United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Home-Assembled Firearms Restriction Act of 2015 Considers as a banned hazardous product under the Consumer Product Safety Act: (1) any firearm receiver casting or firearm receiver blank (do-it-yourself assault weapon) that does not meet the definition of a firearm under the federal criminal code at the point of sale but that can be completed after purchase by the consumer to function as a firearm frame or receiver for a semiautomatic assault weapon or machine gun, or (2) an assault weapon parts kit or machine gun parts kit. Makes it unlawful to market or advertise any of such weapons for sale on any medium of electronic communications, including over the Internet. Requires marketing or advertising violations to be treated as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Disclosing Aid Spent to Ensure Relief Act or the DISASTER Act Requires the Office of Management and Budget to submit an annual report to Congress on all disaster-related assistance provided by the federal government. Requires the report to include all federal obligations related to disaster response, recovery, mitigation efforts, and administrative costs associated with these activities for specified agencies and programs.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coin Act Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. Limits the minting of such coins to the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2017. Prescribes surcharges for coin sales, which shall be paid to the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, Inc., to help finance the construction of a new building and renovation of existing National Purple Heart Hall of Honor facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the United States Postal Service should issue a postage stamp honoring the holiday of Diwali, and (2) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend to the Postmaster General that such a stamp be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
Retired Pay Restoration Act Expresses the sense of Congress that military retired pay should not be reduced because a military retiree is also eligible for veterans' disability compensation awarded for a service-connected disability. Allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability (under current law, only a disability rated at 50% or more). Repeals provisions phasing in the full concurrent receipt of such pay through December 31, 2013. Makes eligible for the full concurrent receipt of both veterans' disability compensation and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay those individuals who were retired or separated from military service due to a service-connected disability.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
Multinational Species Conservation Funds Reauthorization Act of 2015 This bill reauthorizes the African Elephant Conservation Act, the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994, the Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997, the Great Ape Conservation Fund, and the Marine Turtle Conservation Fund through FY2020. This bill amends the Great Ape Conservation Act of 2000 to authorize Department of the Interior to award a multi-year grant to carry out a project that is an effective, long-term conservation strategy for great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, orangutans, or gibbons) and their habitats. Interior is required to convene a panel of experts to identify the greatest needs and priorities for the conservation of great apes within a year of this Act's enactment and every five years thereafter. Current law authorizes Interior to convene a panel to consider the greatest conservation needs every two years. The panel is required to consider relevant great ape conservation plans or strategies. This bill amends the Marine Turtle Conservation Act of 2004 to make a wildlife management authority of a U.S. territory eligible for financial assistance for marine turtle conservation.
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 · 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
Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to make permanent the ban on state and local taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
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 · 9 January 2015
Respect for Peace Corps Volunteers Act Amends the Peace Corps Act to allow former volunteers or applicants for enrollment as a volunteer to use the seal, emblem, or name "Peace Corps" on death announcements, plaques, grave stones, or other grave markers.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Families of Fallen Servicemembers First Act This bill provides a permanent appropriation for the payment of death gratuities and related benefits to survivors of deceased members of the uniformed services during a period of lapsed appropriations. The bill provides the appropriations at the rate and under the conditions provided for the most recent fiscal year for which an Act making appropriations for the uniformed services has been enacted. The appropriations are provided during a period of lapsed appropriations, in which appropriations are unavailable due to the absence of the timely enactment of an Act or joint resolution providing appropriations or continuing appropriations for the death gratuity and related benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Amends Rule XIV (Order and Priority of Business) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require (on the first legislative day of each month) a reading of the names of members of the Armed Forces who died in the previous month as a result of combat. Prohibits the Speaker of the House from reading the name of any such member if any family member informs the Speaker that he or she does not wish to have the name of that individual read.