United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2015 Requires (current law authorizes) the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to accept, for purposes of establishing a claim for veterans disability benefits, a report of a medical examination administered by a private physician without requiring confirmation by a Veterans Health Administration physician if the report is sufficiently complete. Defines "sufficiently complete" as competent, credible, probative, and containing such information as required to make a decision on the claim for which the report is provided. Requires the Secretary to submit: (1) a report on the progress of the VA's Acceptable Clinical Evidence initiative in reducing the necessity for in-person disability examinations, and (2) an annual report for each VA regional office regarding claims for which private medical evidence was determined to be unacceptable.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act of 2015 Prohibits the federal government, and any state that receives federal funding for any program that provides child welfare services under part B (Child and Family Services) or part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSAct), from discriminating or taking an adverse action against a child welfare service provider that declines to provide, facilitate, or refer for a child welfare service that conflicts with the provider's sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions. Bars such prohibition from applying to SSAct requirements that forbid state entities from denying or delaying adoption or foster care placements on the basis of an adoptive parent's or a child's race, color, or national origin. Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to withhold 15% of the federal funds that a state receives for such programs if the state violates this Act. Allows an aggrieved child welfare service provider to assert such an adverse action violation as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and to obtain all appropriate relief (including declaratory relief, injunctive relief, compensatory damages, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs).
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
Financial Product Safety Commission Act of 2015 Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to replace the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as an independent bureau within the Federal Reserve System, with an independent Financial Product Safety Commission that is to regulate the offering and provision of consumer financial products or services. States that the Commission shall be composed of five members with strong competencies and experiences regarding consumer financial products and services, each to serve for a term of five years, and appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Prohibits the Chair of the Commission from submitting requests for estimates related to appropriations without prior Commission approval.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act of 2015 Amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to authorize the Financial Stability Oversight Council to subject a bank holding company to enhanced supervision and prudential standards by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, if the Council makes a final determination that either material financial distress at the bank holding company, or the nature, scope, size, scale, concentration, interconnectedness, or mix of its activities, could threaten the financial stability of the United States. Requires that final determination to be based upon specified factors, using an indicator-based measurement approach established by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to determine systemic importance. Deems any bank holding company designated as a Global Systemically Important Bank by the Financial Stability Board, as of the date of enactment of this Act, to have been the subject of a final determination that it could pose a threat to U.S. financial stability for any of those reasons. Prohibits the Council from making a final determination concerning a bank holding company under this Act before one year after its enactment. Deems a bank holding company to have been the subject of such a final determination during this one-year period, however, if its total consolidated assets are $50 billion or more.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
Disabled Veterans Commissary and Exchange Store Benefits Act Permits a veteran with any compensable service-connected disability (and the veteran's dependents) to use commissary and exchange stores on the same basis as a member of the Armed Forces entitled to retired or retainer pay.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
Community Lending Enhancement and Regulatory Relief Act of 2015 or the CLEARR Act of 2015 This bill amends the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to exempt from its annual privacy policy notice requirement any financial institution which: (1) provides nonpublic personal information only in accordance with specified requirements, and (2) has not changed its policies and practices regarding disclosures of nonpublic personal information from those disclosed in the most recent disclosure sent to consumers. The federal banking agencies are directed to study jointly the appropriate capital requirements for mortgage servicing assets for nonsystemic banking institutions. Mortgage servicing assets are those resulting from contracts to service loans secured by real estate, where such loans are owned by third parties. A nonsystemic banking institution is any banking institution other than one identified by the Financial Stability Board as a global systemically important bank. Any regulatory implementation of either Basel III or National Credit Union Administration capital requirements about mortgage servicing assets for nonsystemic banking institutions is prohibited until six months after a report to Congress on the study. The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) is amended to direct the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board) to exempt from certain escrow or impound requirements a loan secured by a first lien on a consumer's principal dwelling if the loan is held by a creditor with assets of $10 billion or less. