United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2014
Sound Regulation Act of 2014 - Establishes additional requirements for rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), including: identification by a federal agency, in the context of a coherent conceptual framework and supported with objective data, of the nature and significance of the market failure, regulatory failure, or other problem that necessitates regulatory action and why other alternatives, such as market forces or state or local regulations, could not address the problem better than federal regulation; establishment by an agency of an achievable objective for its regulatory action; development of at least three regulatory options, in addition to not regulating, that the agency estimates will provide the greatest benefits for the least cost in meeting the regulatory objective; an estimate by each agency of the costs and benefits of each regulatory option developed, at least to the extent the agency is able to exclude options whose costs exceed their benefits, and rank such options by cost from lowest to highest; publication for public comment of all analyses, documentation, and data relating to the requirements of this Act for a public comment period of at least 30 days; establishment, by rule, of the specific cost-benefit analysis methodology appropriate to the functions and responsibilities of the agency and establishment of an appropriate period for review of new rules to assess their cost-effectiveness; and justification of why the agency does not select the least-cost regulatory option as its proposed rule. Requires the Comptroller General (GAO), for purposes of congressional review, to examine and report on: (1) each agency cost-benefit analysis for compliance with the requirements of this Act, including the agency methodology for such analysis; (2) risk analysis pertaining to the cost-benefit analysis; and (3) agency quadrennial regulatory reviews for consistency with the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2014
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 · 9 January 2014
Electricity Security and Affordability Act - Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from issuing, implementing, or enforcing any proposed or final rule under the Clean Air Act that establishes a performance standard for greenhouse gas emissions from any new source that is a fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating unit unless the rule meets specified requirements of this Act. Requires the Administrator to separate sources fueled with coal and natural gas into separate categories. Prohibits the Administrator, however, from setting a standard based on the best system of emission reduction for new sources within the coal category unless it has been achieved on average for at least one continuous 12-month period (excluding planned outages) by each of at least 6 units within the category. Requires each such unit to: (1) be located at a different electric generating station in the United States, (2) be representative of the operating characteristics of electric generation at its location, and (3) be operated for the entire 12-month period on a full commercial basis. Prohibits the use of any results obtained from a demonstration project in setting the standard. Requires the Administrator, in separating sources fueled with coal into a separate category, to establish a separate subcategory for new sources that are fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating units using coal with an average heat content of 8300 or less British Thermal Units (BTUs) per pound. Prohibits the Administrator, in issuing any rule establishing performance standards for greenhouse gas emissions from new sources in such subcategory, from setting a standard based on the best system of emission reduction unless the standard has been achieved on average for at least one continuous 12-month period (excluding planned outages) by each of at least 3 units within such subcategory that meets the unit requirements specified by this Act for the coal category. Precludes from taking effect, unless a federal law is enacted specifying an effective date, any EPA rule or guideline that: (1) establishes any performance standard for greenhouse gas emissions from a modified or reconstructed source that is a fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating unit, or (2) applies to greenhouse gas emissions from such an existing source. Nullifies the force and effect of specified proposed rules (or similar successor proposed or final rules) for Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions for New Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units that are issued before enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2014
State Marriage Defense Act of 2014 - Prohibits, in determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of U.S. administrative bureaus and agencies, as applied with respect to individuals domiciled in a state or in any other territory or possession of the United States: (1) the term "marriage" from including any relationship that the state, territory, or possession does not recognize as a marriage; and (2) the term "spouse" from including an individual who is a party to a relationship that is not recognized as a marriage by that state, territory, or possession.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2013
Requires the House of Representatives to bring a civil action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for declaratory or injunctive relief to challenge any of the following policies or actions: the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) policy that, for health insurance coverage that is renewed for a policy year between January 1, 2014, and October 1, 2014, health insurance issuers may continue to offer coverage that would otherwise be terminated or cancelled for noncompliance with various requirements of title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act (relating to health insurance coverage, individual group market reforms, and general reforms) and corresponding portions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and the Internal Revenue Code, as announced by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services on November 14, 2013; the one-year delay in the application of the reporting requirements of the Code (and its related requirements with respect to shared responsibility for employers regarding health coverage), as provided under Department of the Treasury Notice 2013-45, as announced by the Department on July 2, 2013; the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy to exercise prosecutorial discretion for individuals who came to the United States as children, as announced by DHS on June 15, 2012; and the authorization, approval, renewal, modification, or extension of any experimental, pilot, or demonstration project under the Social Security Act (SSA) that waives compliance with any of its mandatory work requirements through a waiver of SSA state family assistance plan requirements. Derives any amounts obligated or expended by the House to carry out this resolution during a fiscal year from existing appropriations for House salaries and expenses for that fiscal year. Provides that nothing in this resolution may be construed as authorizing an increase in the amount of budget authority available to the House for that fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2013