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2015 This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to authorize the Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for FY2016-FY2020. The Initiative must prioritize and carry out programs and projects for Great Lakes protection and restoration, including: (1) the remediation of toxic substances and areas of concern; (2) the prevention and control of invasive species and their impacts; (3) the protection and restoration of near-shore health and the prevention and mitigation of nonpoint source pollution (water pollution that comes from many diffuse sources, such as pollution on the ground picked up by rain or snow); and (4) habitat and wildlife protection and restoration. Funding made available to implement the Initiative may not be used for any water infrastructure activity (other than a green infrastructure project that improves habitat and other ecosystem functions in the Great Lakes) for which funding is made available under the clean water or drinking water state revolving fund program. Federal agencies must maintain the base level of funding for their Great Lakes activities without regard to funding under the Initiative and identify new activities to support the environmental goals of the Initiative.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2015 Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) eliminate the per country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, and (2) increase the per country numerical limitation for family based immigrants from 7% to 15% of the total number of family-sponsored visas. Amends the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 to eliminate the provision requiring the reduction of annual Chinese immigrant visas to offset status adjustments under such Act. Sets forth the following transition period for employment-based second and third preference (EB-2 and EB-3) immigrant visas: for FY2015, 15% of such visas allotted to natives of countries other than the two countries with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2011; for FY2016, 10% of such visas allotted in each category to natives of countries other than the two with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2012; and for FY2017, 10% of such visas allotted in each category to natives of countries other than the two with the largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining such visas in FY2015. Sets forth the following per country distribution rules: (1) for transition period visas, not more than 25% of the total number of EB-2 and EB-3 visas for natives of a single country; and (2) for non-transition period visas, not more than 85% of EB-2 and EB-3 visas for natives of a single country. Provides that the amendments made by this Act will take place as if enacted on September 30, 2014, and shall apply beginning in FY2015.
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 · 7 January 2015
Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act or the Clay Hunt SAV Act Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to arrange for an independent third party evaluation, to be conducted by September 30, 2018, and each fiscal year thereafter, of the VA's mental health care and suicide prevention programs. Directs the Secretary to survey the VA's websites and information resources to publish a website that serves as a centralized source to provide veterans with information regarding the VA's mental health care services. Requires the Secretary to carry out a three-year pilot program to repay the education loans relating to psychiatric medicine that are incurred by individuals who: are eligible to practice psychiatric medicine in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) or are enrolled in the final year of a residency program leading to a specialty qualification in psychiatric medicine; demonstrate a commitment to a long-term career as a psychiatrist in the VHA; and agree to a period of two or more years of obligated service with the VHA in the field of psychiatric medicine. Limits the loan repayment to no more than $30,000 for each year an individual performs such obligated service. Directs the Secretary to establish a three-year pilot program at not less than five Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) to assist veterans transitioning from active duty and to improve the access of veterans to mental health services. Requires the pilot program at each VISN to include: (1) a community oriented veteran peer support network carried out in partnership with an entity that has experience in peer support programs, and (2) a community outreach team for each medical center in such VISN. Authorizes the Secretary to collaborate with nonprofit mental health organizations to prevent suicide among veterans. Requires the Secretary and any such organization to exchange training sessions and best practices. Directs the Secretary to select a VA Director of Suicide Prevention Coordination to undertake any collaboration with nonprofit mental health organizations. Extends for one year combat veterans' eligibility for VA hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for illnesses that have not been medically proven to be attributable to their service, provided they: (1) were discharged or released from active duty between January 1, 2009, and January 1, 2011, and (2) did not enroll to receive such care during the five-year period of eligibility following their discharge or release.