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must provide either exemptions to or adjustments from the mortgage loan servicing and escrow account administration requirements of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 for servicers of 20,000 or fewer mortgage loans. The TILA is also amended to exempt from property appraisal requirements a higher-risk mortgage loan of $250,000 or less if it appears on the loan creditor's balance sheet for at least three years. The Federal Deposit Insurance Act is revised to direct federal banking agencies to issue regulations that allow a reduced reporting requirement for depository institutions meeting certain criteria when making the first and third report of condition for a year. If a depository financial institution receives an order to request a funds transfer (entry) via an automated clearing house, it shall not be required to verify that the entry is not a prohibited monetary transaction if the originating depository financial institution has warranted its compliance with the sanctions programs administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. The Federal Reserve Board must revise the Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement on the Assessment of Financial and Managerial Factors to raise its consolidated asset threshold from $1 billion to $5 billion. The TILA is again amended to create a safe harbor from lawsuit for creditors that are depository institutions for any failure to comply with certain requirements with respect to a residential mortgage loan, and the banking regulators are required to treat such a loan as a qualified mortgage, if the creditor has, since the loan's origination, held it on its balance sheet and all prepayment penalties with respect to the loan comply with specified limitations. A safe harbor from lawsuit is also created for mortgage originators for steering a consumer to a residential mortgage loan if: the creditor is a depository institution and has informed the mortgage originator that it intends to hold the loan on its balance sheet for the life of the loan, and the mortgage originator informs the consumer that the creditor intends to do so.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2015
Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2015 Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to reauthorize for FY2016-FY2019 the grant program for improvements to the criminal history record system. Amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to: (1) establish a four-year implementation plan to ensure maximum coordination and automation of reporting of records or making records available to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System; (2) direct the Attorney General to make grants to states, Indian tribal governments, and state court systems to improve the automation and transmittal of mental health records and criminal history dispositions; (3) provide for withholding grant funds from states that have not implemented a relief from disabilities program and the reallocation of such funds to states that are in compliance; (4) make federal court information available for inclusion in the System; and (5) allow the submission to the System of mental health records that would otherwise be protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to: (1) expand the enforcement authority or jurisdiction of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; (2) allow the establishment, directly or indirectly, of a federal firearms registry; or (3) extend background check requirements to transfers of firearms other than those made at gun shows or over the Internet, or to temporary transfers for purposes including lawful hunting or sporting, or to temporary possession of a firearm for purposes of examination or evaluation by a prospective transferee. National Commission on Mass Violence Act of 2015 Establishes the National Commission on Mass Violence to study the availability and nature of firearms, including the means of acquiring firearms, issues relating to mental health, and the impacts of the availability and nature of firearms on incidents of mass violence or in preventing mass violence. Requires the Commission to conduct a comprehensive factual study of incidents of mass violence, including incidents not involving firearms, to determine the root causes of such mass violence.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2015
Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to waive coinsurance for colorectal cancer screening tests (in order to cover 100% of their cost under Medicare part B [Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled]), regardless of the code billed for a diagnosis as a result of a test, or for the removal of tissue or other procedure furnished in connection with, as a result of, and in the same clinical encounter as the screening test.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2015
Helping Ensure Life- and Limb-Saving Access to Podiatric Physicians Act or the HELLPP Act Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to include podiatrists as physicians in order to cover their services under the Medicaid program. Amends SSAct title XVIII (Medicare) to revise requirements for coverage of therapeutic shoes for individuals with diabetes regarding the processes of: (1) documentation by a physician of, and certification of a comprehensive plan of care related to, the diabetic condition; (2) prescription by a podiatrist or other qualified physician upon a finding of the medical necessity for the therapeutic shoes, including findings communicated to a certifying doctor of medicine or osteopathy of certain related foot conditions; and (3) fitting and supplying the shoes. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to subject to the continuing levy upon property and property rights, for collection of unpaid taxes, any payments made to a Medicaid provider or supplier.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2015