Two-Midnight Rule Delay Act of 2013 - Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from enforcing the two-midnight rule to a hospital for which payment is made under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act for admissions occurring before October 1, 2014. (The two-midnight rule allows Medicare coverage of only hospital stays for which a physician admits to a hospital a beneficiary expected to require care that crosses two midnights, but generally denies coverage of care expected to require less than a two-midnight stay.) Applies such prohibition to Medicare review contracts. Prohibits Medicare review contractors from denying a claim for inpartient hospital services furnished by a hospital, or inpatient critical access hospital services furnished by a critical access hospital, for discharges occurring before October 1, 2014: (1) for medical necessity due to the length of an inpatient stay in such hospital or due to a determination that the services could have been provided on an outpatient basis; or (2) for requirements for orders, certifications, or recertifications, and associated documentation relating to such matters. Prohibits the Secretary from increasing the sample of claims selected for prepayment review under the Medicare Probe and Educate program above the number and type established by the Secretary as of November 4, 2013. Directs the Secretary to develop: (1) a Medicare hospital payment methodology for short inpatient hospital stays; (2) general equivalency maps to link the relevant International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD)-10 codes (used to report medical diagnoses and inpatient procedures) to relevant Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes, and the relevant CPT codes to relevant ICD-10 codes, in order to permit comparison of inpatient hospital services and hospital outpatient department servives; and (3) a second crosswalk between Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) codes for inpatient hospital services and Ambulatory Payment Class codes for outpatient hospital services.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2013
Military Land and National Defense Act or the Military LAND Act - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to notify the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources if a property owned by the federal government is being considered for inclusion on the National Register, for designation as a National Historic Landmark, or for nomination to the World Heritage List. Prohibits such inclusion or designation of federal property if the head of any federal agency managing such property objects to such inclusion or designation for national security reasons.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2013
Monuments Men Recognition Act of 2013 - Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make arrangements for the presentation of a single congressional gold medal in commemoration of the Monuments Men (men and women who served in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives [MFA] Section under the Allied Armies during World War II) in recognition of their heroic role in the preservation, protection, and restitution of monuments, works of art, and artifacts of cultural importance during and following the War. Requires the Medal's display at the Smithsonian Institution. Expresses the sense of Congress that the medal should be made available for display elsewhere, particularly at locations associated with the Monuments Men and that preference should be given to locations affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. Permits the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2013
States that it is U.S. policy to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability. Calls on the Senate to take immediate action on the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013 to increase sanctions against Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2013
Safe and Secure Federal Websites Act of 2013 - Prohibits a federal agency from deploying or making available to the public a new Federal PII website until a certification is submitted to Congress that the website is fully functional and secure, as defined by this Act. Defines "new Federal PII website" as a website that: (1) is operated by (or under contract with) an agency; (2) elicits, collects, or stores personally identifiable information (i.e., information that can be associated with one individual through a social security account number, taxpayer identification number, state identification number, or other identifier) of individuals and is accessible to the public; and (3) is first made accessible or collects or stores personally identifiable information on or after July 1, 2013. Exempts beta websites designed for testing and development if users execute an agreement acknowledging the risks involved. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to study and report on each current and future new Federal PII website.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2013
Amends the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 to prescribe whistleblower protections that prohibit a labor organization from discriminating against any of its employees who has: (1) provided information to the labor organization, the Department of Labor, or any other state, local, or federal government authority or law enforcement agency regarding any violation of the Act or any Department or National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) order; (2) testified in any Department or NLRB administrative or enforcement proceeding; (3) filed or instituted any such proceeding; or (4) refused to perform an assigned task that the employee reasonably believed to be in violation of any law, order, or prohibition enforced by the Department or the NLRB. Prescribes procedures for filing and processing complaints for violations of this Act. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to: (1) limit employees to remove elected or appointed union officials through a democratic election; or (2) preempt a state or local government from providing additional protections to such employees who allege a violation, provided such protections do not limit the ability of those employees to remove such officials through a democratic ballot.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2013
Court Efficiency Act of 2013 - Directs the President to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, one additional circuit judge for the second circuit court of appeals and one additional circuit judge for the eleventh circuit court of appeals. Reduces from 11 to 8 the number of circuit judges appointed to the District of Columbia circuit court of appeals.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2013