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
Wildfire Disaster Funding Act This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to require specified adjustments to discretionary spending limits in FY2015-FY2022 to accommodate appropriations for wildfire suppression operations in the Wildland Fire Management accounts at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the Department of the Interior. If USDA or Interior determines that supplemental appropriations are necessary for wildfire suppression operations, the bill requires the relevant department to submit to Congress a request for the funding and a plan for obligating the funds. The bill also requires the President's budget to include the average costs for wildfire suppression over the previous 10 years.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Terrorist Denaturalization and Passport Revocation Act Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include among the grounds for loss of U.S. nationality by a native-born or naturalized citizen: taking an oath or making a declaration of allegiance to a foreign terrorist organization after attaining the age of 18; entering or serving in the armed forces of a foreign state that harbors a foreign terrorist organization; accepting, serving in, or performing the duties of any office, post, or employment in a foreign terrorist organization after attaining the age of 18; accepting, serving in, or performing the duties of any office, post, or employment in a foreign terrorist organization after attaining the age of 18 for which an oath or declaration of allegiance is required; or accepting, serving in, or performing the duties of any office, post, or employment in a foreign terrorist organization after attaining the age of 18 if the position requires knowing engagement in hostilities against U.S. military or civilian personnel. Amends the Passport Act of 1926 to prohibit, with a discretionary exception for emergency or humanitarian reasons, the Secretary of State from issuing a passport or passport card to an individual who is a member of a foreign terrorist organization engaged in hostilities against the United States or its allies. Directs the Secretary to revoke a passport or passport card previously issued to any such individual. Authorizes the Secretary, before revocation, to: (1) limit a previously issued passport or passport card only for return travel to the United States, or (2) issue a limited passport or passport card that only permits return travel to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act of 2015 States that it is U.S. policy: (1) to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel, and (2) that the U.S. Embassy in Israel should be established in Jerusalem not later than January 1, 2017. Amends the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 to eliminate the President's authority to waive certain funding limitations for Department of State acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad until the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has officially opened. Requires any official U.S. document which lists countries and their capital cities to identify Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Limits appropriations that may be obligated in FY2015 for Department acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad until the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has officially opened. States that for each of FY2015-FY2016, of funds authorized to be appropriated for Department acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad, necessary sums should be made available until expended only for construction and other costs associated with the establishment in Jerusalem of the U.S. Embassy in Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Close the Floodgates Act Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended by the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, to repeal certain limits on separate contributions by persons or multicandidate political committees to political committees of a national political party which are not the authorized political committees of any candidate. Specifies those contributions used to defray expenses for: a presidential nominating convention; the construction, purchase, renovation, operation, and furnishing of party headquarters buildings; and the preparation for and the conduct of election recounts, contests, and other legal proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2014
Tim Fagan's Law or Counterfeit Drug Enforcement Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to establish a criminal fine and/or imprisonment for a person who: (1) knowingly causes a prescription drug to be adulterated, misbranded, or misrepresented as an approved prescription drug and sells or trades the drug; or (2) purchases or trades for a drug knowing or having reason to know that the drug was knowingly adulterated, misbranded, or misrepresented. Requires a manufacturer of a drug to notify the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within 48 hours after first receiving or becoming aware of information that reasonably suggests that such a violation may have occurred. Deems a drug to be misbranded if it is not manufactured using technologies that HHS determines are technically feasible and assist in preventing such violations. Authorizes additional appropriations for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspections, examinations, and investigations. Requires HHS to educate the public and health care professionals on counterfeit drugs. Directs HHS, upon a finding that a drug intended for human use may constitute a threat to the public health, to issue an order requiring the appropriate person (including the manufacturers, importers, distributors, or retailers of the drug) to cease distribution of the drug and to notify and instruct health professionals to cease administering, distributing, selling, or prescribing the drug. Requires HHS, after providing the person with an opportunity for an informal hearing, to amend the order to include a recall, if appropriate. Requires HHS and the Attorney General to establish a procedure through which the FDA is authorized to issue subpoenas.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2014
Revamping the Education of our Veterans to Align Manufacturing through Partnerships with Community Colleges Act of 2014 or the REVAMP with Community Colleges Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to award grants to community colleges to: (1) analyze the demand for trained employees in their locality and the skills possessed by veterans who receive federal educational assistance and seek local employment, (2) provide those veterans with training that addresses local demand for trained employees, and (3) facilitate the establishment of an advisory board to provide guidance to the training program and assist trained veterans in their pursuit of local employment. Requires the advisory board to be composed of local business representatives and an employee from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2014