Internet Freedom Act Nullifies the rule adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on February 26, 2015, relating to the reclassification of broadband Internet access service as a telecommunications service. Prohibits the FCC from reissuing such rule in substantially the same form, or from issuing a new rule that is substantially the same, unless the rule is specifically authorized by a law enacted after enactment of this Act. Exempts any rule that the FCC determines is necessary for national security, public safety, or assistance to law enforcement.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2015
National Diabetes Clinical Care Commission Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) the National Diabetes Clinical Care Commission to evaluate and recommend solutions regarding better coordination and leveraging of federal programs that relate to supporting appropriate clinical care for people with pre-diabetes, diabetes, and the chronic diseases and conditions that are complications of or caused by diabetes. The duties of the Commission include: evaluating HHS programs regarding the utilization of preventive health benefits, identifying current activities and critical gaps in federal efforts to support clinicians in providing integrated care, making recommendations regarding the development and coordination of federally funded clinical practice support tools, recommending clinical pathways for new technologies and treatments, evaluating and expanding education and awareness to health care professionals regarding prevention of diabetes, and reviewing and recommending appropriate methods for outreach and dissemination of educational resources. The Commission must submit an operating plan to HHS and Congress within 90 days of its first meeting.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2015
Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 Repeals sections of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (and restores provisions of law amended by those sections) related to the establishment of an Independent Payment Advisory Board to develop proposals to reduce the per capita rate of growth in spending under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2015
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Advisory Boards Act Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to direct the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to establish a Small Business Advisory Board to: (1) advise and consult with the CFPB in the exercise of its functions under the federal consumer financial laws regarding eligible financial products or services, and (2) provide information on evolving small business practices. Requires such Board members to be representatives of small business concerns that: provide financial products or services for use by consumers primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, are service providers to covered persons; and use consumer financial products or services in financing the business activities of such small businesses. Encourages the Director, in making such Board appointments, to ensure the participation of minority- and women-owned small business concerns and their interests, without regard to party affiliation. Instructs the Director to establish a Credit Union Advisory Council and a Community Bank Advisory Council to advise and consult with the CFPB on consumer financial products or services that impact credit unions and community banks, respectively. Encourages the Director, in making appointments to such Councils, to ensure the participation of credit unions and community banks predominantly serving traditionally underserved communities and populations and their interests, without regard to party affiliation.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2015
Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act of 2015 Directs the President to establish the Commission to Accelerate the End of Breast Cancer to help end breast cancer by January 1, 2020. Directs the Commission to: (1) identify opportunities and ideas within government and the private sector that are key components in achieving the end of breast cancer and which have been overlooked, yet are ripe for collaboration and investment; (2) recommend projects to leverage such opportunities and ideas in the areas of the primary prevention of breast cancer and the causes and prevention of breast cancer metastasis; and (3) ensure that its activities are coordinated with, and do not duplicate the efforts of, programs and laboratories of other government agencies. Directs the President to enter into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine for an evaluation of the Commission's progress. Terminates the Commission on June 1, 2020.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Responsible Additions and Increases to Sustain Employee Health Benefits Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax exclusion for distributions from health flexible spending arrangements, to: (1) increase to $5,000, with an additional $500 for each additional employee dependent above two dependents, the maximum annual amount of funding for such plans, and (2) allow a carryforward into the next year for unused amounts in such plans.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2015
Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) repeal the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes, and (2) make permanent the maximum 35% gift tax rate and the lifetime gift tax exemption. Provides for an inflation adjustment to such exemption amount.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2015
Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise Medicare payments for dialysis services provided to individuals with end stage renal disease (ESRD) and acute kidney injury. Extends the time period when a private health insurer, in determining benefits, cannot consider a group health insurance enrollee's ESRD or entitlement to Medicare coverage due to ESRD. Makes individuals with ESRD eligible for Medicare Advantage. Allows dialysis facilities to provide kidney disease education services and allows physician assistants, nurse practitioners, or clinical nurse specialists to refer individuals to those services. Requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish an ESRD Care Coordination program to provide higher Medicare payments to nephrologists, dialysis facilities, and other providers that reduce spending on ESRD by being part of a coordinated care organization. Amends the Public Health Service Act to include dialysis as a service provided by the National Health Service Corps in health professional shortage areas. Makes nephrologists and non-physician practitioners who provide dialysis eligible for the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program and Loan Repayment Program. Requires the Government Accountability Office to submit a report identifying gaps in chronic kidney disease research and comparing research funding to expenditures on disease treatment. Requires HHS to study the causes of kidney disease and efforts to treat kidney disease in disproportionately affected minority populations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2015
Creating Access to Residency Education Act of 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to award grants or enter into contracts to create or expand medical residency training programs in states where there are fewer than 25 medical residents per 100,000 people. An awardee of a grant or contract provides a lower ratio of matching funds if its residency training program is in the field of primary care.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2015
Start Saving Sooner Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a tax-exempt individual retirement account for taxpayers under age 18, to be known as a young savers account. Treats such accounts as Roth individual retirement accounts for income tax purposes. Allows the tax credit for retirement savings for contributions to a young savers account. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay any overpayment of tax that is attributable to the tax credit for retirement savings to the taxpayer's young savers account.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2015
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the low-income housing tax credit, to make permanent the minimum 9% credit rate for new buildings that are not federally-subsidized and to establish a minimum 4% credit rate for existing buildings that are not federally-subsidized.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2015
Military Spouse Job Continuity Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces (military spouse) who moves with such member to another state under a permanent change of station order a tax credit for up to $500 of qualified relicensing costs incurred by such spouse. Defines "qualified relicensing costs" as costs for a state license or certification to engage in the profession that such military spouse engaged in while residing in the former state.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2015
Expresses the sense of Congress that the tax exemption of fraternal benefit societies continues to generate significant returns to society and that the work of such societies should continue to be promoted.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2015
Retail Investor Protection Act Prohibits the Secretary of Labor from prescribing any regulation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) defining the circumstances under which an individual is considered a fiduciary until 60 days after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issues a final rule governing standards of conduct for brokers and dealers under specified law. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to prohibit the SEC from promulgating a rule establishing an investment advisor standard of conduct as the standard of conduct of brokers and dealers before it reports to certain congressional committees whether: retail investors and other customers are being harmed due to brokers or dealers operating under different standards of conduct than those applicable to investment advisors under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940; alternative remedies will reduce any confusion or harm to retail investors due to brokers or dealers operating under such different standards of conduct; adoption of a uniform fiduciary standard of conduct for brokers or dealers and investment advisors would adversely impact their commissions and the availability of proprietary products offered by brokers and dealers, as well as the ability of brokers and dealers to engage in principal transactions with customers; and adoption of a uniform fiduciary standard of conduct for brokers or dealers and investment advisors would adversely impact retail investor access to personalized, cost-effective investment advice and recommendations. Requires the SEC: (1) to publish in the Federal Register formal findings that such rule would reduce retail customer confusion or harm due to standards of conduct applicable to brokers, dealers, and investment advisors; and (2) in proposing rules to consider the differences in the registration, supervision, and examination requirements applicable to brokers, dealers, and investment advisors.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2015