Sportsmen's Heritage And Recreational Enhancement Act of 2013 or the SHARE Act of 2013 - Title I: Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Protection Act - Hunting, Fishing, and Recreational Shooting Protection Act - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to exclude from the definition of "chemical substance" for purposes of such Act: (1) any component of any pistol, revolver, firearm, shell, or cartridge the sale of which is subject to federal excise tax, including shot, bullets and other projectiles, propellants, and primers; and (2) any sport fishing equipment the sale of which is subject to federal excise tax and sport fishing equipment components. Title II: Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act - Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act - Amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to: (1) authorize a state to pay up to 90% of the costs of acquiring land for, expanding, or constructing a public target range; (2) authorize a state to elect to allocate 10% of a specified amount apportioned to it from the federal aid to wildlife restoration fund for such costs; (3) limit the federal share of such costs under such Act to 90%; and (4) require amounts provided for such costs under such Act to remain available for expenditure and obligation for five fiscal years. Shields the United States from any civil action or claim for money damages for injury to or loss of property, personal injury, or death caused by an activity occurring at a public target range that is funded by the federal government pursuant to such Act or located on federal land, except to the extent provided under the Federal Tort Claims Act with respect to the exercise or performance of a discretionary function. Urges the Chief of the Forest Service and the Director of BLM to cooperate with state and local authorities and other entities to carry out waste removal and other activities on any federal land used as a public target range to encourage its continued use for target practice or marksmanship training. Title III: Public Lands Filming - Requires the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), for any film crew of five persons or fewer, to require a permit and assess an annual fee of $200 for commercial filming activities or similar projects on federal land and waterways administered by the Secretary. Makes such a permit valid for such activities or projects that occur in areas designated for public use during public hours on all federal land and waterways administered by the Secretary for a 12-month period. Title IV: Polar Bear Conservation and Fairness Act - Polar Bear Conservation and Fairness Act of 2013 - Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to issue a permit for the importation of any polar bear part (other than an internal organ) from a polar bear taken in a sport hunt in Canada to any person who submits proof that the polar bear was legally harvested before May 15, 2008 (currently by February 18, 1997), when polar bears were listed as a threatened species by the Department of the Interior. Title V: Permanent Electronic Duck Stamp Act - Permanent Electronic Duck Stamp Act of 2013 - Grants the Secretary of the Interior permanent authority to authorize any state to issue electronic duck stamps. Sets forth state electronic duck stamp application requirements. Allows the Secretary to determine the number of new states permitted per year to participate in the electronic duck stamp program. Instructs the Secretary to require electronic stamp revenue and customer information collected by each state to be transmitted in accordance with a written agreement between the Secretary and the state. Title VI: Access to Water Resources Development Projects Act - Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act of 2013 - Prohibits the Secretary of the Army from promulgating or enforcing any regulation that prohibits an individual from possessing a firearm at a water resources development project administered by the Chief of Engineers if: (1) the individual is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing the firearm, and (2) the possession of the firearm is in compliance with the law of the state in which the project is located. Title VII: Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council Advisory Committee - Amends the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act to establish the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council Advisory Committee to advise the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture (USDA) on wildlife and habitat conservation, hunting, and recreational shooting. (Abolishes the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council.) Title VIII: Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act - Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act - Declares that recreational fishing and hunting are environmentally acceptable and beneficial activities that occur and can be provided on public lands and waters without adverse effects on other uses or users. Requires a federal public land management official, in cooperation with the respective state and fish and wildlife agency, to exercise the authority of the official under law, including regarding land use planning, to facilitate the use of, and access to, federal public land for fishing, sport hunting, and recreational shooting, except as described in this Act. Requires the heads of federal public land management agencies to exercise their discretion in a manner that supports and facilitates hunting, recreational fishing, and recreational shooting opportunities, to the extent authorized under applicable law. Prohibits actions taken under this Act or actions concerning the National Wildlife Refuge System under the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 from being considered to be a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. Prohibits public land management officials from being required to consider the existence or availability of recreational fishing, hunting, or shooting opportunities on adjacent or nearby lands in the planning for or determination of which public lands are open for these activities or in the setting of levels of use for these activities on public lands, unless the combination or coordination of such opportunities would enhance the opportunities available to the public. Requires that Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service land, excluding land on the Outer Continental Shelf, be open to recreational fishing, hunting, or shooting unless the managing agency acts to close lands to such activity. Permits closures or restrictions on such land for purposes including resource conservation, public safety, energy or mineral production, energy generation or transmission infrastructure, water supply facilities, national security, protection of private property rights, or compliance with other law. Requires agencies to: (1) lease or permit use of federal public land for shooting ranges, and (2) designate specific land for recreational shooting activities. Declares that the provision of opportunities for hunting, fishing, recreational shooting, and the conservation of fish and wildlife to provide sustainable use recreational opportunities on designated wilderness areas on federal public lands constitutes the measures necessary to meet the minimum requirements for the administration of such areas. Provides that such declaration does not authorize or facilitate commodity development, use, or extraction, motorized recreational access or use that is not otherwise allowed under the Wilderness Act, or permanent road construction or maintenance within designated wilderness areas. Reaffirms the provisions of the Wilderness Act that stipulate that wilderness purposes are "within and supplemental to" the purposes of the underlying federal land unit. Requires the head of each federal agency, when seeking to carry out fish and wildlife conservation programs and projects or providing fish and wildlife dependent recreation opportunities on designated wilderness areas, to implement these supplemental purposes while not impeding on the underlying conservation purpose. Prohibits such implementation from authorizing or facilitating commodity development, use or extraction, or permanent road construction or use within designated wilderness areas. Requires biennial reports on closures of federal public lands to sport hunting, recreational fishing, or shooting. Sets forth requirements for specified closures or significant restrictions involving 640 or more contiguous acres of federal public land or water to hunting or recreational fishing or related activities. Instructs federal public land agencies to consult with the advisory councils specified in Executive Orders 12962 (relating to recreational fisheries) and 13443 (relating to the facilitation of hunting heritage and wildlife conservation) in carrying out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2013