Local Medicaid Enforcement Incentives Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a grant program to provide states with funds to: (1) detect and prevent Medicaid fraud, waste, and abuse; (2) recover overpayments to individuals or entities receiving Medicaid funds that result from such fraud, waste, or abuse; and (3) share with localities within the state that assist in such detection and prevention, or the recovery of such overpayments, at least 50% of the state's share of the total overpayments recovered during a period, minus administrative costs.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2014
School Protection Act of 2014 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants and enter contracts to train elementary and secondary school nurses to serve as first responders and crisis managers in the event of a biological or chemical attack at a school or an outbreak of pandemic influenza among individuals under their care. Requires this training to prepare school nurses to: (1) protect and preserve life; (2) notify public health authorities to help contain or mitigate the effects of an attack or outbreak; and (3) take other appropriate and feasible actions, such as preserve evidence of an attack.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2014
Grow Your Own Teacher Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to establish a Grow Your Own Teacher program making competitive grants to eligible entities to train and employ certain individuals in hard-to-staff schools or teaching positions. Defines an "eligible entity" as a consortium consisting of a local educational agency (LEA) that receives school improvement funds under part A of title I of the Act and an institution of higher education that offers a state-accredited teacher certificate program. Requires the grant to be used to: (1) train certain individuals who received a high school diploma from a participating LEA to be teachers, including by having them observe and work with a veteran teacher in a classroom for at least one year; (2) employ such individuals in hard-to-staff schools and teaching positions in such LEA, with priority given to teaching positions in mathematics, science, special education, world languages, and English as a second language; and (3) employ such individuals in a manner that reduces the divergence between the racial diversity of teachers and of students. Authorizes the Secretary to forgive the student loans incurred by training program participants who have been employed as teachers in hard-to-staff schools or teaching positions.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2014
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Improvement Act of 2014 - Authorizes the Administrator of the Maritime Administration to: accept a gift of money from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Alumni Association and Foundation, Inc. in order to renovate Melville Hall on the campus of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy; and enter into a contract with the Foundation for the Hall's operation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2014
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that localities should observe Halloween on the weekend, and communicate to the public that trick-or-treating and other observances of Halloween will take place on that day.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2014
No Social Security for Nazis Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to consider the following individuals to be removed under the Immigration and Nationality Act and so to have their OASDI benefits terminated: an individual with respect to whom an order admitting the individual to citizenship has been revoked and set aside where such action is based on conduct relating to participation in Nazi persecution, concealment of a material fact about such conduct, or willful misrepresentation about such conduct; and an individual who, pursuant to a settlement agreement with the Attorney General (AG), has admitted to such conduct and has lost status as a U.S. national by renouncing that status. Requires such individuals to have been considered removed under such Act as of the date of the revocation, setting aside, or renunciation. Prohibits such individuals from receiving other Social Security benefits based on the wages and self-employment income of any other individual. Prohibits the payment to such individuals also of any benefits under SSA tile XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI). Requires the AG or the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to notify the Commissioner of Social Security of such revocations, setting asides, and renunciations of nationality.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2014
Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2014 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) to revise requirements for the audit capacity of voting systems, particularly those for a permanent paper record. Requires the voting system to require the use of an individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballot of the voter's vote that shall be marked and made available for inspection by the voter before the voter's vote is cast and counted, and which shall be counted by hand or read by an optical scanner or other counting device. Requires the voting system to provide the voter with an opportunity to correct any system-made error in the voter-verified paper ballot before it is permanently preserved. Requires each paper ballot used to be: (1) suitable for a manual audit, and (2) counted by hand in any recount or audit conducted with respect to any federal election. Sets forth a special rule for treatment of disputes when paper ballots have been shown to be compromised. Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to make grants to eligible entities to study, test, and develop accessible ballot voting, verification, and casting mechanisms and devices and best practices to enhance the accessibility of paper ballot voting and verification mechanisms for individuals with disabilities, for voters whose primary language is not English, and for voters with difficulties in literacy. Specifies additional voting system requirements and prohibitions. Requires the NSF Director to make grants to eligible entities to conduct research on the development of election-dedicated voting system software. Makes available additional funding to enable states to meet the costs of the requirements imposed by this Act. Provides for complaints to the Attorney General by persons aggrieved by violations of HAVA. Requires each state to administer audits of federal election results, without advance notice to the precincts selected, consisting of random hand counts of the voter-verified paper ballots. Makes an exception from this requirement for elections in which the winning candidate had no opponent or received 80% or more of the vote total. Prescribes requirements for determination of the number of ballots counted under the audit. Prescribes the process for administering audits. Requires the Election Auditor of a state, as soon as practicable after the completion of an audit, to submit the results to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) for publication. Prohibits certification of the results of any election until completion of audits. Provides for payments to states for the costs of conducting audits. Exempts from this Act any election for which a recount under state law will commence before certification of the election results. Repeals the EAC's exemption from certain federal government contracting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2014