Pilot's Bill of Rights 2 This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue or revise medical certification regulations to ensure that an individual may operate as a pilot of a covered aircraft without regard to any medical certification or proof of health requirement otherwise applicable under federal law if the flight meets certain criteria and the individual: possesses a valid state driver's license, complies with applicable medical requirements associated with that license, is transporting five or fewer passengers, and is operating under visual or instrument flight rules. "Covered aircraft" is one that: is not authorized under federal law to carry more than six occupants, and has a maximum certificated takeoff weight of no more than 6,000 pounds. The FAA may not take enforcement action against a pilot of a covered aircraft for not holding a valid third-class medical certificate if the pilot and the flight meet such requirements, unless the FAA has published final regulations under this Act in the Federal Register. The Pilot's Bill of Rights is amended to authorize any persons adversely affected by an FAA decision to deny, suspend, or revoke a covered certificate or impose a civil penalty to file an appeal with the National Transportation Safety Board or, without further administrative review, in the U.S. district court or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. This subjects all FAA-issued certificates involving an adverse action to review. "Covered certificate" means, in addition to an airman certificate (as under current law), a design organization certificate, holder of type certificate, production certificate, airworthiness certificate, air carrier operating certificate, airport operating certificate, air agency certificate, air navigation facility certificate, or medical certificate. Requirements are prescribed or revised for FAA: failure to notify an individual who is the subject of an investigation regarding the approval, denial, suspension, modification, or revocation of a covered certificate; provision to persons holding a covered certificate of the releasable portion of an investigative report before issuing an emergency order relating to the investigation; response to a written request by a certificate-holding repair station subject to an investigation to withdraw from or settle a proceeding relating to the investigation within 30 days after receiving the request; and reexamination of airmen certificates where there are reasonable grounds to question an airman's lack of competence or believe a certificate was obtained through fraud. The FAA may not take enforcement action against an individual for violation of a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) regarding airspace system information until the FAA certifies its compliance with certain NOTAM Improvement program requirements, as amended by this Act. The FAA, upon receiving a request for a covered flight record not in its possession, shall request the record from a FAA contract tower or other FAA contractor possessing it. Any individual designated by the FAA to act as an FAA representative shall be shielded from liability in a civil action for actions performed with reasonable care in connection with related duties. The Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 is amended to shield from liability a volunteer pilot that flies for a volunteer pilot nonprofit organization for public benefit an aircraft for which the volunteer was properly licensed and insured. The staff, mission coordinators, officers, and directors of the nonprofit organization shall also be shielded from liability, provided certain conditions are met.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2015
Declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over-the-air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is not prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm under federal law, and who is carrying a valid, government-issued identification document containing that person's photograph and a valid permit issued by any state to carry a concealed firearm, to possess or carry a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in any other state that permits residents to carry a concealed firearm, in accordance with the restrictions of that state. Makes presentation of facially valid documents prima facie evidence that the individual has a license or permit as required.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2015 Includes as part of the Republic of Vietnam its territorial seas for purposes of the presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure by veterans to certain herbicide agents while in Vietnam.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Vessel Incidental Discharge Act This bill requires the Coast Guard to establish and implement enforceable uniform national standards for the regulation of discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel into navigable waters. The Coast Guard's existing rule for ballast water discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel are adopted until those performance standards are revised or a more stringent state standard is adopted. Ballast water is water taken aboard a vessel to control stability or during the operation of a vessel's ballast water treatment technology. Within two years, the Coast Guard must establish best management practices for discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel other than ballast water. By January 1, 2020, the Coast Guard must complete a feasibility review to determine whether revising ballast water performance standards will result in a scientifically demonstrable and substantial reduction in the risk of introduction or establishment of aquatic nuisance species. The Coast Guard must establish a revised standard based on the ballast water treatment technology available. Further revisions to the performance standards are to be considered every 10 years. This bill establishes a certification requirement for ballast water treatment technology. The Coast Guard may not approve a technology if it uses a biocide or generates a biocide that is a pesticide. This bill establishes a petition process for a state seeking to enforce a state or local statute or regulation related to ballast water discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel that is more stringent than federal performance standards.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2016 the exclusion from gross income of income attributable to the discharge of indebtedness on a principal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection-Inspector General Reform Act of 2015 or the CFPB-IG Act of 2015 Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to repeal the authority of the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to appoint the Inspector General of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to create an Inspector General for the CFPB. Requires the President, within 60 days after enactment of this Act, to appoint a CFPB Inspector General.