United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2015
Recognizes that prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV is critical to stopping the spread of HIV worldwide and that the fight to eliminate pediatric HIV worldwide has been a priority for more than 13 years. Supports providing women with HIV counseling and testing services and dramatically scaling up pediatric treatment of HIV.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
National Credit Union Administration Budget Transparency Act This bill amends the Federal Credit Union Act to require the National Credit Union Administration Board, before the annual submission of its required detailed business-type budget, to: (1) print a draft of the budget in the Federal Register; (2) hold a public hearing to receive comments from the public on the draft; and (3) include in the required integral set of accounts statements in which the budget will address any of such comments.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
Empowering Patients First Act of 2015 This bill repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of their enactment. This bill replaces those provisions with amendments to the Internal Revenue Code, the Public Health Service Act, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to address health care coverage. The bill provides for refundable tax credits for health insurance coverage and health savings account (HSA) contributions. The bill raises the annual HSA contribution limit, expands eligibility for tax-deductible HSA contributions, and allows HSAs to be used to pay periodic or capitated primary care fees. A limit is placed on the amount of an employer's contribution to health coverage that can be excluded from the employee's taxable income. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must provide a grant to each state for high-risk pools or reinsurance pools to subsidize health insurance for high-risk populations and individuals. Funds authorized, tax credits, and tax deductions under this Act may not be used to pay for an abortion or health coverage that includes abortion, with exceptions. This bill provides for the establishment and governance of independent health pools, entities that form risk pools to offer health insurance coverage to their members. Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2015 This bill provides for the establishment and governance of association health plans, which are group health plans sponsored by business associations that meet certain ERISA certification requirements. Health insurers offering individual coverage may deny coverage to an individual, outside of open enrollment periods. Preexisting conditions may be excluded from coverage under certain conditions. Individual health insurance coverage is governed by the laws of a state designated by the health insurance issuer. HHS must issue clinical practice guidelines. The bill specifies how these guidelines may be used in a health care lawsuit. HHS may not use comparative effectiveness research or patient-centered outcomes research to deny coverage of an item or service under a federal health care program. This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permit Medicare beneficiaries to contract with a physician or practitioner for covered health care and submit a claim for payment under Medicare. Health care professionals are exempted from federal and state antitrust laws in connection with negotiations with a health plan to provide health care items or services.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
National Energy Security Corridors Act This bill amends the Mineral Leasing Act to allow natural gas pipeline rights-of-way through all federally owned lands, including lands in the National Park System, except lands held in trust for an Indian or Indian tribe and lands on the outer Continental Shelf. The Department of the Interior must: (1) identify and designate suitable federal lands as National Energy Security Corridors for use by natural gas transmission facilities, and (2) incorporate such Corridors into the relevant agency land use and resource management plans. Additionally, Interior shall: (1) take into account certain considerations when evaluating federal land for designation as a National Energy Security Corridor, and (2) establish specified procedures to expedite and approve applications for rights-of-way for natural gas pipelines across National Energy Security Corridors. The governor of a state may request a Corridor designation on federal land within that state. For purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 neither the designation of a Corridor, nor the incorporation of a Corridor into agency plans, shall be treated as a major federal action subject to environmental impact evaluation. Interior shall notify certain congressional committees whenever an agency or Interior official fails to comply with federal authorization schedules established under the Natural Gas Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
Volunteer Organization Protection Act of 2015 Amends the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 to expand liability protections to volunteer nonprofit organizations for harm caused by an act or omission of a volunteer on behalf of the organization. Prohibits such liability protections from applying if the organization: (1) would be liable under laws governing the direct or vicarious liability of organizations, and (2) expressly authorized the specific conduct constituting the act or omission. Bars such an organization from liability for harm caused by the organization, or a volunteer acting on its behalf, if the act or omission was at the request of, or pursuant to an authorization by, a state, the United States, or another governmental subdivision, provided that: (1) the requesting or authorizing governmental entity would have been immune either from suit or from liability in damages if it had engaged in the acts or omissions itself or through employees or independent contractors; or (2) the governmental employee, agent, or contractor would have been immune either from suit or from liability in damages by virtue of immunity extended to individual governmental actors. Prohibits punitive damages from being awarded against a volunteer nonprofit organization for the actions of a volunteer within the scope of the volunteer's responsibilities to the organization unless the claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the organization itself expressly authorized the volunteer's action with a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2015
Protect Our Military Families' 2nd Amendment Rights Act Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer of firearms to ship to the spouse of a member of the U.S. Armed Forces on active duty outside the United States or to clubs composed of such members and spouses, and authorizes such a spouse or club to receive, a firearm or ammunition generally recognized as particularly suitable for sporting purposes and intended for the personal use of such spouse or club. Describes a member of the Armed Forces on active duty or a spouse of such member, for purposes of federal firearms provisions, as a resident of the state in which: (1) the member or spouse maintains legal residence, (2) the permanent duty station of the member is located, or (3) the member maintains a place of abode from which the member commutes each day to the member's permanent duty station.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2015