Disapproves the President's: (1) failure to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed," as required by the Constitution, and (2) usurpation of the legislative power of Congress through the rewriting of key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Reaffirms that the preservation of the Constitution's separation of powers is essential for the protection of individual liberty and the maintenance of the rule of law.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2013
Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2013 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose an additional penalty of $5,000 on any person or entity convicted of crimes relating to: (1) peonage, slavery, and trafficking in persons; (2) sexual abuse; (3) sexual exploitation and other abuse of children; (4) transportation for illegal sexual activity; or (5) human smuggling in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Establishes in the Treasury the Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund into which such penalties shall be deposited and which shall be used in FY2015-FY2019 to award grants or enhance victims' programming under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, and the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990. Allots funds to provide services for child pornography victims. Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make a determination, based on credible evidence, that a covered individual (i.e., a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident) has been a victim of a severe form of trafficking. Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 to authorize the Attorney General to award block grants to develop, improve, or expand comprehensive domestic child trafficking deterrence programs to rescue and restore the lives of trafficking victims, while investigating and prosecuting offenses involving child trafficking. Amends the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 to include human trafficking and the production of child pornography within the definition of child abuse for purposes of such Act. Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) increase restitution for victims of human trafficking; (2) set forth provisions for combating aggravated human trafficking racketeering; (3) allow state and local prosecutors to obtain wiretap warrants in state courts for investigations into human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, and child pornography production; (4) increase penalties for offenses involving enticement into slavery, sex trafficking of children, child exploitation, and repeat sex offenders; and (5) revise the definition of the crime of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct to facilitate prosecutions of such crime. Directs the Attorney General to ensure that all task forces and working groups within the Innocence Lost National Initiative engage in activities, programs, or operations to increase the investigative capabilities of law enforcement personnel in the detection, investigation, and prosecution of persons who patronize or solicit children for sex. Requires the Attorney General to audit grants awarded under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005. Imposes limits on the use of Department of Justice (DOJ) funds for DOJ conferences involving more than $20,000.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2013
Obamacare Taxpayer Bailout Prevention Act - Repeals the provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish and administer a program of risk corridors for calendar years 2014, 2015, and 2016 under which a qualified health plan offered in the individual or small group market is required to participate in a payment adjustment system based on the ratio of the allowable costs of the plan to the plan's aggregate premiums.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2013
Calls on the U.S. government to recognize the campaign of genocide launched against the Kurdish people in Iraq. Reaffirms the commitment of the House of Representatives to the friendship between the United States and the Kurdish people in Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2013
Poison Center Network Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize through FY2019: (1) a poison control nationwide-toll free phone number; and (2) a national media campaign to educate the public and health care providers about poison prevention and the availability of poison control center resources in local communities and to conduct advertising campaigns about the nationwide toll-free number. Revises and reauthorizes through FY2019 a grant program for accredited (currently, certified) poison control centers. Allows grant funds to be used to research, improve, and enhance the communications and response capability and capacity of the poison control centers to facilitate increased access to such centers through the integration and modernization of communications and data systems.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2013
Recognizes the suffering of Indian citizens who have been victims of religious violence. Calls for religious freedom and related human rights to be included in the United States-India Strategic Dialogue and for such issues to be raised directly with federal and state Indian government officials. Declares that the House of Representatives shares the opinion of the Department of State and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom that the Gujarat government has not adequately pursued justice for the victims of religious violence in 2002 and expresses concern regarding reports about the complicity of local officials. Commends the U.S. government for exercising its authority in 2005 under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to deny a U.S. visa to Narendra Modi on the grounds of religious freedom violations, and encourages it to review the applications of any individuals implicated in such violations under the same standard. Commends the role of India's National Human Rights Commission and the Indian Supreme Court, which has led to some convictions in Gujarat riot cases and the arrest of high-level leaders in the Gujarati administration. Calls on India to: (1) increase training on human rights and religious freedom standards and practices for police and the judiciary; and (2) empower the National Commission on Minorities with enforcement mechanisms. Calls on Gujarat and other Indian states with anti-conversion laws to repeal such legislation and ensure freedom to practice, propagate, and profess religion as enshrined in the Indian constitution. Encourages the establishment of an impartial body of interfaith religious leaders, human rights advocates, legal experts, and government officials to discuss and recommend actions to promote religious tolerance and understanding. Urges all political parties and religious organizations to publicly oppose the exploitation of religious differences and denounce harassment and violence against religious minorities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2013