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act of 2015 Provides that for purposes of medical professional liability insurance or civil and criminal malpractice liability determinations, a physician or athletic trainer (covered sports medicine professional) who is authorized to practice medicine in a state (primary state) and who provides medical services to an athlete or athletic team in a state where such professional is not authorized to practice (secondary state) shall be deemed to have provided such medical services in the primary state, provided that prior to providing the covered medical services such professional has disclosed the nature and extent of such services to the entity that provides such professional with medical professional liability insurance in the primary state.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise the National Estuary Program by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to make competitive awards to address urgent and challenging issues that threaten the economic and ecological well-being of coastal areas, including: extensive seagrass habitat losses, recurring harmful algae blooms, unusual marine mammal mortalities, invasive exotic species, jellyfish proliferation limiting community access to water during peak tourism seasons, flooding that may be related to sea level rise or wetland degradation or loss, and low dissolved oxygen conditions in estuarine waters and related nutrient management. This bill reauthorizes through FY2020 a program of grants to develop, implement, and monitor comprehensive conservation and management plans for estuaries.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Responsibility in Federal Contracting Act Requires that the locally prevailing wage paid to various classes of laborers and mechanics working under federally-financed or federally-assisted contracts for construction, alteration, and repair of public buildings or public works (Davis-Bacon Act) be determined by the Secretary of Labor (as under current law), but acting through the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), using surveys carried out by BLS that use proper random statistical sampling techniques.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Marine Disease Emergency Act of 2015 This bill authorizes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to declare and respond to a marine disease emergency that: (1) is caused by a marine disease or environmental stressor, (2) is likely to threaten the sustainability of a marine species or the health of a marine ecosystem, and (3) is likely to expand in geographic scope. "Marine species" does not include aquacultured animals, marine mammals, or birds. NOAA may take appropriate actions to respond to the emergency, including making grants, entering into contracts, and investigating the cause, treatment, or prevention of the emergency. Upon declaring an emergency, NOAA must: (1) designate an individual to coordinate the response to the emergency, (2) develop a response plan within 28 days of the declaration, and (3) publish a summary of the plan within 21 days of the declaration. The emergency terminates when NOAA declares that the emergency no longer exists or 120 days after the declaration was made, whichever occurs first. NOAA may renew a declaration. The Marine Disease Emergency Working Group is established in NOAA to provide advice on assessing, declaring, and responding to emergencies. The Marine Disease Emergency Fund is established to respond to emergencies. NOAA must establish a National Data Repository for Marine Diseases Research and Services to collect, store, and disseminate information on marine diseases and facilitate the development and rapid dissemination of research. Sea star wasting syndrome is deemed to be a marine disease emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Health Care Conscience Rights Act Amends title I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to declare that nothing in that title requires an individual to purchase individual health insurance coverage that includes coverage of an abortion or other item or service to which the individual has a moral or religious objection, or prevent an issuer from offering coverage excluding such item or service to that individual. Denies that title I requires a health plan sponsor or a health insurance issuer to cover an item or service to which the sponsor or issuer has a moral or religious objection. Denies also that title I authorizes imposition of a tax, penalty, fee, fine, or other sanction, or imposition of coverage of such an item or service, on health insurance coverage that excludes such an item or service. Amends the Public Health Service Act to codify the prohibition against any action by the federal government and any state or local government receiving federal financial assistance to subject a health professional, or health care facility, organization, or plan to discrimination on the basis that the entity refuses to participate in abortion-related activities. Requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to designate the Director of the Office for Civil Rights of HHS to receive and investigate complaints alleging a violation of this abortion discrimination prohibition. Creates a cause of action for the Attorney General or any person or entity adversely affected to obtain equitable or legal relief for any violation of this abortion discrimination prohibition. Allows commencement of an action and the granting of relief without a prerequisite pursuit of administrative remedies. Allows such an action against a federal or state governmental entity.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