Increasing Clarity for Doctors by Transitioning Effectively Now Act or the ICD-TEN Act This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement, administer, and enforce regulations that provide for the replacement of International Classification of Diseases (ICD) ICD-9 with ICD-10 as a standard for code sets. HHS shall conduct, and make available to all participating service providers and suppliers, a comprehensive, end-to-end testing process to assess whether the Medicare fee-for-service claims processing system based on the ICD-10 standard is fully functioning. HHS must subsequently certify to Congress whether or not the Medicare fee-for-service claims processing system based on the ICD-10 standard is fully functioning, including additional steps a not-fully-functioning system will take to achieve certification as well as the anticipated time frame for achieving it.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2015
VOW to Hire Heroes Extension Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2018 the work opportunity tax credit for hiring a qualified veteran (defined as an unemployed veteran who is certified as being a member of a family receiving food stamp assistance and who is entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability), (2) revise tax credit eligibility requirements for documenting the status of veterans and their receipt of unemployment compensation, and (3) extend the payroll tax offset for such credit to certain for-profit employers. Directs the Internal Revenue Service, in consultation with the Department of Labor, to make annual reports on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of this Act in increasing the employment of veterans. Requires the Department of the Treasury to pay: (1) each U.S. possession (i.e., American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) with a mirror code tax system amounts equal to the loss to such possession due to this Act; and (2) each U.S. possession without such a tax system an amount estimated to equal the loss to such possession that would have occurred due to this Act if such a tax system had been in effect in that possession.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2015
Data Security Act of 2015 Requires individuals, corporations, or other non-government entities that access, maintain, communicate, or handle sensitive financial account information or nonpublic personal information to implement an information security program and to notify consumers, federal law enforcement, appropriate administrative agencies, payment card networks, and consumer reporting agencies of certain data breaches of unencrypted sensitive information likely to cause identity theft or fraudulent transactions on consumer financial accounts. Directs entities to require their third-party service providers by contract to implement appropriate safeguards for sensitive information. Allows an entity to delay notifications upon the request of a law enforcement agency. Provides special notification procedures for: (1) third-party service providers that maintain data in electronic form on behalf of another entity, and (2) certain electronic data carriers. Allows financial institutions to communicate with account holders regarding breaches at third-party entities with access to their account information. Sets forth alternative compliance procedures for: (1) financial institutions and affiliates under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and (2) entities complying with certain health record privacy laws. Requires this Act to be enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, or a state insurance authority depending on the type of entity handling the sensitive information. Prohibits certain state laws from being imposed for information security and breach notification purposes. Sets forth requirements concerning the application of this Act to entities regulated by the Federal Communications Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2015 This bill revises a variety of programs to encourage energy efficiency in buildings, industry, the federal government, and certain appliances. States and Indian tribes must measure their compliance with certain residential and commercial building energy codes. The Department of Energy (DOE) must: (1) provide technical assistance and incentive funding to implement building energy codes, and (2) establish energy saving targets for updating model building energy codes. DOE must: (1) provide grants to establish building training and assessment centers at institutions of higher education, and (2) establish a process to recognize schools for implementing energy efficient and renewable energy projects and assisting initiation of similar efforts. The General Services Administration must develop model leasing provisions and best practices to encourage building owners and tenants to use greater cost-effective energy efficiency measures in commercial buildings. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must develop a Tenant Star program to recognize tenants of spaces in commercial buildings who voluntarily achieve high levels of energy efficiency. DOE may make awards to utilities, utility regulators, and utility partners to develop and implement programs to provide aggregated whole building energy consumption information to multitenant building owners. The energy-intensive industries program is renamed the future of industry program. DOE must: (1) conduct on-site technical assessments at the request of a manufacturer to identify opportunities for maximizing energy efficiency, prevent pollution and minimize waste, improve efficient use of water in manufacturing processes, and conserve natural resources; and (2) carry out an industry-government partnership program to research, develop, and demonstrate new sustainable manufacturing and industrial technologies and processes. A Supply Star program is established within DOE to identify and promote practices, recognize companies, and recognize products that use highly efficient supply chains that conserve energy, water, and other resources. DOE must establish rebate programs for expenditures for purchasing and installing certain: (1) electric motors with controls that reduce energy use, and (2) energy efficient transformers. This bill revises requirements concerning the energy performance of federal buildings, certification under the Energy Star Program, certification of green buildings, energy efficiency in federal real estate transactions and programs, and verification of compliance with energy conservation standards for certain appliances. The Department of Housing and Urban Development must establish a demonstration program for energy and water conservation improvements at multifamily residential units. Energy conservation standards are established for grid-enabled water heaters for use as part of an electric thermal storage or demand response program (a program that enables customers to reduce or shift their power use during peak demand periods).