Employee Rights Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to make it an unlawful labor practice for a labor organization or its agents to interfere with the rights of employees to organize and select representation to collectively bargain. Adds a requirement that representatives be selected by secret ballot in an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by a majority of the employees in a unit. Defines "majority" for purposes of determining the majority of employees in an election to mean the majority of all employees in the unit, and not the majority of employees voting in the election. Requires the NLRB, in cases where an existing certified or voluntarily recognized bargaining unit experiences turnover, expansion, or alteration by merger of more than 50% of the unit's employees, to conduct a secret paper ballot among the unit employees: (1) between the 120th day and 110th day before the collective bargaining agreement's expiration or before the end of three years, if there is an agreement between the labor organization and the employer; or (2) within 30 days, if there is no agreement between such parties. Requires the NLRB to decide, before the election of a labor organization as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of all employees of an appropriate unit, whether such unit shall be the employer unit, craft unit, plant unit, or subdivision unit. Requires the NLRB to give 14 days advance notice before a hearing when it is investigating an election petition if it has reasonable cause to believe that a question of representation affecting commerce exists. Revises the requirement that the NLRB direct an election by secret ballot, and certify its results, whenever it finds upon the record of such a hearing that a question of representation exists. Adds a requirement that the NLRB also review all post-hearing appeals before finding that such a question exists. Requires an employer to provide the NLRB a list consisting only of employee names and home addresses of all eligible voters within 7 days after an NLRB determination of the appropriate unit or following any agreement between the employer and the labor organization regarding eligible voters. Prohibits an election after the filing of a petition unless and until: (1) a hearing is conducted before a qualified hearing officer on any and all material, factual issues regarding jurisdiction, statutory coverage, appropriate unit, unit inclusion or exclusion, or eligibility of individuals; and (2) the issues are resolved by a regional Director, subject to appeal and review, or by the NLRB. Declares that election results shall not be final nor any labor organization be certified as a bargaining representative unless the NLRB has ruled on: (1) each pre-election issue not resolved before the election; and (2) the NLRB conducts a hearing and resolves each issue pertaining to the conduct or results of the election. Makes any labor organization found to have interfered with, restrained, or coerced employees in the exercise of their rights to form or join a labor organization or to refrain from forming or joining (including the filing of a decertification petition) liable for lost wages and unlawfully collected union dues and fees, if any, and an additional amount as liquated damages. Amends the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (Landrum-Griffin Act) to permit an election by secret ballot to be conducted through votes cast by electronic ballot cast in the privacy of a voting booth. Requires every employee in a bargaining unit represented by a labor organization, regardless of membership status, to have the same right as members to vote by secret ballot to ratify a collective bargaining agreement with, or to engage in, a strike or refusal to work of any kind against their employer. Prohibits the use of an employee's union dues for any purpose not directly related to the labor organization's collective bargaining, unless that employee authorizes such expenditure in writing. Prohibits a strike without the consent of a majority of all unit employees affected, determined by a secret ballot vote conducted by a neutral, private organization chosen by agreement between the employer and the labor organization. Requires each labor organization to make the independently verified annual audit report of its financial condition and operations available to all of its members and represented nonmembers. Makes it unlawful for a person to use force or violence, or threaten the use of force or violence, to restrain, coerce, or intimidate a person, or attempt to, in order to obtain from any person any right to represent employees, compensation, or other term or condition of employment. Subjects persons who willfully violate such prohibitions to both civil and criminal penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2013
Hire More Heroes Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an employer, for purposes of determining whether such employer is an applicable large employer and thus required to provide health care coverage to its employees under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to exclude employees who have coverage under a health care program administered by the Department of Defense (DOD), including TRICARE, or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2013
Support Earned Recognition for Veterans Act or the SERV Act - Excludes from the definitions of "active duty," "active duty for training," and "inactive duty training," for veteran benefit or employment preference purposes, any service performed at a preparatory school of a service academy by a student who is not otherwise a member of the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2013
Expresses support for: (1) the designation of a Small Business Saturday, (2) efforts to encourage consumers to shop locally, and (3) efforts to increase awareness of the value of locally owned small businesses and their impact on the U.S. economy.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2013
Prohibits any change from being made to the oaths required for appointment to an office in the civil service or uniformed services, enlistment in the Armed Forces or National Guard, or admission to a U.S. military service academy, except by an Act of or authorization by Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2013
Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act of 2013 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require physical therapists furnishing outpatient physical therapy services to use specified locum tenens arrangements for payment purposes in the same manner as such arrangements are used to apply to physicians furnishing substitute physicians services for other physicians. (Locum tenens [place holder], or substitute, physicians usually assume professional practices in the absence of a regular physician for reasons such as illness, pregnancy, vacation, or continuing medical education.)