This bill repeals a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that imposes an annual fee on a health insurance provider based on its net premium income.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act Reauthorization of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize and revise a research, training, and technical assistance resource center to prevent suicides (the Suicide Prevention Resource Center). Expands the program's focus from youth suicides to suicides among all ages, particularly among groups that are at high risk for suicide. Repeals authority for grants to establish research, training, and technical assistance centers related to mental health, substance abuse and the justice system. Reauthorizes a program of grants for the development of state or tribal youth suicide early intervention and prevention strategies. Reauthorizes and revises a grant program to enhance services for students with mental health or substance use disorders at institutions of higher education. Requires the Center for Mental Health Services to award grants to enhance such services and to develop best practices for the delivery of such services. Permits grant funds to be used for the provision of such services to students and to employ appropriately trained staff. Requires special consideration be given to applications for grants that describe programs that demonstrate the greatest need for new or additional mental and substance use disorder services and the greatest potential for replication.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Saracini Aviation Safety Act of 2015 Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to issue an order to require: (1) the installation of secondary barriers, other than the cockpit door, to prevent access to the flight deck of each covered aircraft; (2) such barriers on the aircraft with a cockpit door to remain locked while the aircraft is in flight and the cockpit door separating the flight deck and the passenger area is open; and (3) such barriers on the aircraft without a cockpit door to remain locked as determined by the pilot in command. Defines "covered aircraft" to mean a commercial aircraft: (1) equipped with more than 75 passenger seats, and (2) with a maximum gross takeoff weight of more than 75,000 pounds.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2015
Veterans TRICARE Choice Act Allows an individual who is eligible to participate in the TRICARE program (a Department of Defense [DOD] managed health care program) to: (1) elect to be ineligible to enroll in such program, (2) make tax deductible contributions to a health savings account during the period such individual elects to be ineligible for TRICARE coverage, and (3) enroll in the TRICARE program at a later date during a special enrollment period. Requires DOD to: (1) submit to the Internal Revenue Service information on each TRICARE-eligible individual who makes such election for purposes of determining such individual's eligibility for a health savings account; and (2) report to Congress, annually, on elections by TRICARE-eligible individuals under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2015
Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coin Act Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 gold coins, 350,000 $1 silver coins, and 300,000 half-dollar clad coins to commemorate the centennial of the founding of Father Flanagan's Boys Town. Requires the design of the coins to be emblematic of the 100 years of Boys Town, one of the largest nonprofit child care agencies in the United States. Permits issuance of such coins only between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2017. Subjects all coin sales to specified surcharges, which shall be paid to Boys Town to carry out its cause of caring for and assisting children and families in underserved communities across America. Directs the Secretary to ensure that: (1) minting and issuing such coins will not result in any net cost to the federal government; and (2) no funds, including surcharges, will be disbursed to Boys Town until the total cost of designing and issuing all authorized coins is recovered by the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2015
Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2015 Amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 with respect to the requirement that a federal court retain jurisdiction for an appropriate period to prevent commencement of new devices to deny or abridge the right to vote. Expands the types of violations triggering the authority of a court to retain such jurisdiction to include certain violations of the Act as well as violations of any federal voting rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group. Excludes from the list of violations triggering jurisdiction retention authority any voting qualification or prerequisite which results in a denial or abridgement of the right to vote that is based on the imposition of a requirement that an individual provide a photo identification as a condition of receiving a ballot for voting in a federal, state, or local election. Revises requirements for determining which states and political subdivisions are covered or not covered by criteria for declaratory judgments that they have not used devices to deny or abridge the right to vote. Subjects to the requirements for making such a determination any state (and all of its political subdivisions) during a calendar if five or more voting rights violations occurred in the state during the previous 15 years, at least one of which was committed by the state itself (as opposed to a political subdivision within it). Specifies application of such new coverage requirements to any specific political subdivision if: (1) three or more voting rights violations occurred in it during the previous 15 calendar years; or (2) one or more voting rights violations occurred in it during the previous 15 calendar years and the subdivision had persistent, extremely low minority turnout during that period. Provides that, if a state obtains a declaratory judgment that it has not used a device to deny or abridge the right to vote, the requirements for a new declaratory judgment generally will not apply, unless the new coverage requirements of this Act apply to the state solely on the basis of voting rights violations occurring after the declaratory judgment was issued. Prescribes transparency requirements, including reasonable public notice, regarding any changes to: (1) voting prerequisites, standards, or procedures; (2) polling place resources; or (3) demographics and electoral districts. Modifies authority to assign observers, including authorizing the assignment of observers to enforce bilingual election requirements. Revises requirements for injunctive relief, including its scope and the persons authorized to seek relief as well as the grounds for granting it.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2015