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Breast Cancer Research Stamp Reauthorization Act of 2015 This bill reauthorizes through December 31, 2019, provisions requiring the U.S. Postal Service to issue a special postage stamp for first-class mail that costs more than the regular first-class stamp to raise funds for breast cancer research. Agencies receiving these funds from the Postal Service must use them on breast cancer research.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Iran should release all detained U.S. citizens and provide any information it possesses regarding any U.S. citizens who have disappeared within its borders.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2015
Ratepayer Protection Act of 2015 This bill extends the deadline for mandatory compliance with final rules that target carbon dioxide emissions from existing sources that are fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating units under the Clean Air Act, including any final rule that succeeds either: the proposed rule entitled "Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units," or the supplemental proposed rule entitled "Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: EGUs in Indian Country and U.S. Territories; Multi-Jurisdictional Partnerships". The extension period begins 60 days after the notice of promulgation of a final rule appears in the Federal Register and ends following any judicial review, on the date a judgment becomes final, and no longer subject to further appeal or review, in all actions (including those under the Clean Air Act) that are filed during that 60-day period. A state is also shielded under the bill from: being required to adopt or submit a state plan, and being subject to a federal plan under any federal final rule if the governor notifies the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency that implementation of either plan would have a significant adverse effect upon: (1) the state's residential, commercial, or industrial ratepayers; or (2) upon the reliability of the state's electricity system.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2015
Cold War Service Medal Act of 2015 Authorizes the military department concerned to issue the Cold War Service Medal to members of the Armed Forces who: (1) served on active duty for at least 24 consecutive months during the Cold War (September 2, 1945, through December 26, 1991); (2) were deployed outside the continental United States for at least 30 days during such period; (3) were members of a reserve component of the Armed Forces and were called or ordered to active duty to participate in exercises or operations directly related to the Cold War; or (4) performed other Cold War service as DOD may prescribe. Disqualifies any such person who was not discharged or released from the Armed Forces under under honorable conditions. Expresses the sense of Congress that DOD should expedite the design and issuance of the Medal.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2015
It is the sense of the House of Representatives that a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should come from direct bilateral negotiations without preconditions and without interference from the United Nations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2015
Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal, beginning with taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, the excise tax on employer-sponsored health care coverage for which there is an excess benefit (high-cost plans).
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2015
Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from applying a multiple procedure payment reduction policy to the professional component of imaging services furnished: (1) after a specified date in the year this Act is enacted; or (2) in any subsequent year before the Secretary conducts and publishes, as part of the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for a year, an analysis of the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale Data Manager information used to determine what, if any, efficiencies exist within the professional component of imaging services when two or more studies are performed on the same patient on the same day.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2015
Home Owner Managing Energy Savings Act of 2015 or the HOMES Act The Department of Energy (DOE) must establish the Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program to provide rebates of up to $5,000 to reward homeowners for achieving home energy savings. Rebates may not exceed: (1) $10,000 per individual; or (2) 50% of the qualified home energy efficiency expenditures paid or incurred by the homeowner. DOE must develop: (1) a network of rebate aggregators or a national rebate aggregator that can facilitate the delivery of rebates to reimburse participating homeowners or contractors, and (2) guidelines for allowing utilities participating as rebate aggregators to count the energy savings from their participation toward state and local level energy saving targets. This bill provides for the tax treatment of rebates, including an exclusion of such rebates from the taxable income of the homeowner. DOE must make grants available for developing quality assurance programs to oversee the delivery of home efficiency retrofit programs, overseeing quality assurance plans, establishing and delivering financing pilots, coordinating with existing residential retrofit programs and infrastructure development to assist deployment of the Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program, and carrying out that Program. DOE must establish a Residential Energy Efficiency Pay for Performance pilot program to encourage the use of measured energy savings, and financial payments for those energy savings, in the operation of residential energy efficiency programs.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2015
Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2015 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise the nutritional information that restaurants and retail food establishments must disclose. The nutrient content disclosure statement on the menu or menu board must include: (1) the number of calories contained in the whole menu item; (2) the number of servings and number of calories per serving; or (3) the number of calories per common unit of the item, such as for a multi-serving item that is typically divided before presentation to the consumer. Nutritional information may be provided solely by a remote-access menu (e.g., an Internet menu) for food establishments where the majority of orders are placed by customers who are off-premises. Establishments with self-serve food may comply with the requirements for restaurants or place signs with nutritional information adjacent to each food item. An establishment’s nutrient content disclosures have a “reasonable basis” if they are within acceptable allowances for variation, including variations in serving size or ingredients and inadvertent human error in formulation. Establishments with standard menu items that come in different flavors, varieties, or combinations, that are listed as a single menu item can determine and disclose nutritional information using specified methods or methods allowed by the Food and Drug Administration. Regulations pursuant to this Act or the clause amended by this Act cannot take effect earlier than two years after final regulations are promulgated pursuant to this Act. Nutritional information disclosure requirements apply to establishments that derive more than 50% of their total revenue from the sale of food.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2015
Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act Amends the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 1978 to require a federal financial institutions regulatory agency to make a final examination report to a financial institution within 60 days after the later of: (1) the exit interview for an examination of the institution, or (2) the provision of additional information by the institution relating to the examination. Sets a deadline for the exit interview if a financial institution is not subject to a resident examiner program. Prescribes examination standards for financial institutions that: prescribe requirements and prohibitions for the treatment of certain commercial loans, prohibit a federal financial institution regulatory agency from requiring a well-capitalized financial institution to raise additional capital in lieu of certain actions prohibited with respect to such commercial loans, and require federal financial institutions regulatory agencies to develop and apply identical definitions and reporting requirements for non-accrual loans. Establishes in the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (Council) the Office of Independent Examination Review, headed by a Director appointed by the Council, but independent from any member agency of the Council. Entitles a financial institution to appeal a material supervisory determination contained in a final report of examination. Requires the Director to determine the merits of the appeal either on the record, or, at the election of the financial institution, refer the appeal to an administrative law judge. Declares the decision by the Director on an appeal to: (1) be the final agency action, and (2) bind the agency whose supervisory determination was the subject of the appeal and the financial institution making the appeal. Grants a financial institution the right to petition for judicial review of the Director's decision. Prohibits a federal financial institutions regulatory agency from: retaliating against a financial institution, including service providers, or any institution-affiliated party, for exercising appellate rights under this Act; or delaying or denying any agency action that would benefit a financial institution or any institution-affiliated party on the basis that an appeal under this Act is pending. Amends the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 to require: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to establish an independent intra-agency appellate process in connection with the regulatory appeals process, and safeguards to protect an insured depository institution or insured credit union from retaliation by any federal banking agency for exercising its rights.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2015
Environmental Compliance Cost Transparency Act of 2015 This bill requires the Bonneville Power Administration, the Western Area Power Administration, the Southwestern Power Administration, and the Southeastern Power Administration to include in monthly billing statements sent to each customer estimates of the customer's share of such administration's direct and indirect costs for compliance with any relevant federal environmental laws impacting the conservation of fish and wildlife. Each administration must report each year on: (1) estimates of its total direct and indirect compliance costs, and (2) sources of replacement power.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2015
Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income based tax credit of up to $500 in a taxable year for the purchase of a qualified hearing aid that is described in the Code of Federal Regulations, is authorized under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for commercial distribution, and is intended for use by the taxpayer or a dependent of the taxpayer. Disallows such credit for a taxpayer whose modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 for any taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2015
This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to eliminate the funding mechanism for the transitional reinsurance program. Currently, issuers of individual, group, and self-funded plans are required to pay a fee in 2014, 2015, and 2016 to fund the three-year transitional reinsurance program. Under the transitional reinsurance program, non-grandfathered individual market plans that enroll high-cost individuals are eligible for reinsurance payments. This bill eliminates the requirement for issuers to pay a fee in 2015 and 2016. Instead, it authorizes appropriations for the program. This bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to audit 2014 expenditures under the transitional reinsurance program.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2015
Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015 Better Buildings Act of 2015 This bill requires the General Services Administration (GSA) to: (1) develop and publish model leasing provisions to encourage building owners and tenants to use greater cost-effective energy efficiency and water efficiency measures in commercial buildings, and (2) develop policies and practices to implement the measures for the realty services provided by the GSA to agencies. This bill amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to require the Department of Energy (DOE) to study the feasibility of improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings through the design and construction of spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must develop a voluntary Tenant Star program within the Energy Star program to recognize tenants in commercial buildings that voluntarily achieve high levels of energy efficiency. The EPA may develop a voluntary program to recognize commercial building owners and tenants that use high-performance energy efficiency measures in the design and construction of leased spaces. This bill amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to provide additional energy conservation standards for grid-enabled water heaters for use as part of an electric thermal storage or demand response program, which is a program that enables customers to reduce or shift their power use during peak demand periods. A federal agency leasing space in a building without an Energy Star label must include in its lease provisions requirements that the space's energy efficiency be measured against a nationally-recognized benchmark. The agency must also meet certain energy consumption disclosure requirements. DOE must maintain a database for storing and making available public energy-related information on commercial and multifamily buildings.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2015
Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015 Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to select a VA medical center to serve as the national center for research on the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions of the biological children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren of individuals exposed to toxic substances while serving as members of the Armed Forces that are related to such exposure. Requires: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD) or the head of a federal agency to make available to the VA for review records held by DOD, an Armed Force, or that federal agency that might assist the VA in making determinations regarding individuals and descendents afflicted with a health condition as a result of such exposure; (2) the VA and DOD or such agency head to jointly establish a mechanism for the availability and review of records by the VA; and (3) the national center to employ at least one licensed clinical social worker to coordinate access of individuals to appropriate social and health care programs and to handle case management. Establishes an Advisory Board to oversee and assess the national center and to advise the VA regarding the center's work. Directs DOD to declassify documents (other than documents that would materially and immediately threaten national security) related to any known incident in which at least 100 members of the Armed Forces were exposed to a toxic substance that resulted in at least one case of an associated disability. Directs the VA to conduct a national outreach and education campaign directed toward members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their family members to communicate information on: (1) incidents of exposure of members of the Armed Forces to toxic substances, health conditions resulting from such exposure, and the potential long-term effects; and (2) the national center. Requires DOD and the Department of Health and Human Services to assist the VA in implementing such campaign.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2015
James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program Fund indefinitely and index appropriations to the medical care component of the consumer price index for urban consumers. Makes funding available for: a quality assurance program for services delivered by health care providers, the WTC Program annual report, WTC Health Program Steering Committees, and contracts with Clinical Centers of Excellence. Amends the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act to make individuals (or relatives of deceased individuals) who were injured or killed in the rescue and recovery efforts after the aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, eligible for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. Allows individuals to file claims for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 anytime after regulations are updated based on the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010. Removes the cap on payments under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. Adds the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program Fund to the list of accounts that are not subject to budget sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2015
Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2015 This bill amends subtitle D (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act to establish a permit program for coal combustion residuals (coal ash) that states may elect to administer. The program outlines the criteria that a state must use if it chooses to adopt and enforce a permit program regulating the management and disposal of coal ash generated by electric utilities and independent power producers. The program applies to the disposal of coal ash into landfills or surface impoundments, sand or gravel pits, quarries, or lateral expansions of the structures. The structural criteria concern: (1) design, location, and integrity; (2) financial assurance; (3) groundwater and surface water protections; (4) closure procedures; and (5) air quality with respect to fugitive dust. A state that chooses to adopt a coal ash program is given sole enforcement authority. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must implement a program for a state if: (1) a state's program fails to meet those criteria, or (2) a state does not implement a program. A coal ash permit program implemented by the EPA shall not apply to the utilization, placement, and storage of coal ash at surface or underground coal mining and reclamation operations. The bill revises implementation of the EPA rule governing the disposal of coal ash, entitled "Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities." The rule may be implemented only through the permit program established by the bill. The agency implementing the permit program must ensure that certain information concerning the program is publicly available.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2015
Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015 This bill requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw, within 30 days, the proposed rule, "Definition of 'Waters of the United States' Under the Clean Water Act," dated April 21, 2014, describing the water bodies that fall under the scope of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act), as well as any final rule based on the proposed rule. The Army Corps and the EPA must develop a new proposed rule to define the term, "waters of the United States" as used in that Act. In developing the new rule, the Army Corps and the EPA must meet requirements concerning consultation with states and localities enumerated in this bill. The new rule must specifically identify those waters covered and not covered by the Clean Water Act and incorporate the areas and issues where consensus was reached by the interested parties. The Army Corps and the EPA must prepare a report with details about the new proposed rule and its development, including: (1) explanations of how the rule addresses public comments filed on certain related rules and reports and addresses recommendations provided in the consultation process; and (2) comprehensive regulatory and economic impact analyses of how the rule will impact interested parties and each program under the Clean Water Act. The Army Corps and the EPA must: (1) publish the report, a description of the areas and issues where consensus was reached with the state and local officials consulted, and the new proposed rule; and (2) make them available for public review and comment for at least 180 days.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2015