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2013
If You Like Your Health Plan, You Can Keep it Act - Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to prohibit anything in the Act from being construed to require an individual to terminate coverage under a group health plan or health insurance coverage in which the individual was enrolled during any part of the period beginning on the date of enactment of PPACA (March 23, 2010) and ending on December 31, 2013. Allows: (1) continuation of coverage under a group health plan or health insurance in which an individual was enrolled during any part of such period, regardless of whether the individual renews such coverage; (2) family members of the individual to join coverage under such a plan that is renewed; (3) new employees to join a group health plan that provides coverage during any part of such period; and (4) continuation of coverage maintained pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement that was ratified before the end of such period.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 2013
Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center in Bay Pines, Florida, as the "C.W. Bill Young Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center."
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 2013
United States-Iran Nuclear Negotiations Act - States that it is the policy of Congress that it is in the national security interest of the United States and its allies and partners to ensure that Iran: (1) halts all uranium enrichment and identifies all enrichment sites, (2) removes and transfers to a third party under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) all uranium enriched to a 20% and higher threshold, (3) closes the Fordow uranium enrichment facility, and (4) ceases developing reactors capable of producing plutonium and the importation and domestic manufacturing of all centrifuges for enriching uranium. Expresses the sense of Congress that if these objectives are met it shall be U.S. policy to enter into a negotiated settlement regarding nuclear activities in Iran. Declares that the United States is capable, willing, and ready to use military force to prevent Iran from obtaining or developing a nuclear weapons capability. Acknowledges that this Act constitutes current consultation with the President on Iran in order to provide for application of all options to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapons capability and provides consent to the appropriate use of force against legitimate targets in Iran to: (1) uphold and implement all relevant United Nations (U.N.) Security Council resolutions regarding Iran's nuclear program, (2) deter Iran's development of nuclear weapons in order to protect the national security interests of the United States and its allies and partners, and (3) degrade Iran's capacity to develop such weapons in the future. States that, if any business, firm, or entity has not terminated the provision of goods, services, or technology in Iran or with any Iranian-controlled entity, the President may: (1) prohibit that business, firm, or entity from receiving any U.S. government contract or accessing U.S. capital markets; and (2) in the case of a business, firm, or entity that is a foreign financial institution, prohibit or impose strict conditions on the opening or maintaining in the United States of a correspondent account or payable-through account.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2013
Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2013 - Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, with respect to abortion coverage in qualified plans offered through a Health Benefit Exchange, to modify the notice rules to require that: in the case of services regarding abortions both for which public funding is prohibited and allowed, the extent of coverage shall be prominently displayed in any marketing or advertising materials, comparison tools, or summary of benefits and coverage explanation made available by the issuer of the plan, by an Exchange, or by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), including information made available through an Internet portal or Exchange; and in the case of abortions for which public funding is prohibited and where the premium for the plan is disclosed, the surcharge attributable to such services, consisting of an amount equal to the actuarial value of the coverage, shall be disclosed and identified separately.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2013
Safe Military Bases Act - Repeals: (1) Army Regulation 190-14, entitled "Carrying of Firearms and Use of Force for Law Enforcement and Security Duties"; and (2) Department of Defense Directive Number 5210.56, entitled "Use of Deadly Force and the Carrying of Firearms by DOD Personnel Engaged in Law Enforcement and Security Duties." Nullifies any provision in any other law, rule, regulation, or executive order that prohibits military personnel trained in firearms from carrying officially issued or personally owned firearms on military bases. Prohibits: (1) the Secretary of Defense (DOD) and the Secretaries of the military departments from reinstating the firearm bans repealed in this Act or enacting similar restrictions; and (2) the President from taking any executive action, promulgating any rule, or issuing any executive order or regulation to prohibit military personnel from carrying firearms.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2013
Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees Act or RAISE Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to declare that neither its prohibition against interference by an employer with employees' right to bargain collectively, nor the terms of a collective bargaining agreement entered into between employees and an employer after enactment of this Act, shall prohibit an employer from paying an employee higher wages, pay, or other compensation than the agreement provides for.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2013
Honoring the Fort Hood Heroes Act - Directs: (1) the Secretary of the military department concerned to award the Purple Heart to members of the Armed Forces (members) who were killed or wounded in the attack at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009; and (2) the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to award the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom to civilian employees and contractors of DOD who were killed or wounded in such attack. Deems, for purposes of all applicable federal benefit laws, regulations, and policies: (1) such members to have been killed or wounded in a combat zone as the result of an enemy act; and (2) such employees to have been killed or wounded by hostile action while serving with the Armed Forces in a contingency operation and to have been killed or wounded in a terrorist attack. Excludes any member whose death or wound was the result of willful misconduct. Applies such provisions to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other psychological injuries that were a a result of such attack.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2013
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 · 12 September 2013
Union Bailout Prevention Act of 2013 - Declares that no refundable premium assistance tax credits (subsidies) for coverage under a qualified health plan under the Internal Revenue Code, or reductions in cost-sharing under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), shall be permitted with respect to an individual for health insurance coverage provided pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement involving one or more employers (collectively bargained plan). Amends PPACA to exclude collectively bargained plans from the meaning of "qualified health plan."