Nazi Social Security Benefits Termination Act of 2014 - Makes any participant in Nazi persecution ineligible for: (1) Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (SSA), and (2) Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits under SSA title XVI. Requires the Attorney General (AG), as soon as practicable after determining that an individual is a participant in Nazi persecution, to notify the Commissioner of Social Security of the individual's identity and residence. Directs the AG, in cooperation with the Commissioner, to report to Congress specified information regarding such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Tackling Excessive Standardized Testing Act of 2014 or the TEST Act of 2014 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to alter the frequency with which students must take the tests used in determining whether they are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward state academic achievement standards in mathematics and reading or language arts. (Currently, students must take those tests in each of grades 3 through 8.) Authorizes a public school to administer the academic assessments in mathematics: (1) in each of grades 4, 6, and 8; or (2) in each of grades 4 and 8 if the school is at the 15th percentile or above for mathematics in the state or its students are making appropriate progress, as determined by the Secretary of Education, toward state mathematics achievement standards. Authorizes a public school to administer the academic assessments in reading or language arts: (1) in each of grades 3, 5, and 7; or (2) in each of grades 3 and 7 if the school is at the 15th percentile or above for reading or language arts or its students are making appropriate progress toward state reading or language arts achievement standards. Excludes limited English proficient students who are in their first 12 months of enrollment in a public school from the determination as to whether students are making AYP toward state academic achievement standards. Prohibits the Secretary from waiving the application of any of this Act's provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Public School Emergency Relief Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to provide emergency impact aid payments to states and, through them, to local educational agencies and Indian schools for each quarter of the 2014-2015 school year for any increase in the enrollment of immigrant children from the corresponding quarter of the 2012-2013 school year. Requires the payments to be used to provide services and assistance to schools that enroll immigrant students. Authorizes the funds to be used for: compensating school personnel, identifying and acquiring curricular material and mobile educational units and leasing sites or spaces, basic instructional services for immigrant students, reasonable transportation costs, health and counseling services, education and support services, and other uses allowed under title III (Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Requires any payment made on behalf of a disabled immigrant student to be used for special education and related services. Prohibits the use of the emergency impact aid for any expenses that are not incurred during the 2014-2015 school year.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Disclosing Aid Spent to Ensure Relief Act or the DISASTER Act - Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to submit annually to Congress a report on all disaster-related assistance provided by the federal government. Requires the report to include all federal obligations related to disaster response, recovery, mitigation efforts, and administrative costs associated with these activities for specified agencies and programs.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Protecting Our Kids' Medicine Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the sale of liquid formulations of over-the-counter drugs that are not packaged with a dosage delivery device, such as a calibrated cup or spoon, and that do not have measurements on the label and on the dosage delivery device exclusively in metric units. Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to waive the requirement for metric units if that requirement would not benefit public health. Prohibits the sale of over-the-counter liquid drugs labeled for pediatric use that do not have a flow restrictor or another mechanism to reduce accidental ingestion.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) 100% expensing in a current taxable year of the cost of automated fire sprinkler system retrofit property, as defined by this Act; and (2) accelerated depreciation (i.e., a 15-year recovery period) of automated fire sprinkler system retrofit property that is installed in a building or structure where the floor of any occupiable story is greater than 75 feet above the lowest level of fire department vehicle access and that has a certain classification by the National Fire Protection Association.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014
James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program Fund through FY2041 and index appropriations to the medical care component of the consumer price index for urban consumers. Makes funding available for: a quality assurance program for services delivered by health care providers, the WTC Program annual report, WTC Health Program Steering Committees, and contracts with Clinical Centers of Excellence. Removes the disqualification of individuals on the terrorist watch list maintained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from being identified as WTC responders or WTC survivors eligible for benefits provided by the WTC Health Program. Amends the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act to make individuals (or relatives of deceased individuals) who were injured or killed in the rescue and recovery efforts after the aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, eligible for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. Allows individuals to file claims for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 up to 30 years after regulations are updated based on the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010. Removes the cap on payments under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. Adds the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program Fund to the list of accounts that are not subject to budget sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014