Reforming CFPB Indirect Auto Financing Guidance Act Declares without force or effect Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Bulletin 2013-02 (Indirect Auto Lending and Compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act), published March 21, 2013. Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to direct the CFPB, when proposing and issuing guidance primarily related to indirect auto financing, to: provide for a public notice and comment period before issuing the guidance in final form; make publicly available all information relied on by the CFPB; redact any information exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act; consult with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department of Justice; and study the costs and impacts of the guidance to consumers and women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2015
Supporting Transparent Regulatory and Environmental Actions in Mining Act or the STREAM Act This bill amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to direct the Department of the Interior to make publicly available, 90 days before publication, any draft, supplemental, final, or emergency rule, or any environmental analysis or economic assessment, and each scientific product upon which the Secretary has relied in developing the rule, the analysis, or the assessment. For scientific products receiving federal funds Interior must also make publicly available: (1) the raw data used for them, and (2) the background information of the authors of the scientific study. If Interior withholds any scientific product for more than six months, it must withdraw the rule, environmental analysis, or economic assessment. Interior shall contract with the National Academy of Sciences for its Board on Earth Sciences and Resources to conduct a detailed, comprehensive study of the effectiveness of the "Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Operations Permanent Regulatory Program; Stream Buffer Zones and Fish, Wildlife, and Related Environmental Values" Final Rule in protecting perennial and intermittent streams through the use of stream buffer zones. Until one year after publication of the Board's report to Congress, Interior may not issue any proposed or final regulations under the Act that relate either to stream buffer zones or to stream protection. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 is further amended to declare that nothing in it authorizes Interior to take any action that duplicates, enforces, or determines compliance with specified mining, environmental, or fish and wildlife law.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2015
Infrastructure Jobs and Energy Independence Act Deems the Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program 2017-2022 (Program) issued by the Secretary of the Interior to be approved as a final oil and gas leasing program under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, including the modifications to the Program as prescribed by this Act. Includes the following additional areas within the Program: (1) the Chukchi Sea; (2) the Beaufort Sea; (3) Bristol Bay; (4) previously leased areas off the coast of Virginia; and (5) all other outer Continental Shelf planning areas estimated to contain over 5 billion barrels of oil, and more than 50 billion cubic feet of gas. Prohibits the President from excluding from oil and gas leasing any area included in the final oil and gas leasing program deemed approved under this Act. Deems the Secretary to have issued a final environmental impact statement for the Program under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a lease sale in each outer Continental Shelf (OCS) planning area for which there is a commercial interest in purchasing federal oil and gas production leases, (2) prepare an inventory of U.S. offshore energy resources, and (3) promulgate regulations governing the production of oil or gas resources of the OCS. Authorizes the Secretary conduct commercial lease sales of OCS resources to produce renewable energy and cultivate marine organisms in their natural habitats. Extends from three geographical miles to nine nautical miles the allowable seaward boundary of a coastal state. Repeals the moratorium on oil and gas leasing in: (1) any area east of the Military Mission Line in the Gulf of Mexico, (2) any area in the Eastern Planning Area that is within 125 miles of the Florida coastline, and (3) specified areas within the Central Planning Area and within 100 miles of the Florida coastline. Requires the Secretary to issue a final leasing plan for the Eastern Gulf of Mexico for all areas where there exists commercial interest in purchasing federal oil and gas leases for production. Requires the Secretary of Energy to: (1) publish a plan to exchange a specified amount of light grade petroleum from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for heavy grade petroleum plus additional cash bonus bids that reflect the difference in market value between light grade and heavy grade petroleum and the timing of deliveries of heavy grade petroleum, and (2) deposit 90% of the remaining net proceeds from the exchange into the Infrastructure Renewal Reserve. Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act to repeal the prohibition against leasing or other development leading to production of oil and gas from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2015
Declares that the federal excise tax on new tractor trailer trucks, heavy duty trucks, and certain truck trailers should not be increased and that Congress should review the detrimental impacts of such tax in considering future transportation policy.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2015
Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees Act This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and Public Health Service Act to include employers with 51 to 100 employees as large employers for purposes of health insurance markets. States have the option to treat these employers as small employers. Currently under PPACA, employers with 51 to 100 employees are small employers, but before January 1, 2016, states have the option to treat them as large employers. (Under PPACA, health insurance offered in the small group market must meet certain requirements that do not apply to the large group market, including the requirement to cover the essential health benefits.)
