hope Street in Mountain View, California, as the "Lieutenant Kenneth M. Ballard Memorial Post Office."
Bill· HRH.R. 6169 (112th)open
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2012
Pathway to Job Creation through a Simpler, Fairer Tax Code of 2012 - States that the purpose of this Act is to provide for the enactment of comprehensive tax reform in 2013. Defines "tax reform bill" for purposes of this Act, as a bill of the 113th Congress that is introduced not later than April 30, 2013, and is certified by the chair of the Joint Committee on Taxation as containing proposals to: (1) consolidate the 6 current individual income tax brackets into a maximum of 2 brackets (of 10% and not higher than 25%), (2) reduce the corporate income tax rate to not more than 25%, (3) repeal the alternative minimum tax (AMT), (4) broaden the tax base so that tax revenues comprise between 18 and 19% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and (5) reform the current system of foreign taxation. Provides for expedited consideration of such tax reform bill in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Law· HRH.R. 8 (112th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2012
Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act of 2012 - Extends through 2013: (1) the tax rate reductions and other tax benefits of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, and (2) the reduction in the tax rates for dividend and capital gain income enacted by the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend for an additional year: (1) the increased expensing allowance for depreciable business assets, including computer software; (2) the increased exemption amount from the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for individual taxpayers; and (3) the offset against the AMT for certain nonrefundable personal tax credits. Provides that the budgetary effects of this Act shall not be taken into account under the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.
Bill· HRH.R. 6140 (112th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2012
Preserving Work Requirements for Welfare Programs Act of 2012 - Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from finalizing, implementing, enforcing, or otherwise taking any action to give effect to the Information Memorandum dated July 12, 2012 (Transmittal No. TANF-ACF-IM-2012-03), or to any administrative action relating to the same subject matter or that reflects the same or similar policies. Prohibits the Secretary also from authorizing, approving, modifying, or extending any experimental, pilot, or demonstration project under the Social Security Act (SSA) that: (1) waives compliance with mandatory work requirements of SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF), or (2) authorizes an expenditure not otherwise allowable under a state TANF program with respect to compliance with such work requirements. Rescinds and nullifies any waiver relating to the subject matter of the Information Memorandum granted before the enactment of this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 6079 (112th)open
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2012
Repeal of Obamacare Act - Repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, effective as of its enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by such Act. Repeals the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of the Act's enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by the Act's health care provisions.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 716 (112th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2012
Supports the designation of a National Eagle Scout Day to commemorate the contributions made by Eagle Scouts of the Boy Scouts of America.
Bill· HRH.R. 5858 (112th)open
United States · United States Congress · 29 May 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax treatment of health savings accounts (HSAs), to: (1) expand the tax credit for retirement savings contributions to include contributions to an HSA, (2) provide a special rule to allow a tax deduction for medical expenses incurred before the establishment of an HSA, (3) allow a husband and wife to make catch-up contributions to the same HSA, (4) allow veterans who receive medical benefits for a service-connected disability to participate in an HSA, and (5) allow HSA participants enrolled in a group health plan who have attained age 55 to pay expenses for coverage under such plan from an HSA.
Bill· HRH.R. 5746 (112th)open
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2012
Update and Streamline REIT Act of 2012 or US REIT Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax treatment of real estate investment trusts (REITs), to: (1) modify safe harbor rules for avoiding penalties for prohibited sales of rental and timber properties by REITs by allowing three-year averaging of sales proceeds for such properties, (2) repeal the preferential dividend rule for dividend payments to shareholders of publicly-offered REITs, (3) revise REIT income and assets tests to allow treatment of publicly-offered REIT debt instruments and personal property leased or mortgaged in connection with REIT real property as real estate assets, (4) make permanent the treatment of gain from sales of timber property and mineral royalties as qualifying REIT income, and (5) revise the calculation of REIT earnings and profits to avoid duplicate taxation of REIT shareholders.
Bill· HRH.R. 5104 (112th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2012
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend temporarily the duty on ski poles and parts and accessories thereof.
Bill· HRH.R. 4643 (112th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2012
Small Business Tax Simplification Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt certain small business taxpayers from the requirements of using the accrual method of accounting and of using inventories. Allows such taxpayers to use a cash method of accounting if they meet the gross receipts test and are not engaged in farming as a corporation. Increases the amount of the gross receipts test to $10 million (currently, $5 million) and permits an annual inflation adjustment of that amount.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 623 (112th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2012
Amends Rule III (Calendars and Committee Reports) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require the report accompanying each public bill or joint resolution reported by any committee to contain: (1) an analysis by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) to determine if the bill or joint resolution creates any new federal program, office, or initiative that would duplicate or overlap any existing federal entity with similar mission, purpose, goals, or activities, along with a listing of all such overlapping or duplication; and (2) an explanation provided by the committee as to why the creation of each new program, office, or initiative is necessary if a similar program, office, or initiative exists. Makes it out of order to consider such a measure unless the committee of jurisdiction has prepared and posted on its website an overlapping and duplicative program analysis and explanation for the legislation that contains the same CRS analysis and committee explanation.