Bring the Jobs Home Loan Act of 2014 - Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish a loan program to assist small businesses involved in manufacturing to begin the U.S. production of products that would otherwise be imported. Requires small businesses receiving these loans to report to the Administrator on: (1) facility and equipment changes made using the loans, and (2) progress made in such production. Allows the Administrator to consider the report information in determining whether to provide an additional loan or loan assistance under another SBA program. Prohibits an individual loan greater than 5% of the total amount available for such loans.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2014
Authorizes the President to award the Medal of Honor to Henry Johnson for acts of valor during World War I for which he was previously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2014
SAVE for Small Businesses Act or the Savings Accounts for a Variable Economy for Small Businesses Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for tax-exempt small business savings accounts. Allows tax deductible contributions to such accounts of not more than 10% of the gross profits of an eligible small business (persons employing an average of 50 or fewer full-time employees) for the preceding taxable year. Excludes qualified distributions from such accounts from gross income for income tax purposes. Defines "qualified distribution" as: (1) any amount that is distributed from a small business savings account during a specified period of economic hardship, and (2) the distribution of which is certified as being part of a plan that provides for the reinvestment of such distribution for the funding of worker hiring or financial stabilization for the purposes of job retention or creation. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) establish minimum standards for small business savings accounts that seek to minimize fees and risk of loss of principal, and (2) ensure a range of investment risk options available to account beneficiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2014
Reforming CFPB Indirect Auto Financing Guidance Act - Declares without force or effect Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Bulletin 2013-02 (Indirect Auto Lending and Compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act), published March 21, 2013. Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to direct the CFPB, when proposing and issuing guidance primarily related to indirect auto financing, to: provide for a public notice and comment period before issuing the guidance in final form; make publicly available all information relied on by the CFPB; redact any information exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act; consult with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Department of Justice (DOJ); and study the costs and impacts of the guidance to consumers and women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 2014
Expresses the belief that: (1) a united, secure, and prosperous United Kingdom is important for U.S. national security priorities; and (2) diplomatic, economic, and military cooperation between the United States and the United Kingdom is essential to U.S. national security Expresses deep friendship toward the Scottish people, and respects the right of the Scottish people to make their decision regarding their status in the September 18, 2014, referendum. Expresses a firm commitment to cooperation between the United States and the United Kingdom toward a more peaceful and prosperous world.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2014
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of door delivery for all businesses and residential customers.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Condemns: (1) all forms of anti-Semitism and rejects attempts to justify anti-Jewish hatred or violent attacks as an acceptable expression of disapproval over political events, and (2) the comparison of Israel to Nazis perpetrating a Holocaust or genocide. Applauds those foreign leaders, especially in France, Italy, and Germany, who have condemned anti-Semitic acts, and calls on those who have yet to take firm action against anti-Semitism in their countries to do so. Reaffirms support for the mandate of the United States Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. Supports Holocaust educational programs at home and abroad. Urges the Secretary of State to: maintain the fight against anti-Semitism as a U.S. foreign policy priority, urge governments to ensure that adequate laws are in place to punish anti-Semitic violence and hate crimes as well as establish mechanisms to investigate and punish perpetrators, continue U.S. reporting on anti-Semitism as a human rights and religious freedom issue, provide training for diplomatic and law enforcement personnel posted abroad to report on anti-Semitic incidents, deepen engagement with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and support its specialized efforts to monitor and address anti-Semitism, and oppose efforts to prevent any individual from exercising his or her religion without fear of prosecution or violence.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014
Pet and Women Safety Act of 2014 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit threats or acts of violence against a person's pet under the offenses of stalking and interstate violation of a protection order. Defines "pet" to mean a domesticated animal that is kept for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes. Requires the "full amount of the victim's losses" for purposes of restitution in domestic violence and stalking offenses to include any costs incurred for veterinary services relating to physical care for the victim's pet. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to award grants to eligible entities to carry out programs to provide specified housing assistance, support services, and training of relevant stakeholders to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their pets. Expresses the sense of Congress that states should encourage the inclusion of protections against violent or threatening acts against the pet of the person in domestic violence protection orders.
![Official portrait of Rep. Israel, Steve [D-NY-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/i000057_200.jpg)