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2015
Lymphedema Treatment Act This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover certain lymphedema compression treatment items as durable medical equipment under Medicare. (Lymphedema is a condition of localized fluid retention and tissue swelling that is caused when the lymphatic system is damaged or blocked.)
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2015
Patients' Access to Treatments Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish cost-sharing limits for health plans that cover prescription drugs and use a formulary or other tiered cost-sharing structure. Prohibits such a health plan from imposing higher cost-sharing requirements, including co-payment and co-insurance, for specialty drugs than for other prescription drugs in a non-preferred brand drug tier. Applies the non-preferred brand drug tier for which beneficiary cost-sharing is lowest, if a formulary used by the health plan contains more than one non-preferred brand drug tier.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2015
Biennial Budgeting and Enhanced Oversight Act of 2015 This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Congressional Budget Impoundment and Control Act of 1974, and the Rules of the House of Representatives to change the process for the President's budget submission, congressional budget resolutions, appropriations bills, and government strategic and performance plans from the current annual process to a biennial process, in which a biennium is the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. The House Budget Committee must use the second session of each Congress to study issues with long-term budgetary and economic implications. The bill creates a point of order in the House and Senate against authorizations of appropriations that do not include specific authorizations covering at least each fiscal year in one or more bienniums.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2015
Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act Repeals certain provisions which require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military retired pay or who would be entitled to retired pay except for being under 60 years of age. Prohibits requiring repayment of certain amounts previously paid to SBP recipients in the form of a retired pay refund. Repeals the optional authority of (and instead requires) the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay an annuity to a member's dependent children when there is no eligible surviving spouse. Directs the Secretary concerned to restore annuity eligibility to a surviving spouse who earlier agreed to transfer such eligibility to a surviving child or children of a member.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2015
Health Outcomes, Planning, and Education (HOPE) for Alzheimer's Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover comprehensive Alzheimer's disease care planning services.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2015
Boycott Our Enemies not Israel Act Requires a revision to the Federal Acquisition Regulation to require a certification from each person that is a prospective government contractor that such person, and any person owned or controlled by such person, is not a boycotting person (a person who, with the intent to comply with or support a boycott against Israel, refuses to do business with or in Israel, with any Israeli national or resident, or with a business concern organized under Israeli law). Debars from eligibility for federal contracts for at least two years any person who submits a false certification.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2015
Expresses the sense that the committees of jurisdiction in the House of Representatives should craft a replacement for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that includes restoration of the Black Lung Benefits Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2015
Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to require the Bureau of Prisons to ensure that each chief executive officer of a federal penal or correctional institution: (1) provides a secure storage area located outside of the secure perimeter of the institution for qualified law enforcement officers employed by the Bureau to store firearms, or allows such officers to store firearms in a vehicle lockbox approved by the Bureau; and (2) allows such officers to carry concealed firearms on the premises outside of the secure perimeter of the institution.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2015
Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance Act of 2015 Authorizes a Wall of Remembrance, as part of the previously authorized Korean War Veterans Memorial, to include: (1) a list by name of members of the U.S. Armed Forces who were killed in action; (2) the number of members who were wounded, listed as missing in action, or prisoners of war; and (3) the number of members of the Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army, the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, and the other nations of the United Nations (U.N.) Command who were killed, wounded, missing, or prisoners. Prohibits using any federal funds to construct the Wall.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2015
Ensuring Access to Quality Complex Rehabilitation Technology Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover, as medical and other health services, complex rehabilitation technology (CRT) items designed or individually configured for a specific qualified individual to meet that individual's unique: (1) medical, physical, or functional needs related to a medical condition; and (2) capacities for basic activities of daily living (ADLs) or instrumental ADLs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) designate CRT items (excluding adaptive equipment to operate motor vehicles or certain prosthetic devices and orthotics); and (2) establish eligibility criteria for them. Prescribes requirements for payments for CRT items. Directs the Secretary to establish standards for clinical conditions for CRT item payment as well as quality standards for suppliers of such items. Directs the Secretary to establish a formal process to allow submission of CRT code set modification requests by stakeholder groups for comprehensive coding changes related to entire policy groups. Requires payment for replacement of a CRT item (or any part of one), without regard to certain continuous use or useful lifetime restrictions established for items of durable medical equipment, if a qualified ordering practitioner determines that a replacement item (or part) is necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2015