Ax the Tax on Middle Class Americans' Health Plans Act This bill repeals, effective for taxable years beginning after 2017, the excise tax on the excess benefit portion of high-cost employer-sponsored health care plans (known as Cadillac plans). The reporting requirement for such plans is also repealed for calendar years beginning after 2014.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
United States-Israel Trade and Commercial Enhancement Act This bill states that among the principal U.S. trade negotiating objectives for trade agreements with foreign countries regarding commercial partnerships are to: discourage actions by potential trading partners that discourage commercial activity solely between the United States and Israel; discourage politically motivated actions to boycott, divest from, or sanction Israel and to seek the elimination of politically motivated non-tariff barriers on Israeli commerce; and seek the elimination of state-sponsored unsanctioned foreign boycotts against Israel or compliance with the Arab League Boycott of Israel. The President is directed to report annually to Congress on politically motivated acts of boycott, divestment from, and sanctions against Israel. The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is amended to require a foreign issuer traded on the U.S. stock market to disclose in its quarterly or annual report: whether the issuer has discriminated against doing business with Israel in the last calendar year; whether the issuer has been advised by a foreign government or a non-member state of the United Nations (U.N.) to discriminate against doing business with Israel, entities owned or controlled by Israel, or entities operating in Israel or Israeli-controlled territory; and any instances where the issuer has learned that a person, foreign government, or a non-member state of the U.N. is boycotting the issuer, divesting itself of an ownership interest in the issuer, or placing sanctions on the issuer because of the issuer's relationship with Israel. No U.S. court may recognize or enforce any judgment by a foreign court against a U.S. person carrying out business operations in Israel or in any territory controlled by Israel, and on which is based a determination by the foreign court that the location in Israel, or in any territory controlled by Israel, of the facilities at which the business operations are carried out is sufficient to constitute a violation of law.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
Huntington's Disease Parity Act of 2015 Directs the Commissioner of Social Security, for purposes of determining cognitive, behavioral, and physical disability under titles II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act (SSAct), to amend specified Listings of Impairments by providing medical and evaluation criteria for Huntington's Disease. Amends SSAct title II to waive the 24-month waiting period for coverage under the program under SSAct title XVIII (Medicare) for individuals diagnosed with Huntington's Disease.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
Family-Based Foster Care Services Act of 2015 Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to extend medical assistance coverage to therapeutic foster care services. Requires a qualified therapeutic foster care program to be state-licensed and provide: foster care children under 21 with structured daily activities, including the development of age-appropriate social, communication and behavioral skills, trauma-informed and gender-responsive services, crisis intervention and crisis support services, medication monitoring, counseling, and case management; and biological parents, kinship caregivers, and foster care parents with specialized training and consultation in the management of children with mental illness, trauma, other emotional or behavioral disorders, medically fragile conditions, or developmental disabilities, the impact of trauma on child and caregiver, and specific additional training on the needs of each child provided such services.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
Robo Calls Off Phones Act or the Robo COP Act Directs the Federal Trade Commission to revise the do-not-call registry provisions of the Telemarketing Sales Rule to prohibit politically-oriented recorded message telephone calls to telephone numbers listed on that registry. Defines a "politically-oriented recorded message telephone call" as an outbound telephone call that plays a recorded message that: (1) promotes, advertises, campaigns, or solicits donations for or against a political candidate or regarding a political issue; or (2) uses a political candidate's name.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to deem a hospital or an emergency department and a physician or physician group of a hospital or emergency department to be an employee of the Public Health Service with liability protection provided by the United States for purposes of any civil action that may arise due to providing emergency and post-stabilization services on or after January 1, 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
Permits any enrolled agent properly licensed to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service to use the credentials or designation of "enrolled agent," "EA," or "E.A."
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2015
Life at Conception Act Declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual comes into being. Prohibits this Act from being construed to authorize the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child.
![Official portrait of Rep. Jolly, David W. [R-FL-13]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/114_rp_fl_13_jolly_david_200.jpg)