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2013
Ansar al-Sharia Terrorist Designation Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of State to report to Congress on whether the Libyan faction of Ansar al-Sharia meets the criteria for designation as a foreign terrorist organization, and if not, a detailed justification as to which criteria have not been met. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Libyan faction of Ansar al-Sharia should be designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2013
Armed Services Always Paid Act or ASAP Act - Provides for funding the pay and allowances, without interruption, of members of the Armed Forces, including reserve personnel, during any period of lapsed appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2013
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that any immigration reform proposal adopted by Congress should not legalize, grant amnesty for, or confer any other legal status condoning the otherwise unlawful U.S. entry or presence of any individual.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2013
Prohibits the House of Representatives from bringing any legislation including any conference report regarding immigration to the House floor for a vote until the U.S. southern border is secured, as confirmed by the governors and the legislatures jointly of the four southern border states.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013
Medicare Patient Access to Hospice Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to recognize attending physician assistants as attending physicians to serve hospice patients.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a congressional gold medal in honor of President Shimon Peres of Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013
National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2013 - Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is carrying a valid, government-issued identification document containing that person's photograph and a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm in one state, and who is not prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm under federal law, to possess or carry a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in another state in accordance with the restrictions of that state.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013
United States Coast Guard Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue in commemoration of the United States Coast Guard: (1) $5 gold coins, (2) $1 silver coins, and (3) half-dollar clad coins. Requires the design of such coins to be emblematic of the traditions, history, and heritage of the Coast Guard, and its role in securing our nation since 1790. Prescribes design requirements. Restricts the issuance of such coins to the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2017. Prescribes the sale price of the coins and coin surcharges. Requires such surcharges to be paid by the Secretary to the National Coast Guard Museum Foundation to help finance the design and construction of the National Coast Guard Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2013
Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 gold coins, 350,000 $1 silver coins, and 300,000 half dollar clad coins to commemorate the centennial of the founding of Father Flanagan's Boys Town. Requires the design of the coins to be emblematic of the 100 years of Boys Town, one of the largest nonprofit child care agencies in the United States. Permits issuance of such coins only between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2018.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2013
Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax deduction for charitable contributions by individuals and corporations of real property interests for conservation purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2013
Review EPA's Language on Agriculture and Thoroughly Engage with the Farm Act of 2013 or the RELATE with the Farm Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to review publications that may give notice that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is preparing or plans to prepare any guidance, policy, memorandum, regulation, or statement of general applicability and future effect that may have a significant impact on a substantial number of agricultural entities. Requires the Secretary, for each publication item determined to have a possible significant impact, to: (1) solicit from the EPA Administrator information to facilitate a review of the item, (2) produce an economic impact statement, (3) identify representatives of potentially affected agricultural entities to obtain advice and recommendations about the potential impacts of the item, and (4) convene a review panel that includes the Secretary to analyze the publication item. Provides procedures for submission by the Secretary of comments to the Administrator for inclusion in the administrative record and for waiver of a panel's initiation.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2013
Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners Act of 2013 - GSE Bailout Elimination and Taxpayer Protection Act - Directs the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), five years after enactment of this Act, to appoint FHFA as receiver of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (government sponsored enterprises or (GSEs) under the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, to carry out mandatory receivership (thus terminating the current conservatorship for such GSEs). Repeals the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charters effective five years after enactment of this Act. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act to prescribe specified requirements, limitations, and prohibitions on GSE activities until their charters are repealed and authorities terminated. FHA Reform and Modernization Act of 2013 - Establishes the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) as a wholly owned government corporation to: (1) provide residential mortgage insurance and other credit enhancement and related activities; (2) supplement private sector activity by serving hard-to-serve markets, developing new mortgage products, and filling gaps in the provision and delivery of mortgage credit; and (3) deliver housing mortgage insurance and credit enhancement and provide other services in a non-discriminatory manner. Prescribes FHA requirements concerning: (1) budget and business plans; (2) examinations, reports, and cost estimates; (3) the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund and capital ratios, reserves, and restoration plans; (4) borrower suspension, ineligibility, and foreclosure; (5) mortgage repurchase; (6) mortgagee indemnification; (7) eminent domain; and (8) residual income. Transfers to FHA, at the end of a five-year transition period, the functions of, authority provided to, and the responsibilities of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and HUD personnel. Amends the National Housing Act to repeal the home equity conversion mortgage (reverse mortgage) program and mortgage insurance for hospitals. National Mortgage Market Utility Act of 2013 - Requires the Director of FHFA to provide for the