Repeal of the Obamacare Bay State Boondoogle Act Revises requirements for the non-rural area wage index floor in the formula for the national adjusted diagnosis-related group (DRG) prospective payment rate used in calculating payments under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act for each inpatient hospital discharge in a fiscal year involving inpatient hospital services of a subsection (d) hospital. (Generally, a subsection [d] hospital is an acute care hospital, particularly one that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system [IPPS] when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in the case of discharges occurring on or after April 1, 2015, to apply budget neutrality, under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and related regulations, on a state-specific rather than national basis in the calculation of the Medicare hospital wage index floor, including a minimum wage index, for each non-rural area, using a specified methodology as if it had been fully implemented for FY2011 using a 100% state-specific adjustment to the area wage index. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed as preventing the Secretary, for discharges occurring on or after April 1, 2015, from modifying related regulations in carrying out budget neutrality requirements. Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to end the application of budget neutrality on a national basis in the calculation of the Medicare hospital wage index floor as of April 1, 2015.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2015
Bundling and Coordinating Post-Acute Care Act of 2015 or the BACPAC Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a single bundled payment for post-acute care services under Medicare parts A (Hospital Insurance) and B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Defines "PAC physician" as the physician with primary responsibility for supervising delivery to an individual of a post-acute care (PAC) bundle of services between a qualifying discharge and the earlier of: (1) 90 days later, or (2) the date on which the individual is admitted to a hospital to receive services for a condition unrelated to the one for which he or she received the acute care inpatient hospital services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study the feasibility of integrating ("bundling") all payments under the Medicare program for post acute care services with payments for acute care inpatient hospital services in a subsection (d) hospital. (Generally, a subsection [d] hospital is an acute care hospital, particularly one that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system [IPPS] when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.) Places a moratorium on the IPPS payment rate in certain cases. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a new Transitional Care Management (TCM) code, with respect to geographic adjustments to the physicians' fee schedule, to pay for care management by a PAC physician; or (2) revise and expand the use of existing TCM codes 99495 and 99494.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2015
Medicare CGM Access Act of 2015 - This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare coverage of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices furnished to a CGM qualified individual. The Department of Health and Human Services must establish a fee schedule and ensure that CGM qualified individuals are furnished with appropriate device components.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2015
Veteran Education Empowerment Act Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to award up to 30 four-year grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) or consortia of IHEs to establish, maintain, and improve Veteran Student Centers. Permits a grantee to use a portion of the grant to provide veteran students with supportive instruction services. Requires a grantee to be an IHE or consortium that: (1) enrolls in undergraduate or graduate courses a significant number or percentage of veterans or members of the Armed Forces, and (2) presents a sustainability plan demonstrating that its Veteran Student Center will be maintained and will continue to operate after the grant ends. Defines a "Veteran Student Center" as a dedicated space on a campus that provides students who are veterans or members of the Armed Forces with: (1) a lounge or meeting space for themselves, their spouses or partners, and veterans in the community; (2) a centralized office for veteran services that is staffed by trained employees and volunteers and serves as a single point of contact to coordinate veterans support services; and (3) comprehensive academic and tutoring services to veterans. Requires that office to provide such students with assistance in: transitioning from the military to student life, transitioning from the military to the civilian workforce, networking with other veteran students and veterans in the community, understanding and obtaining benefits provided by the IHE and federal and state government for which they may be eligible, understanding how to succeed in the IHE, and understanding their disability-related rights and protections under specified federal laws. Requires the Secretary to develop and implement a website for veteran student services at IHEs, which details best practices for serving veteran students at IHEs.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2015
Clean Air, Strong Economies Act This bill prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from lowering its national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone until at least 85% of counties that are in nonattainment areas (counties that are exceeding the limit) have attained the standard. In promulgating a primary or secondary NAAQS for ozone, the EPA must: only consider a county to be a nonattainment area on the basis of direct air quality monitoring (rather than modeling); take into consideration feasibility and cost; and include in the regulatory impact analysis for the proposed and final rule at least one analysis that does not include any calculation of benefits resulting from reducing emissions of any pollutant other than ozone.
![Official portrait of Rep. McKinley, David B. [R-WV-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m001180_200.jpg)