Bill· HRH.R. 4405 (112th)reported
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2012
Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of State to publish and update a list of each person the Secretary has reason to believe: (1) is responsible for the detention, abuse, or death of Sergei Magnitsky, participated in related liability concealment efforts, financially benefited from Sergei Magnitsky's detention, abuse, or death, or was involved in the criminal conspiracy uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky; or (2) is responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other human rights violations committed against individuals seeking to expose illegal activity carried out by Russian officials, or against persons seeking to promote human rights and freedoms. Makes an alien on such list ineligible to enter or be admitted to the United States. Revokes any visa issued for such person. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such prohibition if in the U.S. national security interest. Requires congressional notification of any such waiver. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to freeze and prohibit U.S. property transactions of an individual who is on the list or who acts as an agent for a listed individual. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such actions if in the U.S. national security interest. Requires congressional notification of any such waiver. Subjects a person who violates, attempts to violate, or causes a violation of such prohibitions to specified penalties. Terminates this Act 10 years after its enactment.
Bill· HRH.R. 4385 (112th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2012
Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees Act or RAISE Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to declare that neither its prohibition against interference by an employer with employees' right to bargain collectively, nor the terms of a collective bargaining agreement entered into between employees and an employer after enactment of this Act, shall prohibit an employer from paying an employee higher wages, pay, or other compensation than the agreement provides for.
Law· HRH.R. 4389 (112th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2012
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 19 East Merced Street in Fowler, California, as the "Cecil E. Bolt Post Office."
Bill· HRH.R. 4336 (112th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2013 the exclusion from gross income of income attributable to the discharge of indebtedness on a principal residence.
Bill· HRH.R. 4196 (112th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend for one year the 100% bonus depreciation allowance for business assets, and (2) increase the amount of alternative minimum tax (AMT) credits that corporate taxpayers may elect to accelerate in a taxable year in lieu of claiming bonus depreciation.
Bill· HRH.R. 4180 (112th)open
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2012
Sound Dollar Act of 2012 - Amends the Federal Reserve Act (FRA) to direct the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to: (1) promote the goal of long-term price stability, and (2) establish metrics to evaluate whether long-term price stability is being achieved. Prescribes procedures for the establishment and evaluation of such metrics. Directs the Board and the FOMC to: (1) make such information available to the public on a website, and (2) report to Congress each time such metrics are set or revised. Directs the Board to include in its semiannual report to Congress: (1) the results of the evaluation process, (2) whether the goal of long-term price stability is being met, (3) the main monetary policy instruments and strategy used by the Board and the FOMC to achieve long-term price stability, and (4) an analysis of how the policies of the Board and the FOMC are affecting the foreign exchange rate value of the U.S. dollar. Directs the Board to clearly articulate its lender-of-last-resort policy. Revamps FOMC membership to consist of one representative from each of the Federal Reserve banks (in addition to members of the Board). Directs the FOMC to release meeting transcripts to the public within three years after each meeting. Redesignates the Department of the Treasury stabilization fund as the Special Drawing Rights Fund. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to liquidate all property in the Fund (other than Special Drawing Rights) and to use all such amounts to reduce the public debt. Limits the availability of the Fund solely to stabilize exchange rates and arrangements. Repeals the authority of the Secretary to deal in U.S. instruments of credit and securities. Permits only Special Drawing Rights to be deposited into the Fund. Requires funds that would otherwise have been deposited into the Fund to be paid, instead, to the Secretary to reduce the public debt. Amends the FRA to authorize the FOMC, in unusual and exigent circumstances, by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of its members, to grant any Federal Reserve bank emergency authority to buy and sell U.S. debt obligations and revenue bonds in anticipation of the collection of taxes or the receipt of assured revenues by any state or local governmental entity, as well as obligations of, or guaranteed by, a foreign government or agency. Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to repeal: (1) funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and (2) the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Fund.
Bill· HRH.R. 4157 (112th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2012
Preserving America's Family Farms Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Labor from finalizing or enforcing proposed rule "Child Labor Regulations, Orders and Statements of Interpretation; Child Labor Violations-Civil Money Penalties" (relating to child labor in agricultural and nonagricultural occupations) issued pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act and published on September 2, 2011.
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