organization, incorporation, examination, operation, and regulation of a not-for-profit national mortgage market Utility to: (1) enhance efficiency, liquidity, and security in the secondary market for residual mortgages; (2) establish standards for originating and servicing eligible collateral and for issuers and trustees of qualified securities, which would be exempt from the Securities Act of 1933; and (3) operate a common securitization platform that could be available to issues of residential mortgage-backed securities. Prohibits the Utility from: (1) originating, servicing, insuring, or guaranteeing any residential mortgage or other associated financial instrument; or (2) guaranteeing timely payment of principal or interest on any mortgage-related security. Requires the Director to: (1) issue a charter for the Utility; and (2) oversee the transfer to the Utility of the securitization infrastructure announced by the FHFA on October 4, 2012, and as developed by an enterprise or the enterprises in conservatorship (the Platform). Sets forth standards for qualified securities. Directs the utility to organize and operate a national mortgage data repository. United States Covered Bond Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a covered bond regulatory oversight program for the evaluation and maintenance of programs of eligible issuers under which, on the security of a single cover pool, one or more series of covered bonds may be issued. Defines covered bonds as any recourse debt obligation of an eligible issuer that: (1) has an original term to maturity of not less than one year, (2) is secured by a perfected security interest in or other perfected lien on a cover pool owned directly or indirectly by the obligation's issuer, (3) is issued under a covered bond program approved by the applicable covered bond regulator, (4) is identified in a register of covered bonds maintained by the Secretary, and (5) is not a deposit subject to the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. Amends the Secondary Mortgage Market Enhancement Act of 1984 to authorize any person, trust, corporation, partnership, association, business trust, or business entity created under federal or state law to purchase, hold, and invest in covered bonds. Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the tax treatment of estates created under covered bond programs and certain transfers under covered bond programs. Imposes a tax on certain estates created under covered bond programs. Directs the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Comptroller of the Currency to study the impact of the Regulatory Capital Rules finalized by the Board on July 2, 2013 (pursuant to the Third Basel Accord on capital adequacy, stress testing, and market liquidity risk, or Basel III). Prohibits the Board, the FDIC, and the Comptroller of the Currency, in implementing the Basel III Liquidity Coverage Ratio amendments, from requiring, as a condition for status as a high quality liquid asset, that residential mortgage-backed securities be collateralized only by (or be collateralized by a certain percentage of) full recourse mortgage loans. Amends the Truth in Lending Act to modify the items, compensation, and charges included in points and fees with respect to a high-cost mortgage. Amends the Bank Holding Company Act to exclude from hedge funds and private equity funds certain issuers of asset-backed securities. Amends the Securities Act of 1933 with respect to exemptions from specified prohibitions relating to interstate commerce and the mails for transactions by any person other than an issuer, underwriter, or dealer or transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering. Prohibits the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from conditioning the availability of such exemptions upon an issuer's undertaking to provide to investors, in connection with initial offers or sales or on an ongoing basis after an initial offer or sale, the same or substantially similar information as would be required in a transaction to which such prohibitions apply. (Thus suspends Regulation AB II rulemaking.) Amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to repeal the requirement that federal banking agencies and the SEC jointly prescribe credit risk regulations for securitizers to retain an economic interest in a portion of the credit risk for any asset the securitizer, through the issuance of an asset-backed security, transfers, sells, or conveys to a third party. Amends the Truth in Lending Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975, the Truth in Lending Act, and the Dodd-Frank Act to make exemptions from specified requirements, or repeal related requirements, for certain residential mortgages, particularly those serving as collateral for a qualified security. Amends the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 1978 with respect to: (1) timeliness of examination reports, (2) examination standards, (3) establishment of an Office of Examination Ombudsman, and (4) the right to appeal before an independent administrative law judge. Common Sense Economic Recovery Act of 2013 - Cites circumstances under which, for purposes of determining capital requirements or measuring an insured depository institution's capital, such an institution may treat a non-accrual loan as an accrual loan. (Non-accrual [also known as non-performing or doubtful] loans are those on which interest is overdue and full collection of principal is uncertain, and so interest, if it has not been paid in over 90 days, cannot be credited to the bank's revenue account until it has actually been received.)
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2013
Defund Obamacare Act of 2013 - Prohibits any federal funds from being made available to carry out the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. Prohibits any entitlement to benefits under such provisions from remaining in effect on and after the date of the enactment of this Act. Prohibits any payments from being awarded, owed, or made to any state, district, or territory under any such provision. Rescinds any unobligated balances available under such provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2013
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the President has violated Section 3 of Article II of the Constitution by refusing to enforce the employer mandate provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA); (2) republican government depends upon the rule of law; (3) the executive branch, which has no constitutional authority to write or rewrite law at whim, has invaded upon the exclusive legislative power of Congress; and (4) PPACA has proven to be unworkable and should be repealed by Congress immediately.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2013
Save American Workers Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, as amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to redefine "full-time employee," for purposes of the mandate requiring employers to provide health care coverage for their employees, as an employee who is employed on average at least 40 hours of service a week (currently, at least 30 hours of service a week).
![Official portrait of Rep. King, Steve [R-IA-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/k000362_200.jpg)